The Office Manager

Tonight's Episode

Clarrisa has her morning routine of walking her dog, named Big, every morning while she drinks her coffee. It’s her last relaxing time before she starts her day as a Staff Manager. Whatever anyone thinks of that job, it is very demanding, and it requires a lot of organizing and people skills. These morning routines with her pug, Big, mean a lot.

She leaves the little single floor duplex apartment, which has a nice little sidewalk lined with shrubs and flowers, kept very well by the Caretaker, Robert. The sunset and the air that is ionized and freshened by the evaporating dew is idyllic. These moments mean so much when she knows what is in store for her long, arduous day at work.

As she makes her left turn out of the end of her sidewalk, she sees her neighbor, Mrs. Periwinkle, like a clock, watering her lawn, enjoying her morning routine as well. Like every morning, they see one another and wave. She crosses the street in order to meet the T- intersection and carry on down that intersecting street. Clarrisa will make three more right turns as she circles that block to make it back home.

On the third right that she makes is the little dog park. Big has his morning routine as well, and of course, Clarissa is responsible in her role in that routine and cleans up after him. By the time she has made it around the block, most of the cars that were parked in the street are gone. The people have left for work in that short time. She will do the same.

Once in the house, she takes a good walk around, with Big at her heels, assesses everything, and makes sure it’s safe to leave. Big is starting to whimper a little bit, because he knows what is happening, and he hates the part where he hears the front door close.

Clarissa gathers her things. She has her tech bag with her phone, two laptops, and a variety of accessories. She also has an oversize bag with an extra set of clothes, her lunch, and a sweater. There is plenty of extra room in the bag for anything she feels like she might feel the need to pick up along the way.

It’s time for Big to go out onto the screened-in porch at the back of the house. It is a very comfy situation, everything he could possibly need is out there. She picks him up and places him on the back of the couch, where she puts on a doggie door collar. As he approaches the doggie door, it opens automatically, so he can go in and out of a small fenced-in enclosure outside the screen porch.

He gets big hugs as she carries him out to the porch, where she very lovingly places him down. He is making those anxious noises, but it will only be for a few moments, and he is accustomed to this situation. He is a smart boy, he knows she’ll be home later.

The last thing Clarissa does before she leaves is rinse her coffee mug. After doing so, she fills it with water and leaves it in the sink. Then she double-checks her work accessories, takes a last look in the mirror, and bids Big farewell for the day.

It is music in the car, of course. Living fairly close to work, it’s usually one or two songs at the most before she is there. She would walk, or ride a bike if she could, but she is sometimes called upon to make special trips out of the office. She loves the Go-Go’s. They are her favorite because even though few people know it, they were the very first all-female line-up to write every one of the songs on their debut album.

The sterile, boxy, corporate building where she works is fairly typical of the industrial park scene. Some have hedges, some corner lots and entry drive low profile signs. The lettering on the glass doors of all the businesses is uniform. She greets the uniformed security guard, Tom, as he opens the door for her. She likes it when he is on duty, he is a gentleman.

Immediately upon entering, she is met by her employer, Mr. Tupelo.

“Rissy, I need you to get the standard set-up for our current client list. You have to go now, but go do a count first and only order exactly what we need.”

“Yes sir, I’m on it”, she responds, as she heads to the back of the office area and enters the warehouse. 

Here she counts 43 people tied up with their mouths gagged and covered.; men, women and children. The ones who are not scared have obviously been drugged. Clarissa goes to her desk in the front office and calls the office supply store.

“Hello, hey it’s me Clarissa…yes it has been a while, how are you? How’s your mom? Oh, that’s wonderful, I’m so glad to hear that! Hey look, I need 10 rolls of the heavy duct tape, and 43 packs of 4 mil folded plastic, you know, the 20x10? Oh…you know what, you better include about 300 feet of brown butcher paper.” No no no, I’ll come pick it up. I had to double-check that order to make sure, yep. Gotta get it right if we wanna pay those bills!”

The End 907 Words

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This was Flash August Fiction

The Chronicles of The Last Gas Station: 52 Chapters in 52 Weeks is coming soon.