Chapter 22
The three girls waved goodbye to all the parents and Kyle. Kyle wanted to help choose the house they would be moving into, so he went with his parents. Charlie hauled Jo and Alex back to the stores.
“You are going to look like a successful businesswoman if it’s the last thing I do!” she declared vehemently as they entered another store.
Jo wondered how many outfits she really needed. After all, they had purchased a dozen or so business suits already, but Jo was even more amazed when Charlie pulled her into the designer gown section of the store.
“You need three formal gowns and four cocktail dresses immediately. We won’t get more than that because you will buy more next month.”
“Next month?” Jo asked, stunned. “Why can’t I buy more now and be done with it?”
“If you buy too many they will be out of style,” Charlie explained.
“Then why isn’t four enough? How many dinners and parties will I be attending anyway? I can only wear one dress at a time, Charlie.”
Charlie sighed, exasperated. “Jo, you cannot wear the same dress twice, ever. It’s just not done. People will be watching you, taking your picture. They will comment on the repeat dress as if it is shabby the second time around.”
Jo was confused about all the new rules she would have to abide by to fit into this new society. It seemed rather wasteful to her, Jo realized. After pinching pennies for her entire life, she was now supposed to spend – how much? She looked at the price tag on the nearest dress and almost fainted. “Charlie this dress is twelve thousand dollars. That is almost as much as my mom made an entire year at the supermarket, and you want me to buy four of these for a one-time use? What do I do with it after I wear it the one time?” She asked sarcastically, “Am I supposed to throw it away?”
Charlie sighed. Jo had a lot to learn. “Jo, there are many shops that take dresses worn only once. In fact, that’s probably where I will buy the gowns that I will wear, since I won’t be able to afford these.”
Jo turned sharply and looked at Charlie. “Why aren’t you getting some of these?” Jo turned to Alex. “And you too! You guys will be with me constantly, especially you, Alex. You need to be just as well dressed as I am.”
“I don’t have any money, Jo. You just hired me last night, remember,” Alex grinned. “I haven’t gotten an advance on my salary.”
“Same here, Jo. As willing as we are to help you get set up, we are not able to do the same for ourselves until we are officially hired. Besides, Alex and I didn’t lose every stitch of clothing we own in a fire.” Charlie reminded her softly.
Jo looked from one friend to the other. She put one arm around each of them. “The way I see it is this: You two are like sisters to me. We are best friends, and soon roommates. I refuse to allow you to buy a wardrobe befitting your new social requirements out of your not-yet-earned salaries. How about you each find three gowns to go with your wardrobe, and three business outfits, and I will pay for them with the things I am buying.” Jo sighed, relieved that her friends now had to endure the endless trying on, too. “Misery loves company,” she muttered as she grinned at her friends.
Charlie and Alex stared at her, eyes wide, mouth gaping. “You want to buy us clothes, too?” Charlie stuttered.
“You guys are going to have to attend parties and social events with me. Where I go, you have to go. Consider it part of your job. The wardrobe will be one of the benefits.” Jo grinned, happy to have found a solution. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Michaels was really enjoying the discomfort of the two friends. Jo thought she also detected satisfaction in Michaels’ gaze towards herself. Good. She wasn’t the only one who thought this was a good thing.
The rest of the afternoon was a flurry of visits to the changing rooms in one exclusive shop after another. When Charlie finally told Jo that she had enough for today, Jo collapsed in a chair relieved. “I never knew shopping was so tiring,” she told Alex who had collapsed beside her. Alex nodded. Then they both looked at Charlie who was bustling around picking up hangers and dropped clothing. She was humming as she worked. Jo and Alex both laughed until their sides hurt.
“Charlie, sweetie, I think the store people will do that.” Alex told her.
“Oh, I don’t mind,” Charlie continued humming and straightening. Soon a store employee came back and shooed her away, and the three girls went to finalize their purchases.
“Was there anywhere else you wished to go today, Miss Becker?” Davis asked as he put her into the limo. Davis and Michaels had relieved Roberts for the afternoon, and Diaz was accompanying the parents on their house hunting expedition.
“I think we want to go back to our place,” she told him. “We might need a nap.”
