Road to Casablanca

by Leah Leonard

  “Yes, but….”

  “Sign here and we will get going on it.”

  “I need her by the end of the week.”

  “Yes, I understand, which is why we need to get cracking on it; don’t you agree?”

  She pushed the papers again and this time laid a thick red Lovemore Agency pen on the desk next to his hand. Erick usually enjoyed aggressive women like her, but for once, he needed someone more timid and reserved.

  “Okay, but I expect you to find exactly what I am looking for or I will not pay you a dime. I have to be in Morocco for a meeting that is absolutely crucial to the future of my business venture. This woman must be conservative and able to leave town immediately.”

  “Mr. Redmund, I’ve been in business for over twenty-five years and I guarantee if I didn’t think I could find just the right someone for you, I would tell you. I have to admit, though, that your request is going to be tough. First of all, the short notice….”

  “I told you on the phone I need her by Friday.”

  “I realize that and as I said, I think it can be done. The other challenge we face, Mr. Redmund, is that most of my clients are a bit more—shall we say—flashy than what you seem to want.”

  “I’ve seen plenty of flash in my day, Ms. Lovemore. I need substance.”

  “Sign, and we will go from there, Mr. Redmund.”

  Erick scratched his name on the contract and looked at the writing on the pen.

  “Keep it.”

  “Thanks, I will. I paid for it.”

  Diana seemed to ignore his comments and reached behind her desk, grabbed a file and placed a photo on the desk in front of her.

  “I’m happy to say I think we may have just the girl for you, Erick. She just signed on yesterday.”

  A beautiful brown haired girl with deep brown eyes was standing with her dog next to a tree, a farmhouse in the background. She looked like a nice person, happy and wholesome–nothing like Erick’s normal date, but seemingly perfect for his current undertaking.

  “I’ll take her.”

  Laughing heartily, Diana snapped the picture up and put it back in the file.

  “I’m afraid it’s not quite that easy, Mr. Redmund. The girl has to be available first, and I don’t know that she is, and many people work for companies that do not pay for time off. That can be a hardship for many people.”

  “Whatever she makes in a week, tell her I will double—no, triple—her salary while she’s away.”

  Making a quick note of his concessions, Erick noticed Diana seemed quite pleased with herself as she called for what he assumed was her assistant.

  “Douglas? Will you come in here please?”

  A lanky young man with wavy hair flitted into the room, brushing Erick on the sleeve and stood in front of her desk. He looked Erick over from head to toe, surveying him like a sirloin.

  “Oh my! Isn’t he a looker? Won’t be hard to help you, honey.”

  “Douglas, this is Erick Redmund. I want you to take his file, call this girl and get back to me as soon as you reach her. Mr. Redmund is the one I told you about this morning who needs a blind date for a trip overseas.”

  Douglas raised a limp wrist and smiled excitedly.

  “I’m free, and oh so low maintenance.”

  Erick stood up and moved toward the door.

  “Get it done, Ms. Lovemore. I’ll be waiting for your call.”

  “Give us until this afternoon, Erick, and I will call you personally.”

  Erick was halfway down the hall when he heard Lovemore and the Queen Bee of matchmaking calling after him to wish him a pleasant day. Bambi was busy on a call when he walked through the lobby, but made sure to wave and smile at him as he left the place.

  Hollywood, typical Hollywood. All-flash, no-cash types with little or no substance. It was what Erick loved about the place, but for once, in order to get his business deal off the ground, he was going to have to become an actor and play the role of his life as a devoted conservative man. It shouldn’t be too difficult for him to do.

  Erick reached the ground floor, hopped in his red Lamborghini and sped through the San Fernando Valley past billboards of Hollywood stars.

  How hard could it be to play house with a plain Jane for a week or two? He could do anything for a few days, especially when so much was riding on it.

  Chapter Three

  The following morning, Cindy arrived to work early as usual, brewed the day’s first pot of coffee, and smiled as the hot liquid melted cobwebs from her sleepy mind.

