by Wood, Lauren
“Yeah.”
“She is not that sort of assistant Alex. It is platonic.”
That was a relief because I hated to imagine the old man on her with his gut smothering her supple body. It wouldn’t have diminished her beauty, but possibly her appeal. I didn’t want to go behind that.
“Is she single?”
“I think so. We don’t really talk about any of that. She just does my work and organizes everything. Is that why you don’t have one, you play house with the help too much?”
I didn’t like what he was accusing me of and I certainly didn’t like the idea of it being true. That was the last thing that I wanted to think about, a guy like Ronald, pegging me that easily.
“No, I have Angela.”
Ronald rolled his eyes. Angela wasn’t much to look at, but she got the job done. I know that if I had an assistant that looked like Betty, I don’t think I would be able to hold it in. I would certainly say and do some inappropriate things.
“Get you a pretty young thing if you are in the market, Alex. Then you can get a little head while you’re on a conference call if you like. I didn’t think it would be so hard for you to get some female attention.”
The old man was grinning from ear to age-spotted ear and I could tell that he was enjoying himself a bit too much.
“It wasn’t like that Ronald. She just piqued my interest. That doesn’t happen very often and you know that what is thrown to us, usually has a hook buried in it for as soon as we swallow.”
“Isn’t that the truth. I remember I got a massage from this little Thai place…”
I listened with concern and tried to nod at the appropriate times. He was giving me far too much information, but I’d asked for it. The brunette wasn’t my usual pick, she was a bit mousy for me, but there was something else about her that was hard to deny. I was drawn to her soulful brown eyes and there had been something, a connection when our hands touched.
Maybe it wasn’t any of that and it was all physical. She was dressed in a pantsuit, but the fabric hugged at her curves. Betty was trying to downplay her appeal, for one reason or another, but it was impossible to do so. I knew that it would be impossible for a man to not see it, if he was looking. I sure the hell was looking.
I knew that I wasn’t going to get the information that I needed from Ronald. I was going to have to get it somewhere, the source seemed like the best place to get it.
About the time I got the nerve up to ask some more questions, Betty was coming back and she had dinner for us as well. Our hands touched when she handed me the container and for a moment, our eyes met. All I could think of was how impossible it was to deny what was in front of me.
Ronald excused himself to wash his hands and Betty was about to go when I thanked her again for remembering what I had forgotten.
“It’s no problem, really. I know that you guys get involved in your deals. It’s a lot of money and you play with it like you’re playing monopoly.”
“I wouldn’t go that far, but you’re a life saver. I want to thank you properly. How can I do that?”
“There is no need, really.”
“Are you sure? I have been told that I have something to offer that is very unique.”
“Yeah?” Betty looked away and giggled. It wasn’t calculated or fake, like most of the laughs I heard from women. This was the real deal and I have to say, that it made me smile just hearing it. What was with this creature and why was she affecting me in such a way?
“Did you offer the same thing to Ronald to seal the deal, the uniqueness you speak of?”
I couldn’t help but snicker at her. She had successfully put a scene in my mind that I didn’t need to see. It didn’t take me long to pull my mind back to her though and what I wanted to do to the innocence that was oozing out of her.
“Not yet, though the day is young. I would much rather offer it to you, to pay you back.”
“I don’t think I’m looking for that sort of gesture, but thank you. I’m sure many woman would like to be a part of it.”
She walked out before I could answer and I sighed out loud. Why did anyone get it? I didn’t want what I could have, obviously. I wanted Betty, the forbidden that blew me off. Somehow, that made more sense to me.
Alex
It was late when I finally left the office and Ophelia had fallen asleep on the couch in Angela’s office. Guilt hit me like a ton of bricks and I knew that I had to figure something out. There was no way that this was going to be able to keep going.
Before I picked up my daughter, I thought about the woman that had answered a simple question that had floored me. It had hit me so hard when she asked about my daughter. I hadn't even been thinking about her at the moment, almost completely forgetting that she was even out there with Angela and a complete stranger had kept her in mind. I don't know why that was so hard for me to grasp.
I wanted to know how everything went and I was also going to prod my daughter for information. When I picked her up, she woke up a little bit and asked to be let down. She was so independent and I knew that she was going to wake up now.
“Are you ready to go home?”
“Yes, that is where you were going?”
“It is. Sorry it was such a long day. I didn't realize it was going to take so long.”
“Making money takes a while.”
I agreed with that and asked if she wanted to get something on the way home.
“No, I went out with Betty and we had some dinner.”
“Did you have a good time?”
She told me that she did, and the expression on her face was legit.
My daughter wasn't a very smiley child lately and it was good to see an honest grin on her face for once.
“She is really nice. She let me pick whatever I wanted, and I even got dessert. You never let me stay long enough to get dessert.”
“That's because you usually start acting up and embarrassing the crap out of me.”
