An Enquiry (4) - Communication

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He settled himself at his work-desk, in front of his laptop and plugged headphones and a boom microphone into his mobile phone. He shuffled the notes he had arranged to his right and, with deliberation, sent the text message to say that he was free. And then he waited.

Scarcely a minute had passed before the phone rang – “Anastasia calling” said the message. He tapped the screen to accept the call.

“Hello. Jim Gray speaking.”

“Hello Mr Gray. My name is Anastasia Litvenyenko” said a clear voice. She certainly didn’t have and English accent, but she didn’t have any very obvious accent at all. “We exchanged messages a little earlier today. Is it convenient for you to talk now?”

“Yes, certainly, I have as much time as you need.”

“Good. We won’t take much of your time today anyway. Dr Medinger and I have looked at your resume on-line and we think you may be suitable for what we want to do. Would you be available for an informal interview in London later this week.”

“Yes. I can come to London. That will not be difficult at all. When would you like me to come?”

“Would Wednesday or Thursday suit you? We would like you to come in the morning and spend all day with us.”

“I would prefer Wednesday, but Thursday would be fine too.”

“Good. Wednesday at 10:00 then. Is that acceptable? I will send you the details of where we are.”

“Yes. That’s convenient. I have your phone number if I have any problems. Can you tell me a little more about the assignment?”

“I’ll send you all you need to know in the eMail. Dr Medinger and I look forward to meeting you on Wednesday.”

And then she ended the call. Jim was left, looking around the room. He was going for a job interview the day after tomorrow, and he didn’t even know what the job was!

(Part of the “Tyson” project: 5th January 2017 – 322 words)