Trina watched the printer groan as it churned out sheets of paper, documenting her accomplishments for the day. These were reports about cases of poaching of endangered species in a national park a few states over and she was reading autopsy reports of the poor animals. She flinched every time she read something horrific. She had not come across this horrific side of mankind before even though she had known acutely about it.
She left the papers in the assigned location with her notes on them and let out a deep sigh. She had survived her first week of work and had decided to meet Kylie after she was done with work. It was a celebration.
Trina picked up her bag and slipped her arms into her coat, thankful for once that it was not raining. Her phone rang as she turned the lock on the door and she scrambled to find it in her purse. In the process, she dropped the keys and barely took the call before it ended.
"Hello?" she answered, clearly distracted as she looked around for her keys.
"Miss Hudson?"
She paused what she was doing as her mind caught up. "Yes, this is she." She resumed looking for the keys and finally, she felt it.
"Miss Hudson, it's Randall Wright." Trina froze.
'Oh no.'
She fought to gain some professionalism before speaking, "Yes, sir. How are you?"
"I am fine, thank you for asking. I know that it is late but I need you to do one more thing before you leave," he informed her.
"Of course." She did groan internally. In the typical boss move, the man had chosen the night she wanted to unwind to keep her late. She pushed the keys into the lock and let herself back into the house.
"My lawyer sent you some paperwork through your email. Once you see it, please make four copies of it and have them bound." His words came out in a rush and Trina ran down the hallway to get a piece of paper to write his instructions down. "The cover should be clear but the backing needs to be opaque. You may choose the color. Black is usually acceptable. Each set of documents needs to be numbered, notarized and logged in the file. When you are finished, just leave it on your desk by the daily report."
Trina scribbled down the information and when she realized it was her turn to talk, she blurted out the words like an idiot, "It won't be a problem. I would be happy to do that."
"Thank you, Miss Hudson." And the other hung up.
Trina pulled the phone away from her ear and scoffed. She dropped her head to the desk and moaned. She figured that he knew her number but she hadn't expected him to use it since she had never met him before. That was the first direct task he had asked her to do. She didn't count the notes he left for her, asking her to change her perfume since it was giving him migraines.
Trina didn't wear perfumes, so she had no idea how to fulfill that request. Animals were especially attuned to scents and had issues if they came across artificial fragrances, so she had never used them.
She picked up the phone again and texted Kylie, apologizing for ditching her and cursing her elusive boss. She asked Kylie to meet her at their favorite place at nine with drinks on the table already waiting.
She refused to let this road bump ruin her whole night, so she sucked it up and prepared to finish her task quickly. So, she did her best to boot up the computer quickly and take a copy.
Her eyes were fixed on the printer and she waited for the first copy to come out.
Five minutes passed and nothing had come so she checked the power switch to confirm that it was still on. She checked the paper supply and the connection to the wall. It had been working just a while ago!
Thirty minutes later, the machine whirred to life.
She snatched the papers as they came out, making sure they stayed in order. But it had halfway printed when the printer went out again. With no choice, she took a copy of the document on a pen drive and ran out the door to get to her car and then to the copy store. Luckily, she had seen a copy-shop on her way. It was only a couple of kilometers away. She glanced at the clock on her dashboard and dashed out of the car.
It was almost seven in the evening. She had plenty of time to finish. She could go home, change and then go to the bar.
Since it was a Friday, the store was not crowded and her hope soared. She took a place in line behind an older gentleman with a small stack of papers.
Her hope was short-lived as she watched the teenager behind the counter approach the customer in front of her. He had ear bugs hanging over his shoulder. The exchange lasted a full forty minutes, when the man in front of her explained once again that he needed the paperwork enlarged… but not too large. But not that small. They made countless copies before the perfect size was agreed upon. Trina almost clapped when he finally walked out of the store.
She skipped up to the counter, smiling brightly at the surly teenager.
"Hi," she said, hoping he would be quicker because she was nice.
He barely glanced at her as he said, "Hey. What do you need?"
Trina realized she needed to put on her charm. She explained calmly before apologizing. "Sorry, I know it's a lot, but my boss really needs it. Working Friday night really sucks, right?"
She crossed her fingers that her teenager colloquial was on point.
The teenager picked up the directions and grunted, turning to the copier behind him. She sighed and stole a glance at her watch. There was no way she would make it home. She would just have to do with how she looked for work.