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How to manage a manager.

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PrinceCaspian

PrinceCaspian

Star
Joined
May 10, 2011
Location
Canada
Donovan thought the interview went well. When he got the call from his online application he could tell by the sound of the voice the girl was cute. There was "that tone of voice" that he found so utterly attractive. When she invited him to come meet her for a coffee and a chat, he couldn't resist.

He had been looking online for a few weeks now. There wasn't much response. The job market was a little slow, but the Airport was expanding a lot of it's retail operations. The bookstore was expanding and hiring for a new shift-lead. Something that fit right up his alley.

He had 5 years of retail experience and he aced the online aptitude test. He couldn't have done better and he knew that he was a shoe-in for the role. All he had to do was apply. When he got the call he wasn't surprised. She offered him an interview and he took the opportunity to meet her.

He got into his interview clothes. A nice collared shirt under a vest. It was formal, just lacking a tie. Something that he thought would show he was relaxed AND well-manicured. His short hair was nicely combed and kept in place with a little hair gel. He put on contacts over his hazel eyes and got ready to meet the woman behind the mystery voice.

He didn't really think the job paid enough, but he had to meet the girl in person. A voice like that had to have the face of an angel. When he got there she was waiting for him at the starbucks.
 
Jamie hated interviewing. The company had moved to a system allowing them to pre-screen candidates and then set up interviews nearly seamlessly. Of course, that was when it worked. She had found a candidate online, and tried to contact him through email about an interview, but somehow every time she tried to send the message to this one person her computer crashed. She finally broke down and called him.

“Hi, is Donovan there?” she asked. “Hi Donovan, this is Jamie from the Bookstore in the airport. I was wondering if you’d like to come in for an interview, have a coffee and chat with me about the open opportunities here?” She smiled against the phone as he replied. She was a sucker for a good voice, and his sounded great. She made the date for the interview and hung up. He sounded up beat and just the type of person she needed for her team.

She had chosen carefully this morning, putting on a long tunic sweater with a cowl neck. A jewelled belt nestled just under her breasts marking a high waist on the outfit, finished off with a pair of sleek slim legged dress pants. The only hint of color was the beaded lanyard she wore with her ID and keys and the pair of gold wedge heels. She stood in front of the Starbucks eyeing the clock. Punctuality was always a good thing. She noticed a well dressed young man begin to approach her. She smiled brightly, walking out to met him.

“Donovan?” She asked a bright smile on her face. “Can I buy you a coffee?”
 
Donovan was surprised to see the lovely woman coming towards him with a smile. "If this is how every day is going to start here, I'm going to have the best job in the world." Donovan thought to himself. He thought of a response for a second "yes, a nice tall, hot cup of coffee would be a great way to get started." He thought there might be a little innuendo in the way he said it, but he didn't mind. It wasn't like this was the most lucrative job he'd ever applied for. It was a good way to get into the company and work his way up or at least make money enough until he found a better job. On the other hand, she was a cute, cute manager. Perhaps there could be a little fun had with that if nothing else.

"So tell me about the work environment. You seem like a fun person, is everyone so perky as you in the morning?" Donovan said as he walked behind her up to the counter. He couldn't help but take a quick look at her swaying bottom as she sauntered ahead of him slightly towards the counter. He decided he was more interested in the manager than he was in the job. The job would be pretty simple as far as things go. She would be the real challenge in the workplace.
 
Jamie bought him a coffee, and herself a hot chocolate. She appraised him as he fixed his drink to the way he liked it. He seemed good natured and that was exactly what she wanted for her team. She motioned to a table in the corner a bit secluded from the rest. This, she laughed to herself was her interview table. Private enough for conversations, but still out in the open. She took a seat, her back to the wall. She had learned many interviews ago that people if they sat facing the terminal generally got distracted by the bustle of the people coming and going.

