I woke up in the morning and remembered that I was naked. I laughed because it was the first time in a while that I was all alone in a bed and I had a garbage bag covering my forearm. I quickly looked at my hand with my x-ray vision and saw that nearly everything was healed. That put me into a good mood, so I hopped up and had a quick shower.
Rachel came into the apartment without knocking and saw me come out of the bathroom with a towel in my arms. She smiled demurely at me and then her smile grew as Little Connor said hello to her.
“Good morning to you, too.” Rachel said with a soft laugh and took the towel. She dried me off and paid a bit more attention to Little Connor than was strictly necessary, because he quickly thanked her by spitting at her. “I think someone is a little eager.”
I nodded and motioned to the bed. “If you would assume the best position.”
Rachel didn't hesitate as she hiked up her skirt and bent over the bed. She started to moan right away as I knelt and licked her pretty thoroughly. After she came a few times, she helped me get dressed in my cleaned suit and then kissed me before she took off the garbage bag covering my cast.
“I'm going to miss you this morning.” Rachel said, sadly.
“Me, too.” I said and we left my room, only to see Burnin standing there with a scowl on her face. “Thank you very much for ensuring I was awake in time, Rachel. The receptionist at the main desk needs me today.”
“It's too bad you're still under orders to not use super speed.” Rachel said to me and then pretended to jerk slightly and looked at Burnin. “Oh! Hello, Moe. You're still on the afternoon shift. What are you doing up so early?”
Burnin's scowl didn't lessen. “I heard about what happened in the gym last night.”
“Yes, I had to step in and enforce the rules. No overbooking.” Rachel said, intentionally misunderstanding Burnin's statement. “We have too many heroes here that also needed the space.”
“I apologized and Rachel was kind enough to assign me to light duties and not fine my pay for breaking the rules, even if it was a mistake and unintentional.” I said and motioned to the elevator. “I think we're going in different directions for breakfast, Rachel.”
“I think I can stand to escort you to the ground floor and explain things to Sarah for you.” Rachel said with a smile and led me to the elevator. “You can grab a quick bite before helping her clean up that absolute mess of a desk.”
“That sounds like a plan.” I said and used my left hand to push the elevator call button. “It's better than mine where I sit in my room for half the day and wait for my medical evaluation at lunch.”
Rachel chuckled and we entered the just arrived elevator. “That would be a supreme waste of your talents, Connor.”
I laughed and managed to not look at Burnin until the elevator doors closed, to see her reaction to the dig at her. The anger on her face was quite pronounced as her hair had flared out and she had to use the fire extinguisher several times.
“Did she blow up?” Rachel asked with a smirk on her face.
“Four hairs and blasts with her fire extinguisher.” I said and she laughed. “That was a good shot.”
“A little reminder might let her think about how she's handling this whole thing so badly.” Rachel said and I could only nod.
The elevator doors opened on the ground floor and Rachel took me over to the front desk and explained to the receptionist what my job was going to be. Sarah looked pretty relieved and insisted on getting me breakfast while I got to work right away.
Rachel laughed softly as Sarah ran to the cafeteria and glanced around. No one was looking, so she gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “Tell me right away if your medical assessment is favorable.”
“You'll be the second person to know.” I said and she gave me a odd look. “The nurse is going to be the first.”
Rachel shook her head and used a fingertip to tap my nose. The snap sound as she gave me a large shock bolt was pretty loud in the nearly empty lobby. “No teasing about important things.”
I glanced around as well and saw one person looking over, so I had to whisper. “Yes, my goddess. I will make it up to you later.”
Rachel beamed a smile at me and left me at the desk as she walked over to the elevator.
I did my best to watch her without being obvious about it, then I started working with just my left hand as I sorted the several small stacks of forms, reports, and paperwork that seemed to have gathered so quickly that the receptionist couldn't get a good handle on it.
Sarah came back and had brought two breakfast sandwiches with eggs and sausage on them. They were easily held with a single hand and she did that to let me eat and not get my sole hand dirty while I worked.
“Thank you.” I said after I had eaten both things.
“You've already made my desk look loads better than it was and it's only been twenty minutes.” Sarah said and looked at her greasy fingers. “Being your hands is a small price to pay.”
