"We're going to start at the top and work our way down," Kathleen said, pressing the top button, number 35. "At the very top, we have the executive floor, where Dr. Barnaby, our CEO, has his office. Also on 35, we have the boardroom and the offices of all the senior executives. Moira, Dr. Barnaby's executive assistant, also has her office here." The elevator stopped, and the doors slid open to reveal a quiet, lushly decorated floor, with thick carpets and massive furniture. The floor seemed deserted.
"Not a whole lot of activity here," Alex said. "Where is everyone? I was hoping to meet them."
"Oh, Dr. Barnaby is at the plant in Alpine today, and the senior leaders usually prefer to work from their secondary offices on the respective floors they manage, so this is quiet here most of the time. However, I think that you'll be able to meet most of the leaders today. I know Mr. Sheppard, your new boss, is in his downstairs office, waiting to meet with you."
After briefly touring the semi-dark floor, they headed for the elevators. One by one, Alex toured the human resources department, followed by finance, accounting, payroll, administration, purchasing, vendor management, manufacturing, marketing, and sales. Everywhere they went, Kathleen introduced her to countless, smiling people who shook her hand, welcomed her, and then resumed their activities.
No senior executives, in any of the business areas, were available to meet her. All departments seemed to operate quietly and effectively, without visible leadership, in a low-key hum of orchestrated activity. Alex was trying her best to remember as many of the faces, names, and job titles as she could. After a while though, they started to blend in her overloaded memory. How will I remember everyone?
"And, finally, this is your home," Kathleen said, leading her to the third floor. "This is where information technology resides." She paused for a second, took a quick breath, and then said in a quick whisper, "Good luck."
Kathleen led the way to an impressive office of glass walls. Facing away from them and looking out the window, a tall, bald man, dressed in black from head to toe, was talking on his cell phone. Kathleen opened the office door, alerting him to their presence. He turned, mumbled something in his cell phone, and then put it on his desk.
"Finally," he said, "you've made it, only twenty minutes late." His voice was a quiet, hissing whisper, conveying the paralyzing coldness of a snake.
Alex started explaining. "Sir, I was here—"
"Of course, you would have some excuse, no doubt," the man continued unabated, "of which I do not wish to learn. Sit," he said, pointing at the chair in front of his massive desk. He turned his attention toward Kathleen, who remained frozen in the doorway. "Anything I can do for you?"
Stammering an inaudible apology, Kathleen left hurriedly, closing the door behind her.
The man refocused his attention on Alex. "I am supposed to wish you welcome on a day like this." He paused, studying her.
Alex felt the sweat breaking at the roots of her hair. She remembered Dustin Sheppard from her interview — the interview she thought she had failed. She remembered how she got her courage up, after getting the job offer, thinking he couldn't possibly be that bad on a daily basis. She had been wrong.
"We'll have to see about that welcome," Sheppard continued. "Directors come and go, proving they are nothing but a waste of my time," he said, pausing slightly between words, as to emphasize them without raising his voice from that low hiss of a deadly snake. "I do not welcome any waste of my time. How will you be any different?"
She took a deep breath, remembering what she had to do.
"I am positive I can make a big difference and bring consistent value to the business. I have—"
"Don't waste my time," Sheppard interrupted again, "please tell me specifics." The venom in his voice removed all the politeness of the words he spoke.
"I am planning to start by evaluating current resources, capabilities, and infrastructure, and assess whether they are suited for the objectives that we have, for our short- and long-term future. Then I'll prepare recommendations for you to review." She paused, waiting for Sheppard's response, which did not come. Sheppard sat in his massive leather chair, eyes half closed, with an impenetrable expression on his face. His features, although elegant and harmonious, seemed carved in stone — cold and immobile.
She continued, repressing a shudder. "I would like to meet my team as soon as possible. I am planning to assess their skill levels and capabilities and prepare action items regarding staffing, again, for your review."
"If I would have had any interest to hire an assistant to prepare things for my review, I would have hired that person instead of you. From you, I am expecting results."
"Yes, sir, I understand."
"That's it for today."
Alex stood up abruptly. "It was a pleasure seeing you again," she said, extending her hand.
Sheppard did not move. "I doubt that. You are dismissed."
…27
Alex did not recall how she got to her car, still under the influence of the intimidating Dustin Sheppard, her new boss. She sat behind the wheel, in the refreshing streams of conditioned air, trying to focus on her busy agenda for the weekend — moving into a new home, her first house. A long-time dream was coming true — getting out of apartment living and into the delights of suburban living. But somehow, she failed to feel the excitement.
Her prevailing thoughts were lingering around the strangeness of NanoLance's corporate culture. She had spent less than three hours in that building, enough though to notice a few troublesome signs of dysfunction. The notable absence of key executives was one example. The climate of fear fostered by Sheppard, without any apparent consequence or corrective measure, was another. The peculiarity of having new employees come to finalize paperwork on the Friday before their start date was unheard of. The overall weirdness of the building's atmosphere, regardless of department, was, by far, the most annoying and intriguing.
Leaning back in her car seat, Alex pictured Tom asking her, "Weird how, exactly?" She began a mental conversation with Tom, organizing her thoughts and drawing some conclusions, while her memories of the NanoLance tour were still fresh. Well, the absence of laughter, of relaxed human interaction was one aspect of it, especially considering that the key executives were absent and it was Friday, casual chatter should have been present here and there.
The overall feel was one of silent efficiency, which, at first glance, might seem ideal for a business environment, but it's not. In the realities of human psychology, such environments are not naturally occurring; there has to be a stressor of sorts to yield this kind of silent efficiency. She pictured Dr. Barnaby being the stressor… Nah… She rejected the thought as not plausible. She saw Dr. Barnaby more likely to engage in casual conversations with his employees, than obliterating the normal hallway interactions.
One look at the time and she started the engine, knowing she was going to be late for the appointment with her new landlord. Preoccupied with solving the mysteries of this odd corporate culture, she pulled out of the parking lot and into the solid traffic heading for I-5, oblivious to her surroundings. A few seconds later, a gray Ford sedan pulled out of the same parking lot, following her from a safe distance.