“I think we are all generally pretty happy, and this, this is not early.” She glanced at the departures board. It was 10:30 am. “The store has already been operational since 4:30am. The day is well under way.” She smiled at him as she took a sip of her hot chocolate. Mmmmm since giving up coffee in the summer past, she enjoyed a hot drink. Coffee now was more a one off kind of deal for her. “So, shall we get started?” She opened a notebook and took out her pen, several papers sat inside it labelled with his name.

Jamie launched into the interview asking the basic questions. What do you know about our company, what do you think this job entails, why are you the best candidate for the position. She listened at tentatively to him, writing down notes in a very coded short hand. She leaned into his conversation, watching his lips as the moved. Wow, he had beautiful lips...she shook her head. That was so not the thing she needed to be focusing on right now!
 
Donovan listened to the questions closely. He obviously didn't want to make a bad impression. He stumbled once when his eyes meandered from her eyes down the front of her shirt while she sipped at her hot chocolate. He liked what he saw, but that broke his tenuous grasp on his concentration. "I'm sorry, can you repeat the question?" He was pleasantly distracted by this woman in many wonderful ways. He saw her writing down notes, hopefully good ones. She leaned in towards him, always a positive sign, it was positive body language that she was interested in him for one reason or another. He hoped that even if he didn't get the job he could still get a chance to talk with her again.

The interview went very well, at least from Donovan's standpoint. He was comfortable with the lovely woman and he felt he was very responsive to her questions. He just hoped he didn't overdo it. He caught himself checking her out occasionally throughout the remainder of the interview. He hoped that he wouldn't get caught for it though, that would just make matters more difficult. It could ruin his chances with the job and with Jamie. That would be doubly tragic.
 
Jamie watched him discretely as she sipped her hot chocolate. His eyes seemed to roam when he didn’t think she was looking. After asking all the important questions she smiled at him.

“Do you have any questions for me?” She smiled encouragingly, she believed firmly in open honestly with employees, potential and actual. She flipped through notes looking for his references. She smiled back at him.

“Well then, I think that does it. I need to call your references and chat with them, but from there you should hear back from me by tomorrow at the latest. And please, if I’ve not called you by 5pm, please call me. I am big on getting back to people either positively or otherwise, but as is the case, sometimes things get in the way.” She smiled at him again, as she stood indicating the interview was over.

She held out her hand to shake his. Jamie hoped it was a good handshake. She knew objectively she shouldn’t judge someone based on that fact, but a weak handshake from a man, always kind of made her leery, especially since hers was firm and solid. Her eyes widened with surprise as he took her hand. Providing his references came out well, she might have herself a new team member.
 
Donovan smiled back and shook her hand. He gave it a good squeeze. Not hard, like he was trying to hurt it, but more of a firm tightness. He allowed his fingers to linger for just a second as their hands broke apart. It was fun, mainly because a handshake was the most non-erotic contact two people can have. Somehow her hands were strong, but soft. The skin was delicate and smooth against his own hands. "I hope to hear from you soon. I must admit that your company is very attractive to me." Donovan smiled.

Donovan parted ways with Jamie and made his way out to the parking lot. He practically skipped he was so elated to have just been in the company of the nice woman who called him. He wondered if she would call sooner rather than later. He knew his references were airtight and the people he had worked for were always willing to take him back with open arms. It was just a matter if she liked him. Maybe even if she liked liked him that would be a fine way to get his foot in the door. He chuckled at the idea of getting his foot in the door with the company and getting his foot in the door with the cute manager who might be calling him later.
 
Jamie smiled as she walked away. That had been interesting. She made her way back to her office and sat down. She shuffled through some papers and found Donovan’s references. She called them both, and no surprise found they were glowing. She chewed on her pen, as she listened to the last one giving a long list of attributes for him. She thanked the reference and then opened her email. She typed up a brief letter.

Hello Donovan,
Thank you for taking the time today to meet with me. I have contacted your references and they were both stellar. I am more than willing to offer you this position, but I am just curious though, you seem so over qualified for this position. Knowing what it pays and the likelihood of a lengthy wait for a forward promotion, I need to ask, are you certain you would like this position?

