Take Me to Hell

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How sophisticated- you had to be buzzed in to the newspaper building. Issa pressed the general button, and was admitted a moment later.

"Hello," the receptionist greeted. She was doing her best to look welcoming. "Are you here for anyone?"

Issa smiled, and tilted her head just a touch. Her blonde curls bounced. "Mr. McDonnell," she said. "I'm Annabel McLaine, the new secretary?"

The secretary's mouth made an 'o' as she feigned interest. "Pleasure, Miss McLain," she greeted, then did some typing on her computer. "You already did you training?"

"Last week," the demon confirmed.

"Right this way, then," the receptionist told her, and lead her through the building to the elevator, then the top floor. There wasn't much to it; the elevator exited to a hallway. On one side, around the corner, there were two bathrooms- one for each sex- and the other side opened to a large room that was split in two by a glass wall, with a door in it. On the far side, there were blinds shut; presumably, that was Levi McDonnell's office. The area in front had a lovely, but simple, maple desk, as well as two couches and a glass table with magazines and a newspaper on it as a waiting area.

"This will be your office, here," Issa was told. The receptionist showed her how to log in. "Mr. McDonnell should be in any minute now, and he'll let you know what you need to do," she said, then turned and left Issa alone.

The demon turned and looked to the glass. Her grey eyes swept up and down her reflection, inspecting. Professional attire: pencil skirt, in black, and a red blouse. Her legs and arms were fair against the black shoes and braclet, and her pink lips curved into a smile. Then she sat at the office chair behind the desk and waited for her mark to walk in.

 

[Scout]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Levi pushed a hand through his hair, letting out a long sigh. They weren't what he wanted - the articles. His journalists were missing valuable information that could easily be gained from an interview had they asked the right question. If he had time to hold their hands and guide them along he would, but quite frankly he didn't.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The doors opened. Another sigh. Levi walked out of the elevator tugging on his hair, messing the already tousled hairstyle up even more. It was a straight shot and one turn to make it to his office, he didn't even see the woman sitting at the once vacant desk; his last personal secretary was fired. No brains and huge boobs, well, on top of her advances on him. Surely if someone's secretary locked them in the custodian's closet and forced themselves on them, they'd fire her too. It was one less thing for Levi to worry about.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]After unlocking his office he stepped in and shut the door behind him, going straight for his chair. He turned around to allow himself the view of the city. Only fifty seconds passed before he shot up from his chair, hands grabbing the bundle of papers on his messy desk with dismay. Markings were made everywhere in pen; things were slashed out, mistakes were fixed, suggestions were offered. Levi sighed once more, eyes traversing the inked up page as he exited his office once more. He was headed for the elevator; halfway there he turned back around and went to the secretary desk, the woman seated behind it still going unnoticed. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Better call Brody so he knows I'm coming.." He mumbled, reaching around the woman to pick up the phone and dial a few numbers. He'd grown so accustomed of doing things himself that he wasn't expecting to see a woman. When he finally noticed her his eyes narrowed, inspecting her as he hung up the phone just as there was a meek 'hello' on the other end. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Who are you?"[/BCOLOR]

 

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As Levi came in and failed to notice her, Issa just sat back and watched. A smile still played around her features as she watched him settle in. "Who are you?" he finally asked her, eyes narrowing.

"I'm the secretary you recently hired," she explained, sitting back in the chair. "Annie McLaine. Don't you remember me? The interview wasn't that long ago," she said in a casual tone. "Today's my first day. I wasn't supposed to bring you coffee, was I? I thought that would be an intern's job. But they didn't tell me anything about an intern," she wondered, wrinkling her nose. But then Issa shook her head and looked back up at Levi.

"Anyways, Mr. McDoneell. I've already had the company training, but is there anything else I need to know? Or shall we just get started?"

 

[Scout]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The shock he felt was evident on his face; eyes widened, lips parted ever so slightly. It was there for only a second before his eyes narrowed once more. Levi looked at the woman suspicious. He didn't remember the interview - he had twenty other interviews that day too! And he sure as hell didn't remember selecting one of the interviewees for the job either. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]A moment slipped by with nothing said, his eyes locked on hers. With that moment passed Levi reached around her to pick up the phone again, his eyes never leaving hers as he dialed the necessary numbers to reach the person he desired to speak with - the person he knew was at the core of it all. Once the line opened up he began to speak, skipping the greetings altogether.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Caroline, did you hire her?" Levi's voice was menacingly calm and relaxed while his eyes were alight with a wild fire. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Yes, Mr. McDonnell. You needed the help and she was the most applicable. I'm sorry for taking matters into my own hands, but you would've never hired a personal secretary yourself. You can't do everything on your own." Had Annie listened close enough she would hear the voice of the front desk receptionist that welcomed her reply back.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]A soft sigh parted Levi's pink lips, his eyes closing, letting the call fall into silence. A moment passed before he spoke up, eyes opening. "Fine." [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Levi hung up and turned his narrowed eyes onto Annie, setting the stack of papers onto her desk with a soft 'thud'. "Take these to Brody and tell him he has three days to fix it. When you're finished come to my office." Concise and to the point, Levi left no room for argument or questions before he turned around and trotted back to his office. If she didn't know who and where Brody was, she better find out. And soon. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Levi paused in his doorway, catching the woman before she went off. "I have a meeting in ten minutes. Be back before then."[/BCOLOR]

 

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Apparently the bit of the coffee hadn't been funny, as the man just reached around her for the phone and confirmed that she wasn't just a pretty stranger off the streets. But that was fine; Issa would figure out how to get him to bend. But first she had to find this Brody and give him this stack of papers, and have him fix it in three days. Simple enough, she just had to find him. "Sure," she said as he stepped back into his office.

