9.25.2008

Paper-Stacks on a Highrise 4

Ok, so that last statement was somewhat of a lie. I had already given the Organizer's evaluation to the Boss. I was just curious about why she said she didn't want to do the job if it involved paper-stacking. I simply did not understand her reasons. She was so qualified; she was so perfect for the job. Maybe she just wasn't ready to be an Agent. In fact, I didn't even know how long she had worked at the Business. I jotted that question down on the piece of paper in front of me. Also written were other questions I had planned to ask her to clear some things up. She sat humbly in her chair, her head hung down, her eyes gazing at the floor. She didn't look at me. She didn't talk. As I observed her, guilt overwhelmed me. I had been so selfish in calling her back into this Board Room. I didn't have to tell the Boss about her; I wanted to...and I did. My intentions for telling him were as follows: I just wanted my actions of calling her back(*just because I was a wee bit curious) to be justified; and who better to justify my motives/intentions than the Boss himself? It was a perfect plan. But a selfish, evil plan: one that the Boss did not know about. I determined that I would not tell the Boss for I was going to change my outlook and intentions this instant. I am merely going to ask the Organizer questions without my selfish intentions backing it. I gazed at my paper, the questions written in my finest of cursive handwriting, and in blue ink nonetheless. I always thought that blue ink stood out more than black. Blue ink possesses whimsy, much like myself. I skimmed over the questions:
1. You are very qualified to be a paper-stacker; why would you not prefer doing it?
2. Would you be willing to blindly enter the position of Agent X?(i.e. not knowing what your responsibilities would be?
3. If you were to be Agent X, what would you like to do?
4. How long have you worked at the Business? Have you enjoyed your experience at the Business?

I thought my questions were very thought provoking and would get to the point I longed to find out. The silence in the room was awkward; the time passed slowly. "Okay," I finally said, "as I said before, I have some questions to ask you; four questions to be precise. But there's no need to be nervous. Ready?" "I am a little bit nervous, yeah. But I'm ready. Go ahead," she replied, looking up now. "Ok, let's see here." I referred to my paper. "First off, you are very-VERY-qualified to be a paper-stacker. Your skills in that area astounded me! Why would you prefer not doing it?" She sat, her eyes looking up and to the right. She was clearly formulating her answer. It was a tough question indeed. I was most curious to know the answer to this here question. "Well, ummm...." She paused and thought a bit longer. "...If I were to choose between what I am doing now--organizing for the other employees--or stacking papers, even if for the Boss, I would still prefer to organize. It's what I am best at. I may be good at stacking papers, but I am best at organizing," she stated simply after much consideration. "Okay, fair enough. Next question: Would you be willing to blindly enter the position of Agent X--as in not knowing what your responsibilities will be?" I looked up at her. She looked away. I thought she was acting strangely. I had never seen the Organizer act so....guilty of something. I suspected nothing of her though. I waited for her answer. "Well," she spoke up, "I don't know that one would necessarily be "blind" in entering the job of Agent X. I don't think anyone is "blind" when it comes to knowing what the agents do. I mean, c'mon, we all know that they deal with the Boss's papers. Whether it's sorting them, stamping them, hole-punching them, or--in Agent W's case--filing them. It all has to do with papers. I would think after just a little while of dealing with papers, an agent would get tired of that job. It's just too boring and dare I say...simple. I'm not quite sure why the Agents are regarded so highly." She rolled her eyes. I wondered at what she said. How did she know that agents deal with papers? I didn't even know that! Even when I inquired from the Boss, he would not tell me. "If you don't mind my asking, how do you know what the agents do?" "You mean, you don't know? I thought everybody knew. I thought that you knew especially because you are the one doing the interviewing? You mean to say that you never heard Agent W?" She looked at me as though I were the stupidest, most ill-informed person on the Planet. "No. I never worked too closely with Agent W. I was too busy running errands for the employees," I kindly explained. "Oh yeah," she said, "I almost forgot that you are the Gopher." She chuckled a bit. It was a derogatory statement to me, to say the least. I was indeed offended. How dare she! I began to see her in a different light. She wasn't such the nice, shy, and humble person I had once thought. She cannot be Agent X if she is acting like this. I took some quick notes that I would be relaying to the Boss. She continued: "The Boss had given Agent W an ultimatum. Agent W wasn't going to give in though. So, before Agent W was let go, he had time to tell everybody what he did exactly. I guess he figured that if he had to go down, he would go down with a fight, with style nonetheless. Agent W was supposed to file papers; he obviously didn't do a good job--I believe he actually took some papers: some very important papers. SO yeah, that Agent W." She shrugged her shoulders. I couldn't believe her.I sat, thinking about my next move. I didn't even want to finish asking her the questions. It would waste my time, and hers. I preceded to ask her the next question. "Ok, question 3: If you were Agent X, what would you like to do?" "Umm...alot of things. I would want to be Vice President of the company and help make executive decisions. I'd make the Business better, definitely more organized too. I'd rid the company of half of the employees--whom we really don't need anyway...You know, things like that." "So, you would basically like to run the Business?" I inquired. "Yes. Who doesn't?" Her attitude was repulsive. I jotted down a few more notes. "Okay, I think we're done here. You may go." I gestured toward the Doors. "I thought you had 4 questions for me. That was only three," she observed. I looked her deep in the eye, my face hot with anger. "The last question is not going to be a necessary factor in determining whether you will become Agent X. It seems pretty clear to me, although you are quite qualified, that you prefer not to be Agent X. I'll relay that information to the Boss." I tried to say that as objectively as I could without showing my anger and irritation. I looked down at my notes and continued writing. She stayed put. "Excuse me, but I never said I didn't want to be Agent X. I said that wouldn't want to stack papers." She snarled at me. "Well," I said, referring to my notes, "you said that you wouldn't want to stack papers or deal with papers, claiming the job was 'boring and simple'. And since you know that agents work with papers, and said that you didn't want to work with papers, I assumed that you meant you didn't want to be Agent X. That is what you said. I'm sorry if I inferred that you did indeed want to be Agent X," I snarled back. "Well, now that I think about it, stacking papers would be alright since I would be working in close proximity to the Boss. He would make the job worthwhile," She defended herself. But it was too late. I had seen enough. She still sat, waiting for my reply. I remained focused on my notes. "I am done with you. Please leave and resume your duties as the Organizer," I said, gritting my teeth, not looking up at her. She remained stayed. "NOW!" I snapped. She casually rose from her seat, and moseyed to the Doors, and yet again, paused before exiting. "It never would have worked out for me anyway. The Boss would never consider me to be Agent X; we have too much of a past..." her voice trailed off and became inaudible, the creaking of the Door drowning her out. My curiosity perked up for a moment and desired to call her back in to ask about what she could be referring to. But my business-oriented side overrided my curiosity and I left it alone. I decided I would act coy about the whole situation and just tell the Boss my objective observations. We'll see how this goes.

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