Devin cleared his throat then turned the television back on and pressed play. The episode continued where we left off.
Around nine-thirty, the front door unlocked and Mitchell walked in. He walked into the living room. “Season 5?”
“Yep. There’s pizza in the kitchen if you want any. Oh, and some salad,” I replied, smiling up at my brother.
“How’d it go?” Mitch asked.
“Uh, our sister is mad at me again, or maybe she’s mad at Devin. I can never tell. Anyway, she stomped upstairs after grabbing dinner and is probably still talking to Stacy about how horrible I am.”
“I’ll talk with her. Thanks, Devin, for coming over. Sorry I wasn’t here earlier.”
“Forget it. You were out with Megan, which reminds me, can you and Megan have lunch with me tomorrow?”
“I’m sure we can work it out. Just give me a call or text me, that might be easier.”
“I’m going to head upstairs so you two can have your male bonding time.” I smiled as I got up and tried to take Devin’s plate.
“I’ll take care of it,” Devin said, grabbing my plate instead.
“Thanks. Night, Mitch.”
“Night, Chris.”
“Bye, CJ,” Devin called as I walked up the stairs.
Once I got to my room, I stared at the notebook Dr. Stone wanted me to use as a journal. Maybe I should write about Emily. I didn’t know why she was angry at me when she knew I didn’t like Devin. She should be mad at Devin for not paying her any attention. I decided to tell Dr. Stone about her behavior. Maybe eventually I’d actually start talking to Dr. Stone about more than just my childhood. Maybe I’d actually talk to him about what goes on with me daily. Maybe. That doesn’t mean I would talk to him about my parents or high school.
No way. That would never happen.
Chapter Two
“Good afternoon, McCormick, Byron and Rauth,” I said the next morning at work.
“Yes, hi, this is Betty for John Byron.”
“One moment, please.”
Some might say being a receptionist seems like an easy job. Well, it’s not as easy as it seems. Just like life, I guess. I have several responsibilities here. I answer calls for both law firms in the building: MBR and Mayor & Sons. This isn’t always simple because both firms have VIP clients and have different protocols for certain people.
Betty, whose last name shall remain anonymous, is a VIP client with MBR. When she asks for Mr. Byron, she gets transferred to Mr. Byron. And if he or anyone else is out or busy, a VIP client has the option of leaving a message or talking with someone else. They also have the option to page him if he’s in the office, just not at his desk.
At Mayor & Sons, every client gets put through to the person they ask for, unless they are calling for Mr. Brian Mayor or Mr. Royce Mayor, then they are put through to their secretaries, unless it’s a VIP client. I have lists of both firms’ VIP clientele. I am also notified when someone in the office will be away or out to lunch, so I can transfer the calls accordingly.
I also sign in visitors and take care of booking rooms for different meetings, making sure there are no double bookings. That happened once when one of the admin clerks was taking over for a few minutes while I was on break. Let’s just say she hasn't covered me since.
All of my tasks keep me busy throughout the day. The only time it seems to slow down is around lunch. It’s a great job and pays well for what it is. The best part is I can basically do what I want as long as I don’t miss calls or meetings or incoming faxes.
I’ve been working at the front desk for nearly four years now, and even though there are about 150 total staff, counting both firms, I can greet almost every employee who walks through the front door by name. The woman who did this before me was so disorganized it’s no wonder they replaced her. Originally, I was only a temporary employee while she was on vacation for a month.
I spent my first day organizing the desk and the surrounding area. You wouldn’t believe how much crap she had just laying around. She had several undelivered faxes from months before I even started working here. They were so impressed by my work ethic and organization that they decided to keep me on, even after she returned. Needless to say, she was surprised when she came back to find her things moved to a new location with the other admin clerks at MBR. I can’t say she was happy, but neither was she upset. She told me later that she had always been stressed by answering the phones and the multi-tasking.
I don’t know, there was just something about answering phone calls and greeting people that I really enjoyed. Maybe it was the opportunity this job provided to be someone different, giving me the chance to see what it’s like to be happy for a change. At home, I could only feel sadness, but here I was someone different. I could be my old self, the person I was before the accident, before my life turned upside down.