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JASMINE
“Ihave you down for Thursday, January ninth, eleven-thirty, at the Brasserie on King Street. Perfect,” I said, typing the event into the scheduling software and muting my phone long enough to blow my nose again. “I apologize for the hold. Do you have any questions? Great. Happy New Year to you, too.”
I took a drink of my boring water and went to throw away my pile of used tissues. I was feeling much better, but with the improvement came restlessness. I was bored at home. I tried opening my windows for some fresh air. Except, it was January, so taking in cold air wasn’t ideal. Naturally I slammed the window shut as soon as the icy air bit my arms and hands.
Refreshing the company email account, I didn’t find any new messages in the last four minutes. Sighing, I tipped my head back on the couch and shut my eyes. I needed to get up and make something to eat. More canned soup probably. I groaned at the thought.
There’s only so much too-salty chicken broth and mushy overcooked vegetables a girl can stomach. Thinking about the last time I went to the store and bought produce, I decided that looking for salad stuff to make would end up with me having to clean out the crisper drawer in my fridge and say goodbye over some old and nasty veggies.
Defeated, I sat there feeling sorry for myself until the doorbell rang. I sat up feeling alert and nervous. I hadn’t invited anyone over and didn’t have a security buzzer or a doorman in my building.
“Miss Watkins?” a male voice came. “I have DoorDash from Great Wall of China.”
“I didn’t order,” I said. I didn’t open the door to strangers. Not ever. I’d moved to the city a couple years ago and there was not a single time I’d ever let a man in my place.
“Your bosses ordered it and said you need to keep your strength up. Drew Burns called in the order and said to give you douchi on the side.”
“Okay, there’s your secret password,” I chuckled to myself, going to open the door. My mouth watered at the steaming garlic smell emanating from the big shopping bag he handed me. “Thank you, let me just—”
“Tip’s taken care of, ma’am,” he said. “hope you feel better.”
“Thanks,” I said and shut and locked the door.
The carrier bag easily had enough food in it for three or four people which was on brand for the Burns brothers. Generous and thoughtful and always taking the initiative. The four of them were all ex-military in one way or another.
I met Drew, the oldest, at the gym right after I moved to the city. I was doing temp work and looking for something full-time. I applied at the gym. And at the time, they didn’t need anyone to work the desk, but they gave me a free twenty-four-hour pass. I took advantage of it to do a complimentary personal training session.
They scheduled me with ex-Marine Drew who put me through the paces like I’d have to cover fifty miles of rough terrain with a heavy pack. I stopped halfway through the workout and laid on the mat and said, “Look, I’m sure you’re great at helping people meet their fitness goals and stuff, but I just came here looking for a job and hoped that a free training session would be more like yoga and Pilates and less like this.”
He had said, “What is this like exactly?”
“If I had to give it a name I’d say it’s ‘Boot Camp Is for Pussies.’” And Drew had burst out laughing, a big, wholesome sound that warmed me.
“You know what?” I said, “I appreciate the info you gave me about working on my core, and I hope they pay you for the whole hour, but I can’t take any more of this. I’m going to go shower and change and keep looking for a job.”
He had given me a hand to help me up, and his dark eyes were warm, and he just felt trustworthy. When he asked what I wanted to do, what kind of job I wanted, I told him the truth.
“I lived in Alabama all my life ‘til recently. I needed a change so I came out here. A friend of mine from high school works at Intuit here and said I could stay on her couch for a few weeks. I just want something full time, get my own place, you know? I answered phones at a salvage yard for a while, and I was a secretary at an insurance office. Back home I was assistant manager at a Quickie Mart. I did customer service, some of the ordering and stocking and handled scheduling. I’m a fast learner, but April out front said the gym’s not hiring.”
“I wasn’t talking about this place. I did personal training here for a while and loved it so much that I still do a couple mornings a week for fun. My brothers and I have a private security company, and we have an opening.”
“I’ve never worked security before,” I had said gamely. “But I can learn. I’m observant and good with noticing details. I do know how to fire a gun, but I don’t have a firearms license here. I can get one. What would the job involve?”
“It’s not a security job. It’s an office job. We have a bookkeeper who takes care of payroll and billing and that kind of thing. What we need is an executive assistant to handle scheduling and manage the office stuff. How are you with computers?”
“I used Microsoft Office at the insurance place, and at the Quickie Mart I just used Google Calendar and Sheets. But like I said before…”
“Fast learner, got it,” he quipped. “Your qualifications cover all the bases.” By the time the hour was up I’d set up an interview for the next day.
Now, a couple years on, they were sending me Chinese food to make me feel better after insisting I work from home and recover. That free training session at the gym had been the best break of my life. Not once in two years had I looked back with anything but gratitude on meeting the Burns brothers and joining the Vigilance Ltd. Team.
I dove into the gingery goodness of my meal and smeared some black bean sauce on my shrimp merrily. Once I had downed half a carton of delicious food, I drank some water to cool the heat from the chili sauce and dialed Drew.
“Hey, did you like the food?” he asked. I could tell I was on speaker.
“Yes, you’re spoiling me.”
