"Mr. Sinden will see you now, Mr. Taylor."
I rose from my seat in the reception area of Sinden Industries, in response to the call from the attractive young receptionist, as the door to the corner office opened.
Matthew Sinden stepped toward me with an extended hand. "Robbie, so good to see you."
I followed the tall executive into his office and sat in an overstuffed leather chair near a wall of pictures, diplomas, and plaques, which lauded numerous business achievements.
Over the next several minutes, we caught up on the recent happenings in our respective lives. The Taylor and Sinden families have been lifelong friends, and this job interview had been arranged by my mother.
"The current economic downturn doesn't allow me to offer you a position that is complimentary to your business administration academic achievements, I'm afraid." Mr. Sinden stated almost apologetically.
"My vice president's administrative assistant has left suddenly and she is in need of someone immediately. The pay is not as good as you would hope for, the hours will be long, and this executive has been proven very difficult to work for. She has gone through four assistants in the last three months. All that being said, she is a top earner for this corporation and if you could hang in, the experience would be a a feather in your cap for future employment. Would you be interested?"
"When do I start?"
Matthew Sinden rose and nodded for me to follow him through a connecting door to a large meeting room. Rapping lightly on the open door at the opposite end of the room, he proceeded into an office similar to his, with me in tow.
"Danni Simpson, meet Robbie Taylor. He is your new assistant."
The auburn haired woman stood, but made no effort to shake hands as she sized me up almost menacingly with her dark eyes. If that wasn't intimidating enough, she was at least six feet tall and looked powerfully built. Despite all that, she exhibited an interesting air of femininity.
After several seconds of silence, Mr. Sinden spoke. "Robbie is a family friend who recently graduated with impressive credentials. I am requesting, as a personal favour, that you show him the ropes and give him a chance. I will leave you to get acquainted. Be nice Danni."
My new superior nodded and led me to a desk just outside her office. "This will be your post.' She checked her watch and spoke. "I have a meeting in 40 minutes. Be ready to take notes."
As she returned to her office, Matthew Sinden's receptionist appeared and spoke.
"Welcome Robbie. I'm Fiona. I know on the surface she seems fierce, but I can assure you that deeper down, she is much worse." She said the last part quietly with a hint of a smile.
Fiona gave me a short tour of the office and introduced me to employees in the
immediate area.
During the walk about, she educated me on the history of the company, where I learned some of the pertinent details that would ease me into my new position.
Sinden Industries employed thirty engineers and technicians. The thriving company manufactured and distributed high tech sampling and monitoring equipment for the oil and gas industry.
I arrived back at the conference room about five minutes before the scheduled meeting. The room was buzzing with conversation, with most of the chairs occupied. I waited near the connecting door to Danni's office and at the precise moment the digital clock displayed 10:30, she strode in and the room went quiet.
"With me." she ordered as she passed. At the head of the table, she nodded at the seat I was assigned and sat. I noted Fiona was already seated on the opposite side.
A late comer arrived and tried to take her seat unobtrusively, but Danni's dark eyes sent a clear but silent rebuke to the tardy participant.
No introductions had been made, nor had any instructions had been provided to me as to my role in this meeting. I made notes as best I could through the fast paced meeting that discussed the kick off of production of the latest monitoring device, currently being developed by the company.
The meeting concluded and as everyone was leaving, Fiona gave me a silent signal to stay behind.
Over the next hour, we used the combination of each of our notes to fashion a concise set of meeting minutes. As we wrapped up well into the lunch hour, Danni reappeared and upon seeing me with Fiona, curtly stated. "Mr. Taylor, in case nobody informed you, fraternization is strictly forbidden."
After she left, Fiona said, "Not true. It's a suggestion."
By the time Danni returned from lunch, I had forwarded a draft copy of the minutes for Danni's sign off. Ten minutes later an edited copy was returned with a punctuation correction, a comment added to the distribution target schedule and an instruction to issue the document to all participants as well as the company president.
A typical day as Danni's assistant was about ten hours long, consisting of placing calls and arranging meetings mostly to ensure that delivery of critical components was on schedule.
A few of my fellow employees occasionally commented on my surprising longevity in Danni's service. If they were honest, they would have admitted their disappointment at losing the office pool. No one had given me chance of making it three weeks.
At the start of my fourth week, Danni informed me that she would be away Thursday and Friday. Matthew Sinden had pressed her into service as a replacement for him on a heliskiing trip with prospective clients.
I was tasked to research the procurement of components of a new product currently in design.
As demanding as she was, Danni never once asked me to do anything of a personal nature on her behalf.
On Thursday evening, Matthew Sinden issued an emergency communication to all department heads. I was surprised to be included in the list of attendees.
