Hannah got off the train and took in the relatively quiet station. She arrived in Sunnydale just before midnight. She felt exhausted, cold and of course sleepy. As soon as Hannah stepped off the platform, she saw someone standing there holding a piece of paper with her name, ‘Hannah’, written on it.
Hannah smiled as she spotted the man with light brown curly hair and quickly approached him.
“Hi, you must be Don,” Hannah greeted him.
Don smiled broadly and held out his hand. “Susan’s favorite cousin, yes, that’s me; Don.”
It turned out that Don was a very friendly man; he immediately took the small suitcase out of Hannah’s hand and led the way out.
“Is this all you brought?” Don asked in surprise.
“I don’t have much.”
“Well, okay.”
Don already knew the main parts of Hannah’s story from Susan and felt very sorry for her. Especially after meeting Hannah in person, Don felt even more sorry for her. It was heartbreaking to hear how Hannah had been falsely accused and her husband had believed the lies.
“Actually, the staff accommodation isn’t very fancy. I hope you don’t mind,” Don said, breaking the silence between them.
Hannah looked at him briefly. “It’s fine. I’m just grateful you let me work here.”
Don owned several fruit packing plants that were quite large. Hannah had wondered why Susan didn’t want to work with Don. Susan’s reason was that she didn’t like living in a small town; she felt she couldn’t develop there.
“Well, maybe this is God’s plan. My human resources manager is leaving next month, and you’re going to take her place. But for this month, you’ll be working under her supervision,” Don explained.
“Sure.”
“After she leaves, you’ll move into her apartment.”
“Thank you, Don.”
Once they were in the car, Hannah felt even more relieved. The drive from the station to the housing wasn’t too far, only about ten minutes. The factory was also on the outskirts of town.
When Don arrived, he was immediately greeted by the security guard. Hannah was then escorted to one of the rooms on the second floor. The atmosphere was very quiet as most of the employees were asleep.
From Don’s explanation, there were about 50 employees in the building. Each room housed 4 people. The male and female housing was separate.
The guard knocked on the door, and soon the sound of a key turning was heard, followed by a woman opening the door. The room was still lit.
“You’re not asleep yet?” Don asked from behind the guard.
“Oh, Mr. Don.” The woman with chin-length brown hair smiled. “Not yet, we’re still playing poker. Tomorrow is our day off.”
Don just nodded. “I’m bringing in a new employee to replace the HR manager next month. She’ll be staying here temporarily.”
“Oh, sure, Mr. Don.”
Don motioned for Hannah to enter the room. Awkwardly, Hannah nodded politely to the woman.
“This is Hannah Harrison, I hope you can help her while she’s here,” Don asked.
“Sure, sir.” The woman nodded obediently.
Hannah looked at Don and gave a small smile. “Thanks again, Don.”
“Get some rest, Hannah,” the man replied quietly.
Then Don and the guard left the room and the door was closed. Hannah felt very out of place and not sure what to say. In the middle of the room, two other women were still absorbed in their card game.
“I’m Shelley,” said the woman with chin-length brown hair. She pointed to the woman with very short black hair and the one with red hair that cascaded down to her waist. “This is Lilith and Demi.”
“Hi, Hannah!” the others greeted warmly.
“I know you must be very tired, so I’ll show you to your bed,” Shelley said.
The woman approached one of the beds near the window and gestured for Hannah to follow. Under the bed was a multipurpose drawer for storing belongings.
“This is your bed. We don’t have many rules as long as we don’t disturb each other,” Shelley explained.
“Okay,” Hannah nodded.
“The bathroom is outside, turn right at the end of the hall,” Shelley explained, “if you smoke, you can do it on the third floor patio or the back patio on the first floor.”
“I don’t smoke.” Hannah shook her head quickly.
“We’ll keep playing, if we’re too loud, just let us know.”
Hannah chuckled. “It’s okay. I’m actually glad to have some company; it’s not too lonely.”
Lilith chuckled softly. “I think you’re one to get along anywhere. I hope you feel comfortable here, Hannah.”
“Thank you. I will.” Hannah smiled again.
*
Hannah’s roommates were nice, and they were very friendly; Hannah immediately felt comfortable living there. Hannah walked to the office, which was still in the same complex as the factory. The air was fresh and there were lots of trees, so it was cool.
Besides, Hannah wasn’t alone; there were many other employees working the same shift. Don provided several housing options since he had a large number of employees.
When she reached the front of the office, Hannah paused for a moment. She took a deep breath, then pushed the door open and saw people already sitting in their cubicles. The atmosphere was tense, however.
A lot of tension.
“Hello?” Hannah greeted, waving to the receptionist.
The woman, with her hair in a bun, just looked at her with a scowl. She looked young, maybe in her early 20s, with brown hair and highlights.
“Mr. Don isn’t here yet. What do you need?” she asked.
“I’m Hannah, I’m here to replace the HR manager who…”
“Oh, the HR office? That building is next door. This is the marketing department,” the woman interrupted dismissively.
Hannah immediately felt uncomfortable and started to leave.
“You can use the connecting door to the next building. Follow the corridor, then turn right, there’s a connecting door. That’s HR. Just say you’re here to see Mrs. Joan,” the receptionist explained.
Hannah nodded quickly. “All right, thank you.”
Then Hannah hurriedly followed the receptionist’s instructions, and within a few minutes she was in HR. It was pretty empty. Some cubicles were empty, but some were occupied by people working.
There were piles of files on the desks, and Hannah concluded that the workplace was a bit disorganized.
Hannah noticed a door with the HR Manager sign slightly ajar. She knocked on the door.
“Hello? Good morning?” Hannah greeted.
Suddenly the door swung open from the inside and a middle-aged woman glared at Hannah.
“Can’t you see I’m busy? What do you want?” she snapped.