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Today is the last day of detail before the renovations actually start, and Bella, who’s been working on our social media team for the past two weeks, is here in my office again, to insist that I take her with me.
“I don’t want this story publicized, Bella!” I say, annoyed. “Mrs. Winslow has a right to her anonymity!”
Scarily calm, Bella takes the tablet device she brought along with her and approaches my desk to show me an article online.
“It’s already a feel-good article out there, Alex,” she says, letting me inspect the piece of news.
“Philanthropist Renovating Low-Income Family’s House,” I read, my tone stilted and comical. “What the hell? Who got a hold of this?”
“Things have a way of getting out,” she says with a shrug.
“I don’t know, Bella,” I say with a frown, still perusing the news piece.
“Oh, come on!” she stomps her foot on the carpet. “Isn’t it better if you have direct control of what is published?”
That gets me thinking. I place a hand on my chin and decide that Bella is in fact being reasonable, and it would be better to have more control on what is being released.
“Alright, but under one condition,” I raise a finger in the air. “No revealing the family’s identity, and only indoor photos of the renovation. Do we have a deal?”
And I’m caught by surprise to see Bella’s hand extend to me over the desk.
“Deal!” she says.
I shake her hand to seal it.
“Go fetch yourself a photographer and we’ll be out as soon as you get back.” I stand, grab a folder of papers that’s been piling up ever since we started working on this, and head for the door. “I’ll wait for you in the parking lot.”
Bella nods and runs away from my office as if she just spotted a snake, while I get outside at my own pace, and enjoy breeze outside, wishing I didn’t have to wear a suit during work hours.
Bella appears twenty minutes later, bringing in tow one of the interns carrying his phone equipped with add-on lenses.
“Ready to go?” I say, opening the passenger door for Bella.
“Nice BMW!” the intern seems impressed.
“Get in!” I slap the car ceiling to call for his attention.
He does get in the backseat, and once we’re all in, I turn on the powerful engine and we’re set to Helding Heights.
The BMW is the more modest of my cars, but it still looks out of place in this neighborhood. Never had any troubles with it around the place, but there is usually police and security in the vicinity.
I park the car in front of Mrs. Winslow’s building, and we get out. Bella and the boy discuss the rules I stated, and he protests with vehemence.
“Hey, boy!” I stop at the steps of the building and look at him, seriously, “What’s your name?”
“Christopher, uh… Christopher Burrows,” he says, unsure of himself.
“I’m going to call you Chris, okay? Now listen.”
I don’t give him time to reply.
“In case you don’t know, I’m your boss. It’s not Bella, it’s not the head of social media, it’s me. Your job relies on my happiness, and my happiness relies on the happiness of the people we are going to see in here, okay? They asked to remain anonymous, and they will remain anonymous, and that’s not optional. Understood?”
The kid looks at me as if he’s going to pee his pants, and in fact, I have to look down to make sure he didn’t. Then, I turn my back on him and Bella, who has to push him forward for him to follow.
She catches up to me, and whispers to my hearing, amused “I forget how scary you can get sometimes…”
“Navy SEAL, Bella. I had a position of command for way too long to forget how to use it,” I say with impatience.