  Cindy reveled in the feeling of hearing only her footsteps at this time of day. It made her feel she was getting a jump start on everyone.

  That thought always made her smile, but not today. The only thing she noticed this morning was the growing stack of files on her desk.

  Why do I bother staying late?

  Her computer was still running from the night before, the indicator message showed a few new emails in her inbox.

  Delete, delete, delete…

  Cindy hated junk mail. The fourth email in her box looked vaguely familiar. The subject line sent an uncomfortable jolt to her system:

  A Potential Match – Urgent! Call us immediately!

  The email was from Diana Lovemore, nobody Cindy had ever heard of before…until yesterday. Oh shit!

  Cindy immediately picked up her phone and called Victoria.

  Ring! Ring! Ring!

  Frustrated, she slammed the receiver down and scrambled through her rolodex until she finally found Victoria’s cell number and called there, thrilled to hear her pick up.

  “Victoria?”

  “Yes? Is this…Cindy?”

  “Yes. Where are you?”

  “On my way to work. Why? Where are you?”

  “I need to see you right away.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “You could say that….”

  “I’m only five minutes from the office so I’ll be there in just a few minutes, okay?”

  “Okay, but hurry!”

  Cindy looked at the email again, afraid to open it, but more afraid not to.

  Dear Ms. Brown,

  We have a client who is extremely interested in you based on your profile and photograph.

  Cindy forgot she uploaded a small photo of herself. What a stupid thing to do!

  “Oh no.”

  There was more, but Cindy could hardly bear to read any further. Her coffee splashed on her desk as her shaking hand grabbed the mouse and scrolled down the page. The letter went on but Cindy paid no attention to it except for the last paragraph:

  He would like to request the pleasure of your company at a week-long function in Marrakech, Morocco, beginning this Saturday evening. Please get back to us ASAP regarding this urgent request.

  “Oh shit!”

  “What’d I miss? Sounds juicy!”

  “Agh!”

  Cindy’s chair tipped back and she almost fell on the floor. Victoria stood laughing in the doorway.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. What’s up?”

  Heart racing and palms twice as clammy as the day before, Cindy, hardly knowing where to begin, garbled her speech as she tried to explain.

  “What? I don’t understand you.”

  Cindy breathed slowly and deeply in an effort to calm herself and tried again.

  “Remember you told me about your little…matchmaking service?”

  “Yeah? Why? D’you change your mind and want to sign up? I’d hardly call that an emergency.”

  Cindy rolled her eyes, dreading what she’d done and the fact that she would now have to admit it.

  “I was…curious…about it so I went to the website after you left yesterday and filled out the little questionnaire. You know the one, right?”

  “That’s great, Cindy! I’m so happy to hear that! So what’s the problem?”

  “That’s not all…um…I already heard from them and I don’t know what to do.”

  “They emailed yo
u?”

  Cindy clenched her teeth and nodded unhappily.

  “Move over and let me see that, will you? Better yet, print a copy and hand it over.”

  “Print? I don’t want anyone to see it.”

  “Nobody is going to see it but the two of us. Now, go ahead; print it.”

  Cindy reluctantly clicked the printer button and in a moment, the letter was in Victoria’s hands. The excited look on her friend’s face made Cindy wish their roles were reversed.

  “It must be a mistake, right?”

  “Cindy, did you read this? Did you see what kind of date this is?”

  “No, I….”

  “This is some rich guy who needs a date in Morocco! It’s absolutely incredible!”

  “I just didn’t mean for this to happen. I was only doing it for fun, for the sake of curiosity.”

  “Taking after your cat again, huh? You do know curiosity killed the cat, right?”

  “Listen, this is not funny. Not funny at all. I’ve gotten myself in a bind and I need you to help me. You’re better at this kind of stuff than I am.”

