by Shirley Hunt
After sitting for about a minute a tall man entered and apologized about making me wait. He was dressed in a well-tailored navy blue suit. Even his dark tie matched his suit. I was surprised by how monochromatic his clothing was but new not to say anything about it.
He was a handsome man with dark strawberry blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. His jaw shape was square which I knew often made people think of leaders and important figures. I suppose it all went back to Washington with his square jaw.
“Miss Granger?” He said.
“Yes,” I replied and stuck out my hand.
He took my hand in a firm but gentle grasp and shook it.
“A pleasure meeting you,” Mr. Covington said before pulling up a chair. “If I may ask how did you find us?”
“It was through a job board,” I replied.
Mr. Covington’s head bobbed.
He began to ask the standard questions that it seems every employer asks. I did my best to answer them as best as I could.
Could I type well?
Yes.
Could I be able to juggle multiple things at once?
Yes.
This went on until my experience working at the college was brought up. Mr. Covington didn’t really comment on it other than he liked that I had experience.
He was hard to read and I couldn’t tell if he felt positively or negatively of me. I tried to comfort myself with the fact that at least his body language was open to me. He didn’t act closed off and faced me when he spoke. He appeared to be listening which did make me feel ever so slightly better. He would jot down notes onto a piece of paper.
“Why did you leave your job at the college?” He asked me.
“I was laid off.”
“You haven’t been able to find work since?”
“I’m afraid not.”
He wrote something else on the paper. A few more questions about what times would I be available were asked and then Mr. Covington thanked me for coming in.
“Thank you,” I said and quietly left.
Once I reached my car I tore off those damned heels and immediately felt better. Even if I didn’t land the position at least I could be free from heels! If I were even so fortunate enough to get the position I would seek about being able to wear flats.
When I reached home there was a message on my answering machine from my sister asking how the interview went and to call her right away.
I didn’t need a second invite to do that. I called Janice and she insisted on showing up. Janice was certainly good at being motherly at times.
She soon showed up with a bottle of some type of wine and some popcorn which made me laugh.
“To celebrate or to commiserate!” Janice joked. “How’d the interview go?”
“I don’t know really. I’m worried I didn’t get the job.”
“If that Covington guy doesn’t want you then it’s his loss! Anyone would be lucky to have you!” She threw the uncooked popcorn in the microwave and opened up the bottle of wine just as the phone rang.
“Who’s that?” Janice asked.
“Looks like Covington’s office,” I said and answered the phone.
“Hello, Miss Granger, Mr. Covington wishes to know if you can start Monday?”
Oh boy.
Chapter Four
My first day was certainly eventful enough. Despite my being nervous and showing up at Mr. Covington’s office I was swiftly whisked away to go to Las Vegas in a private jet. I was supposed to be there for some meeting but was not told what the meeting was supposed to be about. I understand what privacy is about but this was becoming insanity! How could I do anything or prepare if I don’t know what it’s for?
It also struck me as somewhat odd that it seemed every millionaire and billionaire had their own private jets. I would’ve been perfectly happy boarding a general plane but rules were rules and policies were policies.
I really wasn’t used to this type of life style and truth be told it made me a little uneasy. I hoped I would do well at this job as I certainly needed it.
It was quiet inside the jet, a fact that didn’t really help me. I sat there wondering what was ahead of me. As we do when we’re nervous I began to wonder and make up situations inside my mind.
When the jet landed I was once again whisked away to another place for Mr. Covington. Las Vegas really could be environmental overload to anyone who was sensitive to such things. Lights were everywhere and people were talking. Elvis impersonators were around as were people who appeared to be impersonating who knows what or whom.
I had been given some information on what I was going to do. I was to follow Mr. Covington, take notes, run errands, and do whatever else he needed. I was also instructed that the people who would be seeing him would most likely treat him as if I was not there. I can’t say I was happy about that fact as I didn’t like staying in the background. Yet, I needed this job so I thought I could probably grit my teeth and live with it.
The first meeting was with a man about some trades. It was my job to provide Mr. Covington with the necessary paperwork. I think I spent more time flipping through each piece of paper to hand to him than I did listening to what they had to say.
Mr. Covington, thankfully, was patient with me and quietly thanked me when I passed him the necessary paperwork.
He then handed me a small letter, “Would you drop this off at the front office to be mailed out, please?”
“Yes, Mr. Covington,” I said and took the letter.