Jamie

She signed off on the letter and then opened her hiring tool. She filled in the necessary spaces, even giving him a dollar more than she had originally stated in the interview. Jamie sighed as she sent off the formal offer. He was cute. A shame though that she’d never see him again, or if she did it would because he was her employee.
 
Donovan got the offer letter on his Blackberry. "Blunk" the sound came dully through the speaker on the phone. He picked up the phone and opened up the email. "11 bucks an hour huh? Well, it'll keep the roof over my head for a few more months. What's the worst that can happen? I could get fired for trying to fraternize with the manager, but that might be half the fun." He chuckled to himself, and thumbed the response into his phone quickly. "I accept. I understand what you're saying but since things are tight right now, I'll take the job and see where it takes us." Donovan was not stupid enough to add the side note that if someone else was managing the operation, it was unlikely that he would be accepting the position.

Donovan pondered what kind of environment it would be. He figured it would be fun, but there had been a couple times where he had been hired by someone who seemed fun but wound up "all business." He wasn't really worried though. Donovan could have fun anywhere at any time. It was, perhaps, his greatest skill.
 
Jamie checked her email a half hour before she left work. Donovan had sent her a reply. She smiled as she read it. Well, if nothing else this would make for an interesting work place for a bit. The girls on her staff likely ready to drool when he walked in. She opened her hiring tool and submitted his acceptance as well as his start date for Friday, two days from now. She fired off a quick reply to him.

As long as you are aware, then I am pleased to welcome you aboard, see you Friday!

Jamie gathered her things, taking the schedules home. Now came the fun part of slotting him in to where she needed as well as ensuring he got the proper training. She said good bye to her staff and headed out. The drive home was uneventful thankfully. She opened the door to her modest condo and dumped her paperwork on the kitchen table. First thing, she was getting changed. Second to that, she was making something to eat, then she would deal with the schedules. She shuddered. There were some things she hated about her job.
 
Donovan received the email and was happy to have found both employment and intrigue in the same passing moment. There was no kidding himself. This was a job, not a career. On the plus side, maybe that attractive manager would go out with him if they weren't working together anymore. He considered that a bonus to not being at the job for a long time. In the meantime he could make a few bucks and have some fun. Hopefully they would get to work together while he was in training. He wanted to get a feel for how she was during the on-the-job training.

He checked his wardrobe to make sure he could fit the company colour scheme, which was blue and while. Lucky for Donovan, those were always colors that worked for him. At least it wasn't something bright like yellow or red. He sat by his computer waiting eagerly for news of his first shift. Perhaps he might even celebrate with a beer. He walked downstairs to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of German import beer. He popped the cap off with a bottle opener and grinned. "Here's to new beginnings." He said aloud to himself and sat back to enjoy his beer and his prospects.
 
*kay, so at somepoint I know you listen to me, Donovan was the 2nd on my Dad's construction crew, and while I loved Brian, Donovan....well he was the subject of several girlish dreams ;)*

Jamie went home and collapsed on the bed. It had been a long exhausting day. Friday would be better, she'd have the extra coverage with Donovan starting.

She sat up and slowly got out of her clothes, methodically taking off her blouse, her dress pants. Then clad in only panties and a bra, Jamie made her way to the shower and turned on the water. She stepped from the bathroom and unclipped the bra, tossing into the laundry basket on the floor beside her. She stepped from her panties and tossed them in too. She closed the door on the ensuite and stepped into the hot shower.

Ohhhhgod that felt sooo good. Jamie sighed as she washed her hair and her skin.

Later that night she lay in bed, wide awake-ish. He was handsome, and if she was truthful she thought she had seen interest in his eyes. She shook her head. She couldn't think like that, especially when she was going to be sepnding Friday night with him training him!
 
Donovan crawled out of bed on Friday raring to go. He was excited to be trying out the new job, and he was eager to get another good look at Jamie. He wanted to see if that spark was still there. He also wanted to see if she was going to wear another low-cut button-up shirt. He threw on a white t-shirt and a navy vest over top. He wore black slacks and dress shoes and he combed his dark hair into a presentable presentation. He was ready, willing, and excited. He got into his car and cruised tithe employee parking lot. He signed himself in and tested Jamie. "I'm here" the text said as he hit the send button.
 
