Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Lorelei
“Now it’s time for you to go to sleep. You have school in the morning.” I smiled as I tapped Hope on the nose.
“One more story, Mommy. Please,” she whined.
“Story time is over for tonight, baby.” I leaned down and kissed her head. “Go to sleep, and when you wake up, I’ll have chocolate chip pancakes waiting for you.”
“Okay.” She smiled. “I love you. Good night.”
“I love you too, baby. Good night.”
I got up from her bed, turned off the light, and pulled her door, leaving it open a crack. I poured myself a glass of wine and took it over to the couch, where I opened up my laptop and began searching again for a job.
It had been two months since I lost my job at Praline Inc. The company was going under, and they had to cut expenses, me being one of those expenses. My bank account was drained, and I had to borrow the rent money from my mom and Nick. I felt terrible asking them because they had done so much for me over the past seven years since Hope was born. I held my own for the past couple of years until this sudden layoff occurred. I hadn’t been able to find a job since the fashion industry was flooded with people who had the same ideas I did. As I was looking online, my phone rang. It was my best friend, Stella.
“Hello,” I answered.
“I found something that you might be interested in,” she spoke excitedly.
“Oh? What?”
“A girl I work with said there’s an opening for a PA job over at Sutton Magazine.”
“Seriously? Why haven’t I seen that online?”
“It just became available a couple of days ago. Maybe they haven’t posted it yet.”
“How does she know this?” I asked.
“A friend of hers is one of the secretaries there and told her that the last PA just up and walked out without any notice or anything. I guess the guy is a real asshole to work for.”
“I don’t care about that. I need a job now. I had to ask my mom and Nick if I could borrow money to pay the rent.”
“Shit. I know that must have been hard for you. You should have asked me. I would have lent it to you.”
“Thanks, and I know you would have, but I didn’t want to ask. You know I try to do everything on my own.”
“I know you do, sweetie. Here’s the number to Sutton Magazine. Call their Human Resources department tomorrow and see what happens.”
“I will. Thank you, Stella.”
“You’re welcome, and if you need anything, you better call me.”
“I will. I’ll talk to you later.”
Stella Bay and I had been best friends since we were ten years old and pulled each other’s hair on the playground in elementary school. It was hate at first sight. But after the principal of our school made us sit down and talk to each other, we haven’t left each other’s side since. Stella became like a second daughter to my mom, and she spent a lot of time at our house since her father was an abusive alcoholic. He passed away a few years ago from liver failure, and she didn’t even attend his funeral. She said if she had, she would have spit on his grave. As soon as we graduated high school, she attended NYU, worked two jobs, paid her tuition, lived on campus, and had been on her own ever since. Until she met Sebastian, the love of her life who appeared three years ago and rescued her. They had the kind of love I once had, which was quickly taken away from me at the age of eighteen. Then, a new love of my life appeared: my daughter, Hope. She was everything to me, and my life revolved around her and her only.
The next morning, after dropping Hope off at school, I decided to head to Sutton Magazine in person rather than calling them on the phone. As I stepped into the large building, the nice man at the door smiled.
“How may I help you, miss?”
“I’m looking for Sutton Magazine. Their Human Resources department, to be exact.”
“Take the elevator up to the tenth floor. That’s where Human Resources is located.”
“Thank you.” I smiled as I walked toward the elevator.
Stepping onto the tenth floor, I opened the door and stepped inside.
“How may I help you?” The redhead behind the desk smiled.
“I’m here to inquire about the available personal assistant job.”
“Do you have an appointment?” she asked.
“No. A friend told me there was an opening, so I thought I would come and apply in person.”
“I’m sorry—” She blankly stared at me.
“Lorelei Flynn.”
“I’m sorry, Lorelei, but you must call for an appointment. We don’t take walk-ins.”
Suddenly, a man appeared and shoved a file inside the filing cabinet. “What’s going on here, Amanda?” he asked.
“This woman was inquiring about the personal assistant job, and I told her she has to call and make an appointment.”
“I see.” He smiled as he stared at me. “Did you just walk in here?”
