The Staircase of Dragon Jerico
Chapter Eighteen
I HAVE NO REASON to be nervous, Erin lectured herself as she dressed for work Thursday morning. She was no longer a waitress getting ready to work a double shift. She was a professional who worked for a respected senior executive. She only needed to dress accordingly. Jerry would be happy to see her looking successful.
Still, she chose the new suit she’d purchased for the board meeting. It looked very good with the mauve silk blouse she wore. Her hair… She just brushed it out. Jerry had never seen it to compare to, since she’d always worn it up under her waitress cap. He wouldn’t notice it had grown an inch since she last saw him.
She spent just a little extra time with her makeup and then scrubbed it off her face and redid it as she normally wore it. It was always possible Mr. Carver would be in the office today. She wouldn’t want him thinking she had a reason to get fancy.
Not that she needed to justify herself to her boss. If she wanted to meet a nice guy for lunch, it was strictly her business. But she was aware that it did make a difference to her. She didn’t want her boss to disapprove of anything she did—even if it was none of his business. It wasn’t like she was going to date him. She admired and respected Mr. Carver, but she certainly wasn’t infatuated with him. She didn’t think.
She was almost late getting to the office, hanging her jacket, and quickly checking the penthouse to be sure everything was in order and Mr. Carver was still out of the office. She made herself a cup of coffee and made a list on her tablet of the things she needed to accomplish that day. Having calmed herself, she went about the morning’s work and was pleased with the amount she’d gotten done by the time she put her jacket on to go to lunch.
As a last thought, she sent a note to Mr. Carver to tell him she might be a little late getting back from lunch that day. It was just a courtesy.
When Erin entered the diner, Dolores smiled at her and nodded toward the back booth where Jerry was already waiting. Erin took a deep breath and squared her shoulders to go meet her lunch date.
“Jerry. It’s so good to see you. I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” she said, offering her hand. He took it with a slight squeeze.
He was wearing the same thing he always did when he came to the diner: a college sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, sunglasses and a mask.
“Um… Maizie. I…” He was barely whispering and she leaned forward to hear better. “P-p-please, don’t… It is you. I m-m-mean, I knew… Not-not for long. I just… I figured it out…”
“What are you talking about, Jerry? You can relax with me. Take your time,” she said.
He didn’t continue. Instead, he shifted the hood back and took off his sunglasses. Then as Erin watched open-mouthed, he removed his mask.
“M-Mr. Carver!” she gasped. “I… You… I mean… Are you?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I d-d-didn’t mean… to d-d-dec… lie to you.”
“You hired me! You didn’t need to do that! I’m not a charity case!” Erin practically shouted.
“N-n-no! I didn’t know! I only found out you were Maizie two weeks ago. I-I-I didn’t know what to do.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t… Well, I didn’t really know you that well in the diner. I mean, I would never have applied…”
“Please don’t say you quit!” Jerry gasped. “Please.”
“I don’t know what to do. What do you expect of me, Mr. Carver?”
“When we are just being casual and chatting, can you call me Jerry and let me call you Maizie. W-w-we can leave Miss Scott and Mr. Carver at the office,” he said.
“That might work for today. How did you come up with Jerry?”
“Preston Jerico Carver. My middle name.”
“Well, can I get you kids your lunch?” Dolores asked, setting water and coffee on the table.
“Two specials, please,” Erin answered automatically. “Oh! Er… Is that…”
Jerry just nodded at her. Dolores chuckled as she went to get the orders in.
“I didn’t mean to act like I knew just what you wanted,” she said.
“But you do,” he answered. “You always have. It’s how I finally recognized you. You brought specials from the diner for our lunch with Mr. Jerico. You arranged them on the plate just like at the diner and set them down the same way. I didn’t know what to do. I was… scared.”
“Why would you be scared of me?” she asked.
“I… um… always have a bad time with women. It seems that when they know who I am and that I’m the head of JeriCorp and, well, rich, everything changes. I was afraid you’d figured out who I was and were stalking me.”
Erin looked at him with wide eyes and then spluttered in laughter. He was baffled.
“You, rich? That’s not really… um… I mean, you aren’t poor. You have enough, but no woman in her right mind would pursue you for your wealth. And I wasn’t pursuing you. I didn’t know who you were until a few minutes ago. I mean, I knew Preston Carver, but I didn’t know you were Jerry.”
“I’m kind of rich,” Jerry said indignantly.
“Not really,” Erin said. “You forget I check all your… I check all Mr. Carver’s accounts daily to be sure there is no unexpected activity. I flag anything I see for him.”
“I ap… He appreciates that.”
“Well, you don’t have all that much money. I mean, you’re comfortable and don’t have to worry too much about what you spend—even though you do. Worry, I mean. You… Um… This is difficult. Ms. Scott knows Mr. Carver could move out of the penthouse the company pays for and move back to Jerico House. Either way, it’s rent free. But that isn’t money.”