“It also lets you have another break to go and wash your hands while I keep working.”
Sarah smiled at me and jogged over to the elevator. “I'll be out of your hair for about fifteen minutes!”
I had to laugh at her enthusiasm to have me work unimpeded, so I nodded and went back to sorting. Thanks to Rachel's training and learning the filing system, while also knowing how to use it properly, those fifteen minutes were well spent. When Sarah came back, she was shocked at how much I had done for her.
“I think I'm just going to stand over here and handle the verbal inquiries and the phones.” Sarah said with a huge smile on her face.
“I would have been done already if I was allowed to move normally.” I said with a chuckle and held up my cast-covered hand.
“No wonder Rachel and Amanda adore you!” Sarah said as the phone rang. She picked it up and handled the inquiry with expertise while I kept working on the paperwork. Several hero sidekicks turned in their reports from the previous day and I quickly added them to the file folder for that day and marked them appropriately.
We worked for the rest of the morning and not a single person asked why I was there doing paperwork at the reception desk or why I was wearing my hero costume. I wasn't sure if it was because they weren't curious or because they were immune to the change that my presence caused. Either way, Sarah and I worked together like a well oiled machine and there was no awkwardness or accidental bumps.
“I'm sending in a request to hire you permanently!” Sarah said with enthusiasm when lunchtime arrived and my shift with her was over.
I chuckled. “I should have some time available in a few days to help you again, depending on how much work Rachel and Amanda have for me in their offices.”
“Not for your internship, I mean permanently.” Sarah said. “I've never had such an easy day! It's always rush, rush, rush! I'm usually worn off my feet and exhausted by now or I'm frustrated by people constantly interrupting me when I'm on the phone or handling the paperwork.”
I thought about that. “You either need an assistant to handle the little things while you do the more important parts of your job, or you need to ignore the paperwork until you take a break and then deal with it.”
“I only get two morning breaks and two afternoon breaks. There's no possible way for me to handle an entire day's paperwork in only 40 minutes.” Sarah said.
“No, those are your work mandated breaks. You're not actually allowed to work during them.” I said and she looked surprised. “I meant that you should set aside some time in the morning during your shift and handle what you need to. Ignore everything else and handle what you can.”
Sarah gave me a disbelieving look. “I can't just stop and not do parts of my job.”
I nodded. “You're going to need to call a temp and give them an hour or two of work or you're going to be swamped again like you were yesterday.”
“A temp?” Sarah asked.
“I doubt the agency will hire a permanent assistant for you, considering they probably don't understand how important your job is.” I said and Sarah looked proud. “You're the public face of the business. You are the first person they need to talk to, both in person and on the phone. That's a full time job on its own without having to keep track of all the paperwork and forms that cross your desk every day.”
“But... but... I like my job.” Sarah said. “Like you said, it's essential. I can't slack off or start thinking that I don't have to do parts of it. That's not how you keep a job that you love.”
I put my left hand on her shoulder. “All I can say to that is... try a compromise. Maybe hire a student for a cheap wage in the afternoons to do the filing. They wouldn't have the handle anything sensitive like contracts or things, just the miscellaneous things that bog you down.”
Sarah looked surprised. “A student?”
I tapped my own chest. “Once I learned the filing system, sorting things was easy, especially since that was all I did. If you hire a general courses student or even a hero course student from a hero academy for part time work, they get some essential training about working in a hero agency and you get to do your job to the best of your ability.”
“That... that could work.” Sarah said in a whisper.
“You can also train them how you want. Their job will be to help you and students are easily moulded into what you need them to be.” I said and a smile grew on her face. “If they see how happy you are, they are going to pick up a lot more than just the filing system. You're going to be their example of how to handle a job in the real world and how to work professionally.”
Sarah's smile was pretty bright. “Yes, I... I think... I think you're right. If I can find an appropriate student to handle the small things, we can both shine brightly as beacons of the best work ethic for receptionists in the world!”
I held in my laugh at the fanatic gleam in her eye and took out my folding cell phone. “Here's a young woman's number that I believe will fit your criteria perfectly.”