“Yes. I thought maybe I could apply in person. I’m sorry to have wasted your time.” I began to walk away, and he stopped me.
“Wait. Lorelei, correct?”
“Yes.” I turned around.
“Come with me. I’ll have you fill out an application, and then I’ll interview you. Since you’re already here, why make you come back.” He winked.
“Thank you, sir.”
He held out his hand, and I lightly shook it.
“I’m Garrett Sullivan. Amanda, get the application and bring it to my office. “Follow me, Lorelei.”
I followed him down the long hallway and into his office.
“Please have a seat at the table, and as soon as Amanda brings in the application, you can fill it out.”
“I appreciate this, Mr. Sullivan. It means a lot.”
“No problem, and you can call me Garrett.”
Amanda walked in and handed me the application and a pen. Garrett took a seat behind his desk while I filled it out. Once I was finished, I got up from my chair and handed it to him.
“Have a seat, please.” He motioned for me to sit across from him.
He studied my application for a few moments. Garrett Sullivan was a handsome-looking man. He stood about six feet tall with short blonde hair and green eyes. He looked to be in his early thirties and dressed in a nicely tailored dark blue suit. There was something about him that made me feel comfortable.
“What exactly did you do over at Praline?” he asked with a smile.
“I was the administrative secretary. I did just about everything.”
“How organized are you?”
“I’m a bit OCD when it comes to organization.”
“Are you a perfectionist?” He smirked.
“My mom says I am. I wouldn’t exactly call myself a perfectionist,” I spoke as I reached over and straightened the Statue of Liberty paperweight on his desk.
The grin on his face grew wide. “You studied fashion design at Parsons?”
“Yes. I love fashion, and I love to design clothes.”
“And you were working as an administrative assistant. Why?”
“I had to drop out of Parsons because my daughter got sick, and I needed to be with her at all times.”
“You have a daughter?”
“Yes. She’s seven. Her name is Hope.”
“I hope she’s better now,” he spoke.
“She is. That was a couple of years ago. I wanted to return to Parsons, but I lost my scholarship when I left. I’m a single mom, and every penny counts when you’re raising a kid.”
“I understand. You’re twenty-five, correct?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to be blunt here, Lorelei. This job is working for Jack Sutton, CEO of Sutton Magazine. You seem like a great woman with a good head on your shoulders, and you’ve had to grow up quickly. I’m not sure Mr. Sutton is the right person for you to be working for.”
“Mr.— Garrett, I’ve heard about Mr. Sutton. Honestly, he doesn’t scare me. I’m not a weak girl. As you said, I had to grow up quickly since I had my daughter at eighteen. I only want what’s best for her, and I’m in desperate need of a job. It’s been two months, and my bank account is nearly depleted.”
“You live in Harlem, which is forty-five minutes away. You’d have to be here by eight a.m., and your shift would end at five p.m. with an hour's lunch. Would that be possible for you with a daughter?”
“I would do whatever I had to do to ensure my daughter was taken care of. So, to answer your question. Yes, it would be possible. In a perfect world, I’d love to be able to stay home and devote every single minute to my daughter, but we don’t live in a perfect world, do we? I have to do whatever I have to in order to give Hope everything she needs.”
He studied me for a few moments before speaking. “I’m sure you get child support from Hope’s father. That should help some.”
I lightly smiled at him. “Hope doesn’t have a father. He was killed in a car accident before she was born.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” I looked down at my sweaty palms.
“You’re hired, Lorelei.”
My eyes darted up at him with excitement. “Thank you. Thank you very much, Garrett!” I exclaimed.
“You’re welcome. Listen, I’ll give you an additional monthly check for cab fare. It’s for your own good. Trust me. If you take the subway in, you’ll probably end up being late. This is between you and me, and Mr. Sutton is not to know.”
“I promise I won’t tell him. That’s very kind of you.”
“Good. Can you start tomorrow? He’s really anxious to have a personal assistant again.”
“Yes. Tomorrow will be perfect.” I smiled as I got up from my seat and shook his hand.