Jamie’s phone went off, right on schedule. She let her staff know she’d be right back, but needed to sign in the new guy. She smoothed her hair as she checked out her reflection in a passing mirror. She wore a pair of heather grey dress pants, and a robin’s egg blue three quarter sleeved button up shirt. The overall package was very professional and put together.

Jamie took the stairs down and as she came through the doors she smiled apologetically to the people waiting there. She always felt bad, as these were the doors folks who were landing came through, there were always people, waiting for that first person off the plane of their loved ones, the hope in their eyes, and then the disappointment when the saw the id badge. Jamie saw Donovan off to her left and hurried over to him, smiling.

“Hello!! Let’s get you set up here!” She smiled at him. She had thought he was well dressed in the interview, but he had outdone himself for today.
 
Donovan was happily greeted by Jamie at the doors. He felt somewhat out of place. He thought, amusing himself, that he should be carrying a big cardboard sign that said "Jaime" as she came out, just to fit in with all the other hand-drawn signs made out of construction paper and magic markers. He chuckled at the thought as he walked up to Jamie, wondering what the sign in process was. He was happy to see her, and felt a little like he was meeting someone for a date. It felt... right.

They walked over to the pass office where the little man asked for his ID and checked everything in triplicate. There was no need for all the fuss, but they felt they had a job to do, so they might as well do it. He passed over his drivers license and they made sure that he was to wear the badge at all times. The canary yellow "visitor" badge was visible from the moon, but he doubted that anyone would actually be checking on his badge seriously.

He went through the security check in. He walked through the scanner and was slightly dismayed when the red light popped up signifying he was randomly selected for the scan. His options were to be physically checked or to be scanned in the booth. He opted for the booth, knowing that the poor person who had to see his penis in black and white was a better fate than some random man who hated his life patting him down. He walked into the scanner, lifted his hands and tried to envision 10 or 11 attractive women standing and giving a slow-clap standing ovation somewhere in the building. With that thought he chuckled and walked over to the bookstore across the hallway.
 
Jamie laughed softly as she saw Donovan get pulled aside for a search. She knew he’d find her given the bookstore was visible from Central Hall. She walked in alone and served a couple of customers before Donovan came sauntering in. She smiled at him.

“Enjoyed that huh?” She said a laugh in her voice as she led him to the small office where he could store his coat. The “office” was tiny. Smaller than her parent’s laundry room. Heck smaller than HER laundry room, but it had a desk with two computers, a chair, a bar fridge a microwave and a place to hand the coats. And a set of small lockers. The door closed behind them.

“It’s small I know.” She said and then handed him a little black book. Inside the cover was his name written in black pen. “This is for you to keep in your vest, write down whatever notes you feel you’ll need in order to keep track of things.” She pulled out a packet of paperwork. “Thankfully most of your paperwork was all completed on line, but this is mostly Airport paperwork for your permanent pass and such. Wednesday next week I have you registered for the security briefing...”

Jamie rattled on about the up coming obligations he’d have and made sure to pepper him with dates. Paper work explained and dates written down, she finally looked at him and smiled.

“Now for the fun part, may I show you to the floor?” She smiled as she opened the door for him.
 
Donovan nodded and smiled. "The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, and all the sweet serenity of books." Donovan said, happily quoting Longfellow. "I cannot wait to be surrounded by the tomes of your store." He chuckled, letting his inner geek show. Donovan truly loved books, ever since he was a child. He wished he had more time to read them, but for the time being he would be happy dealing in them. Perhaps he might even make time to ensure that he did read a few just to stay up on what was popular in the book world.

