Chapter 4 - Getting a job

Sydney

While driving in Mike's tattered old Honda, I continued to praise my stars. I was awestruck by the kindness and opportunities that had sprung out of nowhere. We had left Leah behind. Mike then took a detour and went to the hypermarket.

"All the best," he said, "it's just across the street."

"Thank you," I said and walked towards the store.

****************

Aiden

It was a Monday morning, and I was on my way to work. The traffic was a nightmare. I cursed as the signal went red. The gods wanted me to be late on purpose. As the pedestrians crossed from one side to the other, I sighed. I'm not sure why she drew my attention. Was it because she was dressed in a bright colour that made her stand out from the crowd? Her outfit consisted of a dark red shirt and blue jeans. Or the fact that she was limping and appeared to be straining to walk?

She came to a complete halt in the centre of the road, directly in front of my car, and knelt. She removed her left foot's shoes and jerked her feet a few times. Her bandaged feet were the next thing I noticed. She slid he shoe on and winced, I assumed it was a sprain.

She then turned around to face me. In a split second, the breath from my lungs whooshed out. She was stunning. Her auburn hair hung loosely about her shoulders in lovely curls. Her skin was olive in colour. She stood roughly 5'8", taller than the average woman. Her svelte hips fanned out from her delicate waist. Her features were stunning. A Grecian nose, rosebud sculpted mouth, and the dreamiest almond-shaped green eyes with the longest lashes I'd ever seen stared back at me. My breath was taken away by her.

She jerked her feet again, and when she went down to put on her shoe, I got a good look at her ass. The lights abruptly changed, and I stood there watching as the woman walked away from me. I wanted her!

I had no choice but to move my car when the signal went green, but I couldn't resist searching in the rear-view mirror for a glimpse of her. The heat of excitement flowed to my loins as my body reacted. This was going to be a difficult day, to put it mildly. I moved forwards and became lost in the crowd. But her gorgeous almond eyes plagued me, and her face lingered. What was it about her that was so unique?

I wanted to turn around, but it was a one-way street with heavy traffic. Even if I had wanted to, I couldn't have stopped. How do you track down a female you've just seen? There were no names, no numbers, and I had no idea who she was or whether I'd ever see her again.

In a fog, I walked to my cabin, replaying everything. I hoped I could stroke those long curls. I fixed my tie and shook my head. For God's sake, I was an adult, not a bumbling adolescent!

***************

Sydney

To get Mike's attention, I tapped on the car window. He was engaged in a magazine he was reading. He gave me a friendly glance and motioned for me to enter.

"I got it! They employed me right away. Tomorrow is the first day. Ten-dollar an hour!" I said in same breath.

Mike stuffed the magazine back into the compartment as quickly as he could.

"Woah, fantastic gal! Let's have a little party. Shall I take you around for a tour while we wait for my appointment with Rob?"

"Sure, thank you so much for your assistance. You and Leah appear to be Godsent. Since I met you, I've been blessed with an abundance of good fortune."

I leant forwards and hugged Mike, unable to contain my emotions. He stroked my back uncomfortably, looking a little taken aback

"It's no problem. I couldn't help but be the knight in shining armour because you seemed a little lost, like a damsel in distress." He smiled and flashed a row of pearly white teeth.

I burst out laughing.

"Come on, I'll take you to San Francisco's largest art centre and theatres. You'll adore it!"

The next few hours were nothing short of spectacular. Mike took me to the Palace of Fine Arts, which is well-known. I couldn't help but be awestruck. I could have stayed in a creative trance for days. This is exactly what I had aspired to accomplish my entire life: live and breathe art.

Lunch consisted of hotdogs and Coca-Cola. We arrived near a tiny structure around 2:15 p.m. Mike requested me to follow him once he parked his car. We went up a flight of steps to a glass door with the words 'Robert Associates' and below it, 'Every actor deserves a role, we help them find it.'

A chime went off as Mike pushed the glass door open, alerting the office's occupants that there were visitors. A curvy redhead sat at the front desk.

"It's great to see you again, Mr Scott. Mr. Delaware is inside, waiting for you. Should I let him know you've arrived?" A toothy grin sprang on the buxom redhead's face.

"How are you today, Annie? You look lovely, and yes, please inform Mr Delaware that we are here." Mike smiled as he met the redhead.

"Aww, Mr Scott, you're such a nice guy." She blushed.

The curvy redhead smirked as she tapped her table's intercom, alerting Rob to their arrival. A crackling voice asked her to send us in. "Mr Scott, you may now enter."

I decided to wait at the reception desk while he entered the office. I started conversing with Annie because I had nothing better to do.

"Are you his girlfriend, then?" Annie inquired, moving her head towards the entrance that Mike entered through

"Oh no! I am his sister's roommate, and we only met yesterday. Since I'm new here, he offered to tour me around." I stated it cheerfully.

Annie seems to relax a little.

"That's really thoughtful of him; Mike is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He's always willing to serve others, and he smells wonderful." Annie said.

I couldn't help but smile when she mumbled dreamily.

"Hey, he's nice; why don't you ask him out? It appears that you like him."

Annie flushed and said, "I can't do that; it's unprofessional. He is a client of ours.”

 I could tell she wasn't opposed to the notion by the way she shook her head.

"If my supervisor had heard me right now, he'd fire me," Annie said.

"Don't worry, I'll keep your secret safe; you like him, don't you?" She flushed a little more and nodded.

We were soon chuckling and laughing and plotting how Annie could 'accidentally' run into Mike at his steakhouse. We came to a halt in our female discussion when the door unexpectedly opened.

Mike stated as he walked out with a middle-aged, skinny wiry man, "Hope I didn't keep you waiting for long."

"He must be Rob," I thought.

Mike gave me a friendly smile as he introduced me to Rob. Both men embraced each other and patted each other on the back. Mike was distracted on the way back to the apartment, so we drove back in silence. To celebrate my new job, I made chicken schnitzel and coleslaw that night. Mike was still a little distracted while I told them all about my job interview, and Leah spoke away about her day. I addressed Mike about his mood swing after dinner, when Leah was away washing the dishes.

"Is something wrong with you, you look a little off?"

"I'm sorry... I guess I'm just tired. I believe it is time for me to call it a night. I'll see you in the morning tomorrow." Mike offered me a faint smile before heading into his room after saying that.

"Can you tell me where is my useless brother?" After she completed the dishes, Leah inquired.

I said, "Oh, he was tired and went to bed."

"It's far too early to go to bed! But oh well! Can you help me in getting the trash out? Mike was meant to do it. He was, however, 'tired,' as you can see." For the term 'tired,' Leah murmured rolling her eyes and lifting her hand to make quotation marks in the air.

"Certainly," I said as I stood up and assisted Leah in taking out the trash.

That night I thanked my parents for being my guardian angel as I stared at their photo. They introduced me to excellent people who were willing to help. I felt fortunate and quietly went off to sleep, blissfully ignorant of the impending storm that would bring my life crashing down.