  “I sincerely doubt that. Looks like you did a fine job of it, Miss International Traveler. I didn’t get a call this fast, and when I do, I’ll be lucky to get a steak dinner and theater tickets out of the deal, I’m sure. Do you have any idea how lucky you are? Any idea at all?”

  Cindy’s eyes filled with tears, her breath became shallow and she slowly nodded.

  “I know I am, but I can’t do this. It must be some kind of mistake. He couldn’t possibly want me.”

  “He does and it isn’t. It’s all here in black and white, my friend. The guy obviously saw you and wants you. You did send a picture, right?”

  Cindy nodded.

  “Isn’t this incredible, Cindy? You’re going to Morocco, the land of sheiks and camels. From what I’ve heard, it’s one of the most exotic European tourist destinations around today.”

  “We’re not European.”

  “You know what I mean. People from Europe have the best taste and visit the greatest places in the world.”

  All of a sudden Cindy felt naïve. How does she know so much about the world?

  “Where is Marrakech, anyhow?”

  “Marrakech is in the northern part of Africa. It is very exotic and romantic. Here, let me show you.”

  Cindy watched Victoria do a quick internet search. Within a split second, a map appeared on the screen and a slide show started highlighting dozens of photos of exotic people and camels in the desert.

  “Wow, it sure looks different than any place I’ve seen.”

  “You are one lucky bitch, you know it? I would love to drop everything and go there! You’ll be just like Cindy-rella going to meet her handsome prince.”

  Cindy trembled as the thought of traveling so far from home began to sink in.

  “First off, I am not at all like Cinderella; second, I can’t leave the office right now, I have way too much work to do; and third….”

  “You can so leave the office and you know it. You haven’t taken a single day of vacation since you moved here.”

  “I took a day last year…”

  “A day? A whole entire day? Let’s see, based on our new accrual system, that means you probably have….at least twenty or thirty more where that came from.”

  “I couldn’t possibly….”

  “Sorry, but that’s no excuse. Don’t tell me you can’t go. I’m sure everyone would be thrilled to have you take some time off.”

  “I still can’t.”

  “Why not? Give me one good reason.”

  The back of Cindy’s throat tightened at the mere thought of the secret she was about to share.

  “Nobody knows this, but I am terrified to fly.”

  Victoria crossed her arms, a serious look on her face which quickly turned into uncontrollable laughter.

  “You’ve gotta be kidding me, right?”

  Cindy scowled.

  “I don’t appreciate you making fun of me! I’m really scared….”

  “Sorry, Cindy. I don’t mean to hurt your feelings. I just don’t see how a little phobia would stop you from taking the ride of your life. What if this guy is the one, huh? And you’re going to let a little fear of a plane crash get in your way?”

  “It’s not like that, it’s…”

  “I don’t want to hear it. You signed up for this and you need to go. End of discussion. So tell me, what’s the next step?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “It says here you need to call and go by, so what are you doing right now?”

  “Uh…”

  “My point exactly. Here.”

  Victoria picked up the phone and put it into Cindy’s trembling hand.

  “I am dialing now, you are talking. Here we go.”

  A young girl answered the phone.

  “Yes, my name is Cindy Brown, and I….”

  “Oh Miss Brown. We’ve been waiting for your call. Hold and I will patch Diana through.”

  Patch her through? What does that mean?

  “Hello?”

  “Yes, my name is Cindy Brown.”

  “Yes, Cindy, how soon can you get here?”

  “I…uh…thought you were in Los Angeles.”

  “I have a very important client who insists on you and you alone. I don’t normally do this, but I took a red eye to Dallas, and I just landed. I will be at the Hyatt within the hour. How quickly can we meet?”

  “You’re in Dallas? Ummmm…I…”

  Victoria smiled and nodded and mouthed some words Cindy couldn’t quite make out, but felt sure they meant Victoria wanted her to go for it, no matter what.

  “I guess I’m on my way, then….”

  Cindy hung up the phone and looked at Victoria who smiled and clapped as she stood up and took her keys back out of her purse.

