Chapter 3
On Monday morning, almost a week and a half after the music video incident, Michael received a very unexpected phone call. When his secretary told him that Sydney, the bus stop girl, was on the line for him, he could not figure out for the life of him who that was, until suddenly it hit him. Sydney, the bus stop girl, was Sydney, the Sydney he had thought about frequently for the past week and a half. He immediately told his secretary to put her through and when the line clicked, indicating that the call was patched through correctly, he said, “Sydney, the bus stop girl – you know, you should get a business card that says that.”
“Thanks,” she said, her voice indicating her lack of appreciation for his joke.
“So, to what do I owe this pleasure? I must admit, I’m surprised to hear from you,” Michael said.
“Yeah well… I was just wondering if you were serious about that job offer… you know, if you’re not, that’s cool too. I was just curious,” she said in a supremely casual tone that made Michael laugh.
“Yes, it is. In fact, why don’t you come in for a formal interview? Are you free today?” he asked her.
“I suppose…,” she said in the same casual tone. “What time?”
“Anytime this afternoon works for me; I’ll be in the office all day,” he told her.
“Fine, how about… one thirty? It’s that address on your card, right?”
“Yep, see you then,” Michael said. Then, he hung up with a smile on his face. He enjoyed getting his way as much as the next person did, sometimes even more, but he definitely enjoyed it more when it meant helping Sydney out.
~*~
“Sydney, it’s wonderful to see you again,” Michael smiled when she walked into his office. Instead of wearing the dancer outfit she had been wearing the first time he saw her, she was dressed in black pants and a light blue button down collared shirt, looking very professional.
“Nice to see you, too,” Sydney said quietly, shaking his extended hand. Michael ushered for her to sit down across from him and she did so. “So, what exactly does this job entail? Personal assistant…,” she said that job title in a tone that made it clear she had no idea what it was.
“Well, really,” Michael said casually as he sat down behind his desk, “it’s a cross between being my secretary and being my slave-”
“See ya,” Sydney said, standing quickly from the seat she was in.
“Chill,” Michael laughed. “I was joking. Please sit,” he told her seriously. She gave him a skeptical look, but took a seat once more. “Seriously, it would involve running some errands, filing some papers, coming with me to some events…Oh! and going to my house and letting Daisy out while I’m away.”
“Daisy? Is that your girlfriend?” Sydney asked with a raised eyebrow.
Michael gave her an annoyed look. “Daisy is my dog. So, do you think you can handle that?” he asked.
“How much?” she asked.
“What? How much you get paid or how many hours you work a week?” he asked. When her response was ‘both’ he told her, “Twelve dollars an hour and it depends. You’d work the normal nine to five and then depending on what events we have, there’d be some evening hours.”
“I see,” Sydney said shortly.
About three minutes of silence hung between them before Michael said, “So…? You in?”
“What happened to your last PA?” Sydney asked
“What?” Michael asked, confused by her question. “I fired him, bu-”
“HIM? It was a man? Why’d you fire him?” she questioned.
“Yes, it was a man. He was gay and-”
“YOU FIRED HIM BECAUSE HE WAS GAY?! What kind of a person are you?!” she demanded.
“If you would let me finish,” he growled at her, “I was going to say, ‘but I fired him because he was stealing from me.’”
“Oh,” she said, lowering her eyes. “That’s a good reason then…”
“Uh huh,” Michael nodded. “So, you want the job or not?”
“Well… can I have it on a trial basis?” she asked cautiously.
Michael almost laughed out loud. “Trial basis? Are you kidding me?”
“Fine. Forget it,” Sydney said as she stood up and walked towards the door.
“Hold it,” Michael stopped her. “Alright, alright – trial basis, but you still have to fill out all the proper employment forms and stuff, alright?”
“Alright,” she sighed.
“Good, now let’s start with your last name,” he told her.
“Don’t have one.”
“Nice try,” he gave her a look.
“Smith,” she told him quickly.
“Sydney Smith?” he questioned. She nodded. “I see, so do you have a driver’s license? Birth certificate? Any form of identification?”
“No,” she said quietly.
“Oh, I see. So, do you have a social security number or should I go ahead and call Krypton for your information?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Just give me the forms,” she mumbled to him.
Michael could not help but laugh as he left his office to get the proper forms. Despite the fact that she frustrated him beyond words, he found her very amusing. She annoyed him when she constantly cut off his sentences, but not so that he wanted to stop talking to her, only enough to make him want to laugh. He knew that working with her was going to be something he wasn’t even near prepared for, but yet, at the same time, he was looking forward to it.
For the next hour, Sydney filled out all the forms Michael handed to her. The fact that she used the name Sydney Smith on those forms concerned him on some level, but he decided to deal with that later. “Well congratulations, you’re employed,” Michael smiled at her. She gave him a half smile in return. “Okay. So, how about you arrive tomorrow at nine and we’ll go from there.”
“Dress code?” she questioned.
“What you’re wearing is fine,” he told her.
“Fine,” she said, turning to go away.
“You realize this job requires at least some people skills, right?” he called after her.
“Yeah, I’ll work on it,” she called back before disappearing out of his office.