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Oh, how I wish she were here now to see the irking stares they serenaded the daughter she had explicitly chosen to design for her first day of work, all in the name of a good first impression. You know what? I won’t let them get to me. I just can’t. As a matter of fact, it is quite too early for that.
Before I courageously stepped into the building, I heaved a sigh long enough to fill my lungs, just in case I suddenly forget how to breathe when I step inside and look around. The ceiling is higher than I expected. From it, falls a chandelier dangling, with crystal lights and diamond ornaments. I tried to hold in a squeal, and for the moment, I did. But, that was all for show, because the calmness left me instantly. I glared around more. Towards the offices where they said I should head to if I arrived.
I strutted ahead, mindful of not drawing attention to me with the clicking and clacking of my heels, but it was somehow inevitable. It subtly echoed behind me like a bell announcing my presence. There was a man that looked at me from the corner of his eye like he was telling me to drop my skirt a few inches, that they were way too short, but I ignored him. Well, he didn’t look like the boss I was supposed to be meeting. At least, I hoped he was not him. He had a raggedy white beard and he was sporting a T-shirt and jeans I could have sworn I saw a homeless dude wearing a day ago. I did not even look twice in his direction and continued walking.
And then, I reached it, the mayor’s office. The door was made up of a glimmering maple wood that just blended perfectly with the cream-colored walls. It was soft to look at, incredibly beautiful, even. The interior decorator really knew their stuff. I couldn’t stop staring no matter how hard I tried. And at that moment, he came in.
There are certain things they do not tell you when you are starting a new job as a manager-aide to a mayor. They do not tell you exactly what you ought to do in that position, they expect you to figure it out yourself. After all, how hard could it be to assist? But, right now, forget that. They don’t tell you how hot your boss could look on your first day of work; how his suede blazer would cling to his biceps voluptuously, how he would lick his lips unknowingly, yet rather sexily, sending you into sensuous spasms. They don’t tell you all these, plus the fact that if you are not careful, you could find yourself falling deeply in love with him at first sight.
ChapterTwo
“May I help you?” He looked to my direction as I just stayed there drooling, and called my attention.
Honestly, I did not know whether I heard him or not, as his lips moved, reeling me in, but I just remained there, frozen. This had never happened to me before. I was never one to be speechless. I knew how attractive I was, the lengths men would go to just have my fair skin next to theirs, and the way they would squeal just so our breaths could be merge and become one. But, this man, this mayor, this boss of mine, made me feel a certain kind of way, fuzzy, if I had a word to describe it.
He looked to a man that stood a few feet from him, muttered something, and the man marched towards me, his palms, swinging in a reckless way, and balled to the shape of a fist like he was sent to expressly dig them through my face. If that did not rearrange my mind, making me coordinate my thoughts, and quit cooing on my boss without even getting to know him, I don’t know what did.
The man opened the transparent doors and looked me head to toe, in some sort of inspection. “Who are you please?” Despite the ‘please’ he inserted behind that question, his tone was rather derogatory, like I did not belong. But, I knew I did. I had dressed corporately, much more formal than those other folks in the board room with him. I wondered who they were though, why my boss paid them so much attention and could not risk a distraction while he spoke with them.
“I am Evelyn. Evelyn Grey.”
“Okay? What do I do for you Evelyn, Evelyn Grey?” You see, it was not in my head. He was indeed making fun of how I said my name. Like, I had not already realized by myself how much my name sounded like it belonged to a classic, tall, voluptuous actress who was only seen in adult films. Or a wrestler who fought like she didn’t give a shit, but protected her butt cheeks and her hair so dearly. He just didn’t need to point that out already. I knew how my name sounded.
“I’m… uh… the New Manager Mayor-Aide.” I wish I had said that with more conviction, more authority. You know what? Let me try again. “I am the New Manager Mayor-Aide.”
His eyes lit up like I had just held a gun to his head. Not the intended reaction, but I’ll take that. “Okay, girl, I hear you.” He adjusted his blazer and brushed his hair down. I think somehow he did those things unconsciously. “The Mayor is having a meeting at the moment, but he will be with you shortly. Although, I think I should be the one to brief you about your job, but I have no idea what it would be. Probably code for a female fuck buddy since he refused to give the job to a man, or to me.” Then, he rolled his eyes. I can’t tell if he’s gay and jealous, or he’s just got such a nasty attitude.
Anyways, I made sure I did not show how I felt or expressed it on my face and I followed him down the hall, unfortunately, away from my boss. But, fortunately, saving me from drooling any further and disgracing myself with the gooey eyes I would be making all through as he spoke.