Getting up I departed from the room. Doing basic errands such as these weren’t so bad. For the most part it was simple and uncomplicated work.
By the time I returned the meeting had ended. I could see the back of Mr. Covington shuffling some papers into a neat stack.
He suddenly looked up and over. He smiled when he saw me. “Do you want to go out for dinner?”
“I don’t know if I could afford that,” I said in all honesty.
Mr. Covington smiled again, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be paying for it.”
It was then I began to wonder just where would we eat? I wasn’t dressed nicely enough for any place special or hugely expensive. We would certainly stand out if we went to some expensive place!
I don’t know if Mr. Covington had sensed my uncertainty or intentionally chose a simple place but I soon found we were dining at a classy restaurant. It wasn’t too fancy but not too simple either. In the outside world the glitz, lights, and glam moved along.
“How are you enjoying Las Vegas?” Mr. Covington asked me.
“It’s…busy,” I confessed right before our dinners were served.
He nodded, “It took me a lot of getting used to. It can be a little busy for my taste at times but that’s the way the world works.”
Your world, I thought to myself. Your world is different than mine.
After a few more words back and forth Mr. Covington’s attitude changed and it made him seem more personal. He began by asking me about my family.
“I have a sister named Janice back home,” I said.
“No parents?”
“They passed away a long time ago.”
“I’m sorry. My parents are gone too. It’s funny how we don’t really think about them until after they are gone.”
“I agree,” I said.
Suddenly he forced himself to become cheerful. I imagined he didn’t want to stay stuck on this sad topic. “Well then, we’re lucky we found one another, aren’t we?”
I smiled at that, as I was grateful to have a positive topic again. “Yes we are.”
He held up his glass. “Cheers!”
I did likewise and let the glasses clink against one another. “Cheers.”
Chapter Five
The jet lifestyle took the two of us all over the world. I saw more places worldwide than I ever imagined I would. Some of the places I enjoyed going to while others I didn’t. I didn’t like the ones where the people made an issue out of my skin color as some cou
ntries and people were prone to do. People thinking it was okay to touch my hair was a big no-no.
In some places I was sure Mr. Covington didn’t like it either. He at least viewed me as a person and not some sort of petting zoo. He probably didn’t like the places that commented on his light eyes or think of him as that “token white guy” as some places were prone to do.
As always some people were kinder in some areas than they were in others. I can’t say I had any place that I truly hated. Just some that I liked more than others.
In just a short time I had seen Japan, Europe, Canada, and more. It seemed the only place I might not be seeing is Antarctica. I jokingly thought to myself that it would be a surprise if Mr. Covington didn’t have some sort of deal with the penguins that lived there! Imagine how those business deals would go down! They would need an interpreter, a form of money as they couldn’t just pay him in fish, and a whole bunch of other stuff I hadn’t quite thought of yet. I could have easily burst out laughing at the most inappropriate times at how creative my imagination got with Mr. Covington bartering with penguins in Antartica.
During this time Mr. Covington became friendlier and more social towards me. There were a few times he invited me out to dinner. Breakfast and lunch were often provided by the hotel and I imagine in his world inviting someone to something so informal was not really done.
Myself, however, I was perfectly fine going out for breakfast and lunch. Sometimes having an informal setting was a great place and time to get to really know someone and how they are. But then again, I was not from Mr. Covington’s world. He could slip into mine but I could not enter his. In some ways I wondered if he ever wished he could. He had lived a fish bowl lifestyle for all of his life I imagined having a simplistic lifestyle like how he viewed mine would be pretty tempting.
As he appeared to relax it made me wonder if at first he were just testing me to see what type of person I was. In a way I couldn’t blame him for that as no one would certainly want some sort of crazy person working for them! I imagined he was or could have been worried that I or someone else could steal secrets from him that could damage the company or his reputation.
Gradually the tasks I had been assigned moved from general secretarial work and began to become more person. Mr. Covington even seemed to want to talk to me more. The talks weren’t just about business but rather more personal things.
One day while sitting in a hotel lobby Mr. Covington brought up his family which surprised me. “I’m the only one left. Sometimes it feels like I’m carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders.”
That statement reminded me of the cartoon where a person looked down to the scale and instead of a number saw the planet Earth. The caption was “No wonder my shoulders hurt.”
As soon as the imagine popped into my mind it went away.
“You’re doing so well at it, I’m sure your family would be quite proud of you if they could see you.”