“Uh-huh,” Alex agreed. “I might not even get that far,” she said, sliding down into the limo seat and closing her eyes.
Charlie looked at the two girls disgusted. “You two are a bunch of wimps. I can’t believe that just a little shopping can wipe you out.”
“I believe that part of the position of Wardrobe Consultant is that I don’t have to go with you anymore,” Jo hopefully suggested.
Charlie had to laugh at that. “All right. I paid attention to which you liked and didn’t like, and I know your sizes now, in almost every brand, so I suppose I can do most of your shopping alone now.”
“Great!” Jo smiled. She would have leapt up and done a cheer but she was too tired, so she gave Charlie a thumbs up.
Once at the apartment building, the doorman met their limo. Michaels made arrangements for all the purchases to be brought up, and they headed for the elevator. Dalton, the concierge that Jo had met the day before, intercepted them.
“Miss Becker. How do you like your apartment? Is there anything I can do to make it more comfortable for you?”
Jo looked at the man. She hadn’t decided if he was a kiss-up or a sincere man yet, so she gave him the benefit of the doubt. “It is lovely, Dalton. I’m sure I will want some changes made, but it’s too soon to worry about that. These are my friends Charlie and Alex. They will be living with me in the apartment.” Jo introduced her companions. “Who do I talk to about getting them keys and access codes, or whatever they need, to come and go as they please?”
“Actually,” Davis interrupted their conversation, “Roberts will want to handle that, Miss Becker. He wants to keep track of each set of keys made so that he is aware where they are at all times. For security reasons.”
Jo nodded, “Of course. I hadn’t thought of that.” She turned again to Dalton. “If I do think of something I will let you know.” He bowed to her and they entered the waiting elevator.
Davis unlocked her door and entered; disengaging the alarm system, then wished them a good evening and left for the small apartment down the hall.
“What’s that thing?” Charlie asked.
“Alarm system,” Alex told her. They walked over to look at it. Alex pulled the small card that Jo had hid under the planter out. “We need to memorize this number so that we can turn it off or on,” she informed Charlie. “I think the security agents will be doing it for Jo. She’s so spoiled.” Jo grinned and Charlie laughed.
Jo and Alex collapsed in one of the deep, fluffy sofas in the living area. Jo laid her head back and closed her eyes, glad to be relaxing. Soon they heard Charlie wandering around the apartment.
“Which bedroom will be mine?” she asked as she came back into the living room.
Jo shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to me,” she said, and looked at Alex. Alex too shrugged.
“Right now Jo and I are in the ones on the right side of the hallway, and my parents slept in the one with the giant bathroom on the left. You can have that one if you want.”
Charlie’s face lit up. “Really? Are you sure?” She waited for a response, and they both nodded at her. “That’s the one I really wanted, but I didn’t want to ask.” She beamed at Jo. “It has an automated closet! You can move a conveyer around and it changes the location of the clothes on the rack!” Charlie headed back into that room, excited.
“Did you notice it?” Alex asked Jo.
“Nope,” she replied. “Guess it wasn’t something I would have noticed anyway,” she smiled.
Alex grinned. “Me neither.”
Charlie came back in to ask some other questions. Which days are laundry days? When does the cleaning lady come? What time of day are the hampers emptied? Are the girls responsible for the dishes, or does a maid do them? How often is the spa water changed?
Jo looked at Charlie dumbfounded. Charlie knew about so much more of her new life than Jo did. She just had to ask, “Charlie, did it concern you when you realized there wasn’t a washer and dryer here?”
Charlie looked back at Jo, puzzled. “Why would a penthouse need a washer and dryer? People who own places like this have other people to do that for them,” Charlie pointed out.
Jo just sighed. Charlie knew so much more than she did. It was a good thing she had convinced her to stay with her. Though it didn’t take much convincing, Jo remembered, smiling.
Alex filled Charlie in on the cleaning schedule that Roberts told them about. “In the hamper and it gets taken. I don’t know what happens if you leave items on the floor,” Alex finished.
“The maid probably folds it and puts it on a chair,” Charlie guessed.
“Is anyone hungry?” Jo asked.
