Twelve Miles (Serendipity series Book 1)

by Robin Edwards

  With a little over $3 billion that I was left with my father’s will, I bought my first home in Sutton Hill and have lived there ever since. It was a Spanish style, five bedrooms 3 bathroom home on the back bay. My home had its own private dock as did all the residents that lived in that cul-de-sac and I also bought my own boat.

  I loved the boat because it reminded me of my father and whenever I got the chance, I took Owen with me, and we sailed the back bay under the warmth of the sun and sometimes under the stars at night.

  As the magazine crew tore down their equipment, Amy approached me ready to talk business again, “We need to take a look at the three final candidates for the other Project Coordinator position.”

  It was a reminder of how swamped we were; we were only a staff of nine trying to manage four major entities. Each entity was robust individually, but with all of them together, it might as well have been four different companies. Far too much for nine people to manage on their own. I did agree that we needed more staff members.

  The problem was these days it was getting harder and harder to find qualified candidates. Most that applied to any openings we have had over the years did so because they wanted their fame, thought it would be a glamorous job or was a relative of one of the club members who didn’t exactly equate to what qualified meant to me.

  “I took the liberty of printing all of the applications; all 180 of them but these three on top were the ones I felt showed the most promise. I haven’t checked their references yet, but I wanted to run them by you first.” Amy explained dropping a stack of papers on my desk.

  “I can’t believe it’s taking so long to find someone.” I sighed running a hand through my hair.

  “It’s like you said, we’re either getting pushed to hire the club’s relatives, or they end up being some kind of groupie that doesn’t really care about the Foundation. They just want the glory, but I don’t think the three I selected are going to give us any trouble. They are extremely qualified, sharp and applied for the right reasons. Take the afternoon to think about it and let me know if you’re in agreement with moving these three forward for final interviews.” Amy instructed before exiting the office.

  “Alright.” I sighed again.

  I picked up the applications and resumes of the candidates Amy wanted to push forward and scanned them quickly, “They’re definitely qualified.” I muttered to myself before putting the stack of papers down, but they end up falling on the floor, one-by-one.

  “Great!” I sighed as I bent over to pick them back up until I recognized a familiar name.

  JAMIE WINTERS. The name in bold caps on top of a resume from the rejected pile called to me. She applied. I couldn’t figure out if she had applied before she saw me at the holiday celebration or was it after? If it was before, I didn’t know why she didn’t bring it up to me.

  I scanned her resume for her qualifications. I remembered she had mentioned she worked for non-profit or helped non-profits, but I couldn’t imagine why she wasn’t one of the qualified candidates. Looking at it now, there was nothing that jumped out that screamed ‘unqualified.' Another thing she was talented at.

  “Hey, Amy? Can you come to my office for a second?” I buzzed Amy via speakerphone.

  “I’ll be right there.”

  Amy opened my office door and came in, curious as to the nature of my urgency. I held up Jamie’s resume and application, “Why isn’t she one of the candidates?”

  “Who isn’t?” Amy asked as she grabbed the paper from my hand. “Jamie Winters? You know why she isn’t.”

  “No, I don’t. Jamie’s extremely qualified and fits the experience we’ve been looking for, bar none.” I reasoned. “Opposite of the reason we hired Tobias, he was an army vet going to school for a Non-Profit Management degree and needed the work experience. Jamie fits the work experience that we need, she fits it extremely well.”

  “Sam, she was the girl from the events. The one in that band. The one that was trying to talk to you both times!”

  “Yes, she was. So what?”

  “You don’t see it do you?” Amy questioned.

  “See what?”

  “She talks to you at both events, she’s in a band. Your father was a musician…Sam, have you not had enough groupies to realize the profile of one by now? She didn’t apply for the right reasons.” Amy urged.

  “She’s not a groupie, and if anything, I approached her both times.”

  “Sam, really? Come now.” Amy rolled her eyes. “Stop kidding around, let’s move forward with the names I picked out. I was thinking of contacting their references today…”

  “No,” I said adamantly.

  “You don’t want me to contact them today? I can contact them tomorrow if you think we should focus on finalizing the Spirits Competition.”

  “No, I mean. Jamie Winters is it. She’s the candidate, the only one I want you to call.”

  “Sam, we just talked about this. Do you know what it is you are saying?”

  “Yes, I do. I know Jamie, and she isn’t like that.”

  “Sam…”

  “Amy, she’s it. That’s all there is to it. I don’t want anyone else. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

  “Alright but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “Well fortunately for you, I know I won’t be saying that.”

  “Okay, I’m trusting you on this.” Amy reasoned before grabbing Jamie’s paperwork to make the call.

  ****

  JAMIE

  I didn’t have any expectations when I submitted my application and resume online to the job site the position was listed on and knowing my history of bad luck and not hearing from Sam I knew deep down I would have gotten no response. However, one unexpected morning and they asked me to come down for an interview as they were looking to fill the position right away.

  So here I was in my business attire in the waiting room of the Jerry Ellis Foundation. I was terrified and nervous of what was about to happen. Think good thoughts. If Sam were avoiding me, I wouldn’t have been selected for the interview. Out of what could have been hundreds or thousands of applicants, I was one of the selected. That had to be good news, right?