I was very distinctly remembering a time when she had crawled underneath the table and started to use the chair bottoms as her own personal drum set. It had been quite the scene and we had left abruptly after that. I don't even know if we had gotten through the main course before all that happened.
“I was just trying to make a melody. You are always so tense. You have to learn to chill out a little bit.”
“Chill out huh?”
She agreed but then I asked her if she had done the same thing with Betty.
“No, why would I do that?”
“Why indeed.” I was amazed that she would listen or be good for anybody. She certainly wouldn't do it for me and her answer was quite shocking.
Ernest got us home, and I sent my daughter up to bed. She took a shower and after a bedtime story, she went to sleep. It was the first time that we hadn’t argued about it in a long time and I didn't know what was going on. I felt like something was different and I had a feeling that it had to do with Ronald’s assistant. It made me wonder if she was in the market for a new job.
I thought about it most of the night and when I finally went to sleep, I actually was able to get a few hours before I woke up to the alarm clock. Sleep was something that eluded me most of the time and for once I was able to get some. I don't know why, but I was thankful for a few hours before everything hit the fan again.
I had forgotten about the fact that my daughter didn't have school and she didn't have a nanny. Which meant that I could either take her to work with me again, something I really don't want to do, or I had to find her another one. With the amount of money that I had, it would seem that that would be easy. But I learned very quickly that it wasn't the case.
* * *
“Angela, I don't think I'm going to be able to make it in today. I need you to reschedule all my appointments and only patch through Ronald Kiirin, if he calls. I'm not too worried about the rest of them.”
“Are you sure about that? You have a lot on your plate today.”
&nbs
p; “No school, no nanny, so I don't have a choice. Unless you want to come over here and take care of her for a while?”
I was saying it with very little hope, because I knew that Angela was going to tell me no. Her and my daughter had never gotten along and she was one of the people that my daughter liked to act out in front of. It never turned out well.
She dismissed that without much thought.
“Well then, I'm going to have to figure something out. It might take me a day or two, so I will just have to do what I can from here.”
“Do you want me to look into some boarding schools?”
It was true that Ophelia was a handful, but I was pretty sure that my assistant actually didn't like her. She had been suggesting boarding schools to me for a while now. I still wasn't sure that it was the best fit for us. I didn't want to send my kid away after all.
“Not yet Angela. But I would like you to get me the number for Ronald’s assistant. Her name was Betty I believe.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me Sir?”
“Would I be able to if I did?”
She told me that there wasn't a chance in hell, and I just kind of chuckled at her before she gave me the number that I was looking for. I don't know what I was going to do with it or what I was going to say to Betty, but I was getting desperate. I didn't want to leave Ophelia with someone that she didn't get along with. It would just end in me writing a check and having to apologize a lot. Maybe there was a better way.
I stared at the number for a few moments before I dialed. Still unsure what I was going to say to her, I decided to just go ahead and do it. What was the worst that could happen? I mean, I was already desperate. It couldn’t go that far down from there after all.
I heard her voice pick up and my mind froze.
“Hello?”
She said it a couple of more times before getting aggravated.
“Seriously Steve, you have to quick calling me. It’s over.”
Betty hung up and I wanted to know who Steve was. I called back and was frustrated when she didn’t pick up. She had most likely blocked me because she thought I was Steve.
I was instead going to have to find a way to catch up with Betty another way. I didn’t want to do it, but I was going to have to poach Ronald’s help, in his own office. I would get flak from this, but he would most likely forgive me if I gave him a bit more funding. Money could usually solve most problems, in one way or another.
Betty
It was about noon and I was finally going to take my lunch break. I usually didn't get to take it until one or two in the afternoon, depending on how Ronald’s schedule was looking. He was taking a long lunch with his yoga teacher, though I knew that he’d never stretched a day in his life. It was just another trait of rich people that I didn't understand. They had no loyalty.
I was pre-ordering something from the local deli down the road and stepped out of the elevator, when I heard my name being called. The person was very close to me and it was a gruff voice that I remember from before. Alex had a very distinct sound. He sounded like every other rich guy that expected everyone to bow down to him and do what he wanted.
“Alex Smith, right?”
He smiled at me and I knew that he was used to being recognized. He was the type of person that wasn't forgotten easily, and he knew it. Alex would be right in that assumption also, though I would never admit it. I didn't want him to know how much I thought about him and those piercing blue eyes of his. They felt like they were looking right through me.
“Yes, that's right Betty. I was hoping that I could talk to you for a minute.”
It was the first time in a long time, that I was going to be able to eat lunch at the same time as the rest of the world. I didn't want to get held up by Alex, though I knew that being rude to him would not bode well for the job I had with Ronald. I was supposed to be nice to everyone but especially the ones that were funding my boss. I wasn't supposed to do anything to mess that up.
“Sure, what's up?”