Sarah snatched the phone out of my hand and quickly copied the number. She also gave me a questioning look, so I nodded and told her a few things to look at. She did a quick search and saw my notes on the girl and a few of the pictures I had of her.
“Ooo, Saida is gorgeous! She's perfect!” Sarah said, excitedly.
I actually did laugh at the gleam in her eye this time. “She's interning at a hero agency across town as an assistant to a bodyguard.”
“That's even more perfect!” Sarah said and started typing up a text message, then she laughed and handed me my phone back. “I should probably use my own phone for that.”
“That might be a good idea.” I said and put it back into my belt.
“Thank you, Connor.” Sarah said and looked around the lobby. No one was around, so she stepped close and gave me a hug. “I mean it. You've helped me a lot today.”
I hugged her back and let her go. “I'm happy to help.”
Sarah smiled and motioned towards the cafeteria. “You should eat and then go to that medical appointment.”
I nodded and walked over to the cafeteria.
“How do you get your cape to move like that?” Sarah asked.
“Magic!” I said and she laughed. I grabbed a quick meal and ate it fairly fast with only one hand available, then I went to visit the nurse. The happy look on her face told me all I needed to know about my upcoming ordeal. It was going to be a trying one.
Half an hour later, my cast was off and I was walking a little funny. I had already sent a text to Rachel and she made me promise to meet with her right after supper. I agreed as I entered the lobby and met up with the guys from The Flaming Sidekicks for our regular afternoon shift.
“Hey, Connor!” Omina said and looked at my odd gait. “What happened to you?”
“A full medical assessment.” I said and his eyes widened and the guys all had uncomfortable looks on their faces. I couldn't stop myself from making a joke with a reaction like that, so I said something that was quite inappropriate. “Are anal probes supposed to vibrate like that and give you an erection?”
Complete silence met my words and they lost all of the color in their faces, even Jar Jar. Considering he was blue, it was quite the feat. They also seemed to pucker their butts and looked very uncomfortable.
“D-d-dude.” Kida whispered. “Ix-nay on the obe-pray.”
I had to clamp my mouth shut to stop my laugh before it escaped, because that was a lot more information than I expected to get from my joke. I nodded and we signed out at the reception desk.
Sarah gave me a huge smile and quickly flashed me her cell phone and the positive text response she had received from Saida. I nodded and smiled back, then I followed the guys outside to where Burnin was waiting for us.
“Before we start our patrol.” Burnin said and her glare went right to me. “You haven't eaten a meal with us since the first day.”
“It's not like I'm doing it on purpose. You know I'm not allowed to say no to the people that control what I do here.” I said with a shrug. “I mean, I told you I could never say no when Rachel asks me to do something. She's Endeavor's personal secretary. When she says jump, I ask her when she wants me to land.”
Jar Jar let out a neigh of agreement. “No one with a solid head on their shoulders would defy her.”
“You won't last long in an agency if you refuse an order from the hero's secretary. They run everything around here.” Omina added.
“That she's a total sweetheart makes it all the harder.” I said and had to smile at my unintentional pun.
Burnin let her glare fade as she let out a sigh. “Just try to attend more meals with your assigned team.”
“Yes, ma'am.” I said and saluted with my right hand. When there wasn't a dull thud like they expected, the guys stared at my bare hand.
“You're all better!” They shouted and cheered as they gave me high fives.
“I'm fully fit for duty.” I said and nodded at Burnin. “After you, ma'am.”
Burnin nodded back and she led us around on our patrol. We came back at the end of our shift, signed back in at the receptionist's desk, and went to the cafeteria. We were halfway through our meals when my cell phone beeped at me. Burnin growled without looking at me and I took out the phone.
I laughed at what it showed. “Fuck you too, Izuku!”
“What is it?” Omina asked and ignored my curse.
“Look at that!” I said and handed over my phone.
The guys stared at the picture and then handed the phone to Burnin. Her hair flared a little and she stared at it, too. The picture was of a battered and bruised Izuku and he was grinning at us.
“Izuku is getting advanced training from Gran Torino and is rubbing it in my face!” I said and kept laughing. “The lucky bastard is having more fun at work than I am!”