Mr. Covington shrugged and managed a nod soon after.
If I didn’t know better I would have thought he needed a counselor of sorts. As far as I knew he was not prone to depression but everyone felt sad once and a while. Everyone also missed their parents from time to time.
Finally I decided to take a chance and voice what I was thinking, “If I may be so bold it seems to me that you want more of a companion instead of just a personal assistant.”
Mr. Covington looked at me. For a moment he actually looked surprised that I would say such a thing.
I continued, “You’re going all over the world all the time. If you had someone back home I’m sure they’d miss you.”
He nodded a little at that. As if sensing that I had something else to say he said, “Go on.”
“It seems that in a way you’re lucky that no one will be missing you when you’re going from place to place worldwide. You don’t have any real stressors that could be holding you back. I think if I left no one would really be missing me.”
“I’d miss you if you were gone,” Mr. Covington blurted out.
I could feel my heart skip a beat. He would miss me? The Mr. Blake Covington who could have any woman on this blue marble planet we call Earth would be missing me? Some black woman who was a former college administrative assistant?
For a second I thought he was just saying that until I looked at him and saw his attitude was genuine.
He really would be missing me if I left.
I was not one to get flustered easily but after what he said I certainly was. I felt myself trying to think of something to say but no words could come out. Even the words inside my mind refused to connect and come together! What was I going to do let alone say?
I had certainly dug myself into a nice pit that I didn’t know how to get out of.
Oh boy.
Chapter Six
The situation between Mr. Covington admitting that he would miss me if I left had seemed to pass. He never brought it up again nor did I.
The trip back to what people often called “the lower forty eight” was rather quiet. We had landed in New York and were put up in a big and expensive looking hotel.
I swear my room had a man eating bed inside of it. If I so much as tried to lay down on it I swore it was beginning to swallow me up. It must’ve been in the mood for American food.
The room itself was nice with a flat screen TV that sat across from the bed.
The windows were large and allowed for plenty of cheerful light to enter. The curtains that covered them were white in color.
Along the way I had heard that Mr. Covington had been invited to some big gala in New York City. I figured while he was away on this gala it would give me time to rest. Jet lag was starting to set in and whoever found a cure for it would make a fortune.
However, fate had other plans for me. As I wanted to rest for that evening there was a knock on the door.
I wrestled myself out of that man eating bed while calling “I’ll be right there!”
It was something out of a Loony Toons cartoon by the time I was able to free myself from the bed’s grasp. Once I was steady on my feet I went to the door and opened it to find a well-dressed man standing on the other side.
In one hand he held a large envelope. His other arm was raised high as he held something that looked like a person’s dry cleaning. I imagined he must have been going to each door down the hallway and delivering goods to the person. I admit I was curious as to what could be inside the black bag. It was long enough it had to be a fancy dress. One for someone going to the gala, no doubt.
“Miss Amanda Granger?” He asked.
“Yes.”
“Mr. Covington has instructed me to give you this,” he thrust the envelope out towards my chest which I quickly took. Before I could thank him he added, “And this.”
I could’ve gasped when the heavy black bag was soon thrust upon me. I was able to catch it but it sure did feel heavy. What was he wanting me to do? Dispose of someone’s remains?
“Will that be all?” He suddenly asked in that formal stiffness he had been trained to show.
“Yes, thank you,” I quickly said.
My hands were full and I didn’t dare kick the door shut behind me. Instead I used my hip to close it until I heard the door knob click and I was certain I was once again safe inside.
Part of me wondered why I was receiving these. Did Mr. Covington expect me to deliver them to someone? If so, why didn’t he just tell the man to deliver them himself?
Just in case that whatever was inside the black bag was for someone else I carefully set it on the bed and looked over the envelope.
Written in a fancy font was my name in large red letters. I flipped open the envelope and pulled out a lavishly decorated card. It was covered in gold leaf and red ink. The lettering was typed up in the same font as was on the front of the envelope. The writing was an invite from Mr. Covington saying that I was invited to attend and the designer dress was something to wear to the gala.
T
o say I was surprised would be quite the understatement! I was being invited to such an expensive gala!
I debated about going. I really did. I thought about attending as I didn’t want to disappoint Mr. Covington but at the same time I would very much be a fish out of water. I didn’t know anything of these people. To them I was probably just the help! I really didn’t think that I could fit in at all!