  I was told over the phone by Amy, their Vice President that it was going to be a panel interview after I was asked if I was still interested in the position. The panel was going to be with three people, but Amy did not say who.

  “Ms. Winters, they are ready to see you now.” The receptionist said as she stood and walked me to a small conference room down at the end of the short hallway.

  The receptionist opened the meeting room door, and I immediately saw the three individuals sitting there. I only recognized one of their faces and as I sat down each of them introduced themselves:

  Amy Wolfman, Vice President of Jerry Ellis Enterprises, Inc.

  Jason Buchanan, Co-Founder of their spirits and liqueur division

  Sofie Parker, Social Media, and Marketing Coordinator

  I noticed that Sam was not in the room nor did I see him in any of the offices that we had passed. I wondered if he was going to join them later or if he wasn’t there because he was busy elsewhere. I wanted the job so much and wanted to get to know him more, but I wasn’t sure if the odds were in my favor. I was definitely taking a step forward by being selected, but at the same time, I was close but not close enough to reach. I couldn’t help but feel like I was a rabbit with a carrot being dangled in front of me.

  “Thank you, Marta,” Amy said to the receptionist as she shut the door. “Shall we get started?”

  It was around nine days before I heard from anyone about the interview results and I didn’t think I would get called because organizations typically called you if you were selected for the position and definitely didn’t if you weren’t selected. During the interview, they had grilled me on my experience and intentions, especially Amy. For whatever reason, the woman had it in for me. The Foundation called
me with good news, and I was chosen for the position.

  I couldn’t believe it at first and definitely, couldn’t believe that luck finally went my way. I was ecstatic and called my bandmates and Lisa to gush about the good news before I went into panic mode. I realized I would have to eventually face Sam. The realization both excited me but worried me because he not only was not in the panel interview so I wasn’t sure how he would react if I show up and he was surprised at what he saw.

  It was only a matter of time before I would run into Sam again and I didn’t know what I was going to say to him about how I felt, let alone what he was going to say to me if I said anything to him at all. It was sad giving notice to the company that I had worked for almost 9 years, but there was a point in time where I felt it no longer provided me with the sense of satisfaction and passion I had in the beginning.

  It didn’t seem like the department heads had any ideas about providing empowerment to their employees let alone any growth opportunities. It didn’t seem like it was important to them, so it wasn’t exactly a tough choice for me when I was selected to work for the Foundation.

  On my first day of work at my new job, I made sure I showed up bright and early. I woke up energetic and refreshed for some strange reason, and I wasn’t as nervous as I felt days before. I was excited about the opportunity and excited to hopefully see Sam. I came to the realization that I was overthinking things again and I wouldn’t have gotten the job if he didn’t have some influence over it, even if he wasn’t around.

  When I arrived, the receptionist Marta, congratulated me on the position and introduced me to some of the interns and administrative staff who I would shadow for a few days. For the first few hours, they gave me a tour of the facility, gave me a basic description of the Foundation and the various divisions and the different roles and how each interacted with the other.

  “This afternoon, you will be sitting with Amy and Sam, that’s the Director. You haven’t met him yet, but they will discuss with you more in detail about the major programs we have and what their needs are in the interim. They probably will also explain their expectations of you as well.” Marta told me hours later. Time went by fast, and before I knew it, it was lunchtime.

  “Did you bring a lunch with you?” Marta asked. My cubicle was near the front of the office where all of the interns and administrative support staff sat. Sam’s and Amy’s offices were close by, luckily.

  “Yes, I did. I wasn’t too sure what the lunch situation would be like, so I brought one just in case.”

  “Want to join me in the lunchroom? I usually leave during my lunch break to run errands or check on my grandkids during the summer, but I don’t have to do that today. Tobias, one of our admins, usually fills in for me. Once in a while, you will be asked to provide backup help, but when the time comes, I’ll train you.” Marta explained and then whispered, “It’s really easy.”

  “Sure, I’d love to.” I smiled.

  I liked Marta, and I warmed up to her quickly. Marta was a bubbly, middle-aged woman who reminded her of a stereotypical PTA mom. Her desk was made of cherry colored wood and filled with pictures of her kids and grandkids. She had pastel-colored pens and knick-knacks everywhere. She seemed like the kind of woman that was always happy and cheery as apple pie.

  “Where are you from?” Marta suddenly asked me as she dived into her Chicken Caesar salad.

  “I live in Cottonwood Beach. I’ve lived there for the past several years.”

  “How do you like it there?”

  “Oh it’s great, but it’s nothing like Sutton Hill, I just love it here.” I gushed.

  “Me too, although I don’t live here either. It is a quaint little community. There are some really nice pockets with charming Victorian and Spanish style homes. Pleasant neighborhoods and homes are hard to come by here.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked curiously as I bit into my ham and cheese sandwich.

  “How shall I say it? Sutton is definitely beautiful and charming, but sometimes people can make it really hard for you to see the gem for what it is. Know what I mean?”

  “You know, that’s the second time someone has said that to me about Sutton Hill.”

  “Well, then it must be true.” Marta smiled.

