Urban

The Women's Job - A Secretary - Part 1

Added 2021-02-18 07:29:45 +0000 UTC

I was on probation for a car theft conviction and had almost two years of probation yet to serve. I thought that was an eternity but now, in retrospect, with what has happened, it was nothing.

I was joyriding with a few of my buddies in what I thought was a friend's car when we were arrested. My only crime was ignorance.

I had been struggling to find work since graduating. Even with my AA degree in business, I was agonizingly unsuccessful. Having to declare me as a convicted felon to each prospective employer had resulted in many doors being slammed in my face.

My girlfriend at the time, Tina, was the first girl I met since getting out of county jail. Our relationship was one of the few things that made life tolerable.

My parents weren't very supportive of me and desperately wanted me to get out on my own. They were not financially well off and I was a burden on them. I was well aware of this and looked forward to my independence.

My relationship with them had gone from bad to worse since I got in trouble. Dad was a jock in high school and college, a linebacker. I was a constant source of disappointment to him. I was always slight of build and nothing I tried to do seem to change that. I tried out for everything in high school, baseball, football, basketball. I was always the first to be cut. ‘Too puny,’ was always the reason. Dad and I just had nothing in common. Good grades didn't seem important when I couldn't measure up to his athletic expectations.

Mom and I got along all right when I was younger but she found herself siding with my father in any argument, and there were a lot of arguments.

I had to find a job and get out. The employment agency was my last resort. I had tried for months to find a job on my own, with no success. Through the agency, I had been having interviews at the rate of two or three a week but the possibilities were dwindling and weeks went by with nothing.

I didn't hold out much hope with this latest interview. I had filed an application, along with my resume, through the employment agency. The call came as something of a shock.

All I knew about the company was that it was some kind of advertising agency. I had agreed, after some hesitation and the reality of the availability of jobs, to lower my expectations and go after almost any kind of job I could get.

"It's an executive assistant position." Kim at the agency told me.

I'd been around enough to know that meant 'secretary', or at least something close to that. I made up my mind that if I could just get my foot in the door, I could show them what I was capable of and land a better position in time.

When I arrived at the Manhattan office building, I was somewhat awed by the expanse of the offices. This was no small company, I told myself. I was also a little heartsick when I was directed to the employment office waiting room. There, I found every chair filled with girls and women, applying for the job I came for. They ranged in age from young to middle-aged and they all looked very professional. I felt very out of place and uncomfortable. Their questioning stares didn't help. This was obviously thought of as a woman's job and what was I, a man, doing there?

The wait for the interview was agonizing but I endured it. Hardly anyone spoke to one another, especially not to me. My turn to be interviewed finally came and I was surprised that it went as well as it seemed to. The company was looking for a capable assistant for one of their departments and I was delighted to find out that they found me to be so well qualified. My criminal record did come up but they didn't seem to be concerned with it.

I left the interview feeling fairly good about myself but was sure that there had to be better-qualified applicants than me among all the women that were trying for the job. I was also sure that they would hire one of them before they'd consider me.

Several days passed before the call came. I had pretty well given up on the job. They wanted me to come back in for a second interview. I was a little embarrassed that I had to wear the same suit for a second time but I had no choice. It was the only one I owned and I couldn't afford to go out and buy another. No one said anything, they didn't even appear to notice.

To my amazement, at the end of the interview, the woman offered me the job.

"You understand, of course, that you'll be expected to perform all the tasks that each of the other . . . 'assistants' in the office are expected to perform?" She asked me.

I had a pretty good idea what she meant. "That's not a problem," I assured her with an energetic smile. I had a foot in the door and I wasn't about to do anything to ruin my chances. I would quickly show them how capable I was, I told myself. My intent was to quickly get promoted out of the job.

I reported working that cool crisp Monday morning in April, my briefcase in hand, and as excited as a kid on the first day of school. I was put to work in one of the busy, larger offices. My desk was in the middle of the floor, among a dozen other secretaries.

