"What? Caretaker?" Eva bluffed.
"Ah... not really but definitely. The CEO is a man who always ensures everything is perfect, and is always demanding. However, for every task given which is out of scope, you would be paid bountifully and for every success you shall be heavily rewarded, that is what we love about our CEO."
Eva didn't understand at all. She only nodded, trying not to give the woman a sense that she was a bit daft. But truly, she needed to process things else she might just die in confusion. What the heck did this woman mean by caretaker?
In her former organisation, all she had to do for her boss was take care of his schedules, and emails, plan ahead of time and do everything related to business but would this CEO be so demanding that she would literally have to prepare his regular coffee like she had heard people talk about CEOs in dramas?
Would she truly have to pamper him like a baby?
Eva decided not to dwell too much on the thought. Perhaps, this woman was exaggerating. For a company as huge as this, she didn't think she would have to do so much. The bigger the company, the less work you have to do, right?
She took a look at the office which she now knew to be her office. The office was designed with rich tones and various attractive and colourful artworks which varied from nature to the artificial world.
As she looked straight, her eyes once again caught up with her desk, this time, she allowed her eyes to survey the seat as she walked closer. A feature wall formed out of diagonal wood slats made up the background for her desk.
On the far end at the left-hand side of the desk was a cubicle which was well furnished, though it had different colourings compared to the main office, it was furnished with pendant lighting and had different tables.
Eva couldn't help but ask as she pointed to the cubicle, "Ma'a- Maryam."
"Yes, Ms Lee."
"I said...Eva," Eva almost groaned, feeling guilty for calling her by name when she still didn't agree to call her by her name.
"Yes, Eva. Do you need anything?"
"No," she tilted her head slightly to the cubicle, "I was wondering what that room is for."
"Oh...for entertainment."
"Entertainment?"
"Yes. The CEO is often busy and sometimes, clients might be directed to you instead. The room is for entertaining them. But sometimes, you can use it to your advantage. But to warn you, some will keep insisting on meeting with the CEO while the CEO might keep insisting on keeping them with you. It depends on how you can deal with things. Some clients would rather be buried underground than sit in a cubicle waiting."
"Ah, right!" Eva replied, feeling a bit sweaty. She went to the desk and dropped her bag. "I am glad, Maryam. Thank you so much for your help."
"No need to, ma'am. It's my job. I will excuse you at this moment. Feel free to check anything since you have every access to anything pertaining here."
A smile tucked her cheeks as an enthusiastic nod came forth.
Maryam smiled before she opened the door and walked outside.
Just after the door slowly closed, Eva rubbed off the invisible sweat that was on her forehead and then after a while, she rubbed her temple, letting out a sigh. "I wasn't expecting this to be my office. I...I can sleep here forever. I mean...look. This is just so amazing!" She squeaked in the next second as her gaze lingered everywhere.
She walked to the glass at her right-hand side, viewing the city on its day and she almost scrubbed her palms in joy. "I think I need to send some pictures to Ruby! She would be shocked at how magnificent an office could be!"
She looked into her bag and brought out her brand-new phone, which was less expensive than her stolen one. However, just after she had unlocked it, she heard a knock on the door and she immediately fixed her hair properly and sat down in her seat, trying to search for any file on the desk to open as quickly as possible.
The knock persisted before she uttered, "Come in!"
The knocks stopped and the door slightly opened, viewing the man who had interviewed her the other day.
He was in a black fitted suit and his hair was styled just the same that she had seen him but still, perhaps, because of her mood, she thought he looked more radiant than the last time.
Eva stood up and then bowed slowly, "Good day, Mr..."
However, she immediately forgot his real name but he helped her out in no time, "Mr Chan."
"Good day, Mr. Chan," she reiterated. Putting up her lips in a sweet yet polite smile. "I am glad to see you again."
"Same here, Ms Lee. You should be glad you got picked despite coming late," he said, reminding her of her huge mistake.
Eva blinked before she cleared her throat, "And I promise that would never occur itself, Mr Chan."
She offered him a seat among the two seats that were behind her desk. She waited for him to sit down before she had her seat. Just before he spoke, it dawned on Eva that whoever was sitting right before her was the outgoing secretary.
Wow!
She never knew.
He looked at her and then smiled, "Ms Lee."
"Sir?"
"It looks like you have already gone through half of what I expected you to go through. This will make teaching easier."
"What?" Eva looked at her hands which were fixed on the file she had opened in haste to pretend that she wasn't straying around. "Oh no...I just had to skim through the files on the desk since the-" Eva paused, not knowing if the woman was a married woman or not but she found another way to put her word, "staff member who brought me here told me to check through anything."
"I see," he merely nodded. "I would like you to read through it before we go through it."
"Right now? I can, of course," Eva immediately said. She had no idea why she was behaving this way.
"Not now, Of course, but earlier than in an hour," his voice suddenly turned serious before it bounced back to entertaining, "You have the right to relax and take in the fresh air today as well. Your first few days here would be based on learning and how you can assimilate things quickly. As you should have known by now, I am the outgoing secretary and will be happy if you are smart enough to learn quickly."
"Yes, sir. I will do my best."
"You don't do your best here, Ms Lee. You do the best."
Eva's eyes widened at his acclaim. She had no idea why the same man she saw last time seemed to have grown horns. Was she ready to deal with people like him?