Donovan looked around the store. It was well-lit, and stuffed with as much product as the store could hold. Every square foot of the store was being utilized, and then some. The track lighting was bright above the shelves and there were a multitude of tables that could be brought in and out of the store at opening and closing. He looked around for customers. The hallways were bustling with people going to and fro and a few people were looking at the tables outside in the hall. He approached one of the customers, a middle-aged woman looking at a Danielle Steele book. "Hello. Can I help you find anything?" Donovan had done his years in sales and knew how to approach customers. He was wise enough to keep his opinions to himself, but he could not help but tease the lady a little. "Ah, a taste for the dangerous and naughty I see." The lady blushed and turned to him. They discussed their taste in books for a little, allowing the lady to be comfortable in picking up a book or two. He led her to the counter. "Sadly, I don't know how to work the computers yet, but I am sure we can work it out."

Donovan looked around for a moment "excuse me Jamie, would you mind helping me with ringing in these books?" He smiled to his boss, hoping she could walk him through the process as they went.
 
Jamie was amazed. She had turned her back for a moment to deal with the supervisor of the cleaning crew that came to do the floors, and when she looked back Donovan was engrossed in a story telling conversation with a woman who was actively listening to him. She nearly jumped when Donovan asked her to help him at the register.

“Sure,” she said smiling brightly. She walked him to the cash and got him to put in his code and password which they had set up prior to hitting the floor. And then something magical happened.

He scanned everything, double checked the prices and totalled it all by himself, even remembering to ask about their loyalty card. Jamie chuckled to herself. He was making her swoon. A new hire she wasn’t really going to have to train on the basics??? That was too good to be true!!!! Donovan thanked the customer, and Jamie waited until she was far enough away before she leaned in a bit.

“That was fantastic! You did a great job with jumping right in to the water, I appreciate that, very much so.” She smiled at him reassuringly and to encourage the behaviour more. There were two huge flights leaving tonight, one to Cuba and one to London, which meant the terminal was busier than usual for the time of night.
 
Donovan was happy dealing with the customers and he fit right in helping them. It wasn't his first retail position, he'd done it all before a million times. He knew the process too. He used to be a preferred customer for the book company, before they moved to e-books. Now he spent the same amount of money from the security of wherever he could find wifi access. He had a loyalty card and was asked every time he made a purchase in the stores, so he figured they were a pretty big deal. He'd learn more about them, he was sure, but for now he knew enough to understand the basics and to understand they were important to the company.

"Thanks, though I have to admit I am pretty used to that kind of stuff. I'm sure this will all work nicely. I have to admit that if I didn't have the addiction to fantasy novels that I possess I might not have known about the loyalty cards. I used to get a $5 dollar gift certificate every two months from the store I used to go to in the mall." Donovan grinned. "Speaking of which, you'll have to show me all the sections. I have a good idea of where the MAIN things are, but there have to be a few sections that I haven't noticed. You'll also have to show me some of your personal favorites. It'd be fun to learn what such a dedicated book woman spends her time wrapped up in." Donovan winked with a smile meant to show he was having fun already.
 
Jamie laughed softly. "Well, to be honest I read a lot of a lot of a lot, every different genre and many different authors. Here let me show you the store and then we can go into specifics there. "

Jamie took him on a tour begining with the non ficition side of the store, showing him the lay outs and hoe some sections had to share space, but couldn't bleed into eachother. She pointed out a couple od biographies, a couple of true crime and some history books that she had read and liked. She showed him religion and newage, and selfhelp, picking a couple of titles from there to show him as well.

Then she moved into the Fiction sections, general, sci fi, mystery, romance. Jamie wasi n her element and by the time the tour was done she was flushed from embarassment. She'd taken up nearly an hour of his time and there had not been a single customer in that entire time. She looked at Donovan.

"It get's so dead here sometimes, I'm sorry for getting lost. Do you have any questions or tohughts?" She asked as they moved to the front of the store. The halls of the terminal like a ghost town. Jamie checked the clock, they still had 2 hours left!!!! This was not going to be a good night!
 
