by Cat Shinier
We dry off and go back to the bedroom to get dressed. My things have been folded and piled in Shamar’s closet. Shamar pulls out jeans and T-shirt and looks mind-boggling in them. I love it when his black hair is all tousled and falls into his forehead. I choose my own clothes and put them on.
In the meantime, Shamar has returned to his office, and while I have gotten dressed he calls Raoul. I could just sit there and watch him. Everything about him is sexy. He ends the conversation and says “come over here, darling.”
Î walk over to him and since the arm rests are still down I just climb right back up on his lap.
“Mayenne will be coming by this evening at about 7 p.m. and you can talk things over with her.”
“Great. That was fast,” I answer. It will be interesting to meet Raoul’s wife. I look forward to meeting her and getting the birth control issue settled.
“And, by the way, Raoul told me that he would like to include you in our project team that deals with tapping into new resources.”
Wow, that is a job offer. I wonder if I only got the job on account of Shamar.
“Oh, thank you.” I kiss him on the mouth. “Did you make sure I got the job?”
He leans back, thus increasing the distance between us slightly. “No, darling. It was your own doing. As I already told you, I’m not objective enough to offer you a job that would suit you. And that is why Raoul interviewed you. And he told me that these were the subjects that the two of you talked about in detail.”
“That is right. But not until later.”
“I know. The first part of the interview is always to loosen up the applicant. That makes it easier for Raoul to judge them.”
“And the second part is to find out where my strengths lie.”
“Correct. We will really be able to profit from your expertise in this area. And it has nothing to do with the fact that we are together.”
I pull a face and roll my eyes because it suddenly occurs to me that there are all sorts of issues that have to be solved before I get a work permit. “And so how do things continue?” I ask Shamar. “What do I have to do to get a work permit here? Apply for a green card?”
Shamar nods. “Raoul will be meeting you tomorrow to talk it over with you. I’ll take you along to the office, and that will give you enough time to get things sorted. As far as I know, there is a kind of temporary green card you can apply for when you have a job offer – and you have one – and then the real thing arrives much later.”
“Wow, I have a job. A real job. Thank you, Shamar.” I hug him and kiss him. I’m overjoyed. I’m unable to hide just how happy that makes me. I believe Shamar when he says that it was Raoul’s decision to offer me a job. In terms of money, it wouldn’t matter either way to Shamar whether I had a job or not. But it’s important to me. I want to have my own money to be independent. And who would have believed that things would work out this way.
Chapter Fourteen
I have something for you,” Shamar says as he grins at me boyishly.
“Yes?” He is taking me by surprise, and he has my complete attention.
“Come with me. I’ll show you.” I climb off him, and he pulls me towards himself while we walk towards the sofa.
“Sit down, darling.” I sit down and watch him, waiting as he walks over to a cabinet and takes out a number of boxes standing there.
“This is for you,” he says and hands me a BlackBerry cell phone. “I know you have a cell phone, but I think this would be easier to use here in the United States. Certainly cheaper. You can use it to read your emails or check stuff online.”
What a nice thing for him to give me, I think to myself. This way it will be easier for me to text Susan, and to get my emails from work. I’m about to thank him, when he hands me the next gadget. It is an aluminum Ultrabook laptop. Cool, light and flat. I’ve been admiring these for a long time and have wanted to have one ever since I first saw them. It is as light as a feather.
“This is for you, too. I did not see that you had one along, and I wanted to make sure that you can access a computer at any time.” He presses a button to turn it on, and it noiselessly switches on. He shows me the symbol.
He’s swept me off my feet. I’m so excited. I’m not used to getting gifts, and moreover he has the knack or realizing what my needs are before I have even voiced them. I hug him and am at a loss of what to say. I feel like I’m about to cry, so he kisses me gently.
“Thank you so much, Shamar. I don’t know what to say …”
“Enjoy, Luna, I know you need them and it makes me happy when you are happy.”
I spend all afternoon acquainting myself with my new gadgets, reading my emails, checking contacts and links in the computer and saving the numbers in my new BlackBerry.
It is too late now in Germany to call Susan, so I decide to text her and give her my new cell phone number and tell her that I will be emailing. I just have to communicate with her, even if it is just via email.
The next morning at about nine we are sitting in Shamar’s Mercedes and heading towards his office building in downtown Houston. Shamar is on the phone, and I’m looking out the window. Yesterday morning we drove part of this stretch of the highway on our way from the airport. And suddenly we’ve arrived and stop in front of a high rise.
Kieran opens the doors for us. The building is black and gleams in the morning sun. From below it looks gigantic, as I stare up the façade. The doors are black glass and chrome and glide aside noiselessly as we enter the huge hall and reception area, which is freezing cold. Two elegant looking women are sitting at the reception desk wearing identical dark blue suits with the SI logos on the sleeves. They gaze only at Shamar and hardly even look at me.
“Good morning, ladies,” he greets the two of them. “I’d like you to provide Ms. Buchholz with cards to access the building. The complete range. She will be working for us soon. If you have any questions just get in touch with Mr. Décoste.”
