THE MOMENT
"What?" Leslie tilted her head at the executive woman sitting behind a large chrome desk. The spacious office looked tastefully, and intentionally bare with only a couple of potted plants breaking up the shining chrome floors and walls. Leslie had been looking out the wall of windows behind the corporate representative and admiring the city below when she heard the unexpected statement. "I thought this was an entry-level position... is it dangerous?" she asked.
"No," Ruby smiled and shook her head. "Simple office work to get your feet wet in the company..., why would it be dangerous?" she asked.
"Well, I mean, you said it's run by dragons, and I'll be interacting with Fae often. I could imagine that being dangerous...," she said.
"Without being overly familiar with Chroma Corp., I can see how you might think that," Ruby nodded. "I assure you all our employees are quite polite and if you do the job well, I don't imagine you'll have much trouble during the probationary period. Things might get more challenging for you after that, with a higher level of minimum acceptable performance. But, you'll be free to decide what positions to pursue, and you'll know the demands of those positions going in. It'll be up to you to take on only what you can handle."
"Then... why the warning?" Leslie asked.
"What warning?" Ruby needed clarification because she couldn't remember offering any warnings to Leslie.
"You said, 'The minimum requirement is staying alive," Leslie reminded her. "That almost sounds like a threat if not a warning....,"
"Huh," Ruby nodded. "I could see that, although this is the first time someone has taken that interpretation from me."
"... what other interpretation is there?" Leslie asked. She couldn't imagine another explanation.
"It is an entry-level position," Ruby repeated with a nod. "And, Chroma Corp. is known to be supportive and encouraging to all its employees. It was a literal statement. Not that we want to encourage laziness all, and fortunately, we don't get much of that. However, to land a full-time position with us, it's as easy as getting through the three-month probation. The bare minimum for that is staying alive for those three months. Although, of course, it helps if you show up for work. However, there have been extenuating circumstances on occasion and it's not unheard of that we give someone a position even if they hadn't shown up a single day. That's why we say staying alive is the minimum now," she smiled.
"Really?" It sounded too good to be true. Leslie wanted to work for the company and meet dragons. She knew Ruby was one; but, she wanted to meet more of them. However, if she didn't actually have to work that might be better.
"Really," Ruby nodded. "Although, it's also worth mentioning that staying alive is the minimum requirement for getting through the trial months. Once you actually have a position, you'll be obligated to work to keep it. After three months, you can be let go at any time, and for any reason."