Fortune At My Work
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The next day, I was in a foul mood. The sun had risen and the sky was clear blue; it would have been an ideal morning for fishing or hunting if not for my current predicament. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy working with wood—I did—but being forced to work on something so mundane as furniture when there were more interesting projects waiting just out of reach made me feel like a prisoner.
And worse than that, every time I looked at those pieces of lumber stacked up against the wall, they seemed to mock me: “Look what we’re going to be! We’ll never become anything else!”
When I got back from breakfast, I found Lainie sitting by herself outside her tent. She’d taken off all her clothes except for her loincloth and was lying down on top of her bedroll. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders, and she appeared to be sound asleep.
As usual, she hadn’t bothered putting any clothing over her sleeping bag. Even though it was warm enough this early in the season that most people slept naked anyway, I couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable looking at her like that.
“Good morning,” I called softly as I walked toward her. There was no response. When I reached her side, I saw that she still lay facedown on her bedroll, but now she was snoring loudly. A few strands of blond hair stuck straight up from her head.
With a sigh, I pulled one of them away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Then I sat down beside her and waited until she woke up.
It took several minutes before she finally opened her eyes and turned to look at me. She blinked twice, then yawned widely. “Oh, good morning, Rudeus.”
She smiled sweetly at me. Seeing how much effort she put into making sure she always looked perfect, I could tell that she must’ve been very tired last night. But even so, her smile was beautiful. Just seeing it made me want to do something nice for her.
“You’re awake?” I asked.
Lainie nodded. “Yes. You can go ahead and get started without me if you like. I’m sorry about yesterday…”
“No need to apologize. It’s fine. Really.”
“Really? That makes two of us. Yesterday was terrible… I don’t know why I ever agreed to help him build his stupid house.” She sighed heavily.
“What happened?”
“Well, he sent me out here with a bunch of logs. He said I should cut them into planks. So I went out to where the trees are, and right away, I ran into some trouble.”
“Trouble?”
“Yeah. Those logs were too big for me to carry alone. I tried cutting them with my sword, but it wouldn’t work. They were way too thick. In fact, they weren’t even really logs anymore. These things were practically tree trunks.
Anyway, I told him I needed help, and he laughed at me. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘If you can’t handle these, there aren’t many other jobs you’ll be able to do.’ Well, I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything less from him. After all, he is the Hero.”
“Heh-heh…” I chuckled bitterly.
“Anyway, I ended up having to drag those logs back here myself. By the time I finished, it was already dark out.”
“That sounds awful,” I said sympathetically.
“Yeah, well, after I dragged everything inside his house, he gave me a piece of paper and told me to write down exactly what I did wrong. Then he ordered me to take the list and go stand in front of the pile of lumber again.
I stood there for hours while everyone watched, but nothing changed. All I did was stare at the same old lumber. Finally, I fell asleep standing up. When I woke up, I felt sick to my stomach. I thought maybe I’d gotten food poisoning or something.
But when I checked the list, I realized it was blank. Apparently, he’d written ‘none’ across the whole thing. I mean, come on! What kind of idiot orders someone to stand in front of a stack of lumber and then doesn’t give them any instructions?!”
“So basically, he just wanted you to do the job over again?”
“Exactly. I was so mad, that I almost hit him. But I knew that would only make things worse. Instead, I wrote out another list and left it on his desk. This time, I added a lot more detail. I described exactly how long each log was, and which ones were easier to split.
And then I drew pictures showing how to cut them. I also included a note saying that if he didn’t pay attention to this stuff, I might accidentally hurt myself.”
“Wow. Sounds like he was pretty serious about not wanting you to hurt yourself.”
“I think he had some sort of problem with me using magic. Maybe he thinks I’m dangerous because I can use fire spells. Or maybe he’s worried I’ll burn down his house. Whatever it is, I don’t care. If he wants to keep me around, he needs to start treating me better!”
“Hmm…”
“But anyway, I figured that if I couldn’t convince him, I’d try getting you involved instead. I thought maybe you could talk sense into him somehow. But when I showed him your letter, he got angry. He said he wasn’t interested in hearing about other people’s problems, and that you probably just wanted to borrow money from him.”
“Huh…”
“Then he yelled at me for wasting his time. He said I should stay away from him forever, and never show my face in town again. He said he hated me, and that he hoped I died soon.”
