Happy ending
When last we spoke I was super tense and uncomfortable in a temp assistment. The CEO’s freak out continued into the following day, Wednesday. When I was asked to return on Thursday morning, I agreed to it out of guilt! The main assistant was already overworked and nearly overwhelmed. I couldn’t leave knowing there wasn’t someone else in place to help her. So when I was asked, I knodded, grunted and walked out the door!
Around lunchtime the next day, my rep from the temp agency phoned to see how I was holding up. (We spoke that morning about the possibility of my bailing out of the assignment.) He planned to tell the CEO that I this was my last day, but wondered if I already spoke to her about it on my own. “Well, yes and no,” I said. “I didn’t talk to the CEO, but I did return my parking pass to her main assistant and told her, ‘I’m giving this to you since I won’t be back.’ She was really cheerful when she replied, ‘Okay!’” My rep laughed, “I guess that covered it!”
It turned out that the rest of the day went really well as I got the hang of the nutty filing system, and could make changes very quickly when asked to do so. There was also a new personal assistant in the works, so that perked up the CEO and the mood in the office. But none of that made a difference when I was asked once again how I felt about returning the following week. Uh, did she not remember that I retuned parking pass? How about my discomfort for the last three days? These things should really ring a bell! I wasn’t angry, I definitely didn’t frown, but I could feel myself stiffen up, as if inflated with tension! I slowly shook my head no and walked out of the room! The main assistant let that go until an hour later, when she repeated the question, this time to the CEO. “Do you think we’ll need Florence on Monday?” (They were taking Good Friday off.) As they talked it over, I wondered how the hell I was going to say no to both of them without any hard feelings. After two very long minutes of discussion, they decided they didn’t need me after all. I almost yelped, “Woo-hoo!”
When I headed out the door that evening, with my $2.00 mileage re-embursement and the main assistant’s personal card in my purse, the CEO was very sweet. She thanked me for my efforts at tackling her filing system. I wasn’t the first person to have a hard time with it, she said, but I did well. She was full of well wishes for a great weekend and a happy Easter. I thought, “She’s kind and normal — finally!”
The following Monday, my temp agency rep called with info on another gig. “By the way, Florence, I just wanted to let you know that I spoke with the main assistant over at Tense Development Company. She said you were great and she was happy with your work, so I just want you to know that for your own piece of mind.”
How funny that (yet again), I doubted myself and my abilities when other people around me didn’t. I guess that I am a decent assistant after all.
I don’t suck! Yea!
Flo!
Add comment April 19th, 2007