Assistant secretary.
Actually the secretary’s errand runner.
And the secretary is the one who runs errands for the president. The assistant secretary’s job is even more difficult.
Alice wasn’t in the office for two and a half hours out of three on the first morning, she had to deliver documents everywhere.
Such was the pressure of working in a big company.
When she finally got a break, Giuliana gave her a stack of documents to familiarize herself with the environment.
Alice sat on the couch and read silently.
Being unfamiliar with the surroundings, she had delivered the documents to the wrong place in the morning. However, once she had familiarized herself with the workflow, it would be much easier.
But…
Alice frowned. She didn’t seem to have any chance of getting close to Kennedy.
Thinking back to that encounter in the elevator three days ago, Alice reflected.
She had told him that day that she was applying for the position as assistant secretary, but he hadn’t stopped her.
What was going on?
Did he do it on purpose, or did he just not care?
Alice didn’t think he cared.
After all, the position wasn’t a threat to Kennedy, because they usually didn’t even see each other.
Only Giuliana got to see Kennedy, she was an intermediary who organized the work and reported to Kennedy.
At the same time, she relayed Kennedy’s orders to the others.
She would have no chance of getting close to Kennedy.
How was she going to recover Kennedy’s memory in that case?
Alice felt disgruntled.
-What are you doing here, it’s already lunchtime.
Alice looked up to see Giuliana in front of her.
She had her keys and was ready to go to lunch.
-Giuliana?
-It’s lunchtime.
Alice came to her senses and looked at her watch.
-You’ve been working all morning and you’re tired, aren’t you? Take a break and then go eat.
-Okay, thanks.
Alice closed her book. Giuliana had to go home to cook for her son and get back to work at one o’clock.
Alice was too lazy to go home, so she went to the dining room.
Just as she got to the elevator she ran into an acquaintance.
-Lolita?
-Alice? -said Lolita with joy when she saw her, “Finally, let’s go to the dining room.
-Are you waiting for me?
-Yes, I wasn’t sure if I could meet you, so I came to try.
Alice was speechless.
She thought, “That’s not surprising considering you’re here.”
Seeing that Lolita really wanted company, Alice said, “Well, come on.
-I know where the dining room is. Follow me.
When they got on the elevator, Lolita asked, -Are you tired from work? How are you getting along with the secretary? I’m told that one of the interviewers is the secretary, isn’t she?
Lolita kept asking curious questions.
-Yes, the older woman.
-Then, the younger one….
-Well,” Alice interrupted her, “why did you come to see me?
Lolita bit her lip with some embarrassment, “I don’t want to go to the dining room alone. There are too many people there.
Alice frowned slightly, thinking, “Strange woman.”
-You’ve never worked before?
-Yes, -Lolita thought Alice was resentful and explained, -Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to take advantage of you, I’ve always worked at home, this is the first time I’ve gone abroad, I don’t speak English well and I don’t think foreigners are very nice.
No wonder I always wanted to be with Alice.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, Alice stepped out and Lolita followed her nervously. Her uneasy look was a little comical.
When the two finally sat down at the dining room table, Lolita said gratefully, -Thank you, Alice, if it weren’t for you I could have entertained myself for a long time.
Alice knew that what Lolita said was true, and that she did not speak English well. When she ordered the food, Lolita mispronounced several words and stammered.
A woman with such poor English was working alone abroad, unbelievable.
-Why did she come to work abroad?
-You should ask because I don’t speak English well. It’s because I wanted to learn English and my family always laughed at me.
It turned out that I had come to study and I didn’t have any money.
Alice laughed, took a sip of her soup and said nothing more.
As she ate, Alice kept thinking about Kennedy.
These days, she spent her free time thinking about how to quickly recover Kennedy’s memory.
She finished her meal absentmindedly. Lolita suggested going for a walk in the neighborhood, since it was not yet time to go to work anyway.
But Alice was tired after working all morning and wanted to rest on the couch in the secretary’s office, so she politely turned Lolita down.
Once in the office, Alice sat down on the couch, took off her shoes and curled up, massaging her calves.
She hadn’t been this tired in a long time, so her calves ached.
The office phone rang suddenly.
Alice got up to answer it.
It was a cold male voice.
-Coffee, please.