“Ouch…”
“And now I feel bad. Like, really bad. I wish I hadn’t done anything.”
“Hm…? Why?”
“Because I’m starting to realize that maybe I should’ve listened to him. I mean, I still haven’t repaid my debt to you yet. I promised I’d repay you by helping him with his house, but now that we’re talking about it, I’m realizing that I screwed up. I messed up big time.
I made a promise to you, and I broke it. I don’t want to break promises anymore. Ever since I met you, I’ve been trying to be a good person, but lately, I’ve been doing a really poor job of it. I’m sorry. I’m such an awful friend.”
“Hey, Lainie—”
She stopped me before I could finish. “Wait! Don’t say anything else!” she cried. She grabbed both sides of her head with both hands. Her eyes were wide open, and tears were streaming down her cheeks.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I asked.
“No… No, no, no, no, no, NO!!” she screamed.
The next moment, the door burst open. A man wearing a black robe rushed into the room. His hair was short, and he wore glasses. It looked like he was in his mid-twenties. He glared at us as he walked toward the bed.
“Who are you?! What do you think you’re doing?!” he shouted angrily.
Lainie quickly wiped the tears off her cheeks and tried to calm herself. “Oh, um, hello. My name is Laina. I came here today to apologize to you. Please forgive me,” she said quietly.
“Apologize? For what?”
“For breaking our agreement. I know I shouldn’t have borrowed money from you without paying it back first. So please accept my apology.”
“You broke your promise to me?!” he replied.
“Yes, sir. I’m very sorry.”
He stared at her for several seconds, then turned to look at me. “Why is this girl bothering me? Is she looking for trouble? Do you two know each other?”
“Uh, yeah, actually. We’re friends.”
“Friends? You mean you’re acquainted?”
“Well, I guess that’s one way to put it.”
“That’s ridiculous. How could you possibly be ‘acquainted’ with someone like her?”
“Um, well… I mean, we’re not exactly close or anything, but we hang out sometimes. That’s all there is to it.”
“Are you sure? Because I see a whole bunch of red flags going off right now. First of all, why did she come to me asking for help? Did you tell her to go bother me?”
“Nope. I told her to ask you directly.”
“So she purposely went through the back door to avoid being seen. And second, how does she even know where I live?”
“Umm, I think she saw your address on your business card.”
“Business cards? Where did she get those?”
“From me, obviously.”
“How convenient. Well, whatever. The fact remains: she deliberately disobeyed me, so I’m gonna punish her for it.”
“Punish her?”
“Yeah. I’m gonna make her pay me back the money she owes me.”
I had no idea what to say. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Now, listen carefully, Laina. If you don’t want to end up dead, you better start apologizing to me right now. Otherwise, I’ll kill you myself.”
***
The next day, I visited Mr. Kuznetsov’s office. When I knocked on the door, he answered immediately.
“Come in, Miss Laina. Sorry for keeping you waiting.”
“It’s fine. Thank you for seeing me.”
Mr. Kuznetsov sat behind his desk. He was reading something while sipping some tea.
“Please sit down.”
I took a seat across from him.
“Okay, let’s begin. As you can see, I received a letter from a certain individual who claims to be your friend. Apparently, you owe her quite a bit of money.”
“Yes, that’s correct. I’m terribly sorry about that.”
“Hmm… I wasn’t expecting to hear that you owed anyone money. But if you really do, then I suppose I should consider forgiving you. After all, I’m not the type of guy to hold grudges.”
“Thank you very much.”
“But I must warn you—if I find out that you lied to me, I will never forgive you.”
“Understood. I won’t lie again.”
Mr. Kuznetsov nodded slowly. “Very well. In that case, I’ll give you until tomorrow morning to pay back the full amount.”
“Tomorrow? Can I afford that?”
“Of course, you can. Just borrow more money from somewhere else. There’s nothing stopping you from doing that, is there?”
“Actually, yes, there is. I’ve already borrowed money from another person, and I promised to repay them by the end of this month.”
“Then I suggest you hurry up and take care of that debt before you run out of time. Now, since you seem to be in such dire straits anyway…”
“What do you mean?”
“If you agree to work for me, I’ll forgive your debts.”
“Work for you?”
“Yes. I need someone to manage my finances. Someone who knows their way around numbers and has an eye for detail. Would you be willing to fill that role?”
“Huh…? Um, I’d love to! But I’m not sure if I have enough experience for that kind of job.”
