later she heard a knock. After a deep breath to calm her frayed nerves, she went to the front door. Upon opening it, she looked up to see the same wiry frame and chauffeur’s cap and smiled. “Hi, Carl. Will you come in?”
His disappearing grin shone out briefly before he nodded, following Lex inside. When they’d sat in the living room again in the same places as before, he spoke. “Well, did you make a decision?”
“I’ll take the job,” Lex replied, and immediately felt a rush of happy excitement. She couldn’t say if she felt surprised by what had come out of her mouth; it almost seemed like she’d sat watching herself from behind a pane of glass. Since she hadn’t made a final decision until that moment, instead trusting herself to figure out what to say, Lex mentally crossed her fingers and hoped she’d made the right choice.
Carl nodded, looking at her as if trying to figure out the thoughts running through her mind. After a moment he asked, “Did you sign the papers?”
Lex shook her head. “Sorry, I’ve been reading all day so I didn’t sign any yet. I’ve made lots of notes about questions I want to ask tomorrow, and if all of that goes well it shouldn’t take me too long to finish reading everything and sign.”
He nodded again, as if mentally confirming something, and the momentary smile appeared and vanished before he continued. “That should be fine. I’ll take your response back to the agency, and the papers as well. You’ll get the same packet back to finish reading and signing tomorrow. Just so you know, you’re expected to report at nine tomorrow morning to the facility you interviewed at. Don’t pack everything you own; just figure out what you’ll need for the next two weeks. Once you’ve gotten used to how the scheduling goes, you should be able to decide what else you’ll want to move over. Don’t worry if you forget anything; just put it on the shopping list and it’ll be brought to you. Will you need to have a car sent around?”
Lex thought about it as Carl packed all of the stacks of papers back into the envelope. She figured she could probably pack everything she needed into her travel bag, a backpack, and the purse she normally carried with her, but she did have another question for him. “I think I should be OK, but I was wondering what type of clothes to pack. From what I read, it sounds like I should definitely pack workout gear, but I was wondering if I would need some business clothes or anything else.”
Carl looked at her for a moment and then shook his head. “For your first few weeks, I doubt you’ll need anything like that. You can pack one outfit if it makes you feel more comfortable to have it, but I doubt you’ll need anything more formal than business casual, if that. The ladies who live there dress informally, as you could probably see from visiting. I’d say to pack whatever you feel most comfortable in.”
Lex nodded. “Thanks. I should be fine taking the metro there tomorrow, then.”
“All right,” Carl responded, now done inspecting the papers and ensuring that they all seemed to be there. “In that case, I’ll leave now. Congratulations on your new position.”
The almost intangible smile seemed a bit wry this time, and Lex smiled uncertainly in return. Even though she felt happy about her decision, she still worried that she didn’t have the full picture of what lay ahead.
She sighed with concern as she closed the door behind Carl, but quickly shook the feeling off. Looking at the clock, she realized she had almost an hour until Kurt got home and decided to do some packing before he arrived.
Lex pulled her travel bag and backpack out of the closet, wrinkling her nose slightly at their dusty smell, and began to fill them with her favorite workout gear, a couple business casual outfits, a few pairs of jeans, and some sleeping clothes. Lex went back into the living room after that to pack some things for any leisure time she
His disappearing grin shone out briefly before he nodded, following Lex inside. When they’d sat in the living room again in the same places as before, he spoke. “Well, did you make a decision?”
“I’ll take the job,” Lex replied, and immediately felt a rush of happy excitement. She couldn’t say if she felt surprised by what had come out of her mouth; it almost seemed like she’d sat watching herself from behind a pane of glass. Since she hadn’t made a final decision until that moment, instead trusting herself to figure out what to say, Lex mentally crossed her fingers and hoped she’d made the right choice.
Carl nodded, looking at her as if trying to figure out the thoughts running through her mind. After a moment he asked, “Did you sign the papers?”
Lex shook her head. “Sorry, I’ve been reading all day so I didn’t sign any yet. I’ve made lots of notes about questions I want to ask tomorrow, and if all of that goes well it shouldn’t take me too long to finish reading everything and sign.”
He nodded again, as if mentally confirming something, and the momentary smile appeared and vanished before he continued. “That should be fine. I’ll take your response back to the agency, and the papers as well. You’ll get the same packet back to finish reading and signing tomorrow. Just so you know, you’re expected to report at nine tomorrow morning to the facility you interviewed at. Don’t pack everything you own; just figure out what you’ll need for the next two weeks. Once you’ve gotten used to how the scheduling goes, you should be able to decide what else you’ll want to move over. Don’t worry if you forget anything; just put it on the shopping list and it’ll be brought to you. Will you need to have a car sent around?”
Lex thought about it as Carl packed all of the stacks of papers back into the envelope. She figured she could probably pack everything she needed into her travel bag, a backpack, and the purse she normally carried with her, but she did have another question for him. “I think I should be OK, but I was wondering what type of clothes to pack. From what I read, it sounds like I should definitely pack workout gear, but I was wondering if I would need some business clothes or anything else.”
Carl looked at her for a moment and then shook his head. “For your first few weeks, I doubt you’ll need anything like that. You can pack one outfit if it makes you feel more comfortable to have it, but I doubt you’ll need anything more formal than business casual, if that. The ladies who live there dress informally, as you could probably see from visiting. I’d say to pack whatever you feel most comfortable in.”
Lex nodded. “Thanks. I should be fine taking the metro there tomorrow, then.”
“All right,” Carl responded, now done inspecting the papers and ensuring that they all seemed to be there. “In that case, I’ll leave now. Congratulations on your new position.”
The almost intangible smile seemed a bit wry this time, and Lex smiled uncertainly in return. Even though she felt happy about her decision, she still worried that she didn’t have the full picture of what lay ahead.
She sighed with concern as she closed the door behind Carl, but quickly shook the feeling off. Looking at the clock, she realized she had almost an hour until Kurt got home and decided to do some packing before he arrived.
Lex pulled her travel bag and backpack out of the closet, wrinkling her nose slightly at their dusty smell, and began to fill them with her favorite workout gear, a couple business casual outfits, a few pairs of jeans, and some sleeping clothes. Lex went back into the living room after that to pack some things for any leisure time she
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