A Devil Boss

Chapter 2.2

"Right now," agreed Mister Diabolus. "Your temporary office will be in the anteroom, and your first task will be to bring me some documents," he explained, pulling out a piece of paper and writing a name on it. "All the documents about this man. You will find the document archive on floor fifteen. With this card, you can enter it today," he added and slid an ID card across the table to her.

Everything was happening so fast that Sera felt kind of slain.

And yet, she wanted to do her best and prove to this man that she was capable of becoming his secretary.

Attentively she read through the note and then nodded. "All right," was all she said before rising and leaving his office to go to the elevator.

She didn't know her way around here, but she would find her way.

It seemed as if the entire high-rise belonged to the law firm, which quite surprised her. At the same time, it was somehow fitting.

As she rode up the two floors in the elevator, she thought about what kind of work she would be doing here. She knew the cliché of secretaries and hoped it wasn't true.

When she reached the document archive, she noticed the smell of paper and boxes.

She had to identify herself with her card at an opener before entering through the barred gate. There were substantial metal racks, all of which were stuffed with cardboard boxes. This surprised her, as she had expected more digitization. However, she also noticed a computer where she could probably enter the name to find out where the documents were.

Again, the ID card was needed to even use it.

She wrote the name that Mister Diabolus had written down several times, but the computer spits out no result. I wonder if the name was misspelled.

Sera thought about it and then decided to do a vague search. Sure enough, she found what she was looking for, and she found the documents. However, Sera wanted to play it safe and left the archive to go to the administrative floor to ask. Since she had not encountered anyone in the library, she would simply ask there.

She had the documents with a similar name with her. She stepped into the administrative area with them under her arm. Immediately, the woman who had also greeted her yesterday raised her head. "Good afternoon Miss Taylor. Can I help you?"

The young woman nodded and then showed the receptionist the note from Mister Diabolus and the documents she had found. "I would like to know where I can find this gentleman's documents. The computer doesn't spit out any data on them," Sera said kindly.

"Then I guess they're not archived yet," the woman explained, glancing briefly at her computer before nodding. "Yes, they are not archived yet. The department that does that is on the tenth floor. You should be able to find them there."

Sera began to beam. Maybe Mister Diabolus had written down something wrong because his mind had been elsewhere. "Thank you very much," Sera said happily and made her way to the correct department.

Not even ten minutes later, she had the documents with the other name, and Sera decided to just bring him both. He would pick out the right one.

She knocked gently on his door and then entered. He grinned. "You don't have to knock," he explained, putting the pen back. "Do you have the documents?"

Sera laid them both on the table for him. "I'd rather knock than conjure up an awkward moment. After all, I don't know what you're doing right now," she remarked dryly, then explained to him that she had retrieved two documents because the one had not been found in the archives.

"I work here," Mister Diabolus said with amusement. "So there will be nothing embarrassing," he assured her, looking at the documents before nodding. "Very well. I would ask you now to schedule all the appointments here in this list a month later. Please call them and ask them to reschedule."

Glancing at the list, Sera noted that there were two pages full of names along with phone numbers. "Will do," she said, grabbing the piece of paper and then leaving his office. She didn't even address his comment because there could be awkward moments.

He had said she would use the office in the anteroom, and she marveled at how modern it was furnished. There was a bright, large desk, including a laptop. On closer inspection, she realized that this would probably be for on the road because there was also a desktop computer. Not of the old variety, but a new one, by the looks of it. The phone to the right of the external keyboard already showed some missed calls.

When Sera sat down on the comfortable chair, she saw a piece of paper under the keyboard. The username and password were written on it. After all, she had to keep a record of the postponed appointments somewhere. It was a good thing that Sera knew how to do this, and after a quick search, she found Mister Diabolus' appointment calendar.

Then she started calling the first clients. The first ones were still quite friendly and had no problems because the appointments were postponed. After each call, Sera crossed out the name to not get confused, and she entered the new works.

However, not everyone was amiable. In fact, many were rude, insolent, and impatient. Still, Sera showed angelic patience and kept explaining why the appointment was rescheduled.

They wanted something from Mister Diabolus, and so they had to deal with it. What she did not tell them, however.

Sera was on the phone all day, and it was getting on her nerves. Was the list never getting smaller?

With some clients, she discussed for an eternity. Still, some understood very quickly that Sera was not willing to just say yes and amen. With one obscene client and called her names, she paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry to disappoint you. If the new appointment doesn't suit you and you are in such a rush, make a phone call to Mister Diabolus himself or find another lawyer," Sera said politely but with a clear announcement. "I don't have all day to listen to your accusations. There are other, more important cases that aren't as taxing as you are."

On the other end, the man was silent for a moment and then drove at her that he would take the next best appointment.

Sera grinned slightly and then gave the date when Mister Diabolus had time. Her voice sounded sugary sweet, and so friendly that she was sure the man picked up on her sarcasm.

He didn't seem thrilled, but since he was the last one, she didn't care. The list was over with him.

Satisfied with herself, she finally hung up and entered the new appointment. Once again, she checked the list and if all charges were entered before she locked the computer again and went to Mister Diabolus. This time she didn't knock but merely opened the door, where she stopped with her arms crossed. "Your list is ready."

"Very good," the latter agreed, leaning back. "You're thinking along and robust in dealing with difficult clients," he began, eyeing her. "I like that a lot."

Sera shrugged. "You have to know how to fight back," she said lightly. She held his gaze, wondering what he was thinking. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Thank you, that will be all for today," he said, eyeing her, "You will be hearing from me."

Sera hid her amazement behind a nod. "Have a nice day," she said, turning on her heel. Had that really been it? She didn't really believe it.