They both nod and now they finally look at me. “Thank you,” Shamar adds and heads in the direction of the elevators. I follow him and am quite amused that the two women seem to be as enamored by him as I am. The difference is that I get to go to bed with him, and they don’t.
We take the elevator to the top floor, and I peer at him from the side, trying to decide whether I look good enough next to him. Thank God I have an extra suit along, otherwise I would not have had the right kind of outfit for this place.
I look at Shamar’s reflection in the mirror. He is wearing a dark blue pin-striped suit, a white shirt and matching tie. The suit is both elegant and casual at the same time. Then I think about yesterday evening. Mayenne arrived shortly after 7 pm, as planned and I liked her immediately. She is small and petite and has dark brown hair and light brown eyes. She said she always wondered what kind of woman would be able to break through Shamar’s reserve and that I was the first girlfriend of Shamar’s she was meeting. Raoul had already told her all about me.
She prescribed the pill and told me I was to start taking it on the first day of my next period, and that she wanted to see me in her offices soon. Even though she and I had just met we spent almost an hour together talking. Mayenne and Raoul are a great couple, and I think they really harmonize well. And they are both really nice. When we said goodbye she hugged me. Today is Wednesday, and I’m expecting to have my period on Saturday. It will be great to feel Shamar directly without rubber between us. My inner muscles flip out at the thought of that. They seem to think that sounds better, too.
“What are you thinking of?” Shamar looks at my reflection in the mirror.
“I’m thinking of the fact that soon I will not have to share you with a condom,” I answer his reflection.
He faces me. His eyes are dark, and I know exactly what he’s thinking.
“I can hardly wait to feel you completely, darling.”
He kisses me, and I’m distracted by the fragrance of his after shave lotion, which I think smells lovely. The
elevator stops with a little jolt, and we move apart. The doors open and I hear a tiny little ping. We are facing another reception area and two more women sitting at a reception desk. They smile cordially at Shamar and me “Mr. Shalazar, nice to see you again.”
Shamar greets them cordially, too. “Corinne, meet Luna Marie Buchholz. She is going to be joining our team soon. Please make sure that Luna gets everything she needs.” Now he turns and faces me. “Luna, meet Corinne Sheffield and Nancy Cors.” He nods in the direction of the other woman.
I greet both women. We continue on to two conference rooms and arrive in his office. It is separated from the hallway by glass walls and contains a large desk and two chairs and a large conference table with eight chairs, plus a comfortable looking sofa. He opens the door to let me in and presses a switch right next to the door. But instead of the light getting brighter the window panes facing the office area go dark. Now the glass is tinted, and it is impossible to see in or out. He turns to me and places his hands beside my blouse and presses me against the glass to give me a sexy kiss. Oh yes. A sweet feeling of weakness moves up my legs. I could stand there and be kissed by him for hours. Even though we only had sex this morning a few hours ago I already miss his presence in me. And as suddenly as he started kissing me he lets go of me, thereby increasing the distance between us.
“Darling, you are such a seductress. I can’t tell you hard it is for me just to go back to business.” He takes a deep breath and moves around the desk, then presses a button on his phone and picks up the receiver.
“Nancy, please tell Raoul that we’ve arrived.” Then he hangs up again.
Shamar watches me walk around his office while I inspect the room to see what it’s like and whether it reminds me of him. One wall is a huge panorama window, and I think to myself that it is better not to have a fear of heights if you want to stand there and glance down. His building is one of the tallest ones in the area, as far as I can tell. There are other skyscrapers close by, and they are all the headquarters of oil companies. Trees separate the buildings and green grass and everything looks neat and open. Shamar’s office is all black and chrome, like his office at home. The conference table also has a shiny black surface, and the semi-seating area is in black soft looking leather.
“Raoul will pick you up here. I ordered lunch for 12.30 and at 2 o’clock Shirley Jenkins will be stopping by to talk to you.”
“Shirley Jenkins?” I cannot remember ever having heard that name. “Who’s she?”
“Mrs. Jenkins is one of the most popular style consultants and personal shoppers in the greater Houston area. It’s hard to get an appointment with her as she’s booked out for months on end.”
“You want somebody else to buy my clothes?” Hell, where have I landed. It seems like I not only have to get used to the fact that people pack and unpack my clothes and stash them in closets and cabinets, now someone I have never met in my life is going to assemble my wardrobe? Unbelievable.
“Yes, Luna. But it is not all that unusual.”
“Shamar, maybe it is not unusual in your world, but it is in my world. I have always bought my own clothes. I cannot even imagine someone choosing things for me. And if I want to I could buy everything I need myself.”
“But I don’t want you spending any money on account of me. That is the least I can do and Shirley Jenkins is really successful with the things she does. So just let her surprise you. You don’t have to take anything you don’t like and of course you can go shopping on your own anyway. You don’t even know your way around here yet.”
That option is acceptable. If Shirley Jenkins talks things over with me and explains what she thinks is becoming on me and suitable for the occasion, and I feel comfortable in the things she chooses, then I’m okay with it.
“So I really don’t have to accept anything she chooses if I don’t want to?”
“If she doesn’t find anything you like – which will not happen, believe me – then you don’t have to take it. But it is her job to find the right things.”