“Don’t worry. All you need to know is how to count. Besides, I’m planning to hire a professional accountant later on. For now, though, you’ll just be handling my personal accounts. It shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“All right. Then I’ll accept your offer. I hope you’ll still trust me after hearing what happened yesterday.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. I knew you were lying when you said you hadn’t borrowed any money from anyone. I figured you would try to sneakily borrow more once I agreed to let you work here.”
“You’re right. I was hoping you might overlook it if I pretended to be honest.”
“No matter. Let’s get started. What are your qualifications?”
“I majored in finance at college. I also worked as a financial analyst for three years.”
“Interesting. So you’re basically qualified to handle my entire portfolio, huh?”
“Not quite. I only managed my own investments during that period of time.”
“And yet you still graduated magna cum laude. You must have been pretty good.”
“Well, I guess so.”
“Good. That means I can rely on you to keep things running smoothly without having to micromanage everything yourself. Do you understand?”
“I do. I promise I won’t disappoint you.”
“Excellent. Now, I assume you want to be paid hourly. Is that right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Very well. Your first paycheck will come in two days’ time. From now on, you’ll earn thirty dollars per hour.”
“Thirty dollars?!”
“Yes. Thirty-five hundred a week. And that’s not including bonuses.”
“Wow!”
“Now, let’s talk about the details. First off, you’ll need to sign a contract stating that you won’t steal anything from me. Also, you’ll need to provide me with a copy of your passport, driver’s license, and social security card.”
“Got it.”
“Also, you’ll need to register your fingerprints and retinal scan with our company database. This is standard procedure for employees working directly under me. If you refuse, I’ll fire you immediately.”
“I understand. No problem.”
“Lastly, we need to discuss your schedule. Are you available every day between eight o’clock in the morning and five o’clock in the afternoon?”
“Absolutely. I don’t mind working weekends either.”
“Great. That’s settled then. Welcome aboard, Miss Laina. I look forward to working together.”
***
The next morning, Mr. Kuznetsov came into the office carrying a briefcase. He placed it down on his desk and opened it. Inside was a stack of papers.
“Here you go,” he said. “This is your new employee handbook. Please read through it carefully. I expect you to follow its instructions to the letter.”
Laina took the documents from him and began reading. She quickly realized that they outlined her responsibilities as an assistant manager. The document went over everything from how she should dress to what hours she could leave the building.
She glanced up at Mr. Kuznetsov. His expression seemed to say, “See? I told you so.”
Mr. Kuznetsov handed her a pen and a small notebook.
“Please write your name and address in this book. Once you finish filling out all the pages, please return it to me.”
“Okay.”
He left the room, leaving Laina alone with her thoughts.
“So…what am I supposed to do now?”
After a few minutes had passed, Mr. Kuznetsov returned to the office.
“Are you finished?”
“Yeah. Sorry, but I didn’t realize there would be so much paperwork involved.”
“It’s fine. Just remember: I hired you because I believe in you. Don’t let me down.”
“I won’t.”
“In that case, you may begin work.”
As soon as Mr. Kuznetsov stepped outside, Laina picked up the phone.
“Hello, Mr. Kuznetsov’s secretary. How can I help you?”
“Hi, Ms. Nanao. My name is Laina. I’ve just started working here today.”
“Welcome to the company! I’m glad to hear that. I’ll see to it that Mr. Kuznetsov gets your message.”
“Thank you very much.”
Ms. Nanao put Laina on hold and spoke to someone else. After a short conversation, she hung up.
“Mr. Kuznetsov will be back shortly. In the meantime, why don’t you take some time to familiarize yourself with the company’s computer system?”
“Sure thing.”
“You know where the mainframe is located, right?”
“Of course. It’s right across from the elevator.”
“All right. Good luck.”
“Thanks again.”
Laina walked toward the elevators. As she did, she noticed a man standing by one of the doors. He looked like a typical businessman—he wore a suit and tie, and carried a briefcase.
“Excuse me, sir. May I ask who you are?”
The man turned around. When he saw Laina, his eyes widened slightly. Then, he smiled.
“Oh, hello there. You must be Laina. I’m Mr. Kuznetsov’s personal assistant. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
“Well, if you’re looking for the mainframe, you’d better hurry. There aren’t many people around these parts during the day, so I doubt anyone will notice you taking a little detour.”