I tried to say it in a light way to make it seem like I didn't have anything to do, like I wasn't annoyed at the very idea that I had to wait around for him to say anything. He was cute, but I was on break.
It was loud in the first level of Ronald’s building and Alex asked me if I would mind taking it outside. Considering that was where I was going anyways, I told him that it would be fine.
“So, what can I do for you Alex? I would be lying if I said that I was a little surprised to see you here. Did you need to speak to my boss?”
“No, it has nothing to do with Ronald. Our business is just fine. I wanted to talk to you about something a little unorthodox.”
“Really?”
Now he had my attention and I wanted to know what he considered unorthodox. I knew that it could be a lot of different things, for a lot of different people.
“I was wondering if you were happy here working with Ronald?”
So, he was poaching me? I had been poached a couple of times before because like rich people, I didn't have much loyalty to my boss. It really came down to who paid the most and what job I hated the least. I had long since decided that I wasn't going to actually use the Masters degree that I had. I was going to be a glorified assistant for a while. Until I could figure something else out.
“Yeah, I enjoy working with Ronald.”
“You do?”
He looked at me like he didn't believe me, and the fact was that I didn't really care to work for Ronald. Now, I didn't think that Alex would be any different. He would be prettier to look at and he could get me hot under the collar, but that shouldn't change the fact that I was still being an assistant.
“Yeah, it's alright for what it is. It's not what I went to school for, but most people don't end up with a job in their career ideal.”
“What did you go to school for?”
“Investments, business, that sort of thing. Not what I wanted, but this is the best that I can find right now. MBAs are a dime a dozen nowadays.”
“They are popular.”
He hesitated for a moment and I was trying to figure out what he was talking himself out of. What was it that he wanted to tell me that was so hard to get out?
“So, what is it that you want to talk to me about?”
“I have a job that I need filled rather badly and I would pay double what he's paying you now. But after finding out that you are so well educated, I am sure that you wouldn't want to take me up on my offer.”
I was intrigued by the way he was wording it. This wasn't the type of guy that did anything short of demand. Whatever the job was, it must be something that was a position that he really did need filled.
“Well you'll never know if you don't ask right?”
“That is what I hear.”
“So what kind of job is it?”
“It is sort of like the job you have now. Probably about the same number of hours.”
“You aren’t selling this job very well Alex. Why don't you just spit it out because this isn't helping make it sound any better.”
Alex agreed that it wasn't helping, and I could see that he was being far too careful with his words. My mind was filled with all sorts of possibilities, but I was sure that it was nothing as exciting as I was coming up with.
“I need someone to watch my daughter so that I can work. She has been expelled from almost every private school in the city, she would need some instruction until I can find an alternative as well.”
That was not at all what I had been thinking and I sort of snickered to myself. I had been way off.
“Oh.”
“See, I didn’t mean to offend you. I know that this is not what you do, but my daughter is a handful and you seem to be the one that she gets along with. I don’t know why, but she can’t stop raving about you.”
“This is rather unusual, Sir. The last time I babysat, I was sixteen and getting some money for clothes. I don’t think you realize how much I make.”
&
nbsp; “I can ballpark it.”
“And you will double it?”
He agreed, and I was amazed. I wasn’t loyal, I knew that. Ronald poached me after all, so it wasn’t like I was stuck in my role. Wasn’t I just saying that getting coffee with Ophelia was better than anything else had been that day?
“Sure, why not.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I will start tomorrow. Got to tell Ronald.”
“Great. I will have Angela send you the details. Great.”
He was enthused when he hung up and I was stunned. What the hell had I just done?
Alex
I told Angela to get ahold of Betty and to give her all the information she would need. I still couldn’t believe that she had agreed to it. After finding out that she actually had a Master degree, there was no way that I could have imagined that she would have agreed. She must really hate working for Ronald.
I could see that.
Satisfied that I had fixed my current problem, hopefully for longer than a day, I decided to take Ophelia out. I know that she was probably going to see it as a reward for her actions, but I did mention something about it not being about that at all. Whether she listen to me, was another story altogether.
It was a good day and my daughter was acting more and more like herself again. It was good to see it, but she still had her moments. She wasn't going to be fixed that easily. And I still didn't know if I wanted her to be fixed. I liked the fire that was in her because it reminded me so much of myself. She was my daughter after all.
The next morning, Betty came over for the first time and I gave her a little tour of the house. I didn't expect much as far as schooling. I was really more interested in her staying around. Ophelia tended to get rid of anything that she found bothersome. She wanted to spend more time with me, I knew that was the root cause of it, but I did have to work. Even if I did have enough money, there was a need inside of me that made me go every day.
I tried not to stick around too long because the woman was getting in my head. There was something about the way that her brown eyes would look down at certain times. She also tried to keep her distance because of one reason or another. Every time I got close to her, she would skitter away, and it made me wonder what was going on in her head. I know why I wanted to get close, but I wondered why space was so important to her.