“Aha.” I collapse into a chair across from his desk and exhale deeply. If I don’t have to take what she chooses, then it is a no-fail undertaking. That is fine with me then. I just hope she won’t want to make me look overdressed or austere, just because she thinks it looks cool and modern. “Okay,” I say, shrugging my shoulders.
“Come on, Luna, all I want to do is spoil you and provide you with beautiful things. Does that mean we’ll have this huge discussion about it every time I want to get you something in the future?”
I lean on his desk with my arms. “Shamar, I don’t want to appear ungrateful. I have never had to deal with a personal shopper. I actually don’t even know what it is. I don’t even know the German word for it. And I also don’t have the money for something like that. Or for all sorts of clothes. And I just don’t want to have to wear clothes that someone else who does not know me has chosen for me just because they think it is trendy.”
“I have more than enough money to employ a dozen personal shoppers 24/7 for you, and it would not even begin to make a dent in the money I have. Just accept it. It would be a pleasure for me to make you happy.” He leans closer. “I’m so happy you are here. I love you, sweetheart.”
“And I love you too, Shamar.”
There is a knock at the door. Without being aware of it we have moved closer and closer, and so we jump and move apart. Raoul enters after Shamar asks him to. He greets us both, and then I follow him into his office. While I walk out I blow Shamar a kiss before closing the door. We don’t have to walk very far because Raoul’s office is on the other side of the reception desk. It is not as big as Shamar’s office, but it is furnished just beautifully. We sit down on the sofa, and Nancy brings us a tray with a bottle of water and two glasses.
“Have you started settling in?” Raoul wants to know.
“Thank you, yes, I have.” I take the glass of water he is offering me.
“Shamar has already talked to you?” he says as he leans back and takes a sip of water. He is looking at me with an interested expression.
“Yes, he has. I’m really excited, that I will be joining the team soon. That is all I know. Nothing else.”
He smiles at me, and I smile back.
“So Shamar is turning this thing into a cliffhanger again.” He leans forward and says with a conspiratorial tone, “That’s what he loves to do.” His eyes are twinkling before he continues. “Okay, Luna. The interview with you was really good. And our project team has about 20 people in it who evaluate new resources. And this team will also include an old friend of yours. Do you remember a Swiss guy called Lutz Steinbichl?”
I do. It was the guy I sat next to during the presentation and the one I took the tour of the old part of the city with.
“Yes, I do,” I say.
Raoul tells me a lot about how the team works and what the team’s tasks and challenges are. To me it actually sounds like Shamar was not even involved in the decision-making process, and I feel really relieved. I don’t want to have anyone offer me a job just because I’m the girlfriend of the owner.
Then Raoul walks over to his desk and retrieves a stack of papers. He divides the stack and keeps half while he hands me the other half. It looks like it is an employment contract, and we walk through the various passages and the benefits it includes. Whenever I have questions Raoul explains the things to me. Then I see my salary and wonder whether it is perhaps a typo.
My starting salary will be $80,000 a year, payable in monthly installments. At the end of the year, my bonus will be at least $10,000 if I have achieved certain goals. I swallow. That sounds like a lot of money to me. I clear my throat and ask Raoul if the salary listed here is correct. He checks his papers and compares them with mine and nods, confirming the accuracy of these numbers.
“That is everybody’s starting salary for this job, Luna. Let’s continue on the next page,” he says and points to the first paragraph on the next page. “You se
e here that after one year if everything has been fulfilled, the salary increases to … hold on … $90,000. The salary really is higher than for other companies, that is true and I can understand you are surprised. But we also want the motivation of our employees to be above-average. We don’t want them to have to work on the side. We want them to be able to apply themselves fully to Shalazar Industries specifically Shalazar Petroleum.”
That makes sense. I continue reading, and I nod. But I also pinch myself. I don’t let Raoul see that, however. I want to make sure that I’m not dreaming. But no. This is not a dream.
* * *
As soon as I sign the employment contract Shalazar Industries will apply for a green card for me, which can take forever, according to Raoul. So what they’ll do is apply for a temporary green card for the time until my real green card arrives. The temporary green card should be ready in about six weeks.
In the meantime, I won’t be able to work here. Unfortunately, but I can watch and be trained. I will continue to have my normal tourist visa. And when I’m on vacation I’m allowed to do whatever I want – and so I can also check in with my future department and learn about the tasks I will be involved with. Raoul hands me my copy of my work contract in a plastic folder and asks me to read it through again carefully before signing it, and to return it then to him.
He takes me along to my new department. I’m glad that it is Raoul doing it and not Shamar. I don’t think I’d like everyone here to know that I’m involved with the boss, and maybe they’d be able to tell by the way we act with one another. On the other hand, it will probably only be a matter of time before everybody here knows anyway.
Still, I will have an easier time getting started without any hard feelings towards me as a person if Raoul is the one to introduce me to the team. We walk into the project area in the 23rd floor. The department manager’s name is Brenda Adams.
And so there is my new working environment. A big light open room with lots of desks and file cabinet that are not being used yet. Papers and folders are piled high all over the place. It looks like work. Raoul walks around introducing me to my future colleagues.
