CHAPTER 4
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When Emma returned to the apartment she shared with Lisa, she had already left for her cleaning schedule and Tanner was watching television.
The boy had already eaten lunch because Lisa cooked before leaving for work.
Tanner was happy and showed no hint of desire to return to Cheyenne where he was bored with school.
They had been surviving on severance money from the law firm, which he collected when he traveled to Cheyenne almost incognito so he wouldn't run into his family. Lisa stayed with Tanner in New York.
She had a lot of work sorting out the clothes she was bringing, Tanner's TV and video games and other belongings. Everything was shipped by parcel post.
Most of the appliances in the house came with the house so they didn't belong to her and those that did belong to her, she donated to the owner of the barbershop, her landlord.
The last assignment she had was to sign Tanner's transfer and get all the paperwork.
She said goodbye to friends and promised to stay in touch.
It was no option to return to Cheyenne.
“How did the interview go, Mom,” the boy got up to get some cookies.
Emma didn't want to lie to her son. Worse, Tanner was too perceptive.
And despite the imbroglio of the possibility of running into Liam Van Dyke again, Emma didn't want to ruin that chance for advancement. Maybe she could find another job.
“I got the job, Tanner”
“That's great, Mom! It won't take you long to acclimate to becoming the best legal secretary in Manhattan”
As long as I can dodge your father.
As Emma looked to make herself a tuna fish sandwich, Tanner returned to his seat to continue watching TV.
“ When do you start, Mom?”
“In two days,” he said as he removed the crusts from the bread.
“If Aunt Faith's witch saw you working on Wall Street, she'd die of envy because she can't leave Grandpa's ogre”
“Don't call your grandfather an ogre”
“But he is,” laughed the boy.
After that Emma had two days to mentally prepare herself for what she might encounter. She hoped that she would never see Liam again and it was the best thing to do, otherwise she could lose control of her nerves.
Lisa celebrated with her that she had gotten the job, but Emma was careful not to tell her about the link with Liam as she was afraid that talking about him would give her signals and that Lisa would find out that he was that occasional lover of that one night at Lucas's house.
Or else, she would tie up loose ends and would do the math to deduce Tanner's paternity.
But the woman didn't agree to let them leave her apartment because she had grown so accustomed to Tanner and his witticisms. And reconnecting with Emma was extremely therapeutic for a woman who was also not doing well in life.
“I never thought we would both end up working in New York,” laughed Lisa.
“Neither did I,” said Emma.
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Two days later, Emma busily prepared herself to be neat and presentable for her first day on the job. She had been studying the New York judicial organization chart to be ready and tried to memorize the administrative entities, because it was all so different from the Cheyenne system.
She thought she had gained self-sufficiency, but as she stepped out of the mouth of the subway stop, she saw the skyscraper that housed Harlock Investment Group, her heart began to pound.
Was she making a mistake?
It wasn't too late to run away and look for another job.
But on the other hand, she thought it was very difficult to get a job in a similar position, and the money would be good for her and her son.
She plucked up the courage and went in.
Again, her appearance contrasted with the statuesque girls at the reception desk, not to mention that her little suit was nothing compared to the pencil skirts and white silk shirts they all wore. She didn't have a card yet, but her name was enough to get her into the elevator and up to the 48th floor where she had been interviewed a few days ago.
“Miss Richardson is waiting for you,” one of them mentioned to her.
She got out of the elevator and walked towards the office where she had that rare and quick interview.
An elegant woman dressed in impeccable red and white raised an eyebrow at the sight of her.
“ Miss Richardson?”
The woman seemed to study her for a few seconds.
“This must be a joke, right?”
“I'm Emma Darby, I've been hired to....”
“I know who you are, but I still can't figure it out, and all I can guess is that Human Resources has a strange sense of humor,” she looked sideways at Emma, analyzing her appearance.
Emma didn't know if she was being serious or just being sarcastic.
The arrogant woman looked down at her folder.
“You will be an operator who will answer directly to me and also to attorney William Sanders, but you will not go near him under any circumstances. You will be responsible for going to the Exchange every day to deliver packages and serve as a courier between departments”
Emma blinked in confusion.
“I thought I'd be legal secretary to Attorney Sanders”
Richardson laughed.
“This is an investment company, so you get to do that. I'm William Sanders' legal secretary, did you think you'd take my job?”
At that the office door opens and the elegant male figure in a gray suit appears.
“What's going on here...?”
“Mr. Sanders, I was just sending the new employee to the plant,” excused the woman.
“Shut up, Richardson,” the lawyer ordered as he looked at Emma. “I was waiting for her to personally give her the directives for her new position”
Richardson could not understand why her boss was going to so much trouble.
“But she still has to take some boxes to the mailroom....”
