Chapter 1

So, here I am on another lousy Friday night in front of the television, with nothing to watch, no friends to go out with, no money to go out, even if I did have friends I guess it's time to have a serious talk with myself, so I turn off the TV to sort out my non-existent life.

No Family
No Friends
No Money
Lousy one room apartment
Can barely pay expenses
No boyfriends
No social life
Life sucks, it just isn't fair

With tears streaming down my cheeks I get mad. I just have to find a way out of this. If I had a better job and more money, maybe things would change for the better, sure as hell couldn't get worse.

I grabbed the paper I bought after work and flip to the want ads. Good, there are pages of jobs, one of these will be for me, I just know it.

I go over to sit at my table and start going through the help wanted ads. I was tired of where I worked, the pay wasn't great, and no chance of advancement, and the boss was a jerk. One of the ads caught my eye.

Executive Assistant Wanted
Benefits
75K 401K
Extensive Travel
Apply in person at Telcor
M-F 9-3.

That ad got circled right away. I decided to take Tuesday off, that way I could go shopping for a new outfit. If I got the job, the outfit would be a drop in the bucket, and if I didn't, well, then I could always use it for other interviews.

Monday at work, I asked for Tuesday off for personal reasons. After a lot of complaining my boss said OK.

First thing Tuesday morning, I went shopping. I was hoping that if I could find the perfect outfit right away, I could change and make it in time to apply for the job today. Driving my beater to my favorite dress store, I was thinking to myself, my hair looks great, I have the qualifications, and all I need is the right suit. There is no reason why I can't get the job.

I found the perfect suit; it was black with a skirt that came 3 1/2 inches above my knee. Sexy but not slutty, the best part was, it was 40% off, it's a sign, I thought to myself.

As I walked into TelCor, I kept giving myself a pep talk. I told the Receptionist, that I was here to apply for the job of Executive Assistant. She sent me down the hall to Human Resources, when I walked into the office, there must have been 20 people in there filling out applications. My heart plummeted, one of these people will be sure to get the job instead of me. Oh well, so I didn't waste my time, I asked for an application, found bare spot along a wall, and started to fill it out.

Name Hannah O'Brien
Address 8419 Hickory Street Apt. B
Phone Number 555-1212
Emergency Contact N/A
DOB 05/28/1981
Are you available for extensive travel yes

I wanted to answer not only yes, but Hell Yes! but I didn't think that would look too professional.

The application went on asking for prior experience, I had to give permission for a credit check, background check and security clearance. The only other thing I had to leave blank was College. Not too many orphans can afford to actually go straight to College after High School.

After I finished filling out the application, I turned it in to the secretary, "Mr. Harden will call after reviewing your application, to set up an interview time," she said.

A week later Mr. Harden's secretary called and left a message on my machine, "Mr. Harden would like to set up an interview, please call us at 555-8468 at your earliest convience." I set up an interview for the following day, on my lunch hour, and went online to research the company. That way I would be prepared for the question "why do you want to work for this company?"

TelCor was a pharmaceutical company established in 1976. Since then they have branched into computers, and communications. No wonder the application asked if I was available for extensive travel, they have 580 offices worldwide. If I get the job, I'll have to apply for a passport straight away, I thought. It is a multi-billion dollar company, strange it is a private holding. I would have thought that the company would have been listed on the stock exchange. The owner of the company is listed as William Johnson.