“Right.”
Laina followed the man to the elevator. He pressed the button for the third floor.
“By the way, my name is Shoma. What’s yours?”
“My name is Laina.”
“Pleased to make your acquaintance. So, have you been working here long?”
“No, actually. Today is my first day.”
Shoma chuckled.
“That’s okay. We all start somewhere. Now, let’s get going before the elevator gets crowded.”
They got off the elevator on the third floor. A large monitor sat in the middle of the hallway. On top of it were several keyboards and other equipment.
“This is the mainframe,” explained Shoma. “Most of the data in this building is stored here. All you really need to know about computers is that they store information. The rest comes naturally after that.”
“Gotcha.”
“Now, come with me.”
He led Laina to a door marked “Maintenance Room.”
“What’s in there?” asked Laina.
“Just a bunch of old junk we don’t use anymore. If you want to find something, try rummaging through it.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Inside the room, Laina found a number of dusty boxes stacked against the wall. Some appeared to contain books, while others held various pieces of furniture.
“Do you think any of this stuff might still be useful?”
“Probably not. But hey, you never know until you look.”
“True enough.”
Laina began searching through the boxes. She opened each one carefully, hoping to uncover an item of value.
“Hey, Laina!”
When she heard Shoma call her name, Laina quickly closed the box she was examining.
“Sorry. Did I scare you?”
“Not at all. I just wasn’t expecting you to speak.”
“I’m sorry. I forgot how loud I am when I talk.”
“Don’t worry about it. You’re new here, right? That means you probably haven’t gotten used to being around so many people yet.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“So, what do you say we grab lunch together sometime?”
“Okay, sure.”
“Great. Let me give you my card.”
Shoma pulled out a business card and handed it to Laina.
“Here’s my contact info. Give me a ring whenever you’re free.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“Anytime. Oh, and one more thing: Don’t forget to bring Mr. Kuznetsov’s message with you next time.”
“I won’t.”
“Good. Well then, I guess I should go now.”
“Yeah, you should.”
After saying goodbye, Shoma left the maintenance room. Laina stayed behind for another minute or two, but eventually decided she had done as much as she could.
She returned to the mainframe, where she found a few other employees waiting for her. One of them was a woman who seemed to be in charge of operations.
“Welcome aboard, Ms. Laina,” said the woman. “It’s nice to see you.”
“Thank you very much.”
The woman introduced herself as Mrs. O’Leary.
“As you can tell, we’ve only recently begun using the mainframe, so there isn’t much work to be done today. However, once things get rolling, you’ll be expected to help out however possible.”
“Understood.”
Mrs. O’Leary told Laina to take a seat while she went to check on Mr. Kuznetsov. After a short wait, she came back with him in tow.
“Mr. Kuznetsov has arrived,” announced Mrs. O’Leary.
“Very well. Please show Ms. Laina to her desk.”
“Of course.”
With that, Mrs. O’Leary escorted Laina to her assigned office. It was located near the entrance to the building. In addition to the computer terminal, the small space contained a chair and a filing cabinet.
“Ms. Laina, please feel free to ask questions if you have any. Myself, along with the rest of the staff, are always happy to answer them.”
“Thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome. And again, congratulations on your promotion.”
“Thank you.”
After thanking Mrs. O’Leary, Laina set up her computer and logged into the system. As soon as she did, a window popped open displaying the company directory.
“Wow! There’s a lot of names in here.”
There were over three hundred entries listed. Each person’s job title and the department were displayed alongside their photograph.
“All right, I think I’ll start by looking up some of these people.”
Laina searched through the list until she found someone named Dora. Her picture showed a young girl with long black hair.
“Dora…that sounds familiar. Is she related to Mr. Kuznetsov somehow?”
Looking closer, Laina saw that Dora’s last name was also Kuznetsov.
“Hmm…”
She tried searching for other family members, but none of the results matched.
“Maybe they changed their names after getting married?”
That didn’t seem likely. The surname Kuznetsov was fairly common; there would surely be several people with the same name working at the company.
“Oh, well. Guess I’ll try asking Mr. Kuznetsov later.”
Even though he’d been promoted to vice president, Laina figured Mr. Kuznetsov wouldn’t mind answering a couple of simple questions from his former intern.
***
A little under an hour passed before Laina finally finished her search. When she logged off, she noticed that the sun had already started setting outside.
The End