(Penelope's POV)
The last five days have been with me orienting myself to my new surroundings. First, I spent the last four days orienting myself with my new house.
This process was particularly strenuous and exhausting. Since before the human moving company could place my furniture in its places and bring in all my boxes, I went through the entire house and deep cleaned. Once the movers placed all the furniture in its places and brought in all my boxes, I unboxed the items and put them in their proper places before giving everything a final scrub down.
While she never wants to be a submissive housewife whose only job is ensuring the house is tidy, that doesn't mean she wants to live in a mess.
A clean and orderly house is an efficient house. She did not get to where she was without being efficient.
Besides cleaning the last few days I was orienting myself with the community. One way I did this was by spending a large amount of time shopping. On top of purchasing essential items like food, toiletries, and other items I needed for the house, I bought myself a car.
Ultimately, I cannot rely on Helena for transportation since I need a way to quickly escape if Michael discovers I am his mate. So I bought a black Buick Regal GS. The car serves its purpose as being fast and inconspicuous, which is what you need in a getaway vehicle.
Another way I was orienting myself with the community was spending any free time I had exploring. Since I needed to familiarize myself with what the area has to offer and the boundaries I need to know. I also was gathering information on the area so I can scheme up multiple courses of action of the quickest route to exit in case the worse case scenario happens.
Fortunately, the pack was following Michael's command and mostly staying away from me. The pack members I encountered working in the stores warmly greeted me as they rung up my orders while everyone else stared and kept their distance.
On the fifth day, I had to go to orientation at Thomas International. Luckily, I was able to sleep in for a few extra hours beforehand since my orientation was in the afternoon. All I needed to do was sign some paperwork, get a tour of the faculty, and set up my office.
Unfortunately, now that I know that will be working closely with my mate I will have to start dressing as conservatively as possible while I am at work or any place that he might be so as to limit his opportunities to touch bare skin.
So my outfit for today is a dark green turtleneck, which I paired with a black business jacket, dark green dress pants, and black flats.
With my new vehicle I was able to drive myself to Thomas International in thirty minutes since there was light traffic due to it being early in the afternoon.
Finding a parking spot in the employee parking lot, I entered the building with fifteen minutes to spare before my orientation at 1 pm.
Once I enter the lobby I head towards the receptionist desk.
A college aged brown hair brown eyed girl at the desk says-Hello, you must be Penelope Williams. We have been expecting you. My name is Jennifer Robertson. Give me one minute to call Valerie and inform her you are here.
She turns to her phone and presses a few buttons and says into it-Hi Sonia. Can you inform Valerie that her appointment is here.
On the phone Sonia says something in response to where Jennifer says-Will do.
She turns towards me and says-She is on her way here.
A few minutes later, a middle aged red hair green eye girl made her way towards me. Once she reaches me she says-Hi Penelope. My name is Valerie Lovell. I am head of the human resources department. The first portion of your orientation will be with me watching videos and filling out paperwork. The second portion of your orientation will be with Mr. Thomas. So let's head towards my office and get started.
We head towards the elevator and when one becomes available, Valerie presses the second highest button.
Once we exit the elevator she brings me to an office at the end of the hall. Moving past her secretary, we enter the human resources conference room.
She directs me to sit wherever I want at the table. Once I sit down, she takes the seat across from me.
Clapping her hands together she says-So the process is really simple. First, there are a couple of forms you need to read and sign. After that there are a few videos that you need to watch. Once you do so, you will sign the form saying you watched the entire video. Finally, we will have a couple of quick conversations about a couple of issues like our health policies like drug and alcohol and injuries at work, sexual harassment, etc. Of course, if you have any questions I will be willing to answer them to the best of my ability.
She reaches behind her to the folder sitting on top of the cabinet. Grabbing the folder, she handed it to me.
Valerie says-This is all the paperwork you need to read and sign. I will be next door in my office if you need me.
She leaves the conference room and I get to work on the folder. The paperwork takes me about an hour to finish.
Once I finished reading and signing the paperwork, I took the folder to her office.
When I enter the room, Valerie asks-Did you finished all the paperwork?
I reply while handing her the folder-Yes.
She states-So let's get you started on those videos.
She directs me back to the conference room.
She heads towards the cabinet where the TV remote is. She grabs the remote presses the on button and the TV screen comes to life with the pre-programmed video.
Before she presses play, she says-Do you want some popcorn and a drink before you start watching the videos? I found that employees found it much more enjoyable watching the videos that while boring are necessary while snacking on popcorn. Do not worry, the popcorn is fresh and delicious.
Before she stated this I did not notice the popcorn machine in the back corner of the room.
Surprisedly I accepted her offer and I asked for a Coke and I got to watch as she went under the cabinet and pulled out a Coke.
(In my mind)-That's a way you can tell you are at a Fortune 500 company. The ridiculous ways they show their money. Other companies would just be grateful for a coffee maker that works much less a popcorn machine.
After she pours the popcorn into the box, she hands it to me. I take a couple of bites before saying-You are right. They are delicious. They should make watching the videos more enjoyable.
She pressed play on the videos and while I am watching she went back to her office to work.
Almost an hour and a half later, I finished watching the videos on health, sexual harassment, and other labor regulations. So I headed back towards Valerie's office where she directed me to the chair in front of her desk.
She starts the conversation by saying-As you have seen in the videos we truly care about our employees. We try everything in our power to make this a safe and people-oriented environment. Since we know that without our employees we are nothing.
She continues-We need our employees to be as healthy as possible. Both physically and mentally. So if you are sick, stay home and do not worry about work. If you need a mental health day, take one. If something at work is stressing you out come talk to us and we will do our best to alleviate it. You never have to fear consequences when you are doing what is best for your health. Which is why you also do not have to fear the consequences and should immediately report if you get injured at work. In that scenario we would want to get you medical treatment as soon as possible so hopefully you will not have problems later on.
She explains-We always try to stress that our policies are for the betterment of our employees health. Which is why we have a zero tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol. I do not think you will, but do not come to work on drugs or intoxicated.
She states-As for our sexual harassment policy, we also have zero tolerance. Harassment in any form is not acceptable here and will be an immediate dismissal. So you do not have to worry about any of the males trying to touch you especially when the alpha has given you his word that will not happen unless in emergencies.
(In her head)-Conversely to your belief, I only worry about one male in particular touching me. Ultimately, no matter how many assurances I receive I worry that one day the alpha will go against his word and touch me somehow. Since I have a feeling that company policy on sexual harassment has no bearing on the owner who would be a determined alpha wolf when he discovers his mate.
She continues-Talking about the alpha, if you do not have any questions for me, I will bring you to him for the second portion of your orientation.
Penelope replies-No. Undoubtedly, you have been very clear in all your explanations.
(In her head)-Hopefully the second portion of my orientation will go as smoothly as the first.
(Hi Everyone. I am so sorry it took me so long to update. I have been extremely busy with my job. Additionally, I had slight writer's block while writing this chapter. So I hope you all like it.)