The Important Call

Left your phone at work but an important call is coming.

I walked in the door at home. I didn't have to go anywhere tonight, and thank goodness, because there was an important phone call coming on my ... I padded my pockets. I found my keys, my sunglasses, my wallet, but no phone.

Collapsing on the couch, I reviewed my options. I wish I still had a home phone, but nobody did that anymore. My roommate had left town for the week, so I couldn't borrow hers. I knew they didn't want to email me, or they would have already.

Just as I was checking that, I got an email with a subject line, Forgot Your Phone?

I opened it. A link to something I hadn't heard of before, which I suppose is no surprise because I just don't do video chatting or anything else. Except for this. I had misgivings. Nothing good had ever come from a videochat, but also, how had they figured out I'd forgotten my phone at work? The place locked up at five and nobody could go in after that.

I clicked it. The window opened, showing a logo of a mortar and pestle, showing in gold on a vibrant purple background. This was not the logo I expected, if I expected a logo, which I didn't think that I did.

After a moment, a woman appeared. "Amanda?" She gave off the same purple vibes; her dress and even a couple locks of her hair were the same as the background of the logo.

I nodded. I wasn't sure what to say. I knew it wasn't my name, but it was the name that I had given her. Or, it was the name that I had been given once, even though I didn't use it anymore.

She cleared her throat. "I should say Andie, but I'll go with what's on the form. What assistance can I give you?"

My mouth went dry when she said Andie. How did she know what I was going by? "I'm just exploring my options."

"Your. Options." The woman put her file folder down.

That must have been a power play, because I hadn't seen her even look into my file. I didn't have another answer. That was always what I said when people asked about that. I let her fill the silence with her stare.

"Okay, Andie." She blinked very slowly, reminding me of a cat. "Here are your options. I can have a car at your house in 20 minutes, and we can make you over so you'll do well with my agency and consultants. Or I can give you a list of the materials you'll need as well as the process you'll need to follow to do the same thing. Choose."

I shifted in my chair. "Uh. I'm not really good at making decisions on the spot."

"You said you'd be ready for the call, Amanda."

"I thought you'd be giving me a consultation and an idea of how to get promoted at work. Or find a better job. I don't even get what we're doing."

The woman sighed. "Okay. Have it your way. You're not ready for this, and you never will be, if the stars have anything to say about it. If you want the promotion, dress for the part. If you want a better job, you'll need to apply. If you want advice, grow a spine and be confident. It's not that hard."

Anger flared in me. "I don't even know your name, and you're acting like it's easy to be confident? To grow a spine?"

"Didn't you do just that?" She arched an eyebrow at me.

I folded my arms. I had. Somehow. "But I don't want to be angry all the time."

"Your current options are angry or doormat. When I was in your shoes, I chose angry. Look at me now."

"This isn't the call I thought it was going to be."

"It never is. Are you ready, or not?"

I gulped hard. "I'm ready." I could see images in my head. Me, walking into my boss's office to convince him to give me a raise and a promotion. Me, with the resume and interview to get the job I really wanted. Me, with all of the things I wanted because I was no longer afraid to go after them, or maybe just that I'd put the fear in its place. I could do this. "Uhm. Thank you?"

"Thank me later. Right now you have work to do, and I have another meeting."

"Anger? How do I keep hold of it when you're not here to goad me?"

She laughed. "Oh, don't you worry. Once you find me, I'll always be there." The screen went blank. The email was gone, too.

Then she left me to wonder if that would be a problem one day, too.