The Fifteen Minute Novel is a novel written fifteen minutes at a time with each week day’s section starting with the sentence from the previous day. At least it is attempting to be a novel. For now I am just aiming at one continuous story, worked on for fifteen minutes each day. Started Friday January 1st, 2021 (in case you want to search for the beginning. I can’t wait to see where it ends up. It could be good, or it could be a mess. We’ll have to see. For now, here is today’s fifteen minutes.
Day 163: James frowned.
James frowned. It wasn’t just the particulars he found odd. If he was honest, seeing the name James Ferris written on the file didn’t make him think of himself at all. It was still someone else’s name. What struck him as odd was looking at his file brought up his resume.
He was told by Carson that one had been sent in for him and he even looked up the details so he would be familiar with them. Then he dismissed them, thinking they were inconsequential. He could do the job he was assigned and therefor the details on his resume, even if they weren’t the direct truth, didn’t really lie about his skills.
As someone who did routinely hire people for all sorts of positions, or at the very least approved the hires made in other departments, James felt that the resume was off. If he had the position he now occupied to fill and this was the resume that came across his desk, he would flag it as suspicious. The applicant was far too over qualified. It would clearly be a step down and he would want to know exactly why the person applying wanted the position. It would look suspicious without a solid reason.
No one asked him for a solid reason.
‘Maybe the company routinely deals with the government and this isn’t the first time they’ve hired someone.’ The thought made James curious about the other people he worked with. Perhaps they weren’t what they seemed either.
James scrubbed his hands over his face. “And maybe I am just seeing something that isn’t there.” Recent events had him paranoid. He was looking for shadows where perhaps there weren’t any. James double checked his file to make certain his new address was recorded and then he saved and closed his file, returning to his normal day’s work.
Throughout the rest of the day, the thought still nagged him. ‘Maybe I’ll call Tucker after all,’ James decided as he shut down his office and prepared to leave for the day. His inbox was empty and all of the tasks were checked off of his day’s to do list. He tore the checklist from the notebook, balled it up and tossed it into the trashcan. ‘I could call Tucker about Sebastian and then ask him about my file while I was there.’
James knew that Tucker wouldn’t tell him about anyone else that might or might not be in the program, but he could ask about his file. And why it was accepted so easily and without question. ‘It would be something at least.’
While he entered the building alone, James left with a group of his coworkers. Everyone seemed pleased to have gotten through Monday with no momentous damages. Like him, others in the company often left files to wait for them and spring out on Monday morning. The rest of the week tended to flow smoothly, but Monday often held surprises. This week at least, all surprises were handled. There was relief in facing the rest of the week.
As the elevator released them on the ground floor and they exited the building, their cluster fanned out into the parking lot, each going to their separate vehicles. As James walked to his car he realized that with his shopping over the weekend, all of the food in the house required some sort of preparation. He felt disinclined to do any preparation.
‘Especially if I have to call Tucker.’ James decided he would stop for soup and a sandwich before heading back to the house.
Ten til Midnight 