made sure my expression remained as firm as possible when I looked back up to him.
“Somehow,” he said, “we’ve got off on entirely the wrong foot. Let’s put it this way. You don’t owe me anything. I understand that. OK?”
I raised an eyebrow, which he took as a signal to continue.
“On the other hand, I owe you something and I can see you’re the type of person that could understand that I want to make everything square again.”
“How do you figure that?”
“It’s kind of hard to explain. For the sake of argument, can you let that part slide for the moment?”
“Go on then,” I said.
“I have to go to New Zealand this weekend and I’d like you to come with me.”
“New Zealand? Are you crazy? That’s on the other side of the world! Why would you want me to go there? Why would I go there with you?”
“I’m going there on business anyway and taking my private jet, so if you wanted to come along it wouldn’t be any extra hassle or expense for me. I hear it’s a nice place, you could relax a bit.”
New Zealand. If he’d said anywhere but there the conversation would probably have been over, but as soon as he mentioned it I had a feeling I’d spoken to somebody else about it before. While he was saying something about his private jet I managed to place a name and face to the memory. It was my dad, he’d said he’d always wanted to go but hadn’t made it.
Jeremy could clearly see me mulling it over and pressed on with his spiel, “No obligations or expectations or pressure or anything, just me repaying my debt. You can do your own thing if you want, maybe meet up with me occasionally for a bite to eat?”
I thought about being able to visit my dad and tell him all about what it was like in that place he never got to visit. It would be nice to tell him some news that might have actually made him smile if he was still around.
I’d have given anything to see that smile again but when I went to see him these days all I had to talk about was the day-to-day drudgery of fast food or cleaning or working in an office. Sitting there next to his grave and talking about that, it was easier to imagine him telling me to shut up rather than smiling.
The more I thought about it the more I felt like I needed to go, but then the reality of my situation came crawling back to the forefront of my mind and I deflated a bit.
“I… I’d actually like to go…”
“Great!”
“… but I can’t. I’ve got to find a new job, or figure out how to get my job back at Bloxhamtech. I can’t go anywhere by this weekend I don’t think.”
“I can appreciate that, but please think about it and if you come up with a way to safely free up the next two weeks, let me know.”
“Uh… OK, yeah. Sure. How can I get in touch with you?”
“Here.”
Jeremy pulled out a business card from an inside pocket of his jacket and handed it to me. It was a simple card with no pictures or logos. Just a couple flourishes, his name, cell phone number and an office landline number, not even a job title. I examined it for a moment with my lips pulled to one side before looking back up to him.
“OK?” he asked, that smile returning to his face.
Once again, as I had been in the boardroom, I was struck by his natural good looks. It wasn’t easy being caught with the full force of that smile, a part of me wanted to giggle like a fool despite everything he stood for. I kept a straight face though.
“I will think about it,” I said.
“I hope so. It was nice to meet you, Beatrice.”
“OK… uh… you too. Bye.”
I closed the door, turned around, and leaned against it, looking at Jeremy’s business card again. Who was this guy? Who just invites random people around the world? Private jet?
*****
The next day I visited the local library because it had free internet access you could book in half-hour blocks. All the computers were taken when I arrived
“Somehow,” he said, “we’ve got off on entirely the wrong foot. Let’s put it this way. You don’t owe me anything. I understand that. OK?”
I raised an eyebrow, which he took as a signal to continue.
“On the other hand, I owe you something and I can see you’re the type of person that could understand that I want to make everything square again.”
“How do you figure that?”
“It’s kind of hard to explain. For the sake of argument, can you let that part slide for the moment?”
“Go on then,” I said.
“I have to go to New Zealand this weekend and I’d like you to come with me.”
“New Zealand? Are you crazy? That’s on the other side of the world! Why would you want me to go there? Why would I go there with you?”
“I’m going there on business anyway and taking my private jet, so if you wanted to come along it wouldn’t be any extra hassle or expense for me. I hear it’s a nice place, you could relax a bit.”
New Zealand. If he’d said anywhere but there the conversation would probably have been over, but as soon as he mentioned it I had a feeling I’d spoken to somebody else about it before. While he was saying something about his private jet I managed to place a name and face to the memory. It was my dad, he’d said he’d always wanted to go but hadn’t made it.
Jeremy could clearly see me mulling it over and pressed on with his spiel, “No obligations or expectations or pressure or anything, just me repaying my debt. You can do your own thing if you want, maybe meet up with me occasionally for a bite to eat?”
I thought about being able to visit my dad and tell him all about what it was like in that place he never got to visit. It would be nice to tell him some news that might have actually made him smile if he was still around.
I’d have given anything to see that smile again but when I went to see him these days all I had to talk about was the day-to-day drudgery of fast food or cleaning or working in an office. Sitting there next to his grave and talking about that, it was easier to imagine him telling me to shut up rather than smiling.
The more I thought about it the more I felt like I needed to go, but then the reality of my situation came crawling back to the forefront of my mind and I deflated a bit.
“I… I’d actually like to go…”
“Great!”
“… but I can’t. I’ve got to find a new job, or figure out how to get my job back at Bloxhamtech. I can’t go anywhere by this weekend I don’t think.”
“I can appreciate that, but please think about it and if you come up with a way to safely free up the next two weeks, let me know.”
“Uh… OK, yeah. Sure. How can I get in touch with you?”
“Here.”
Jeremy pulled out a business card from an inside pocket of his jacket and handed it to me. It was a simple card with no pictures or logos. Just a couple flourishes, his name, cell phone number and an office landline number, not even a job title. I examined it for a moment with my lips pulled to one side before looking back up to him.
“OK?” he asked, that smile returning to his face.
Once again, as I had been in the boardroom, I was struck by his natural good looks. It wasn’t easy being caught with the full force of that smile, a part of me wanted to giggle like a fool despite everything he stood for. I kept a straight face though.
“I will think about it,” I said.
“I hope so. It was nice to meet you, Beatrice.”
“OK… uh… you too. Bye.”
I closed the door, turned around, and leaned against it, looking at Jeremy’s business card again. Who was this guy? Who just invites random people around the world? Private jet?
*****
The next day I visited the local library because it had free internet access you could book in half-hour blocks. All the computers were taken when I arrived
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