office spaces. It was a Tuesday morning, so I wasn’ t sure where all the people were. Those thoughts quickly dissolved when Tim poked his head into my office.
“ Good morning, Gus.” He said.“ I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment.”
“ You’ re already talking, Tim. What is it?” I said, giving him my attention, trying not to show too much aggression. He was a temp. For all I cared, he would be gone soon.
“ I just wondered if there was anything you wanted me to do this morning. Anything specifically. I got here really early this morning because you told me that most people came in at 7 o’ clock. I was the first one here, though.” He rambled on and on for another minute or so.
“ Tim – just go make some coffee and answer the phone.” I said, shuffling some papers to try and show him how busy I was.“ I have a lot of work to get done today.”
When he left my office, I put on some quiet music and got to work. The phones would start ringing off the hook soon. Being a lawyer was my future career goal, so I was working as an informational technology specialist while taking my final classes of law school. My mom was a nurse, but I managed to pay for most things by myself.
Answering phone calls and replying to strongly worded emails from confused middle age people who had no business with technology was clearly the dream for me. Wrong. I remember feeling miserable at the time. Looking back, I suppose I could have been more appreciative. At least I had a job to pay my bills.
Later in the day, after lunch some time, Tim was back to my office door, bringing his usual influx of awkwardness with him. I gave him an annoyed smile because it had been quiet that day. Not one of my clients had bothered me like he managed to do just about every day since he had been hired. My boss tried to remind me that I started out that way once, but I couldn’ t remember being nearly as trying a person as Tim was.
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