Geo lowered his coal black eyes that had been looking into hers intently. He seemed embarrassed and the explanations began to tumble out, “I’ve got a huge assignment due tomorrow for my statistical analysis class that counts for 50% of my grade that I’ve been putting off for five weeks now, and I was rushing to get it done. I also have a major investigation I need to be working on for my boss, er, partner, who runs this place. I’m kind of interning here and my boss is actually my cousin, Sammy Dick. I needed an intern assignment in a business and she agreed to take me on. I’m holding down the fort because she’s away on assignment and someone still needs to be here as many hours as possible during the day, so I sit here when I’m not attending my classes at ASU.”
He took a breath and plunged onward, “I apologize for seeming rude earlier. I was trying to do too many things at once and it’s probably not the wisest idea to put off a five-week assignment and then try to complete it the night before it’s due, but I can probably work on both assignments better at home anyway,” Geo looked back up into Kathy’s sincere face and continued earnestly, “and from the way you said it, it seems like my troubles may be a lot lighter than yours, so if I can help in any way, I will.”
For some reason, all of Geo’s earnest and tumbling explanations touched Kathy’s heart and sealed her willingness to trust him. She held his gaze, but when she tried to tell him the history of her recent events in a factual, objective way, she felt tears springing up in her eyes, hovering on her lower lids and then spilling down her cheeks in an unstoppable flow. “First, I need to tell you about Peepers,” she sobbed in a small voice, and then the whole story came spilling out, which she found she very much needed to tell.
Geo, who was a very smart boy indeed, let her tell it in her own way, and his genius IQ slotted the pieces in place as she gulped out the awful details. Geo reached out and patted her small, trembling hands as she talked. She squeezed his hands back once or twice for support in the telling of the events that were spilling out every which way and non-sequentially. Geo figured he could complete his five-week ASU assignment at around one A.M. that night. He’d done it before, and was still a straight A student. His cousin’s investigation was another matter, but it would just have to wait. Geo listened carefully as Kathy gushed out the details of the turn of events that had befallen her. He stored the details away within his gifted intellect for future analysis as he silently pledged in his heart that he would find a way to help this courageous and lovely young woman in any way he could.
By 3 P.M., not only had Kathy told Geo every last detail of her current situation that she could remember, they had both worked together to create and print out several copies of her resume. During their time together, Geo had also demonstrated his iSight camera, and given her a quick tour of Time Machine, GarageBand, Quick Look, iLife, iTunes, iPhoto, iDVD, and iWeb. At the end of the demos, Kathy had raised her right hand to her brow in a fake salute and said, “Aye, aye,” since she’d never seen so many iDevices in her life. Geo laughed happily when she did this, not daunted by her joke. Kathy hadn’t felt so lighthearted in a long, long time.
Buoyed by her lightheartedness, she picked up her cell phone and punched in the numbers for the title company job that focused on international and commercial work. A pleasant woman answered, stating her name as Doreen May. After Kathy briefly explained her interest and excellent fit for the job, Ms. May invited Kathy to come over before close of business that day for an interview. To Kathy, the most exciting part was that the title office was located in the glass high-rise across Camelback Road just to the southeast of the DICK INVESTIGATIONS office. Kathy planned on doing her absolute best in her interview because she suddenly realized she wouldn’t mind seeing Geo as much as possible.
She and Geo exchanged cell phone numbers after Kathy gathered up her resume in a nice folder Geo had given her. Geo asked Kathy to please call him as soon as her interview was over, so she could tell him how it went. Geo explained that he was closing up and heading to his home on the west side of town because he needed desperately to finish up his ASU assignment. He gave her the hours that he would be back at the DICK office the next day and invited her to have lunch with him at California Pizza.
Kathy readily agreed. She was about to shake Geo’s hand before going out the door. Instead she leaned in and gave him a hug and a small peck on the cheek. Geo looked into her red-rimmed but sparkling blue eyes as she drew away, with her creamy skin and dimples. She looked so innocent and attractive, he could barely contain himself. “Good luck, Kathy, but I don’t think you’ll need it. They’ll love you at the title company,” and he sincerely meant it.
