Dragonfly Dreams, Part One

“Mr. Mason?” a twenty-something receptionist was looking at Frank Mason with some concern. Frank jumped a little in his seat. He had been lost in his thoughts again. His mind usually wandered whenever he was bored…or kept waiting at a job interview. He had been planning out what he wanted to say to come across as the best possible candidate for the job. He really needed the work.

Shuffling to his feet and trying to regain his composure, Frank walked toward the receptionist who was now smiling slightly at him. He smiled back. Have to keep that friendly face on for a little while longer, he thought. The long-haired bimbo probably didn’t even know what this company was about. She was just the window-dressing. A pretty face in the front office made people feel at ease. Frank saw on her nameplate that she was Maria L.

“You can go in now,” Maria smiled again. Frank thought that her smile seemed a little forced….a little fake. He didn’t care. As long as he got the job. That was all that he cared for at the moment.

He walked nervously up to the door of the main office. The door was made of a smoky, dark glass. The gold lettering on the door reminded him (as if he could forget) that he was here to see Mr. Gordon Jones – Marketing. He took a deep breath and tried to look confident as he entered Mr. Jones’ office.

The office was unlike any other offices that he had seen before. He had been expecting the traditional office of a desk, chairs, a lamp, and maybe a plant or two. Instead, the inside of the office was almost completely bare. The walls were painted a dark blue that seemed to shimmer in the soft lighting that dripped from the recessed overhead lighting. A large Oriental rug covered most of the floor, and Frank considered taking off his shoes before stepping on it. He didn’t want to mess things up before they even started by tracking dirt over an expensive rug.

“Come in Mr. Mason,” a voice called to him from the far side of the fairly large office. The room was rather gloomy and Frank felt his nervousness rise just a bit as he walked across the floor. He noted that there were no plants, no chairs, and not even a desk. Instead there was a large white cube which appeared to be made of plastic. A man was sitting upon it, his legs crossed under him. He appeared to be in his late 40’s, his salt and pepper hair long and flowing down his sides. He was dressed in a white linen suit and had two golden earrings in each ear. He had his eyes closed and was humming slightly to himself. Frank saw that he had no shoes.

Frank cleared his throat nervously, “Mr. Jones?”

The man opened his eyes which Frank saw were a surprisingly pale blue color….it was almost startling. He grinned with a boyish charm that seemed to warm the coolness of the room immediately.

“Why yes I am,” he smiled, “But you can just call me Gordon. I prefer it that way. And shall I call you Mr. Mason…or is it Frank?”

Frank shuffled nervously. What kind of freak was this? This wasn’t what he expected from a company that made nearly $500 billion dollars a year in the pharmaceutical business. Was the head honcho on some of his own drugs that the company made?

“Ummm….whatever…..Frank is fine,” he said.

“Please Frank…sit down,” Gordon Jones motioned with his hand to Frank’s left.

Frank looked over. There was a white plastic sphere sitting on the floor. Taking a deep breath of frustration, he tried to balance himself on the odd shaped seating. He considered bolting for the door. But then again….he really needed this job.

He looked over at Gordon Jones. The man had his eyes closed again and was breathing deeply. Frank wondered if he had passed out or had fallen asleep. He felt one hip trying to slide off of the large white sphere.

Taking matters into his own hands, he decided to move things along.

“Ummm….I guess that you had ample time to read my resume. I have an extensive background in marketing and in web-design. Due to downsizing, my last company unfortunately…” he began before being interrupted by a loud snort from Mr. Gordon Jones.

“No…I didn’t read your resume,” Gordon smirked, opening his eyes, “In fact, I threw it in the trash. It had so many words. I try not to read a whole lot of words at one time. It isn’t good for the eyes.”

“You didn’t read my resume?” Frank asked, shocked into disbelief, “My letters of reference?”

“Nope,” Gordon smiled again, closing his eyes, “Didn’t need them. I don’t believe in fluff.”

Frank felt his face begin to flush an angry red. Was this some kind of joke? Or an initiation of some sorts? He looked around to see if there were any hidden cameras. He didn’t know what was going on…but he did know that he was wasting his time. He stood up briskly and bowed once toward Mr. Gordon Jones.

“Mr. Jones,” he quipped, and turned quickly on his left heel. Heading toward the door, he heard Gordon’s voice call out behind him.

“I didn’t need to see those things Frank. I didn’t have to. I just KNEW that you were the one that we needed for our company. The job is yours if you want it.”

“Listen Mr. Jones,” Frank’s anger was evident in his voice as he turned back toward the freak in white linen, “I don’t know what is going on here……”

His words stopped dead in his throat. He could feel his heart start to beat wildly in his chest. His brain rejected everything that he was seeing.

Mr. Gordon Jones was floating 5 feet in the air above the white plastic cube that he had been sitting on. His eyes were still closed.

“I think that you should come back over and sit down,” he said.

Until next week…..class dismissed!