  “Come on. I’ll drive. I can’t wait to see this lady myself. Who knows, maybe if she sees me she’ll be able to find someone for me too.”

  What am I doing? What have I done? As she reached for her keys, Cindy’s hand shook so hard, she once again knocked over her coffee cup. Fortunately, only a few drops were left.

  “You’re getting pretty good at that, you know? If you want my advice, I’d suggest you might want to lay off that, if you know what I mean….”

  “Yeah, I know. Come on.”

  Cindy smiled through a locked jaw at her boss, who just happened to pass them in the hall and wished them a good morning.

  “Good morning.”

  Cindy felt like she was skipping school and started running toward the elevator.

  “Hey, slow down. He can’t do anything to you. He doesn’t own you, he’s your boss.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.”

  The elevator emptied dozens of people on to their floor as the two of them rode down alone to the parking garage, and by the time they reached the car and started speeding away, Cindy felt much more relaxed.

  Twenty minutes later, Victoria handed her keys to a valet and Cindy followed her into the hotel.

  “C’mon. Hurry up! This lady sounds like she’s in a hurry.”

  “I’m coming.”

  “Nervous?”

  “I think it’s more like an anxiety attack than just plain nerves; I’m not sure. Which causes shaky hands and shortness of breath?”

  Victoria laughed and Cindy followed her up the long escalator to the upper floor lounge where a tall Amazon of a woman with long, dark red hair and wearing a hot pink suit stood in the center of the room and stared right at her. Cindy noticed her slight change in the Amazon’s expression at the sight of Cindy and felt as if someone had kicked her in the gut as the woman walked swiftly toward her.

  It’s too late to get out of this now.

  “Cindy.”

  “Hello.”

  “I’m Diana Lovemore. Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

  “I’m Cindy, and this is my friend Victoria.”

  Ms. Lo
vemore ignored Victoria’s attempts to shake her hand, keeping her complete focus on Cindy, who wasn’t sure how to react to that. Usually, she was the last person anyone noticed or paid attention to—or at least that’s what she always thought—but now, it appeared the tables had turned.

  Lovemore sat across from the two women at a small round table in the corner and opened a file with the photo of one of the most handsome men Cindy had ever seen.

  “This is Erick Redmund. He lives in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, and he was quite smitten by you, Ms. Brown. He told me to fly here and do whatever it takes to get you to accompany him on his business trip overseas, including tripling your salary for the week and providing you a new wardrobe for your time and trouble.”

  Cindy’s jaw dropped and Victoria hopped up and down in her seat.

  “She’ll do it! She’ll do it!”

  The Amazon ignored the giddy blonde and stared at Cindy, who looked down at the picture on the table and hoped no one saw her legs shaking.

  “Cindy? Are you available this weekend?”

  “She’s free! She’s free!”

  “Cindy? You will be home on the following Sunday so you will only have to take five days off of work. Will that be a problem?”

  Cindy was speechless, although her head was filled with a thousand questions. How will I do this? What will my family think? What if I can’t fly? What if he hates me?

  Although she was momentarily gripped by fear, Cindy recalled the feeling of loneliness she had only yesterday as she envied all the happily involved people in her office and wished she was one of them. How can I not do this? What if this is my only chance at finding true love?

  “Okay.”

  “What? What did you say?”

  “She said ‘okay.’”

  Diana Lovemore shot Victoria a silencing glance, then turned back to Cindy, who raised her whisper to a more audible level.

  “Okay. I’ll do it.”

  “Wonderful! Do you have a passport?”

  Cindy shook her head. Maybe now, I won’t have to go...

  “That’s fine. Just fill out this form and if I can use the photo you sent in, we’ll have it back to you by Thursday. I’ll also need you to fill out these…”

  Cindy, soon surrounded by a stack of paperwork, felt a rush of excitement come over her that increased with every blank she filled in.

  Finally, Lovemore gave Victoria what she had wanted all morning: attention.