I woke up in the morning and remembered that I was naked. I laughed because it was the first time in a while that I was all alone in a bed and I had a garbage bag covering my forearm. I quickly looked at my hand with my x-ray vision and saw that nearly everything was healed. That put me into a good mood, so I hopped up and had a quick shower.
Rachel came into the apartment without knocking and saw me come out of the bathroom with a towel in my arms. She smiled demurely at me and then her smile grew as Little Connor said hello to her.
“Good morning to you, too.” Rachel said with a soft laugh and took the towel. She dried me off and paid a bit more attention to Little Connor than was strictly necessary, because he quickly thanked her by spitting at her. “I think someone is a little eager.”
I nodded and motioned to the bed. “If you would assume the best position.”
Rachel didn't hesitate as she hiked up her skirt and bent over the bed. She started to moan right away as I knelt and licked her pretty thoroughly. After she came a few times, she helped me get dressed in my cleaned suit and then kissed me before she took off the garbage bag covering my cast.
“I'm going to miss you this morning.” Rachel said, sadly.
“Me, too.” I said and we left my room, only to see Burnin standing there with a scowl on her face. “Thank you very much for ensuring I was awake in time, Rachel. The receptionist at the main desk needs me today.”
“It's too bad you're still under orders to not use super speed.” Rachel said to me and then pretended to jerk slightly and looked at Burnin. “Oh! Hello, Moe. You're still on the afternoon shift. What are you doing up so early?”
Burnin's scowl didn't lessen. “I heard about what happened in the gym last night.”
“Yes, I had to step in and enforce the rules. No overbooking.” Rachel said, intentionally misunderstanding Burnin's statement. “We have too many heroes here that also needed the space.”
“I apologized and Rachel was kind enough to assign me to light duties and not fine my pay for breaking the rules, even if it was a mistake and unintentional.” I said and motioned to the elevator. “I think we're going in different directions for breakfast, Rachel.”
“I think I can stand to escort you to the ground floor and explain things to Sarah for you.” Rachel said with a smile and led me to the elevator. “You can grab a quick bite before helping her clean up that absolute mess of a desk.”
“That sounds like a plan.” I said and used my left hand to push the elevator call button. “It's better than mine where I sit in my room for half the day and wait for my medical evaluation at lunch.”
Rachel chuckled and we entered the just arrived elevator. “That would be a supreme waste of your talents, Connor.”
I laughed and managed to not look at Burnin until the elevator doors closed, to see her reaction to the dig at her. The anger on her face was quite pronounced as her hair had flared out and she had to use the fire extinguisher several times.
“Did she blow up?” Rachel asked with a smirk on her face.
“Four hairs and blasts with her fire extinguisher.” I said and she laughed. “That was a good shot.”
“A little reminder might let her think about how she's handling this whole thing so badly.” Rachel said and I could only nod.
The elevator doors opened on the ground floor and Rachel took me over to the front desk and explained to the receptionist what my job was going to be. Sarah looked pretty relieved and insisted on getting me breakfast while I got to work right away.
Rachel laughed softly as Sarah ran to the cafeteria and glanced around. No one was looking, so she gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “Tell me right away if your medical assessment is favorable.”
“You'll be the second person to know.” I said and she gave me a odd look. “The nurse is going to be the first.”
Rachel shook her head and used a fingertip to tap my nose. The snap sound as she gave me a large shock bolt was pretty loud in the nearly empty lobby. “No teasing about important things.”
I glanced around as well and saw one person looking over, so I had to whisper. “Yes, my goddess. I will make it up to you later.”
Rachel beamed a smile at me and left me at the desk as she walked over to the elevator.
I did my best to watch her without being obvious about it, then I started working with just my left hand as I sorted the several small stacks of forms, reports, and paperwork that seemed to have gathered so quickly that the receptionist couldn't get a good handle on it.
Sarah came back and had brought two breakfast sandwiches with eggs and sausage on them. They were easily held with a single hand and she did that to let me eat and not get my sole hand dirty while I worked.
“Thank you.” I said after I had eaten both things.
“You've already made my desk look loads better than it was and it's only been twenty minutes.” Sarah said and looked at her greasy fingers. “Being your hands is a small price to pay.”
