Violet had spent the better part of her Tuesday organizing her desktop how she liked it. From what she could see in her folder, there were certain programs she would be using constantly and others when necessary. She set up her Home Screen and which apps to open automatically, she encrypted her documents folder for an extra layer of security, she set up her desk phone and voicemail and after lunch, she spent time on Amazon shopping for a few things for her office. She managed to get a coat rack to put in the corner for her jacket and purse, the retractable badge reel she'd reminded herself of, a scented wax warmer, office slippers when she wanted to work without her heels on, a couple of coffee mugs, her favorite brand of pens and stationary that she would use, a desk calendar to sit on the long side of her desk that ran along the wall, and a throw blanket. She'd found a cute little Feng shui inspired waterfall for the table in the corner on the other side of her office and a standing lamp because she despised fluorescent lights. She would go to her favorite plant store and decide what caught her eye. She wasn't sure if she wanted a small desk plant or something like a potted monstera. Violet was just in disbelief of how much space she had and to add another plus, she had her own thermostat.
"Knock, knock." A brunette with chocolate eyes said as she poked her head into Violet's office. "Hey, just coming to check on you."
From the introductions earlier, Violet knew this was Karen who seemed nice enough on their first encounter. She was short in stature so her pear shape didn't compliment her well and she tended to rest her fists on her extra wide hips but she was nice to Violet and that's all she cared about, really.
"I'm good, thank you. I was wondering though, what are some important departmental numbers you have programmed in your desk phone?"
"Oh yeah, good question. I can shoot the numbers over to you in a chat. Did you figure out how to program it?"
"Yeah, I got that down, just wanted to get a start on my address book."
"Yeah, that's smart. I'll shoot you over some general department numbers and my key points of contact because let's be honest, there are some people better at things than others." Karen said with a nervous laugh.
Violet was expecting day two to be better. She badged into Bass Enterprises and the first thing she did was make her way to the break room for coffee. Her Amazon finds hadn't arrived yet so she had to use one of the printed paper cups from the dispenser next to the Keurig.
"Good morning," Violet heard a voice say behind her. She turned around and was greeted by a smiling woman named Ebony. She had a short haircut with the tops curled and sculpted. She was a beautiful woman, looked to be in her early thirties but Violet knew with black women, she could be much older.
"Good morning!" Violet smiled. She hadn't been there yesterday so it helped eased Violet that she had discovered at least one other black woman in the office space.
"I heard they hired another one. Girl I couldn't wait to come see for myself." Ebony stepped beside Violet and put her empty coffee mug down to use one of the other two Keurigs. "I'm Ebony, I work in marketing, on the other side of the floor." Ebony stuck out her hand and Violet shook it.
"Another one?" Violet questioned.
"Girl you know how they describe folks," she grabbed the hazelnut flavored pod from the basket on the countertop. She then looked over her shoulder to make sure they were alone. "They will say anything but black." She whispered and Violet had to laugh. "They said you had big hair and an even bigger ass."
At that Violet's eyes widened.
"Girl close your mouth, not exactly like that, but of course that's how I took it. Apparently the black dress you wore yesterday was a little too much for some folk around here, but you didn't hear it from me."
"Oh so you're just going to be messy on the first day we meet, huh?" Violet turned her back to the counter to rest against it while Ebony started her own coffee. Violet knew there must've been some truth to what Ebony was saying considering she knew the color of her dress she'd worn the day before.
"A little bit," she snickered. "We gotta stick together. It's draining being the only one here. 'Bout time they got some diversity going on. There's you and a three new kids they hired during the fair. Two little boys fresh out of college and an intern — a girl. You're the only one I heard about though. I'm in a chat with a couple of the girls from marketing. That damn Susan straight hating, said something about she didn't know we could wear skirts that didn't touch our knees and some other bullshit. But I mean she is like fifty...and today you're wearing pants and well, still can't hide the ass." Violet halfway listened to Ebony speak and halfway got lost in her thoughts. She didn't want to believe the gossip that Ebony was bringing to her on her second day but like Ebony had said, they had to stick together. Still, Violet decided to take everything Ebony told her with a grain of salt. She hadn't known her long enough to be able to determine if anything she'd said was true.
But, she also didn't have a reason not to believe her. After all, she'd seen the glances herself. She had been naive enough to think it was just because she was the new girl. Not because she couldn't help her assets or her skin color. It's 2022, why is that still workplace entertainment?
Today, Violet had to attend orientation and she was excited. Just one day of bullshitting around on her computer with nothing to do had nearly driven her insane.
With her coffee in hand, Violet headed to her office to grab her notebook and a pen for notes, then she headed up to the room assigned for orientation today. Orientation wouldn't start for another fifteen minutes so she was the first one there. She was happy to pick her seat.
