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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN (04/13/17)
A hush fell over the office when she came through the door; the kind of silence that is usually equated to the boss finding every one goofing off. But she wasn’t the boss. Kathrine sensed every eye upon her, and made a quick check of her wardrobe. Her black pumps matched. Her white shirt was right-side out. The black pants she had so painstakingly lint rolled at home remained free of cat hair. Something was up.



Nicole from accounting rushed up and grabbed her by the arm. “Mr. Conklin is looking for you,” she whispered. “Something about a typo. He said he’d email you.”



A typo! Kathrine didn’t make typos. Not in the eight years she had worked for Conklin Publishing. Not ones that made it to the “press”. She took every precaution to read and re-read her work then set it aside to have someone else read it before sending it out, especially something this important.



She hurried to her desk and logged into her email. “Katherine, I need you to come by my office this morning at 9:00,” the email read. She glanced at the clock and sighed, an hour and 15 minutes from now. Why not immediately? Did he need all that time to cool off before firing her?



Everyone’s life seemed to have gone back to normal except for hers. She couldn’t concentrate, and by 8:30 she felt sick. Last night she had stayed an hour late to finish a proposal for Mr. Conklin, and in appreciation for her sacrifice told her to start an hour late in the morning. Now she wished she had taken him up on it.



At five minutes to the hour Kathrine made the walk of doom to Mr. Conklin’s office. The door opened before she got up the nerve to knock and she was ushered inside. There were four people seated at a small conference table, one of them being the HR manager with a manila folder in her lap.



“Miss Jones, please take a seat.” Mr. Conklin spoke more cheerful than expected, even offered her a smile as she sat down beside him. “May I call you Kathrine?”



“Yes,” she replied her mouth suddenly dry and her palms sweaty.

“Kathrine, do you know why I’ve called you to my office?” He asked, as if she hadn’t a clue.



“I believe so.” Her voice sounded tight and little too high. “Something about a typo.”



“Not just a typo,” Mr. Conklin stated with enthusiasm. “This is probably the chief typo of the year.” He chuckled and shook his head in disbelief. The others took their cue from him and gave a soft laugh.



“We take this very seriously and have prayed over this, which is why we needed time before confronting you.” He slid a piece of paper to the center of the table. Kathrine recognized it, the proposal she had typed the night before, out there for all to see.



Her face flushed and she knew the axe was about to fall.

Mr. Conklin cleared his throat. “I’ve asked Miss Daniels to be present so this could be done immediately.”



Lord please, not her job. She loved her job, the people she worked with, the company’s products.



“Let me start by asking if you ever considered a job in marketing?”



“Marketing?” Kathrine sat back puzzled. Was this a joke? She looked him square in the eye, then around the table. “I don’t understand.”



“Your typo, your very big blunder, has landed this company its largest advertising campaign in years. You mistook the name Averill Juraf with April the giraffe, and they loved it. With April having just given birth, giraffes are all the rage.”



Kathrine tried not to cry. How could she have confused someone’s name for April the giraffe? Moritified she offered a humble apology. “I… I’m so sorry.”



The room erupted in laughter. “Typos happen, Kathrine. We want you on our team. How soon can you start?”
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This article has been read 451 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
C D Swanson 
04/21/17
This was a great read!
Wonderful job with the topic.

Blessings~
Larry Whittington
04/23/17
Well composed. Very creative.
Candace Meiler
04/25/17
I loved reading this. You hooked me from the beginning. Nice job!
Bonnie Bowden 
04/27/17
Congratulations on your 2nd place win in the Beginners category.

This was a very creative approach to this week's challenge. Well done.