“It also lets you have another break to go and wash your hands while I keep working.”
Sarah smiled at me and jogged over to the elevator. “I'll be out of your hair for about fifteen minutes!”
I had to laugh at her enthusiasm to have me work unimpeded, so I nodded and went back to sorting. Thanks to Rachel's training and learning the filing system, while also knowing how to use it properly, those fifteen minutes were well spent. When Sarah came back, she was shocked at how much I had done for her.
“I think I'm just going to stand over here and handle the verbal inquiries and the phones.” Sarah said with a huge smile on her face.
“I would have been done already if I was allowed to move normally.” I said with a chuckle and held up my cast-covered hand.
“No wonder Rachel and Amanda adore you!” Sarah said as the phone rang. She picked it up and handled the inquiry with expertise while I kept working on the paperwork. Several hero sidekicks turned in their reports from the previous day and I quickly added them to the file folder for that day and marked them appropriately.
We worked for the rest of the morning and not a single person asked why I was there doing paperwork at the reception desk or why I was wearing my hero costume. I wasn't sure if it was because they weren't curious or because they were immune to the change that my presence caused. Either way, Sarah and I worked together like a well oiled machine and there was no awkwardness or accidental bumps.
“I'm sending in a request to hire you permanently!” Sarah said with enthusiasm when lunchtime arrived and my shift with her was over.
I chuckled. “I should have some time available in a few days to help you again, depending on how much work Rachel and Amanda have for me in their offices.”
“Not for your internship, I mean permanently.” Sarah said. “I've never had such an easy day! It's always rush, rush, rush! I'm usually worn off my feet and exhausted by now or I'm frustrated by people constantly interrupting me when I'm on the phone or handling the paperwork.”
I thought about that. “You either need an assistant to handle the little things while you do the more important parts of your job, or you need to ignore the paperwork until you take a break and then deal with it.”
“I only get two morning breaks and two afternoon breaks. There's no possible way for me to handle an entire day's paperwork in only 40 minutes.” Sarah said.
“No, those are your work mandated breaks. You're not actually allowed to work during them.” I said and she looked surprised. “I meant that you should set aside some time in the morning during your shift and handle what you need to. Ignore everything else and handle what you can.”
Sarah gave me a disbelieving look. “I can't just stop and not do parts of my job.”
I nodded. “You're going to need to call a temp and give them an hour or two of work or you're going to be swamped again like you were yesterday.”
“A temp?” Sarah asked.
“I doubt the agency will hire a permanent assistant for you, considering they probably don't understand how important your job is.” I said and Sarah looked proud. “You're the public face of the business. You are the first person they need to talk to, both in person and on the phone. That's a full time job on its own without having to keep track of all the paperwork and forms that cross your desk every day.”
“But... but... I like my job.” Sarah said. “Like you said, it's essential. I can't slack off or start thinking that I don't have to do parts of it. That's not how you keep a job that you love.”
I put my left hand on her shoulder. “All I can say to that is... try a compromise. Maybe hire a student for a cheap wage in the afternoons to do the filing. They wouldn't have the handle anything sensitive like contracts or things, just the miscellaneous things that bog you down.”
Sarah looked surprised. “A student?”
I tapped my own chest. “Once I learned the filing system, sorting things was easy, especially since that was all I did. If you hire a general courses student or even a hero course student from a hero academy for part time work, they get some essential training about working in a hero agency and you get to do your job to the best of your ability.”
“That... that could work.” Sarah said in a whisper.
“You can also train them how you want. Their job will be to help you and students are easily moulded into what you need them to be.” I said and a smile grew on her face. “If they see how happy you are, they are going to pick up a lot more than just the filing system. You're going to be their example of how to handle a job in the real world and how to work professionally.”
Sarah's smile was pretty bright. “Yes, I... I think... I think you're right. If I can find an appropriate student to handle the small things, we can both shine brightly as beacons of the best work ethic for receptionists in the world!”
I held in my laugh at the fanatic gleam in her eye and took out my folding cell phone. “Here's a young woman's number that I believe will fit your criteria perfectly.”