The meeting room had a large, oblong wooden table that was so shiny, Violet could see her reflection over the top. There were puffy leather seats surrounding the table and a projector at the front of the room.
Violet took the third seat on the left. She didn't want to be too close to the front, or too far in the back. The third seat was perfect.
While waiting for the meeting, Violet checked her personal email on her phone, perused social media notifications and tracked her Amazon order to make sure it would be arriving in the correct timeframe.
"Oh, you're early!" Violet heard a voice say. She turned towards the door and met with a smiling face. It was a slender brunette with bright, hazel eyes and an infectious smile. "I'm Sharon, I'm the assistant to both Mr. Bass. I'm just going to set up for orientation today."
Violet gave her a polite smile and watched her move about the front of the room. She powered on the projector and busied herself connecting the laptop she'd brought in. "I remember you." Violet told her. "You brought me up for my interview. I was the late one."
"Oh yes!" Sharon nodded as she typed away, logging into the computer system. "I'm glad to see they hired you. I felt so bad. You're in accounting, right?"
"Yes, do you know who will be running the training today?"
"Should be Brenda, when she arrives." Sharon answered just as a few employees started filing in. It was obvious to Violet who the interns were when they came in. They looked as nervous as they probably felt. Her boss, Brenda was the last to arrive with a very welcoming and warm hello to the room. Sharon passed out orientation packets to reinforce the slides they would soon go over. She also passed out fancy company pens and highlighters for those who felt inclined to use them.
The orientation was long and boring. A lot of the things Brenda went over were either on the company website or just plain common sense. The employee handbook was a huge chunk of her presentation as well. The only part of the orientation that Violet enjoyed was the company perks. Their building housed an employee only gym, sauna and even a daycare. The top accountant would receive a company car at the end of the fiscal year and monthly, an employee would get special parking at the front of the building. Everyone else were to park across the street in the garage for the many skyscrapers surrounding them.
It was right at noon when Brenda began wrapping up the orientation. Just when she finished, the door to the conference room opened and in walked their bosses. Lincoln walked into the room first with Grant following closely behind. The smile that Lincoln had on his face was overshadowed by the frown on his brother's. Violet wondered if he always had that glare on his face or did he like to smile in secret.
"Hello everyone," Lincoln spoke. "Grant and I just wanted to formally introduce ourselves. We are co-CEOs of Bass Enterprises, a conglomerate founded by our late father, David Bass and led by our mother, Marie Bass. I hope your first days are coming along nicely. As you all know this is the beginning of the quarter, so there will be departmental meetings going on throughout the next two days and later in the week, a board meeting. We will send out emails to those not in attendance of our reports so please look out for those. Receipt of those emails do require signatures." Lincoln looked over the room. "Anything you want to add, Grant?"
"We will be closely watching your performance. While it is a privilege to have you all here, it is more of a privilege to work here." Grant said with all seriousness.
Violet fought the urge to roll her eyes. She didn't want to make a bad impression but who did this man think he was? Oh he's the CEO. He has the credentials to be an asshole. Violet absently skated her pen across her notebook in a doodle while Brenda closed out with any questions from the attendees.
While heading back to her office from the orientation, Violet was sent a message from her boss, Brenda Lichee, asking her to meet in her office in ten minutes for a formal introduction.
"I am so sorry I did not get the chance to welcome you in!" Brenda immediately shook Violet's hand and pulled her into a hug which took Violet by surprise. "Oh and you're gorgeous!"
"Thank you," Violet smiled. "And Janis was very nice and she showed me around, I've met everyone so it wasn't too bad for me. No need to apologize."
"Well, that's good. I lean on Janis a lot so it's nice to know she was here to welcome you. Did you have any questions before I rid myself of this heavy workload and delegate some over to you?"
"No!" Violet's eyes widened in excitement, now noticing the many file folders on Brenda's desk.
"Okay so here are three contracts I've been working on. The Wayfort contract," Brenda opened the folder, "I have notes on stickies and it's pretty much finished you're just waiting on an appraisal on the current properties. These other two are brand new, all I've done is highlight in one and nothing in the other. Wayfort is due Friday, the other two are due to close in about three weeks so you have time." Brenda explained. "I've sent over the calendar on those files so you'll have information regarding the lawyer meetings over the contracts to spread out your workload. And this," Brenda added a black folder on top of the three, "is the general outline of what we look for in contracts and what Bass Enterprises expects. Before finalizing anything, bring it to me, let me put my eye on it."
"Whew," Violet wiped invisible sweat from her brow. "Okay, I think I've got it. If I have any questions I'll IM you. Is it okay if I reach out to Karen as well?"
"Yes, Karen is a top performer and always eager to help." Brenda confirmed.
Violet balanced the folders in her hands and left Brenda's office with a promise to reach out for any questions.
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