But, just then, as we walked, he came to the door and stopped us. I can’t tell whether it was a grin plastered on his face, a smudged smirk, or just nothing. But, that could not just be. It would mean I had not made any sort of impression on him whatsoever. It would mean all this time I put in picking out what to wear and how I sported every single apparel was a waste. I couldn’t be that mediocre, right? Okay, let me just hear him speak first.
“The Manager Mayor-Aide right? Let her come in. She needs to hear this.”
We stepped in the board room and I could not help but wonder how deep the executives or treasurers or town stakeholders stared, like they wanted to find out everything about me just from looking past my fancy clothing, to my chest, and even beyond, to my heart. Maybe it was all in my head, and my therapist was right. I wonder a lot what people thought of me, even when they could be thinking nothing.
The Mayor sat me down on a seat next to a red-haired woman, who seemed nice and quite harmless. At least, she smiled at me while I sat, and made me feel welcomed. Hopefully, she would make a nice friend. The mayor grinned, releasing a cough and the room was dead silent again. He was about to speak.
“What do we feel this community really needs? Since, I have been in office, for five years now, I have prioritized education. This town has the most equipped laboratories and schools in the tri-state area. Our teachers enjoy every bit of what they do. Only the most zealous are employed. Only the best retained their jobs for more than a year. If they did not improve, they would be queried.” He spoke with an air of superiority. His words flowed into one another, weaving themselves into suave sentences that enraptured my ears. His voice was a heavenly baritone. I know I should try, at least, to not be so in love with him, because I did not know if he had a wife or children, but at this point, I could not help myself. None of that mattered. He was a billion reasons to love coming to work every morning.
“But having had education on the lock for these years, other things have begun to crack open. Like now, there is a neighborhood bandit who goes around stealing people’s packages from their mail boxes, door steps and even goes to the length of vandalizing their rose bushes, windows, or lawns in the process.” He let out a cough and the man who had come to meet me outside leaped to get him a bottle of water. Okay, he definitely has had wet dreams about him. He gulped the water and continued talking. “You would think this was a teenager playing in their little phase of mindless pranks, but the person destroyed so many CCTV footages in the process. That is beyond an atrocity if you ask me.”
The woman beside me raised her hand and stood to speak. “Let us not forget that whosoever did this also poisoned the mall’s water later in the week as a mean attempt and everyone who drank from it ended up with the flu.”
“I am not sure if they are connected yet, but we will look into that.” The red-haired lady scoffed at that response. I guess she was not as nice as I took her for then. “So, you see, crazy things are happening in our town. Things we should be aware of, should alert us incredulously, and keep us on guard, things we should try to put and end to. Immediately. So, any suggestions?”
There was a way he carried the room and hands started flying up. He a commandeering physique; built like a fitness trainer, like if Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans somewhat merged to give an even hotter, sexier, alpha-male. That was he, the mayor, and I was ready to be his own, too.
I raised my hand to give an input, and surprisingly, he called on me. I do not know if I shut my eyes in that moment, but I heaved a deep sigh and promised to articulate my words in the best, artsy and apt way possible. For a moment, as I stood what I was about to saw departed my mind, then in a rush, it returned, like a gentle wave, just in time. And, it organized itself as a question. “What if we did something to bring the neighborhood together too? How about a neighborhood watch?”
Whispers enraptured the air, swirling from seat to seat and ascending into the air, like they were telepathically sharing my questions amongst themselves, with nothing but murmurs. It made me uneasy. I had never felt so eager for the ground to open up and swallow me, to recede in my mind. And, that feeling went on for a full-minute before he said, “That is actually a brilliant suggestion.” Then, he turned to that met me at the door. “Ryan, jot that down. We are definitely starting that up. It would be a friendly way of bonding between neighbors who have not spoken to each other in years, and it would be cost-friendly. We would not have to spend so much; probably just get supplies for those that would be doing the watching. What do you think we need?”
Ryan jumped to answer. “A torchlight. Some snacks. Tools, maybe. Some clothes and jackets for the cold. A gun, maybe?”
The mayor seemed rather alarmed by the inclusion of that. “Gun? No need for that. Our intention is not to hunt down the bandit, to harm them, but to catch them in the act. All we need to do is be on the lookout, and we will get exactly what we need. The perpetuator, red-handed.” He said that last sentence in a steamy sort of way that caressed my chest but caused my heart to skip a bit.
“Sorry, can I add something?” I raised my hand and stood, again. “I have actually organized this before in my last neighborhood. We could draft up a rooster and have two people be on the lookout, and two other people on the lookout for those two people. Just in case it turned out that the perpetuator actually fell on the rooster, and it was their turn to lookout. It would be really crazy right? At least, that was just a suggestion. That’s what ended up happening in my last neighborhood.”
“Initiative, alright. Let us get moving, I guess.” He looks around, smiling, like he is waiting for any other person’s input. “Okay, does anyone have anything else to say?”