Every one of the young women that surrounded me was, to say the least, attractive. Perhaps it was a prerequisite that, in an advertising agency, the people their customers saw had to be beautiful. What was I doing here, I asked myself?

I wasn't assigned to anyone in particular. The woman I reported to, the office manager, brought me everyone's overflow work. There were letters to type, things to file, data entry to perform. That was fine, I could type as well as most and I was familiar with the computer programs they used. The filing was a little boring but I didn't let it bother me.

Taking turns with the other secretaries, making and fetching coffee, was something I didn't particularly relish but I did it with a smile, not making waves.

Being nervous and feeling out of place, I didn't seem to make friends very quickly. I ate lunch in the lunchroom with all the other secretaries but they didn't seem anxious to include me in their conversations. I wasn't naive, I knew I was something of an oddity in their group. It took a few days before some of the girls began to warm up toward me.

My clothes, or a lack of them, was a problem. Everyone in the office dressed up every day and I owned only my blue suit and a few, very inexpensive, ordinary sport coats. Although I couldn't afford it, before reporting to work on Wednesday, I used my charge card and bought two new sport coats, a few new dress shirts, and ties. They weren't cutting edge styles but I couldn’t afford better. I still felt a little embarrassed, there among all those fashionable people.

Apart from the executives in the office, there were few men beside me. My plain, inexpensive attire looked out of place compared to the stylish, expensive, way they dressed. There was little I could do since I had already over-extended myself.

The first week was fairly uneventful and unchallenging. I learned my way around the office, getting acquainted with the way things were done.

I came home drained most nights. I found excuses to avoid getting together with Tina, telling her I was too tired but the truth was that I was embarrassed about my job.

It was about mid-May when my big opportunity came. I was called in for my one-month review and I was a little nervous. Mrs. Carter, the office manager, had not been one to lavish praise on me. In fact, she spoke to me very little. When Miss Denalt, the reviewer in personnel, told me she had received nothing but good reports about me, I was more than a little surprised.

"Connie Sackett's secretary, Ginny, is leaving us and Ms. Sackett will be needing a replacement. I believe you've shown that you have the qualifications to do the job." She said to me with a funny smile on her face.

I didn't understand the humor. I had heard the woman’s name around the office and even typed a few memos addressed to her. She was in sales, some kind of manager, and her office was on the fourth floor, one floor up from the main office.

Miss Denalt went on to explain the job further. "Ms. Sackett manages our Atlanta office but she keeps an office here as well. You'll be handling all her secretarial work here in New York."

"Does she come to New York often?" I asked.

"She flies in once a month for the sales meetings. Other than that she spends most of her time in Atlanta and traveling." Miss Denalt explained. "You'll be receiving most of your assignments by phone and fax."

It sounded a little strange but it had possibilities. No boss around most of the time. Maybe this was the opportunity I needed to show what I could do.

Miss Denalt's tone turned serious. "Jeffrey, you've been given this opportunity because of your attention to detail. You've been doing an excellent job up until now. Ms. Sackett is a very demanding person. I have to caution you that she's gone through four secretaries in the past year alone. She expects a great deal from the people who work with her."

That was just the atmosphere I wanted to work in. The more demanding the better. From here, my career could take off. I convinced myself of that. "I'm prepared to meet her needs," I told Miss Denalt with confidence.

I was to start my new assignment on the following Monday. I already knew the office had a very sophisticated grapevine but I was amazed to learn just how quickly news traveled. The girls in my pool already knew about the assignment when I returned to my desk. There was a mixed reaction to my new assignment. A few girls cautioned me, giving me the same warning Miss Denalt had, "She can be a real witch." Janet cautioned me.

"She expects complete dedication," Barbara warned.

I assured them I was ready for the challenge. This was my big chance.

I learned all I could over the next few days about the Atlanta part of the business. Connie Sackett ran the South East operation. Her prime responsible was for the layout work and she oversaw that personally. Atlanta did most of the catalog and photo work for the business.

