Odd One

Ch 1

Jordan got to the office late, knowing full well it would reflect badly on her to the new potential boss. The building had been incredibly hard to find, right in plain sight with only a small business sign in the parking lot warning those not of the company that they would be towed. Ten minutes late and all flustered, Jordan almost forgot to lock her little Nissan truck and ran to the door with her book bag.

The elevator was tiny, and the door was open. "Wait!" she called to the man inside. "Hold the elevator please!"

He stuck his foot out and stopped the door, waiting for her to step inside. She caught her breath in the corner as the doors closed, fixing her coat and adjusting the strap on her shoulder. She glanced at the guy. He was young with fair skin, blue eyes, and long black hair to his shoulders with some side bangs. His slim frame was dressed in loose fit jeans and a grey plaid zip-up hoodie. She looked away quickly.

Suddenly he was beside her, smelling her from half a foot away. "You smell nice," he remarked.

"Uh...thank you," she replied awkwardly, clutching her book bag. He's a weird one, Jordan realised with intrigue, stepping back and leaving the elevator when the doors opened again. She paused. "Where would I find the...?"

He pointed to the left of the big office space full of cubicles. That was where the management offices with walls and windows resided. She turned back to thank the stranger but he had already gone to his workspace.

Her nerves all a-flutter Jordan knocked on the main office door, which was wide open. The supervisor whirled around in his computer chair, frowning.

"Mr Dykes?" she managed without cracking an involuntary smile. "I'm Jordan, I'm here for the job interview."

He was still frowning, looking her over from her dark brown hair and eyes to her comfy blue runners, and shuffled through a pile of folders to find her resume. "This is you? I'm sorry, I thought you were a teenage boy over the phone. Forgive me. Have a seat Jordan."

"I get that a lot. No worries," she assured, sitting in the chair by the wall.

"So what brings you looking for work here?"

"I need a full-time job so I can afford my house. It's a matter of life and moving back with my parents. I want independence and a job to keep me busy and focused," she replied, having had recited what she would say in the mirror the night before.

"It says here you have experience with computers, Microsoft Word, Power Point, etc. Hard working, team player. I like these reviews from your past employers. Why did you leave these two jobs?"

She shrugged. "I didn't want to. Believe it or not I got laid off at both places. I had the least seniority and they had one too many people so I got the short end of the stick. If I get hired here I need to know that I have job security. Getting hired and then let go is devastating for me and I'd rather it not happen, especially if I'm doing a great job. I don't need my talents to go to waste," Jordan spoke honestly.

"I'm looking for a long term employee, don't worry," Mr Dykes assured. "I must ask you one thing though. How well do you handle rude jokes and conversations?"

She frowned curiously. "What do you mean?"

"You may have noticed the office is comprised of mostly men and older women who just don't care anymore. I'll admit I saw your name and assumed you were a guy, and that's why I picked you. We've had a few pretty, young women come here looking for an office job, only to find the environment to be a bit...rough," he disclosed.

"Has there been any sexual harassment lawsuits?"

"Not so far. Around here we put sexual harassment in two categories. Verbal and physical. If one of the guys touches you inappropriately, please come and tell me. I'll look into it. But if Zack is bragging about his wiener again, ignore him. I don't want to hear about that."