Sarah snatched the phone out of my hand and quickly copied the number. She also gave me a questioning look, so I nodded and told her a few things to look at. She did a quick search and saw my notes on the girl and a few of the pictures I had of her.
“Ooo, Saida is gorgeous! She's perfect!” Sarah said, excitedly.
I actually did laugh at the gleam in her eye this time. “She's interning at a hero agency across town as an assistant to a bodyguard.”
“That's even more perfect!” Sarah said and started typing up a text message, then she laughed and handed me my phone back. “I should probably use my own phone for that.”
“That might be a good idea.” I said and put it back into my belt.
“Thank you, Connor.” Sarah said and looked around the lobby. No one was around, so she stepped close and gave me a hug. “I mean it. You've helped me a lot today.”
I hugged her back and let her go. “I'm happy to help.”
Sarah smiled and motioned towards the cafeteria. “You should eat and then go to that medical appointment.”
I nodded and walked over to the cafeteria.
“How do you get your cape to move like that?” Sarah asked.
“Magic!” I said and she laughed. I grabbed a quick meal and ate it fairly fast with only one hand available, then I went to visit the nurse. The happy look on her face told me all I needed to know about my upcoming ordeal. It was going to be a trying one.
Half an hour later, my cast was off and I was walking a little funny. I had already sent a text to Rachel and she made me promise to meet with her right after supper. I agreed as I entered the lobby and met up with the guys from The Flaming Sidekicks for our regular afternoon shift.
“Hey, Connor!” Omina said and looked at my odd gait. “What happened to you?”
“A full medical assessment.” I said and his eyes widened and the guys all had uncomfortable looks on their faces. I couldn't stop myself from making a joke with a reaction like that, so I said something that was quite inappropriate. “Are anal probes supposed to vibrate like that and give you an erection?”
Complete silence met my words and they lost all of the color in their faces, even Jar Jar. Considering he was blue, it was quite the feat. They also seemed to pucker their butts and looked very uncomfortable.
“D-d-dude.” Kida whispered. “Ix-nay on the obe-pray.”
I had to clamp my mouth shut to stop my laugh before it escaped, because that was a lot more information than I expected to get from my joke. I nodded and we signed out at the reception desk.
Sarah gave me a huge smile and quickly flashed me her cell phone and the positive text response she had received from Saida. I nodded and smiled back, then I followed the guys outside to where Burnin was waiting for us.
“Before we start our patrol.” Burnin said and her glare went right to me. “You haven't eaten a meal with us since the first day.”
“It's not like I'm doing it on purpose. You know I'm not allowed to say no to the people that control what I do here.” I said with a shrug. “I mean, I told you I could never say no when Rachel asks me to do something. She's Endeavor's personal secretary. When she says jump, I ask her when she wants me to land.”
Jar Jar let out a neigh of agreement. “No one with a solid head on their shoulders would defy her.”
“You won't last long in an agency if you refuse an order from the hero's secretary. They run everything around here.” Omina added.
“That she's a total sweetheart makes it all the harder.” I said and had to smile at my unintentional pun.
Burnin let her glare fade as she let out a sigh. “Just try to attend more meals with your assigned team.”
“Yes, ma'am.” I said and saluted with my right hand. When there wasn't a dull thud like they expected, the guys stared at my bare hand.
“You're all better!” They shouted and cheered as they gave me high fives.
“I'm fully fit for duty.” I said and nodded at Burnin. “After you, ma'am.”
Burnin nodded back and she led us around on our patrol. We came back at the end of our shift, signed back in at the receptionist's desk, and went to the cafeteria. We were halfway through our meals when my cell phone beeped at me. Burnin growled without looking at me and I took out the phone.
I laughed at what it showed. “Fuck you too, Izuku!”
“What is it?” Omina asked and ignored my curse.
“Look at that!” I said and handed over my phone.
The guys stared at the picture and then handed the phone to Burnin. Her hair flared a little and she stared at it, too. The picture was of a battered and bruised Izuku and he was grinning at us.
“Izuku is getting advanced training from Gran Torino and is rubbing it in my face!” I said and kept laughing. “The lucky bastard is having more fun at work than I am!”