I came in early Monday morning. Miss Denalt had taken me upstairs late Friday to show me my new desk. I was excited, anxious to start my new job. Working for a woman didn't seem like such a big deal anymore, after a month of reporting to Mrs. Carter and the host of other women who gave me my assignments.

I arranged my things at my desk. I checked the office fax and the computer mail to see if there was anything there for me. There were a few things from the woman in Atlanta, from Ms. Sackett.

I was going to be working fairly independently of anyone in the sales office and that I felt was exciting.

Miss Denalt had warned me that my new boss was very proper and expected to be always addressed by her proper name. She didn't appreciate the familiar.

I took advantage of the early hour and the fact that the office was still empty to look around my new boss's office. It looked like any other office except that it contained very little of the usual personal effects that you would normally find. Only a picture on the desk betrayed that the office wasn't unoccupied. It was a picture of a young woman. She was tall, slender, and very beautiful with her long wavy brown hair. I wondered if this could possibly be Mrs. Sackett. She didn't look anything like the girls downstairs described her. Their description gave me the picture in my mind of a tall, woman. Not beautiful but attractive. A woman you would notice in a crowd. Very self-confident, a take-charge kind of person. No, this picture couldn't be of the woman. A daughter or niece perhaps?

There was nothing else on display to give me a feel for the woman. I tackled the work that she had sent me to do.

It was several days before I actually heard from Ms. Sackett. I had received endless faxes and computer mail but Wednesday’s was my first phone call.

I was a little surprised at her voice, at how pleasant she sounded. She wasn't at all what I’d expected after all the warnings. Everyone made her sound like some kind of raving lunatic.

She praised me for the work I had been doing and said she appreciated my being so prompt and accurate in getting out everything she had sent me. "My staff works as a team Jeffrey and it looks like you're going to fit in very nicely."

I was thrilled with her praise. I knew all along I could do the job and it was nice, for the first time with the company, to be thanked for my work. It made me feel as if I might have a future there.

As much as I enjoyed my job now, it was wonderful to have the weekend off. Tina and I went out on Friday night. For the first time since I started my job, I didn't mind talking about my work. I was no longer so embarrassed that I was working as a secretary while Tina was a manager in a large department store.

My mother and father were pleased that I would finally be able to begin contributing to the household expenses.

There had been some rough times in my house since I first got in trouble with the law. My defense had cost my parents quite a bit of money and, in the end, I landed in jail anyway. I owed them quite a debt and there were many heated arguments in the past when they reminded me. Now things were more peaceful and I wanted to keep it that way.

My Mom was a secretary in a real estate office and I didn't mind talking to her about my work, but my Dad was from the old school and he had trouble accepting the idea that I did 'women's work' and enjoyed it. When he was around, I changed the subject.

It was the middle of the following month, June, when the urgent call came. "Jeffrey, I need you here. Karen's been in an awful car accident and I need your help."

I was on a plane for Atlanta that afternoon. It was an adventure and I was so excited. I never imagined I would have a job that required me to travel, at least not so early in my career. I was on my way to be the assistant to one of the most successful sales managers in the company.

I had three quick calls to make. The first was to my probation officer but he had already gotten a call from someone with the company, explaining the circumstances. I was cleared to go.

Next, I called Tina and told her the great news. She was excited for me. "How long will you be gone?" She asked. I could hear the disappointment in her voice. She didn't like the idea of my going so far away. She was going to miss me.

"I'm not sure." That was all I could tell her. "I'll call you tonight," I promised.

I had to throw some clothes in a bag. I called my mother at work when I got home. She agreed it sounded exciting and wished me well. I had to promise to call her and tell her all about the new job as soon as I was settled.

My travel arrangements were made for me and I was surprised to learn that I would be staying in the company condo. They gave me the address and directions.

Arriving in Atlanta, leaving the airport, I told the cab driver to take me to the company office first. It was almost 7:00 p.m. and I didn't expect to find it open,, but I just wanted a look before going to the apartment to unpack.