“I… Mr. Carver owns stock. A significant portion of JeriCorp. He’s a shareholder in Interlake Land Holdings. He has other stock in his portfolio,” Jerry explained.
“Ms. Scott used to own a Rembrandt,” Maizie said. It was becoming easier to refer to their office personae in the third person.
“What?”
“When she was single and well-employed, she invested in art. A Rembrandt etching was acquired for $3,500. When Ms. Scott married Mr. Silvers—a day she rues—she liquidated her investments to put the money into a house. The Rembrandt went for $1,500. Investments are where we put our hopes for a better tomorrow. They aren’t real money.”
“You have an interesting take on wealth,” Jerry laughed.
“Who needs more than enough? Ms. Scott left a lucrative career in exchange for what she thought would be eternal bliss. Now she works for a living.”
“M-M-Maizie, when I last saw you at the diner, I’d just decided I would… I would… you know… I would ask you out. Then you weren’t here the next week.”
“Oh, my! That’s why Mr. Carver returned to the office so surly! Ms. Scott began to wonder if she’d made a wise choice to work for him.”
“I am sorry. I was… He was… really upset. You know how he is about his routine.”
“I do.”
Dolores arrived with plates of food.
“Here’s your lunch. Pulled pork with macaroni and cheese. Peach cobbler for dessert, on the house,” Dolores said, setting their plates down. “Don’t feel that you need to rush. I’ve set this table aside for the whole day if you need it.”
“Thank you, Dolores,” Maizie said. “I still have to get back to my job at a reasonable time.”
Dolores left and Jerry smiled.
“You don’t have to rush back. When I was coming here for lunch once a week, Mr. Carver always gave his assistant a long lunch break on those days.”
“I don’t like to seem like I’m taking unfair advantage of him.”
“I don’t think you… she ever has,” Jerry said, taking a bite of macaroni and cheese. “Mmm. I haven’t made mac and cheese in ages. What does she do to this? It’s different.”
“You have such joy for the food. I’m not sure Dolores knows what Jim does in the kitchen. He is a wizard.”
“I want to meet him. Um… I mean… Do you think…? I can’t just…”
“If you’d like, I’ll introduce you and run interference if you need it. He’s pretty easygoing, though. I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Maizie said.
“Food. Yes, I like to eat and try new things. But I like to cook. I experiment. I try something different every week. Sometimes I cook it for Mother and G-Pop. Sometimes, just for myself.”
“How did your Italian roulade turn out? The recipe looked delicious!”
“Rrr. It was a bad day.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Perhaps you could try it again.”
“Maybe. That… um… I’m not… Uh… Shannon Duval showed up in the middle of things.”
“Just out of the blue? I’ll have the elevator rekeyed.”
“Let Ms. Scott do it,” Jerry laughed. “Mrs. Duval told Mr. Carver that Ms. Scott had gone off for the weekend with Mr. Duval. I… I… I know I… Mr. Carver has no claim on Ms. Scott’s social time. But he was very upset that she would go off with Mr. Duval. I… He really doesn’t like the man.”
“Neither does Ms. Scott,” Maizie said firmly. “Off for the weekend? He talked me… her into a field trip to see the site and practice the presentation. It was clear before we were halfway there that he had other things on his mind. I… She left him on the road and hiked the area down to the lodge site by herself. When she was walking back up to the entrance, Mr. Jerico happened by and saved her from having to ride back to Jerico City with Mr. Duval.”
“I’m sorry the whole incident affected me… Mr. Carver more than it had any business doing. He felt betrayed. And after Mrs. Duval’s invasion, he spent the rest of the weekend cleaning. I’m sorry if I… he was short with you last week.”
They finished the meal and Dolores poured them more coffee to have with their cobbler. When they were finished, they both started to speak at the same time.
“You first,” Jerry said.
“Jerry, this has been a very nice time. I always looked forward to seeing you on Thursdays. I’m… I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to um… make a habit of it. As well as we’ve kept work separate from our lunch, it is still there. I, Erin Scott, work for you, Preston Carver. Things like that get complicated and we shouldn’t muddy the waters. I’ve only been divorced four months. Even if we weren’t working together, that’s awfully soon to start… you know. I mean… Maybe you had no intention of that and I jumped to conclusions, but we should keep things professional. Don’t you think?”
She might have been expressing doubt with that last phrase. If he’d tried to convince her they could see each other socially, she’d probably have considered it seriously. It was a pain to take the noble route.
“I… was going to say the same thing,” he said. “I… When… Before, it seemed possible to see this really nice woman I met in the diner. She didn’t know who I was. It seemed safe. Um… I… really wish… Well, Mr. Carver and Ms. Scott will see each other a lot and will enjoy working together. Right? I’d better pay the bill so we can get back to work.”
“Yes. Um… Jerry… thank you. This was really nice. I’ll see you around.”
