Chapter 3 The Test
Nora had boasted herself to be a very efficient person. She found a nursery school that was near both to her company and to Grace's home, so she quickly registered Hugh there. She also planned the shortest route as well as calculated the time it would take her from work to Hugh's school. After figuring all that out, she finally went to her first day of work.
When Nora entered the agency, her eyes widened. The big company was far different from all the traditional firms that she had seen. The Daniel's Agency was definitely meant for the high-end market.
She couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable with her situation. Before going out, she made sure that she had chosen the most decent clothes she had in her closet. However, she still felt like someone from the countryside compared to the high end clothes the others were sporting.
The day before she went to work, someone called her and asked her to go to the assistant's office directly next day. She followed. After staying inside for a long time, a man in a suit entered the office. He looked like an agent.
"Are you Miss Su?" he asked politely.
She nodded.
"Here's the thing," he started, looking a bit embarrassed. "You know that the requirements we've given for our assistants are much lower this time around. That's because under certain circumstances, we are in dire need."
"I understand." She shrugged.
The man sighed with relief. "I'm acting as an agent for two actors. This is why I recruited an assistant for one of them. He's a neat freak, so it's very important for the assistant to be clean. As for work experience, we can provide the training. If you have any questions about the salary, you can ask me.
Also, since we're working in an entertainment business, it's important that we maintain a strict level of confidentiality for our actors."
Nora nodded again.
The man blinked in shock. He didn't expect that things would go this smoothly. "Okay. You can go to Murphy's office later to start. He's shooting scenes right now, and he would be back later on. I've already arranged for you to meet his ex-assistant, who would introduce to you all his likes and dislikes today." He smiled. "I hope you can adapt to your job soon. I look forward to working with you." Murphy.
The moment she heard his name, her heart skipped a beat. It was as if her mind had just exploded. 'Why didn't I think of that?' Even if she didn't deliberately ask about him, she should have known that there were chances of her bumping into him in this agency. His agent was, after all, the Daniel's Agency.
Her cheeks reddened, but she quickly calmed herself. Three years had passed. He must have seen her resume when she was recruited as an assistant... Yet, he still hired her.
Since he didn't mind, then she didn't need to take it to heart.
The man noticed the change in her expression. "Do you have any questions?"
"No. Thank you." She smiled, waving her hands dismissively.
"Okay." The agent breathed a sigh in relief. He had been really worried throughout the recruitment process.
However, Nora was already panicking on the inside. 'This is the first step for you to move on.' She reminded herself.
The Daniel's Agency had a total of twenty floors of the building for arranging the artists' work. Murphy's office was on the eighteen floor. When Nora arrived, she thought she was going to faint. Although she was just in one floor, there were still so many rooms that she thought she was going to get lost along the way.
"Ah!" As she was about to turn around the corner, she bumped into a woman.
The woman had long curly hair and a beautiful face. Although she had a lot of makeup on, it was only there to highlight her bright eyes and high cheekbones.
Nora couldn't help but feel that the woman looked incredibly familiar. She then bowed her head and apologized.
The woman glared at her coldly without saying a word.
All of a sudden, a man rushed behind her and shouted, "Laquisha, the play will help you return to the spotlight. Why wouldn't you sign it?"
Before the man could start on another rant, he stopped when he saw Nora.
'Laquisha!' She was one of the most popular stars four years ago. In fact, Nora had seen her performances when she was still in college. However, she remembered that Laquisha had been banned from the entertainment industry long ago. Was she making a comeback?
Nora quickly backed away. She didn't have the time to meddle in other people's affairs anyway. Right now, all she needed was to keep her job.
"I'm really sorry," Nora apologized again.
"Who are you? I haven't seen you in the company. Are you a fan?" The man narrowed his eyes at Nora suspiciously.
Afraid that he might call the guards, Nora quickly took out the work card that Murphy's agent had given her. "I'm Murphy's new assistant. It's my first day. I guess I'm lost." She laughed sheepishly, trying to relieve the tension.
Laquisha snorted in disdain. "Sure enough, the man fired another one of his assistants." She shook her head.
Nora lowered her head.
"Turn left. His door's the third one, you see." The man smiled and pointed the direction for her.
As Nora entered the room, she heard a woman talking on the phone.
"Ugh! Murphy's horrible. I just can't stand him. He thinks he own the place when he's just a little famous. God, don't get me started on..."
Nora decided that it was time for her to walk in. She coughed and opened the door.
The woman was startled from the sudden entry. When she realized who she was, she immediately relaxed and hung up her phone.
"Are you the new assistant?" she asked.
"Yes." Nora nodded.
"My name is Ruth Lu." Ruth Lu eyed Nora up and down as she crossed her arms against her chest.
"I'm Nora Su," she replied politely.
"You can walk around the office and familiarize yourself with the surroundings." She smiled. "Really, this job isn't that demanding if you're just writing documents all the time.
It's Murphy. The man's just difficult to work with!" Ruth Lu lowered her voice.
"The man wants to be clean, right? I guess it's not that abnormal." Nora raised her eyebrows.
After hearing someone speak against him, she couldn't help but stand up for the man. She took a deep breath once she realized her place.
Fortunately, Ruth Lu didn't notice a thing. She snorted.
"Please, you'll know once you work with him. For example, his office desk should be disinfected at least four times a day. The documents on his desk must not hold at least one speck of dust. His OCD is the worst! The documents' size and font must not be out of place. No one is allowed to disturb him in his assigned rest time..."
The more she droned on, the angrier she felt. She sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"Just pray for yourself, girl." Ruth Lu handed the file over before walking away.
It wasn't until Nora looked down at the file did she finally come to her senses.
She glanced at the office. There wasn't any other chair in the office. She didn't want to sit on Murphy's chair, so she decided to squat on the ground while reviewing the documents.