InsaneJournal

Amelia was rather happy she landed herself an interview, but she wasn’t surprised by it. Her livelihood depended on being able to con people, and secretarial work was just like keeping her little black book up to date. That particular book was currently a computer chip tucked securely in the heel of her shoe. Every outfit she owned had a place for that computer chip because she could get in quite a bit of trouble if it ever found the light of day. One of her lengthier cons had been as a secretary, and she ended up with quite a bit of money. This particular job, she was happy to just earn her money and go back to following Gideon around like a puppy.

She arrived at the requested address approximately15 minutes early, dressed in a simple tweed skirt that fell just above her knee and a sunny yellow and white blouse that only showed a respectable amount of skin. In her hands was a resume she had printed off and Gideon had helped create the paper trail. Amelia walked up to the front desk and rang the bell, just letting whoever it was in the back know that she was there.

Mathias was surprised at how many patients he had that morning. Either something was in the water, or there were four different illnesses going around, because by the time that the interview he had set up arrived, he already had twelve different patients, and not one that had a secretary to talk to. Because that damn woman didn’t know how to do her job, so now I’m stuck doing this. I didn’t go to med school to write down appointments. He thought it bitterly and, within a few seconds of sending his last patient on his way, he heard a knock on the front door.

He looked professional, as he always did when he worked, with a pressed, light blue buttoned shirt and slacks. He left his cane in the back office as he walked to the door, opening it and moving aside to allow his patient to leave before he flashed a soft smile at the woman who stood there. “You must be Amelia.” He reached out to offer his hand, moving aside a bit more to welcome her inside. “I’m Doctor Morgenstern, you can call me Mathias.”

Amelia was polite to the patient that passed her, offering the woman a warm smile and a soft, “Feel better.” She waited the few moments it took him to open the door calmly. A doctor’s office was usually fairly busy, but who would remember a secretary? She could blend into anonymity working here, and she was to stranger to playing the part. A warm smile greeted the man as he introduced himself.

“I am, thanks. It’s nice to meet you,” she replied amicably, stepping into his office. Amelia took a seat across from his desk and crossed her legs, causing her skirt to rise just a bit. Nothing overly scandalous for a twenty-something secretary. “Thank you for seeing me. I’ve just moved in and I know work is hard to come by around here,” she added conversationally.

Mathias smiled softly at the woman and allowed her to step inside, eying her as she walked to his desk in the back room. She was attractive, and Mathias had to mentally scold himself for noticing that in the first place. She’s here for a job, not your wandering eyes. It took him a decent amount of concentration not to watch the way her skirt moved up her legs when she sat down, but he succeeded, and instead sat across from her with a tired sigh. “Well thank you for coming on such short notice, I’m sorry to say that my previous secretary had to be let go.” Because she was an idiot. He gave her a soft smile, cleaning up the scattered papers across his desk before he offering his hand to take her resume. “So tell me about yourself, Amelia!” His smile was warm and he leaned back. “You’re new around here? Where are you from?”

Ames handed over the resume without pause. “Secretarial work isn’t for everyone,” she replied with a delicate shrug. She enjoyed it because it was mentally demanding, and it gave her a place to practice her communication skills. She wasn’t one to steal from an actual job, and if he wasn’t a complete ass, she’d be fine. Plus, she wanted to make this work. A good cover is hard to come by, and the best kind of cover story had truth in it.

“I’ve been all over, but most recently I came from Miami. The weather’s a bit of a shock,” Amelia explained with a bit of a chuckle. The snow was an odd occurrence for May last she checked, but she just went with it. “I’ve had a lot of temp work for various companies, doing secretarial work,” she added, glancing from her resume to Matthias. “I have some letters of recommendation sealed from previous jobs. I didn’t need them for the temp jobs, but I can bring them to you if you’d like,” she offered. Of course, the letters were fake and the phone numbers would alternate between being disconnected, a voice mail, and an old friend she had in Miami who had a talent for changing voices. “I grew up in Chicago and went to Community College for two years. After getting my Associates, I took a break from everything and started to travel. I loved it so much that I picked up temp jobs everywhere I went and that helped finance all the moving. When I was in Miami, I got a tip that an old friend of mine was living up here, so I packed my things and moved.” That was as close to the truth as she was going to get with Matthias, and her resume supported everything she had said.

He nodded as she spoke, his eyes scanning the resume in his hands as he looked through her work history. According to this, she really had been everywhere, and it brought a soft smile to his lips that a woman with actual experience showed up. He made a note of her contacts, and he was planning on calling them later, but he didn’t have much concern due to the impressive history she gave to him. “Yes, well, the snow was a bit of a nasty shock to me, also.” He said it with a crooked smile as he stared at her papers through his reading glasses. “We don’t usually get snow in May, but weirder things have happened here in Seattle. You’ll get used to it.”