The girl picked up the stack of papers and went to the elevator. When she was on it, she closed her eyes and recalled the first voice she heard on the phone. Levi had said that he was going to call Brody first, and someone had certainly answered. They would know where to find Brody, at least. Issa listened through the building, but soon enough the voice spoke again. She considered the distance and entered the floor to the elevator, and used the sound of the voice to navigate her to the man.

"This is from Levi," she told him, grateful for the roughly one block radius of hearing she had- far greater than a human would in these conditions. "He wants you to fix them withing three days," she explained, and darted right off. Brody seemed confused by the sudden encounter, but Issa was on a clock, which was running low. The elevator might push her over the limit, she worried, so ducked around a corner and disappeared.

A moment later, the elevator stopped at the top floor, and let the demon off. Issa walked confidently to Levi's door, and knocked. She may not have been the strongest of demons, but the powers that she had were godly compared to these people.

 

[Scout]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The door shut just as her voice carried to his ears. "Sure.." He mumbled to himself with a chuckle, glad she followed his orders with little argument. While Levi was a wanted man, causing many of the people -specifically women- who applied for his secretary, that was only half the reason he couldn't keep someone in the job. Those he did hire usually quit because he was so harsh on them; always testing them, giving them orders, working them with little to no break. Why should they have one when he didn't? Even when he left the office he was working, they should do the same.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]In his office Levi spent another moment looking out the tall glass windows. The view was spectacular, it was a shame he didn't have the time to admire it. Without a sliver of hesitation he sat behind his desk, the leather chair squeaking ever so slightly in protest. On the desk lay stacks of papers, stacks that didn't appear to be affected even by the load of papers he gave Annie. His job was never ending. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Blue eyes focused in on the articles, scanning over every word for any mistakes, rereading each sentence twice, rereading each paragraph three times and making marks by the information he would need to double check to be sure the facts were accurate. He was in the middle of an article when there was a knock at his door. "Back already?" He mumbled to himself, pushing himself up out of his chair and going to the door to open it.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]No words were shared as he stepped past her and led the way to her desk. "As you are well aware, this is your desk. And while I'd like to give you time to get acquainted with its many facets, you're going to the meeting with me." Levi shot her one look before going to the door, holding it open for her to go through first. "You are to take notes and give them to me when it's over. If I deem them acceptable you're hired, but if they are not you're fired." By then they made it to the elevator. Levi pushed the button and the doors open seconds later, he entered soon after, waiting for Annie to get in first. A thick finger pressed the button for the fourth floor. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Levi glanced at his watch. "We're late." He said under his breath just loud enough for her to hear, insinuating it was her fault they were late. The doors opened and he rushed out, making his way to the conference room with a long stride of the legs. The meeting was with several of Levi's journalists, all pitching ideas for the next newspaper. It was a simple task to be taking notes, which is one of the reasons why he was having Annie do it even though he would be taking his own notes, though he was looking out for something - one particular detail some of his previous secretaries didn't include in their notes when he put them to the test. An opinion. Which article did she think would hit home with the readers and keep them tuning in? Which did she find fault in? He didn't want mindless robots working for him, as backwards as it was, he wanted someone with an opinion. [/BCOLOR]

 

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Notes? Was that all? Issa was almost suspicious. She hadn't exactly come in blind to the job; you could woo a stranger, sure, but you couldn't work for one without knowing at least a little about them. With a convenient notepad and pen in her hand- oh, this thing would be wasteful, she ought to see what she could do about getting one of those touch-screen pad things that the others told her about- the demon followed her mark into the elevator. Notes couldn't be too hard, could they? What the hell did 'acceptable' even mean? Did they talk that fast, or cover that much information?

"We're late," he muttered in the elevator. Issa gave a sidelong glance to the watch on his wrist, but no amount of good eyesight could see a face turned away from her. This was an accusation that she'd taken too long- another test? Annoyance reared its head, but that was no good; that would get her nowhere. Or maybe it would? Not on the first day, she reasoned; not within the first hour.

Not that it mattered- the elevators here were fast, and pinged them to their floor just a moment later. Levi hurried out, and Issa didn't take her time in following him to the meeting room. The room was full of journalists still working through their coffee. The two situated themselves at the table quickly, and both began taking notes. As her eyes followed the various speakers and her hands scribbled down condensed versions of what they said, Issa noted Levi taking notes as well.

The notes were a test, then. They had to be. It couldn't be whether or not they matched up with his notes, because the conversation wasn't exactly a strenuous one to follow; he wasn't looking for just information, then. There was something else that he wanted. What? What was it that secretaries did? They kept records. But Levi was keeping his own records, too, so he wanted- what? Something else. Not just records. What did records miss? What could… Issa wracked her brain until an idea came to her. Perhaps a long shot, but he did say that this would determine whether or not she was hired. Shouldn't the secretary to the editor in chief know a little something about newspapers?

Well, if it didn't work, another demon could take her place. There were certainly enough of them to go around. As the conversation lulled into a few jokes, she reviewed the notes she had taken, and started writing more by them. This one, she knew, had flaws; that one seemed interesting. The demon juggled jotting down her thoughts on previously mentioned stories, writing down the ones mentioned next, and her thoughts on those. When she had caught up and only was recording the information and her thoughts thereof, it wasn't so hard a thing to do. And the meeting continued like that- business, with occasional breaks for humor- for some time, until everyone seemed satisfied with what they had put on the table. The hierarchy of the office made them look at Levi to wait for either affirmation that they could leave, or a demand for them to stay, but they also started to shuffle their papers together in a pile, ready to leave.