Creating an Industrial Empire in 19th Century Parallel World

A yawn escaped from Amelia's lips as she woke up and looked around the room that was not her own. The familiar sight of the plain furnishings around her caused her to let out another sigh. She just remembered taking a job as a secretary at Axelsen & Nielsen Air Brake Company.

Speaking of the company, Amelia saw the two founders sleeping on the same bed with their limbs sprawled over them while snoring loudly. She found it cute and innocent, to think that the owner of a rising company would sleep in such a position. Not that she's making fun of them or anything. She knew that she was the reason why they are sharing the same bed. If not for her existence in this company, they would have slept on their respective beds.

She rose from the bed she was sitting on and went to the door while rubbing her eyes groggily. The first thing to do as secretary is to prepare for the day, which means taking care of the needs of her superior.

Normally, when she was working with Caroline, she would wake up early and prepare breakfast for the two. It was a habit that she couldn't easily let go so she stepped down two flights of stairs and went to the kitchen.

Once she was inside, Amelia only saw kitchen utensils. Plates, spoon, and fork. There was no food to be seen, making her sigh. If there was no food in the kitchen, then how can she prepare breakfast? Fortunately, there is a cafeteria where she purchased food.

Yesterday, when the founders of the company are away doing their respective duties and leaving her alone in their office, she took a thirty-minute break which she used to explore the company.

Her impression of the company is that it looked like a town, a town where workers of the company lived. It has all the amenities the workers need to get through the day, one of them was a cafeteria, where workers eat and take their breaks.

But before going there, she realized that her current outfit won't do as it is revealing. She wondered if Poul or Jonathan touched her or anything. No, that seems impossible as they don't look like the type of guy who would take advantage of a defenseless girl.

So she took a bath, donned her outfit, and headed to the cafeteria. The male workers donned their coveralls and tipped their hard hats at her, greeting her warmly. Amelia shoots them down with her beautiful smile, making them blush. They were still young men, making their reactions understandable. But those who are older only return her smile.

The workers were friendly towards her, making her feel comfortable in the town. Usually, at her workplace in Loreal, she wouldn't even have the chance to interact with the laborers of the company. She often stayed at Caroline's side, when she was needed, she would promptly walk forward and ask what Caroline wanted her to do.

Arriving at the cafeteria, Amelia was met with a long line of workers. She joined the line and waited patiently for her turn. The men around looked at her inquisitively. Some already knew that she was working in the company while others did not. A minute later, she is getting all the attention and is starting to get embarrassed.

"Uhm, Lady? You are the new secretary of our boss right?" said the young man in front of her.

"Yes," Amelia bashfully replied with a shy tone. "That I am…"

"Oi! May I have your attention please!" the young man suddenly called.

Amelia's facial expression turned blank. What's his problem?

"Our boss has hired a new secretary! How can everyone be so ungentlemanly to make a lady wait in a line?"

Suddenly, a murmur and chatter sparkled in the cafeteria.

"Eh? That's the secretary?"

"She's beautiful..!"

"Does she already have a man in her life?"

Amelia chuckled nervously and fumbled her hands as everyone's attention in the cafeteria was on her.

"Why are you making her wait in line? Let her go first."

One of the workers spoke, and with that, everyone in line made way for her to the counter.

"Ahh..you don't have to everyone, it will be unfair to you," Amelia tried to say politely but ended up stuttering instead.

"Nonsense lady, it won't be unfair to us. Please accept our warm welcome to you as this company's new secretary by letting you go first. They won't mind, right everyone?"

"Hurrah!" the workers shouted, waving their arms in the air with excitement.

The people working in the company were truly nice to her. Well, it will be hard to deny them now so she accepted the offer gratefully. She thanked them profusely and was escorted to her desk. As she walked, all kinds of positive and admiring comments were exchanged about her. She blushed a little but tried to hide it from the others' view, although the tips of her ears were redder than tomatoes.

When she reached the counter, a lady in her mid-forties smiled at her warmly and spoke.

"What will you have for breakfast, young lady?"

"Uhm…the breakfast that Sir Nielsen and Axelsen usually order? I was about to prepare them breakfast but there were no ingredients in the kitchen so I went here and asked if maybe they sometimes get their food here?"

"Ah…I see. Well, sometimes they make their own breakfast and sometimes they get their breakfast here. They usually have an egg in a hole paired with coffee."

"Ehh in a hole huh? Okay, I'll have those," Amelia said.

"Great, what about you ma'am? Do you have anything you like in particular? We make pretty much everything here," the old lady said.

"Pancake," Amelia uttered without hesitation.

"Pancake, I see. Would you like honey and butter for that?"

"I love honey and butter," Amelia responded immediately.

"Okay then. Please wait to the side as we prepare your orders,"

"Sure."

And her orders were now being prepared by the cooks. Those who are behind her ordered their own breakfast at the counter. While observing the people around her, she remembered something. The food here, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are paid for by the company, and the funds for that are collected from the worker's salary, so they don't have to spend a single penny to buy food. However, that's only for the workers, if they are going to feed their families, they'll have to buy them.

"Uhm…Lady, we will have it delivered to the main office. You can wait for the food there," the old lady said.

"Oh, really? Thanks, I'll get going now," Amelia smiled and left the cafeteria. She returned to the main office, which is basically a house.

Once she was two inches away from the door, Amelia heard a noise coming from the inside. She opened the door and right across her, the door to the office was opened. There, she saw Poul and Jonathan having a talk with one another while brushing their teeth.

The two turned their heads toward her.

"Oh Amelia, good morning. Where have you been?" Jonathan asked.

"I bought us some breakfast in the cafeteria. I searched around your kitchen as I was thinking of making you one. But there were no ingredients for me to use so I ended up buying it from the cafeteria. They'll have it delivered here soon."

Poul chuckled and said, "Ahh…that's nice, you didn't have to do that."

"It's my job as your secretary," Amelia simply stated.

"So, how's the reception so far? Are you feeling welcomed?" Jonathan asked.

"Uhm…the people here are great and they are nice toward me," Amelia said as she twirled a single strand of her hair.

"That's good to hear. You'll be working alongside them after all, it's best that you are received warmly," Jonathan said.

"Once we have our breakfast, we will start working. Amelia, I'm sure you have a lot of reading to do, am I right?"

"That's right," Amelia confirmed, her eyes sparkling with eagerness. "I'll finish it by this week and start hiring staff."

"We must take into consideration the quality of the applicants. We are not desperate, if we can manage the company for two years without them, then we can manage for another two," Jonathan advised.

"That's one best way to put it Sir Axelsen, but that was in your starting days and the time when your company was not big compared to today. You are a growing enterprise, the two of you won't be enough from now on. You will miss a lot of opportunities and worst, it might even affect the efficiency of your company, leading to a decrease in clients coming in," Amelia pointed out.

Jonathan let out a sigh, "But my point still stands. If we are hiring staff, I want them to be above average."

"Consider it done, Sir Axelsen."

"Have you already come up with names that fit our standards?" Poul asked.

"I know a lot of acquaintances from different well-established companies. I can entice them with an offer," Amelia said.

"Oh," Poul sang. "This is going to be exciting."

As the three were having their pleasant conversation, a knock on the door sounded from behind.

"It must be the food," Amelia turned to her heels and hurried to open the door.

There were three men outside, each carrying a food tray.

"Uhm…this was the food you ordered, ma'am."  one of the men said.

"Okay thank you."

"I'll pay it later," Jonathan voiced from behind.

"Thank you sir, and good luck on today's work," the man bowed his head politely before heading out with his fellow workers.