He finally put her papers down and he leaned forward on his desk, removing his glasses and placing them down before giving her a polite smile. “Well your resume is certainly impressive, to say the least. Just so we’re on level playing ground, let me tell you a bit about what goes on here.” He took her resume and placed it neatly in a folder beside him before slipping it into a desk drawer. “First of all, I’ve been a doctor for many years and I moved to Seattle a few years ago. I go to several medical conferences a year, and during that time, the office will be closed. I try to keep things like that on the weekend, so we don’t miss a full work day during the week.” He paused, trying to think of the normal rhetoric that always came during a job interview. “I studied at the University of Washington for a few years before serving as a military doctor in the war. I was there for four years before I returned to Seattle and started my own practice, and here we are.” He gave her a soft smile.

“We have some difficult patients around here and you’re going to have to have a lot of patience if you want to stick around.” His smile turned a little playful. “People see a bruise on their leg and they think that they’re dying, you’ll hear some pretty ridiculous stuff around here, so you might want to be prepared for that.” He leaned back in the chair with his eyes still on hers, his hand moving down to grab his leg. The damn weather had been killing him lately. “So what are you looking for in terms of pay, Amelia?”

Amelia decided fairly quickly that she liked Dr. Matthias Morgenstern. He seemed like a no nonsense sort of person, which would prove to be a challenge in and of itself to hide her particular extra curricular activities. She grinned knowingly at his comment about people complaining about the smallest things. “People just aren’t used to physical activity these days,” she replied, only mildly teasing. When the question of pay came up, she looked thoughtful.

“Honestly, Doc-Matthias,” she corrected herself with an embarrassed smile, “I’d just be happy being able to cover my rent and have a little extra for me. I live in Hamartia, so the rent isn’t too bad. If that’s something you could work with me on, I’d really appreciate it.” Amelia gave him a soft, hopeful smile. She would be a good secretary, but she needed to secure the job, and if that meant pinching a few wallets along the way, well that was fine with her.

Mathias nodded in understanding when she said that before smiling softly. “Well I’m sure that we can break down numbers together and come up with something we’re both very comfortable with, not to worry.” He seemed to think about what else he could say, but he seemed pleased with the idea that they covered mostly everything. She seemed like a smart woman, and he was quickly taking a liking to her. She wasn’t hard on the eyes either, which, for Mathias, should never be factored into anything. But it usually was. “Well I must admit, I’m somewhat impressed, Amilia.” He gave her a polite smile, along with a grin. “In fact, I might even say that I might not have to interview anyone else for the position. But that depends on when you can start and your availability.”

He paused, spending a moment looking through his desk before he pulled out a paper to hand to her. “This is our schedule for the year, we’re open six days a week. If you don’t want to take all six days then I can easily hire a second secretary, but it’s up to you and the amount of hours you’re willing to take.”

Amelia was grateful that he was willing to work with her. Money could sometimes be an issue, but she'd try and make it work as best she could. She smiled earnestly at him. "Oh I'd really appreciate that," she replied immediately. They seemed to click well, and Amelia already knew that, after the requisite amount of time, she’d be able to loosen her tongue so to speak. She took the schedule and looked it over, but she already had an idea for what her answer would be. “I don’t mind working all six days, but would it be okay if I let you know a couple weeks in advance if I needed a day or two off?” she asked, offering him a warm smile as she leaned forward, perching herself quite nicely on her knee. Ames was an expert when it came to her body and how to position herself to get the most out of her target, even if the target was her future boss.

Mathias couldn’t help but notice the way that Amelia moved, and he had a suspicion that he was being toyed with. Even if he was, it was working, and he gave her a soft smile before saying warmly, “Of course. As long as you give enough warning ahead of time, you can have whatever vacation time you need.” He couldn’t help but think that this was going well. At least, better than the secretary that he used to have, and really, no matter who he hired, it couldn’t be much worse than her. “Well Amelia, I think that I've covered everything that I need to! From what I can tell you fit all the requirements that I’m looking for, when are you available to start?” He paused before he seemed to realize that he forgot something, and he gave her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, do you have any questions for me...?”

Amelia grinned. She was proud of herself for nailing the interview and getting the job. “I don’t,” she replied warmly, with a little laugh. “I can start tomorrow, or if you’d like, I can stay for the rest of the day,” she offered. This was going to be fun.

Mathias smiled widely at her offer and he actually laughed, obviously pleased with her eagerness to start. It was a new experience, his last secretary concentrated more on coming in late and leaving early than starting when she was supposed to. “Well that’s completely up to you! But I wouldn’t mind letting you stick around while we fill all the papers out.” He gave her a grin and stood from his desk, opening the door behind her and gesturing out to the lobby. “Come on. Let me show you your desk.”