Chapter 18
Geo was right. They did love her at the title company and she snagged a job in her very first interview, mainly because they were short-handed and she had rare international and commercial expertise. The office manager had quizzed Kathy, giving her a number of different scenarios to solve. Kathy must have answered correctly because the office manager offered her a job, with one month’s observational probation. When asked if she could start the next day, Kathy said, “Absolutely!” And they shook hands in a friendly way to seal the deal.
As Kathy walked out, she stopped by Doreen’s desk in the reception area. Doreen looked like she was around Kathy’s age. She was petite, like Kathy, but instead of Kathy’s shoulder-length auburn hair, Doreen had very long, blonde hair and green eyes. She wore a short-sleeved pink blouse with a scooped neck. She looked very pretty and feminine. Kathy decided to ask her about a place to live. “Hey, I got the job, Doreen. Thank you so much for getting me in here on such short notice.”
“No problem. We could use the help. It will be nice to have you here. I think you’ll like your office. Let me show it to you. I’ll give you the keys and other instructions if you have the time right now.”
“Of course. Sounds great, Doreen. I appreciate your time.” Doreen walked her down the hall and opened a side office. The office was small but it had a skinny, floor-to-ceiling window which looked out onto the parking lot below; you could also see a view of the two-humped mountain Kathy had noticed driving in.
“What’s the name of that unusual looking mountain out there?” Kathy pointed out the window.
Doreen didn’t even need to peer out the window. “Oh, that’s Camelback Mountain; kind of a landmark around here. It’s nice that you get to see it from your window, even if your window is so skinny,” Doreen said smiling.
Kathy realized that Geo could see Camelback Mountain from his office window too. Somehow that was a comforting thought. She was looking forward to getting to know Geo better. Thinking of Geo made Kathy remember she needed a place to live. She might even be able to stand this torturous heat with Geo around. “Doreen, could you recommend any place nearby to live? I’m brand new to Phoenix and don’t even know where to start. I can’t afford much, but I’d love a studio or one bedroom apartment in a gated area.” Kathy was conscious that she’d be back on the radar screen for St. Pierre and probably the Newark police as soon as she started using ATMs and her credit cards again. Since she was out of cash, that would have to be today.
“Well, this can be an expensive area, but I have an idea. I own a small two-bedroom condo not far from here. My roommate moved out of state a few months ago, and I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a new roommate. I really don’t make enough in this job to support the mortgage by myself. We have a gated entry, a swimming pool, fitness center and excellent internet access. For $600.00 a month, which includes all utilities and fees, you can have the spare bedroom.”
Kathy quickly did the math against what she’d been told she’d be making in her new job and felt relief flooding through her. “That would be wonderful, Doreen! Let me rush out now, so I can find a bank before closing. I don’t have a place even for tonight, so if you don’t mind, I’ll go withdraw the money and be back soon.” Kathy reached out and vigorously shook Doreen’s hand with a smile on her face. “Thank you. This will wo
rk out very well.”
Kathy took the elevator down and rushed out to her car. Opening the Saturn’s door was tricky. It had become so hot in the short time she’d been away. As Kathy gingerly turned the key in the ignition and touched the burning steering wheel, she thought, In Delaware, I would never have considered having a roommate or a boyfriend; I needed my isolation so much, and, now, I am getting both in one day. Who would have thought that bad luck might start to turn out so good? Maybe I am starting to stabilize after losing my parents.
Then Kathy experienced a rush of guilt for feeling happy when Peepers had died such a ghastly death. A tear rolled down her cheek. Maybe I’m not as stabilized as I think I am, she lamented as she turned the steering wheel to the right and headed east on Camelback, the air conditioning blasting out hot air. She was hoping to find a Bank of America before too long, preferably one with heavy-duty air conditioning.
