6: Meeting Amy

CHRISTIAN

Talking to Amy was super easy because she had this sweet face to go with her good nature.  She showed me around the premises, and we got talking, and I already like her. She is a bit nosy as well, but who isn’t? I mean, there is this moment when she asked me if I have a girlfriend and I told her no, and she went ahead to ask if I have a boyfriend and I choked on nothing. I had enough coming out drama, and I am warier of people now. After more drilling, she explained she was no homophobe and since our boss is openly out, no employee would dare discriminate.

That was a very fascinating piece of information, I hadn't known. It doesn’t mean I will go jumping into his bones, but at least it’s a relief to know I wouldn’t get picked on because of my sexuality. I used her big mouth to my advantage and fished for more about our boss, wisely, of course. I found out he was twenty-eight, which makes Ma's assumption correct. He was also once married at a younger age, though he is divorced now. His mother was dead, he was estranged from his dad, but no one knows why.  When I realized I was prying too much and Amy was just dishing out the info with no qualms, I felt guilty.  What a conscience!

It was unexpected when Amy told me that Mr. Alexander is a very strict boss because he had been the opposite of me…

According to her, he does treat his employees fairly, but in return, he expects perfection. And it's understandable, truly. With the kind of salaries he is paying and not to mention the benefits, it does entitle him in a way.

But the Alexander she was talking about and the one I had just met, were nothing alike. And I didn't comment on it.

When she asked me how I know Mr. Alexander, I just told her that my mom was his new housekeeper and that’s how we met. I shrugged the whole thing because I don’t know if definitely she is as nice as she seems or just another loose mouth looking for hot gossip.

By the time I got to sign my contract, I was already exhausted from rounding aimlessly with Amy, who kept stopping to talk to people in the name of introducing me. Checking my watch, I realized it had been almost three hours.  The Hr. manager who happened to be Amy's boss kept glancing at me suspiciously and later on, when I asked Amy about it, she said it’s because Mr. Alexander leaves the recruitment process to the Hr.

When I was done signing, Amy accompanied me to the staff cafeteria, where I had a hot dog and some soda before she escorted me back to the twentieth floor.

The kind of happiness I felt when I sat on my designated desk couldn’t be masked.

Mr. Alexander gave me some easy tasks to do, which didn't require prior training.  I was currently sorting out through some documents, color-coding them according to urgency. He notified me that real work will start tomorrow, as he will be training me on how to run his life.

I was engrossed in my work when the phone rang. I glared at it for a while, wondering how to answer it. " Your telephone etiquette needs to be worked on, Christian.”  Alexander informed me immediately I picked up, and I felt relieved it was just him and not a client. He sounded amused by my desperate attempt to mimic customer service attendants.

“Of course, sir,” I responded seriously.

“We are heading home, wind up, you will resume from there tomorrow." He hung up before I got any word out. I separated the sorted files and stacked them in the cabinet, and put the rest in a box and hid it from view.

 I grabbed my jacket which I had gotten rid of when I started working and put it back on. Mr. Alexander came out at that moment and, as expected, I just followed closely without a word.

“How was your day?” he inquired

“It was great, sir. Thank you.” I answered respectfully.

“ Do you like working here?” He insisted,

“Very much,” I answered honestly, and he nodded. “ How many staff members do you have here?” I asked after a while,

“Roughly five hundred staff at the moment. I intend to expand very soon, so I will need to hire more" He answered, and I gasped. He must be richer than I thought!

“What’s on your mind?” He asked as we rode the elevator down.

“Nothing…" I lied just as his phone rang. “ Just a moment, please. " He excused himself and answered the call.

' Brat!' He exclaimed on the phone as Yusuf opened the door for us. 'How is the Spencer guy?' I heard him ask as he climbed into the car. ' Of course, just tell uncle I will be there.' He got rid of his jacket and folded his shirt sleeve, discarding the tie as well. He used his free hand to undo two buttons and leaned on the leather seat. ' As if you have a choice,'  He chuckled heartily, scratching his chin. ' See you, kiddo.'

After hanging up, Alexander turned his attention to me, but I averted my gaze and faced forward.

“That was my cousin, he is almost the same age as you.” he offered, though I did not pry.

“ What's his name?”

“Liam,” he answered with newly found warmth, “his name is Liam Anderson.” His face illuminated with obvious affection for his cousin.

I found myself interested in knowing more, so I asked,

“Is he your favorite cousin?”

“Not by choice,” he beamed, scrolling through his phone for a picture.

“How so?”

“My mother and his dad are siblings, and each had just one kid. So, we found ourselves stuck with each other against adults.” A naughty grin blossomed on his face as he handed me his phone with Liam's picture on the screen.

“ He looks nothing like you. "

“ Not entirely true,”. Alexander argued leaning in closer. “Look at his eyes and nose," he added, tracing the screen. He was now so close and my body was aware of him. I handed him back the phone and faced forward.

“I have tons of cousins from both sides.”  I offered.

“ Are you close?” He inquired.

“ Some.” I answered, “Where is your dad?” I asked curiously, but the glare he gave me confirmed what Amy had said earlier, and I found myself wishing to know why he was estranged from his father.

“He is dead," His tone devoid of all emotions. I wondered about the mystery behind it, but it wasn't my place to know.