I was surprised to find the lights on in the lobby and the door open. Making a good impression on my boss was very important, so on the chance that she was still there, I decided to go in, asking the cab driver to wait.

No one sat at the desk in the lobby. I went through the big mahogany doors that appeared to lead to the offices behind. I was impressed with how modern the decor was. It was nothing like their Manhattan offices that had been built some fifty years ago. This building looked almost new.

Following a long hallway, I found none of the offices occupied. I was about to give up when I remembered that the photo studio was in this building. There was a second floor so I went back to the elevator that I had passed and pushed the button for the second floor.

I heard the hustle and bustle before the door opened. When I stepped out into the brightly lit hallway, I saw the source of the noise. There, behind a glass wall, was a photoshoot in process.

No one noticed me as I stepped out of the elevator. I walked over to the glass door and let myself in. I tried to be quiet and inconspicuous, so as not to disturb anyone.

I looked around, hoping to be able to spot Ms. Sackett but, since I had never even seen a picture of her, I could only guess. I looked for a woman who seemed to be in charge.

She wasn't difficult to pick out. Connie Sackett was a big woman, not fat but tall, with a full figure. She stood almost six-foot, five or six inches taller than me. I thought to myself at the time that she could probably throw me across the room. She looked like an amazon.

Her size didn't make her unattractive at all. She had beautiful short blond hair. If her face were a little slimmer, she would have been strikingly beautiful.

What really caught your attention was her eyes. She had the most beautiful green eyes. They seemed to command attention.

Bit it wasn't merely her eyes that demanded your attention though. The way she carried herself as she paced around behind the cameras, telling the photographer this, telling the models that. Everyone seems to jump at her command.

I managed to tear my attention from her and admire the young women who stood before the camera. They were all so beautiful. The advertising business did have its advantages.

"May I help you!?" Said the voice to my left. I turned to see the big blond woman walking toward me.

I was absolutely intimidated by her. "I, " She didn't let me finish.

"Who are you? We're very busy here! The office is closed."

I blurted out, "I'm Jeffrey." I rarely used my whole first name but every time I had spoken to Ms. Sackett, she addressed me that way, and if this was her.

Her expression of scorn turned instantly to a smile. "Jeffrey!" She was apparently happy to see me. She reached out for my hand and I responded in kind.

"I’m so glad you could get here so quickly. I'm Ms. Sackett." She didn't have to tell me. I was already sure I had found her.

"It's very nice to meet you," I said numbly.

I was given a very careful look over by her, and it made me a little uncomfortable.

"Have you already been to the condo?" She asked.

I still fumbled for words, "I came straight here from the airport. I left my bags in the cab downstairs."

She was obviously pleased, by her expression. "I can tell we're going to work well together Jeffrey. Go put your things in the lobby, I'll take you to the condo when we're done here. Hurry now, we'll talk later." With that, she dismissed me and turned her attention back to business.

Ms. Sackett didn't seem the monster that everyone told me she was. True, she was intimidating, more so than anyone I had ever met, but the idea of working with someone like her, being associated with her, was exciting.

She didn't have much time for me. I stood in the background, staying out of the way and just watching. I continued to be impressed by her as she directed every detail of the shoot. She occasionally would turn to me with a thought or a note to put down about this or that and I was ready with a pad and pen.

It didn't end until almost ten. I followed her downstairs as we left everyone to wrap up. She took me to her office and, as we entered the outer office, I was shown my desk. The vestibule was nicer, more modern than the average office in Manhattan and it was mine. I couldn't believe it. True, when Karen recovered, I would certainly have to go back to Manhattan, but for now, at least, it was mine.

She wasted no time in getting us out of there. She opened the door of the gold Cadillac for me and closed it when I was in. It is a strange thing for a boss to do but I chalked it off as her just trying to make me more relaxed. I knew I must have looked like a scared kid around her. I certainly felt like one.