William Sanders glared at her, which showed that he didn't like to be interrupted.
He said, "Prepare yourself, Miss Darby. From today you will be secretary to the senior partner of this firm, and I have personally undertaken to select a suitable assistant for him. You will be working on the sixtieth floor, so please come with me," William had an authoritative demeanor and motioned for the startled Emma to follow him. Before leaving with Emma for the elevators, he turned to his secretary.
“What are you waiting for to take those boxes to the post office?”
It was clear that the lawyer hated his secretary.
And to have someone put the obnoxious woman in her place was a balm to Emma, although after a few seconds she forgot the matter and refocused on her own.
“Sir, may I ask you a question?”
They were both going up the elevator.
William nodded.
“If I'm not going to be a legal secretary, won't I be working with you?”
“I'm the company's in-house lawyer, but one of the partners needs a secretary”
“Sir...all my experience has been in assisting lawyers”
“And that's for sure, but I hired you for your experience...and for your…” William preferred to keep that part quiet “Forget it, being a secretary in the investment area won't be difficult for you”
The elevator marked the sixtieth floor and they both stepped out, with Emma trying to keep up with the lawyer.
As they reached an imposing desk that stood in front of a huge door between open.
“This will be your desk. You will be assisting the senior partner, Mr. Liam Van Dyke, and you need to know that the main reason I hired you is because of your loyalty to your employer. You will answer only to him and you can always ask me for help if the case warrants it, understood?
Emma was so paralyzed. She could barely understand the rest of the instructions.
Liam's secretary?
What kind of sick joke was this?
"Sir...I'm sorry...but I can't," Emma started stuttering, still incredulous.
"What can you...you're not going to come in here now and disappoint my trust? I don't know what your trauma is, but I hired you and you better not disappoint me. But if you think you're in trouble, Liam won't be long in firing you".
“It's just...”
“What the hell is going on out there?” a loud voice from inside the office shook them. “Get the hell in there,” he ordered.
William smiled sideways.
“And your new boss is already getting impatient. Follow me”
Emma was shaking like a leaf. She wasn't supposed to see him so soon. She wasn't ready, never had been, never would be.
When she stepped inside the office, huge enough for one person, Liam had his back turned, looking out the windows that surrounded the spotless office.
Dressed in a dark suit, Emma could only catch a glimpse of the incredible bearing of a man in a tailored suit, whose broad back betrayed a man of formidable fitness. His hair was black, lustrous and slicked back. He still didn't turn around; his hands were in his pockets.
"Why did you disagree?" Liam's voice came back. It had a deeper tone than he remembered from his high school days when they met.
“No disagreement,” William replied, glancing sideways at Emma, so that she wouldn't open her mouth to contradict anything.
At that instant, the huge fellow turned toward them.
Emma had to juggle to keep from falling backwards in shock.
If in her youthful memories, Liam was attractive, the man in front of her was ravishing with that face of bushy eyelashes and huge blue eyes that took her straight back to Tanner's image. Same swarthy look, but more mature and enticing.
“Did you...?” was the first thing he said when he saw her.
“Do you know her...?” asked William in confusion.
He made a self-satisfied grimace.
“From a dreadful time,” he answered William, and then returned his eyes to Emma. “And how did Dorothy from Kansas end up in the city...?”
Emma was even grateful for his rudeness because it strengthened her to speak up and not make a complete fool of herself.
“I'm not from Kansas, I'm from Cheyenne....”
“I meant Cheyenne, but for all intents and purposes it's the same thing. So you're a secretary?”
William started talking about her resume, because Emma seemed to have her tongue eaten out by mice, as her eyes were lost in the features of the man's face.
Both men were talking, but she didn't hear them, focused on detailing how much this man looked like Tanner. It was as if her son had traveled back in time and showed up looking like a man in his thirties.
He was supposed to quit. It was the healthy thing to do, but he had already seen her.
“Did you hear what I said?” his voice interrupted her again, speaking in a formal manner, far from the initial surprised ‘tuteo’.
“I'm sorry, I...”
“Yes, you... you'd better get a move on, I don't tolerate inattention, is that clear?”
Emma lowered her head.
“I understand, sir”
With him staring so intently at her, it was impossible to get out the words she needed to resign. She couldn't get her sentences out, she just obeyed. It seemed to be an effect of his powerful presence.
“Go out and take possession of your desk,” was the last order.
Emma left the office, closing the huge door carefully.
Since William Sanders was left inside with Liam and was not watching her, Emma dropped into her desk chair.
She wasn't able to quit.
She wasn't able to oppose him.
She had seen him again after a decade, even if she lived with a vivid memory of him.
Is it true that her new boss was the father of her child?
The one no one knew about because she never talked about him.
As if her biggest secret was jumping in her face, claiming the mystery.