  “I know what you mean, though, small towns usually make it hard to get away from any sort of difficulty or people. In larger cities, you have more anonymity.”

  “You got that right!” Marta laughed.

  Time had passed even faster after lunch, and it was almost time for my meeting with Amy and Sam. I hadn’t seen Sam all day, and I found it weird because I didn’t see him walk in at all either. I was eventually called into the same conference room where I had my panel interview, but when I went into the room, Sam was nowhere to be seen. Amy was the only one seated.

  Where was Sam?

  An hour later, the meeting was over. It was brutal being alone with Amy. Sam never showed up nor did Amy give me an explanation as to his whereabouts. She did not even seem worried that he was not at the meeting nor provided any explanations as to his whereabouts. Not that she owed any. Amy spent the hour tactful and with a threatening disposition. It was the most uncomfortable moment of my life.

  By the time the workday was over, I couldn’t help but be disappointed by the lack of Sam’s presence but be the head of the organization, it was to be expected that he would spend most of his time gone than not. The realization that it would be customary for him to be gone most of the time gave her a slightly sad feeling. It was a realization that never occurred to her before.

  Although I was nervous to see how his interaction would be with me, I couldn’t wait to break the ice. It was already a little past five in the evening, and most of the administrative staff had already left the building and congratulated me on getting through my first day successfully.

  To my disappointment, I had waited a long time to get some answers, and I was looking forward to finding out once and for all so that I could potentially make the first steps in legitimately moving in one of two directions, but I was denied that privilege today. How many more days would I have to endure before I got answers?

  Chapter Seven

  SAM

  I ARRIVED AT THE OFFICE LATER than I wanted, but I was swamped this week with a multitude of meetings to attend, site visits to some of our local facilities to check on progress and take care of some personal errands. I flew back to the Hall of Fame headquarters in Ohio to go over some post-induction ideas they recently contacted me about. One of which was a rock n’ roll history photo book. It was merely a brainstorming meeting with nothing set in stone or even a confirmation that this idea particular idea was going to be pursued.

  As I arrived, I found Jamie still at work but more specifically in the parking lot what looked like loading her belongings into her car. I took care of a lot of things today, but the one thing that I had forgotten to do was check on how her first day was. I did manage to communicate with Amy what Jamie could assist me with but that was the kind of thing I should have taken care of personally. It was ill-mannered of me.

  I approached her methodically but like always I managed to startle her again. As funny as it was, I didn’t want her to think my constant creeping up on her was a habit. I wasn’t trying to creep up on her at all, it just ended up that way.

  “Oh, geez. Not again.” Jamie jumped in surprise.

  “Jamie Winters,” I emphasized. “See I got the hang of it. How was your first day?”

  “Hi, Sam. Oh wait, should I start saying Mr. Ellis now?” Jamie asked.

  “Sam’s fine. I wanted to apologize for my absence the past couple of weeks. I had every intention of being there in the interview as well as your first day, but I’ve been swamped with last-minute fires and requests.”

  “It’s been good. Your staff has been accommodating today. With their help, I’m sure I’ll get caught up.”

  “That’s great. We have a great team here.
I’ll be in the office more this week, so I want you and me to sit down and chat sometime. I wish I could have today but as you can see I just got back a few minutes ago.”

  “Well, we just closed up.” Jamie’s face lit up whenever she laughed.

  “I left some files here that I wanted to take home and review. I’m glad you had a good day, I hope you end up liking it here.”

  “Everyone’s really nice, especially Marta. She is a lovely lady.”

  “Marta is like my second mom. She’s such a gem. I am glad everyone’s treated you well. I expect nothing less from them that I would expect from myself. I’ve gotta get inside so I can head on home but I’ll definitely see you tomorrow. Let’s chat, alright?”

  “See you tomorrow.”

  ****

  “Thought you’d have to come back sooner.” Amy chided me the second I walked through my front door. I didn’t expect her to be at my house tonight, it had slipped my mind. I was looking forward to just reviewing files a bit and then heading to bed early.

  “I thought so too.”

  “I’m starving, and I had planned on us going out to eat tonight.”

  “Sorry, I don’t think I’m in the mood to eat this evening.” I sighed as I dropped my leather briefcase and jacket onto a dining room chair.

  Although Amy and I were colleagues, I had gotten into some kind of relationship with her. Ironically, I didn’t know what to call it. It definitely wasn’t an actual relationship, though I was starting to think she assumed it was more than what it actually was. She spent more time at my house unexpectedly than at her own place. It was becoming a frequent habit of hers.

  It wasn’t my original plan to regularly sleep with her or have it become a regular thing, committed or otherwise and while I appreciated the time we’ve spent together because it’s been a blast. She’s an excellent lay, it’s just days like this I regretted it all. If you asked me why it’s continued, I’d say Good question. I didn’t know the answer why. I enjoy it when we fuck, she’s a great conversationalist, and she’s great at her job, and the whole thing was just easy when I needed her, and when I didn’t, it felt like chaos. I think that’s why I haven’t put a stop to the whole thing before she expected more out of me, it was convenient, and I just didn’t want to deal with it yet.