Donovan followed Jamie around the store, watching her as she pointed out things here and there taking note of where all the smaller sections were so that he could find them when he needed. The signs for Fiction, Fantasy and the like made it easy to find those sections. He couldn't help but look down her shirt the one time she bent down to show him the section for religion at the bottom of one of the shelves. He lowered himself down quickly, but he could see her lacy underwear. It struck Donovan as interesting, seeing that was somewhat racy for someone who was dressed fairly conservatively.

"I have plenty of thoughts, but I don't know if I am ready to tell them to you" Donovan thought to himself. "Well, there are a few things I'd like to go over about the kiosk. So what do you do to get rid of the boredom when there are no customers?" Donovan looked around "Like now? I assume there's only so much cleaning that can be done and stock that can be put out. Do you have any fun ideas for passing the time?" Donovan looked around the store a bit more taking in the environment. He noticed a few books out of place and fixed them. Facing them when they needed to be faced and showing them spine-out if need-be. Everything was back in order so he came back to the front of the store, making sure to avoid standing behind the cash desk.
 
Jamie was impressed. She had known Donovan had come with some retail experience, but he certainly was doing all the right things, which meant that her job seemed even easier. She looked at the clock, they only had an hour before close. Typically at this time she’d take one of the tills and count the safe, compose the End of Shift email and then be done with it. But with Donovan here she needed to show him the process in it’s entirety.

“So typically about now the lead, would close out one of the registers, and count the safe. If you feel comfortable enough doing those two things I will set you up and then we can do all the paperwork together when the store is closed.” She smiled at him and showed him how to close out the register. She also gave him the code to the safe. “Just come out when you are done, remember the register floats are $200, and the safe should be relatively self explanatory.”

Jamie watched him walk away on his mission as she focused on tidying and ensuring things were set to rights for the morning crew that would be coming in before too long.
 
Donovan did his counting, making sure everything balanced. He knew that there was always some room for variables, but after counting three times and coming up a dime short on each counting, he reached into his pocket and threw in a dime just to make it appear perfect. He never would tell Jamie about it, but he liked the idea of everything checking out properly on his first day. He counted a fourth time, just to make sure he wasn't throwing anything out. Everything balanced and he made sure everything went to where it was supposed to be in the safe. The floats on the top shelf and the deposit bag on the second.

He came back out and started checking out the closing procedure. He came back out front and walked up to the front desk. Jamie seemed to be engrossed in whatever it was she was doing. Instead of startling her by just standing there he put his hand on her shoulder, just to let her know he was behind her. He was worried that this might be a little too bold for the likes of her. He had heard of some women getting very offended by this sort of action, but Jamie seemed like a touchy-feely kind of person like himself so he just put his hand on her back gently. "What's going on boss? What are we doing now?"
 
Jamie laughed softly as Donovan made his presence known behind her. She shivered a bit, and hoped he didn’t notice.

“Well if everything turned out okay there, we have 10 minutes to pull the tables in and begin closing down the doors.” Jamie said smiling. The night was almost over. Not that she had anything to look forward to when she got home.

Her condo was going to be dark, and aside from watching some TV before bed, and debating on the laundry mountain that loomed in her utility room, there was nothing exciting going down tonight. She closed off the email, ensuring to check it to put out any last minute fires. She made her way out of the cash corral.

“So generally we start closing things off in a systematic way to ensure that we can control the flow of traffic during the last few minutes. This exit,” Jamie motioned to the one in front of her, “Tends to be the one we close first, as it is usually the least used.” Jamie pulled in the round plush table and showed Donovan how to secure the doors, making a note to herself to call yet again about the pins which had begun binding again.

From there they moved to the next exit.

“I know a couple of these table look light, but we have two closers for a reason, and there should always, always be two people moving them.” She reinforced the “two”, the last thing she needed was some self righteous staff member with an axe to grind to call OHAS on her for improper tactics on moving them.

“The last two doors are the trickiest. Mainly because we do need to get everything into the store while still being open, and technically accessible. So generally, we close the far one first, after moving in the two tables, and then we’ll move the last two in the main doors, and we should be ready to close.” Jamie smiled. There was no one in the store, so that meant it would be a quick and easy close, no customers to hurry up and rush.
 
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