Kathy had not turned on her cell, used her credit cards or an ATM since the explosion in Delaware because she wanted to lay low until she decided on a plan of action. Kathy now pulled her cell out of her handbag and plugged the charger into the cigarette lighter. A Bank of America came into view on her left and she made her way across traffic to pull in.
Cold air engulfed her as she pushed open the bank’s front doors, thinking, Very soon I’ll officially be back on the radar. She wondered if the Newark police were after her and if St. Pierre resided in Phoenix or in Madrid, Spain, as he had claimed when she’d first met him at American and International Title.
The line to the teller was short. Kathy withdrew her rent money and some additional cash. She’d need a computer soon. I know, I’ll ask Geo to help me pick it out! After the money was safely tucked away in her bag, Kathy almost floated out of the bank, thinking about meeting with Geo again.
On her way in to pay Doreen, she called Geo, told him how she’d won the job and confirmed their lunch date the next day at California Pizza Kitchen. Then she shyly asked if he wouldn’t mind helping her pick out a new computer afterward.
Her heart skipped a beat at his reaction; he sounded like he might jump through the phone in anticipation. She smiled as she closed the call. Once I get my computer, I can research the news in Newark to find out what’s going on, and I can further investigate the business dealings of St. Pierre. She suspected Geo might be a pro at helping her investigate St. Pierre too.
Chapter 19
The week had passed swiftly and, hard as we had tried, Geo and I had accomplished little. It was now Friday evening and I awaited Michale Oversong. Sitting on a barstool in the Hyatt Regency Compass Room, a restaurant and bar that rotates high above the city, my views of the Valley stretched as far as the eye could see. That was my faraway view. My close up view was of a really cute bartender.
Michael had arranged to meet me here for a status update on the investigation. Which was pretty much zero, spelled with a capital O as in Uh-Oh, we’re in deep shit. I tried to figure out how to make batting zero sound like a homerun. I pondered that briefly, failed in the attempt, and decided to flirt with the cute bartender instead. He was dark-eyed and white-smiled, with lots of black hair that flopped slightly over his eyes when he looked down to mix his concoctions. He was dressed in a stunning white shirt and black vest. I watched him in action for a while to calm myself with distraction.
To further calm myself with distraction, I said, “Can you make a really mean Cosmo with three cherries?” Maybe if I get a teeny bit buzzed, it would all come back to me—how to make a big fat zero sound like a homerun worthy of a big fat paycheck.
He rose up from the current drink he was concocting, flipped back the sexy lock of hair with a slight toss of the head, and rewarded me with a dazzling white smile.
Did he use those yicky plastic tooth whiteners that you paste across your incisors from ear to ear and sit around watching TV, sort of drooling and looking ridiculous? If so, it was paying off. Maybe I ought to try it more than just once?
Without a word, he leaned down, the lock of hair swinging across his forehead like the follow-through on a great golf swing, and labored over my Cosmopolitan concoction. It apparently required lots of mixing, shaking and huge dollops of various liquors. When he was satisfied with his elaborate mixture, he stood up grasping the ice cold silver shaker in both hands and vibrated it back and forth above his head. The ice tumbled about, clicking and clacking like a maraca. The bartender flashed the ultra-white smile again, looked me straight in the eyes and began swaying his hips back and forth, salsa fashion, as he kept up the maraca action. He strutted one way behind the bar, about-faced, and, with his well-muscled rear toward me, salsa-stepped back the other way, executing a lot of effective hip action as he went.
Perhaps this was not the ideal preparation for my meeting with Michael?
I was enjoying myself so much, though, that I immediately began searching for rationalizations, as in: What the hey, it was the end of my first week as a high-powered corporate performance consultant. I figured I deserved a little fun. A working girl has to unwind somehow. Yada, yada, yada.
Right in the middle of this long-winded mental list of excuses, the bartender set the magnificent Cosmo in front of me loaded with the three plump cherries I’d requested. I chomped them down one by one while the bartender watched in fascination. I hid their stems in my napkin so Michael wouldn’t know I had a cherry fetish. Then I proceeded to sip my freezing, delicious Cosmo with demure restraint. Well, as much demure restraint as I could muster, while watching the bartender mix orders in rapid succession as the dinner tables began filling up with hungry customers.
