Only The First Week

"Now, I've read your file and I see here that you've taken the classes and training for this position. You've been here for over two years and you've done excellent work, so I decided to have you join our floor. Since you don't need any help, you can start immediately."

She then passed on a binder to Liu Yang, who opened it up to look before closing it.

"Thank you for giving me this chance!" said the young woman.

Ms. Han smiled before gesturing towards the door.

"Your cubicle is on the right side of the floor, near the middle. We do have quite a competitive atmosphere but everyone here is family. I hope to see your good work."

Liu Yang stood up and bowed before leaving the office. She surveyed the floor before finding the said cubicle and headed over to her new workspace.

She stopped in front of it and put her bag down. Sitting down on her chair, this newly titled "Senior Analyst" took it all in with a breath.

"This is nice."

It was empty but soon enough she would be able to decorate it. There was plenty of desk space as it was L-shaped with drawers on both sides. Her computer was even more impressive, with two screens and a big tower to boot.

Liu Yang just admired it for a moment, before opening up the binder and starting her work. It wasn't long before lunch came. This time, she had a lunchbox from her mother, filled with leftovers from yesterday as well as one or two new dishes that were made early in the morning.

Sitting in her cubicle, she continued to admire her new workspace as she ate while a few of her new coworkers came by with welcoming smiles.

"Hey, you're the new girl, right? From the tenth floor?" one of them asked.

She looked up and nodded.

"My name is Liu Yang. Yeah, I just came from the tenth floor."

After introducing herself, they also did the same, shaking hands or waving.

"Welcome to the sixteenth floor, Liu Yang! As you know, we're all family..."

While making small talk, all of them took glances at her cubicle and especially at the binder. She had noticed it long ago but did nothing, she knew what they were doing. They were sizing her up, trying to see what kind of person she was.

"Those smiles.... so fake", she thought.

After making acquaintances with her new coworkers, everyone returned to their cubicles and she let out a sigh of relief.

"God, that was almost too much. Did they have to ask me so many questions? And the snide comments, it's my first day, give me a break. Hah, new promotion same crap."

As excited as she was about her promotion, her new coworkers brought her back to reality.

"In the end, it's still a job, the same job with a nicer title, can't complain about my salary though."

She shrugged and returned to her work, looking over the files in her binder.

"Liu Yang? Ms. Han told me to hand this over to you as well."

Looking up, she saw an older man holding several other binders and stood up to receive them. He wasn't very welcoming nor was he being mean, if anything he was extremely serious. Most likely her secretary or assistant, he handed off the binders before leaving with a parting message.

"She expects a report on all of them by the end of the week. Other than that, welcome to the floor."

"Thank you."

She lowered her head and watched him go before plopping down onto her chair.

"She's testing me, isn't she?"

It was only her first day in this new position and she had already been given a hefty workload. Whether it was a test or Ms. Han trusted her ability that much.

"Ah, I only have a few days before the week ends. I need to have this dealt with."

Resolving herself, she went to work.

As for the one that handed her the binders, he walked back to Ms. Han's office, where she was busy going over the papers. He stood in front of her with a dubious look on his face.

"Are you sure about letting the newbie get all that work? One of those cases is actually important", he said.

Ms. Han didn't bother looking up from her papers.

"I chose her because her skills were good and the work she's done has been excellent. From the earlier meeting, she seemed like a good person. However..."

She took her glasses off and looked up to her assistant.

"If Liu Yang wants this position, she will have to get used to the workload. If she can't handle this much then she can go back to the tenth floor. It's not even the busy season right now, what would she do then? Besides, those cases aren't even that important. Is there else, Jiang Chen?" she asked.

"No, Ms. Han, I'll be going now. If you need anything else, please tell me."

Her assistant, Jiang Chen, turned and left, leaving her to her work.

"Hm, there is no room for incompetence."

Muttering to herself, she took another look at her door before going back to work.

From now until Friday, Liu Yang was in "work-mode", staying later than normal and just ignoring any distractions. All she wanted to do was to finish the reports and to do so on time and without errors.

"It should be like this."

"That seems a bit wrong."

"Where's that other file?"

She worked tirelessly for this, muttering to herself about the next steps. Those around her watched carefully but were slightly intimidated by her intense focus. It was just constant typing coming from that very cubicle.

And at the final hour, she typed even more furiously, going between the binders and the files, checking the various details, and making sure that everything was accounted for.

"And... finished."

After another tap on the keyboard, she leaned back and breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Just have to print it out and organize it."

In a matter of minutes, there were dozens of papers on her desk from which she put together. With a heave, she lifted up all of the binders and walked towards the office in the back. Balancing the binders on one hand, she knocked on the door with the other hand before entering.

"Ms. Han, here are all the reports you wanted."

Walking up to the desk, she placed them in front of the department head and stood there, waiting for a response.

Ms. Han looked at her before checking the first binder on top, skimming through some of the papers. She nodded her head in approval and went back to her own work.

"Good job, I hope to see you continue this performance in the coming month. It won't be long before the promotion is permanent."

"Thank you, Ms. Han."

Liu Yang bowed and walked out of the office. Going back to her cubicle she packed up all of her things, getting ready to leave before plopping onto the chair. She let out a breath of relief, closing her eyes for a moment.

"I could use a drink."