The communication read 'As of 8:00PM, Danni Simpson's helicopter is overdue for return to the ski lodge. A search and rescue operation is underway. No other information is available at this time. We hope for the best. Please attend a meeting at 8:30 AM tomorrow. Best regards Matthew.'
I slept poorly that night and was one of the first to arrive Friday morning. Everyone was in place well ahead of the scheduled start.
The atmosphere was predictably subdued. but it eased when Matthew Sinden arrived with a broad smile on his face.
"I am very pleased to announce that all aboard the missing helicopter have been recovered. There were several injuries, but no fatalities. Danni is among the injured, but I have nothing specific to report. The chopper was returning to the lodge at the end of the day and ran out of fuel as it fought strong head winds. It made a crash landing on a treed slope. I will provide further updates as they become available."
Shortly before noon, I received an email. 'Danni Simpson suffered a broken leg that required surgery to reset it. It is suspected that in addition to some bruising, she sustained a suspected concussion and a separated shoulder. She will be released from hospital later today. Her doctor has recommended she remain at home as she recovers for the near term. All employees are instructed to avoid requesting anything from her.'
Monday morning started with a crisis. Our production manager was waiting at my desk as I arrived.
"I just got notification that the microchip factory contracted to supply the chips for our TS-750 Hydrogen Sulfide Detector has been damaged by a fire. They predict it will take two months to get back into production. I really need to get Danni's input on a replacement source."
"I can't make that call. Mr. Sinden should be advised and he can provide approval to contact Danni. I propose you leave it with me for the day and I will try to find an alternate supplier." I said.
"Yeah good luck with that. One day and then I contact her."
In desperation, I contacted one of my techie nerd friends from university and described my dilemma. He referred me to another friend who delightedly told me of a startup chip developer who had shown some promising results.
By the end of the day I had arranged for a midweek show and tell with key people in our production department.
The meeting started with much skepticism on the part of our manager, but he softened and agreed to accept a batch of sample chips which could be tested. The fact that the new company could deliver a sufficient quantity of chips to meet our production schedule, enticed him to consider this a source. A price of 85% of the cost of the budgeted chips was a real bonus. I crossed my fingers that the samples would test well.
While we were in that meeting, I had received a text from Danni, requesting that I contact her.
Nervously, I returned her call.
"I am texting directions to my house. Join me at 2:00PM today and bring me up to date on developments since I left." Danni ordered.
At 1:50PM I turned onto a gravel lane just beyond the city limits. After a short drive through wooded rolling hills, I arrived at an unassuming log cabin bungalow.
As I reached toward the cast iron door knocker, the sound of two female voices engaged in a heated argument, made me hesitate.
A moment later, the door was yanked open and a very disturbed woman pushed passed me on the way to her car. The engine roared as she started it, before spraying gravel as she departed at high speed.
"Hello." I called out through the open door.
"Come in." I heard from within.
Entering the open plan area that encompassed a light an airy living room, I encountered an impressive great room which was furnished and decorated to perfection. An equally impressive kitchen and dining area lay beyond.
Danni was stretched out on a large overstuffed sofa. She was dressed in a short terry robe. Her left leg was in a cast the went from her foot to half way up her thigh.
A tight sling bound her right arm to her body. Her head was wrapped in a bandage that concealed most of her auburn hair. Make up failed to fully conceal the bruising around her right eye.
She beckoned me to approach and sit in the chair beside the sofa.
Offering no greeting, Danni spoke. "Before you provide an update, I need you to find me a live in housekeeper/care giver. Mine just quit."
Finding an immediate replacement proved to be a challenge. An online search revealed four local services available. The first two contacts had no people presently available. The third could have someone on site in two days, the fourth, not for a week.
An effort to use a temp service to hire an interim housekeeper was met with outright refusal when I clarified that the position required some patient care.
Danni angrily chose to pivot, demanding a situation report for the ongoing projects. The fact that she made no derisive comments about my solution to the chip supply problem, made me think it had been handled appropriately. It was somewhat irrelevant, as I had already made the decision to give my notice when she returned to work.
When I stood in preparation to leave, she growled. "We still haven't come up with a solution to my caregiver problem."
"Do you have family or a friend who can provide temporary care?" I asked.
"No!" was her curt reply. "You will have to stay."
Suddenly I was in a quandary. This wasn't in my job description and I told her so. Still it seemed inhuman to abandon her to survive on her own. I made a decision to dig deeper and find a solution.
An hour later I sat in front of Danni conceding defeat.
I was surprised when Danni exhibited her vulnerability. A tear formed in the corner of her eye when she pleaded, "It would mean a great deal to me if you stayed. I am completely helpless and it pains me to admit that. On top of that, I have to use the bathroom. I will need you to get me there."
Now, I was really out of my element.