Erin got up and dropped a twenty next to her plate to pay for her lunch. Jerry did the same. When Erin turned away from the table, Jerry dropped another ten for an extra tip.
Mr. Carver did not return to the office that afternoon. He sent an email indicating that he was wrapping up a number of things in his office at Jerico House and would be meeting with Mr. Jerico. He would be in the next day.
Erin breathed a sigh of relief. She was sure she could return to a professional relationship with Mr. Carver, but was glad to have a few hours before she had to face the reality. What a great way to screw up a day. Or a life.
She found it difficult to concentrate on work that afternoon. She picked up a 5x5x5 cube and sat in front of the windows for fifteen minutes as she worked it. She finally got back to her desk and began sorting through the reviews of the different phases of the plan. It was a huge project and she organized the pieces so no one had to face the entire plan at once. She assumed, however, that Mr. Carver had it all in that remarkable head of his.
She received an email from Carver with his grocery order for the coming week and was amused to find the ingredients for macaroni and cheese on the list. She ordered it for delivery on Friday and wondered if Mr. Carver would have laundry to send out Friday afternoon. For that matter, she didn’t know what he’d been wearing the past week..
She completed her usual end-of-day routine, then went home to try to put her head back together after the surprise of the day.
“It was so nice to see you with Jerry Thursday,” Dolores said when they got together Sunday afternoon. “And to see him finally pull his hood back and take off the dark glasses. Are you going to see him again?”
“It’s impossible not to,” Erin sighed. “Not that I’d want to avoid him but… Dolores, he’s my boss! He started coming here in his hoodie and dark glasses because he was afraid people who work for him would recognize him and make life hard. But then I got the job working for him and when he found out, he freaked out. Which is what I’m doing now that I know.”
“Wait. What? He stalked you?” Dolores asked.
“No. Neither of us knew we were Jerry and Maizie. In the office, we’re Ms. Scott and Mr. Carver. He figured it out a couple of weeks ago and hasn’t been in the office since. I didn’t know until we met Thursday. He thought I’d been stalking him. It’s such a soap opera!”
“Oh, my goodness. Let me pour you another glass of wine. That one seems to have evaporated,” Dolores said. Erin drank again. “So, the chairman of the board of JeriCorp—who, I understand is part of the city’s famed Jerico family—decides randomly to go slumming and have lunch at the diner. But to keep from being recognized, he pulls up a hoodie shirt, dark glasses, and a mask and hardly speaks at all for five months while you wait his table. Then your marriage falls apart and you have to start looking for a job. Just when the mystery man decides he should ask you out, you quit here and go to work for him—not knowing it’s the same guy. Am I close?”
“Yes.”
“And he didn’t figure it out when he interviewed you and read your resume?”
“He didn’t. I never interviewed with him. And he never saw my resume until two weeks ago. I was hired and trained by his mother. It was like I’d always worked there from the day I arrived.”
“Did his mother have plans for the two of you?” Dolores asked.
“I don’t think so. No more than a mother sizes up every woman as a potential mate for her son. And she didn’t know Jerry was coming to the diner every week.”
“You’ve had every opportunity size him up yourself. What kind of guy is he?”
“Nice. A little socially inept, but well-intentioned. A creative genius. He hides behind a façade of business formality to prevent himself from panicking. It’s a way of distancing himself. He is always proper in his behavior and always treats me professionally. I suppose if I took the time to analyze the characteristics of Jerry in the diner and Mr. Carver in the office, I’d have seen the similarities. But it just never occurred to me to imagine they might be the same person. Just as it didn’t occur to him.”
“So, what are you going to do? Dating your boss could be a little awkward.”
“No way. We’ve agreed we cannot be in a dating relationship. Can you imagine what that would do to both of our reputations in the office? It would be impossible. Half the people would think I got special treatment because I was dating him. The other half would think I was available for anyone in the office to screw. Oh! That would be just what Mr. Duval needed. I’d never hear the end of it!”
“But that’s terrible. You like each other. And you are simply going to sit in the same office all day every day and not have it affect you?”
“It was hard on Friday. It took us most of the day to relax around each other. But we have to be firmly in the friend zone. We can work together as friends. We couldn’t as lovers. Ack! I shouldn’t even have said that word. It never came up!”
“But you thought about it.”
“No! I mean… Maybe. A little. Not seriously.”
“So, are you going to quit?” Dolores asked after pouring them each another glass of wine.
“Why would I quit? I have a great job. I like what I do. I like my employer. It’s exciting and challenging. Quit? You’ve got to be kidding!”
“But then there would be nothing between you to stop you from dating.”
“Dolores, I threw away a perfectly good career in Cleveland to marry the man of my dreams. My nightmares! I’m not going down that road again.”
“You poor thing. I don’t know how you’ll stand it.”
“I’ll do my job and do the best I can. That’s all either of us can do.”
Comments
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