As I sipped deeper into my drink, I began to suspect the handsome bartender had loaded my Cosmo with an extra punch. I felt a heady buzz coming on. The restaurant revolves slowly around delivering ever-changing views of the Phoenix skyline. Through my buzzed haze, I watched the ballpark roll by. I’d watched the mountains before that. I’d even caught a glimpse of the swimming pool situated on top of the Adams Hotel with a few late day swimmers and tourists basking in the diminishing heat. Ah, my gorgeous half-baked city!
I was getting seriously woozy, what with the beautiful views and the icy Cosmo and trying to keep track of the sexy bartender running around behind the bar like a busy bee mixing drink after drink, when I decided to try out the swivel mechanism in my barstool. I’ve loved swirling motions ever since I was a kid and fell in love with the merry-go-round. It was hard to resist a teeny tiny twirl, so I gave myself a small push off the bar’s edge. What could one little swivel hurt? But in my Cosmo-haze I must have misjudged the push-off. I flew around too quickly, flashed right on by the bartender, his eyes open wide in surprise as I flew by. Well into my second twirl, I was zipping at a fast clip when my knees banged into a customer moving in beside me. Whoops!
His hands reached out and gently, but authoritatively, grasped my shoulders to steady me. My head kept whipping along after the newcomer brought me up short. I pulled my spinning head back in the direction I’d just traveled and strained to lift my eyes up to stare into the face of my rescuer. Lo and behold, well, more like Holy Shit! I was staring straight up into the shimmering topaz eyes of my client, Mr. Michael Oversong.
My heart began going pitter patter, pitter patter. I didn’t know if it was because I hoped he was going to hand me a check this evening for our first week’s worth of work or because he was so outrageously handsome in a bad-boy sort of way. Either explanation worked for me or any combination thereof, or… Regardless, it was time to focus!
“Well, hi, Michael,” I drawled. “I was just swinging around to look for you and got going a bit too fast.”
Michael kept hold of my shoulders and stared down at me with that silent soul-searching look he’d bombarded me with when we first met. The diamond in his ear caught the sun’s rays and sparkled. I didn’t know which was icier, the Cosmo or Michael’s eyes.
For some reason his dead seriousness struck me as funny. I did my best to maintain serious eye contact an
d not giggle. I couldn’t tell if he thought I was a bimbo or attractive. Maybe both. A lot of men like attractive bimbos, or at least I’d been told that. However, even from within my Cosmo-clouded haze I knew it was unwise to appear to be too much of a bimbo in front of my current employer, especially one who was under contract to pay me a huge bonus if I greatly improved Swann’s profitability by applying my superb, intuitive intelligence.
I need to come across as cool, competent and mature, I thought as I returned Michael’s serious gaze. A considerable challenge under the current circumstances, but challenges are my specialty. I righted myself and Michael finally released me, maneuvering the barstool around to point me in the proper direction of the bar. I gave the bartender a happy, lopsided grin. He returned my gaze from under his happy, lopsided hair.
I felt like a little kid and hoped Michael wasn’t going to tie a bib around my neck next. Instead, Michael slid smoothly onto the barstool next to me. My napkin had unfolded, exposing the three cherry stems. He and I both spied them at the same time. I’m sure he thought I was on my third Cosmo, which was just as embarrassing as being on my third cherry. I decided to ignore the subjects of Cosmos and cherries altogether and distract him with my findings about Swann. That is, if I could think of some.
I should have written them down or come prepared in some way to justifiably earn the check I hoped he was going to hand me for our first week of work. I knew it was quite conceivable that he’d find our research so negligible that he’d forgo payment and fire me on the spot. What to do?
Improvise, of course. I straightened my back, turned slightly in the direction of Michael and began to bullshit my way toward a paycheck.
Baby Brother Blues (Sammy Dick, PI Series: Book 1) Page 14