Alex looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost six o’clock. “Should we find out if the parents are done house-hunting yet?” she suggested.
Charlie sat up. “I want to see the other penthouse. I know you said it wasn’t as nice, but I would bet that that’s the one my mom will choose.”
“Call your mom and find out where they are now,” Jo said. She didn’t specify to whom she was speaking, so both Alex and Charlie whipped out their phones and started dialing. Jo laughed.
“Hello, Mom?” Charlie spoke into her phone.
“Hey, Mom, where are you guys at?” Alex asked her mother.
Jo grinned as both girls received identical information. She knew any second that both would blurt out the group’s location at the same time.
“They are just pulling up out front,” Charlie said.
“They are finished and almost here,” Alex said at the same time.
“Great,” Jo smiled. “It will be interesting to hear about the other places I own. I only saw four of them, you know.”
“I know, Jo, I was with you,” Alex laughed.
Jo smiled. “Oh, yeah.” She pointed at Alex. “Hey, Assistant-type person, call downstairs to Dalton and have a dinner menu sent up.” Alex crossed her arms and glared at Jo. Jo smiled meekly, and added, “Please?”
Alex laughed. “That’s better.” She headed for the phone.
Soon the room was full of people as Diaz escorted the group into the penthouse. The mothers were both talking about the differences in the kitchens at each location, and the men were discussing the distance to workplaces. Sam had seen an empty commercial building right on a main street that would be ideal for his travel agency to move into. He had even jotted down the phone number on the ‘For Lease’ sign.
“Well,” Jo asked as everyone calmed down, “what’s the verdict? Will you all move here and help me settle into my new role of being rich and famous?” Jo tried to laugh it off, but everyone knew she was actually quite terrified of her new responsibilities.
Brad smiled. “You already had my answer, Jo, and I do believe your comment that we would like the other penthouse was prophetic. Mindy loved it, although we were wondering if you would mind if we redecorated it a bit.”
“Wonderful!” Jo responded. “And yes, do whatever you want to it. That marble countertop was beautiful, but it made the kitchen so dark.”
“Oh, that will be fixed by painting the cabinets white,” Mindy had obviously begun redecorating in her mind.
Jo beamed. “I’m so glad you want it. I will even pay for the paint. Just pick out the color and send the bill to…” Jo hesitated. Who handled the cash? “I think Alex will be handling my bills. She just doesn’t know it yet.”
“Oh, great,” Alex responded, but she was smiling.
“What position will Alex hold, Jo?” Brad asked her.
“She is going to be my Personal Assistant. A girl named Tammy is doing it now, but I don’t think she likes me very much. She almost treats me as if I’m stupid, and if I’m going to spend sixteen hours a day with someone ordering me around, I would much rather it be Alex.”
“That’s a good idea, Jo! And Alex has all that experience from working at the travel agency. She already knows about scheduling and organizing, and booking flights for all the business trips you will be taking.” Mindy complimented Jo on her choice.
“Which place did you like best, Kendra?” Jo asked next.
Kendra looked at Sam. “We liked the condo on the beach that you showed us yesterday the best, I think. It is not too far from the city, and the view is gorgeous.”
“Great!” Jo said. “So you agree to move?”
“Yes,” she smiled. “We agree to be sucked into your new life, Jo.”
Jo and Alex both laughed.
“We did like your grandparents’ home, Jo. You really should go see it some day. It has been empty since their death, apparently.” Sam commented.
Jo agreed that she would like to see it. It dawned on her then that Kyle had been quiet since they all returned. She wondered if something was wrong.
“Kyle? What did you think of all the homes? Did you like the penthouse?”
Kyle looked up, surprised that someone was talking to him. Jo realized instantly that he felt left out.
“It was okay, I guess. The TV isn’t as nice as this one, and it doesn’t have a pool table, but it’s an okay place,” he replied nonchalantly.
“Did you like any of the other homes better?” she questioned him.
He thought for a moment, and then shook his head. “No. Most of the condos were totally empty, and boring. The only one that was near the beach was the one we saw yesterday. The other houses were okay but really too big, and I was afraid I was going to break something every time I walked through a door,” he grinned. Everyone in the room laughed.
“You can come over here anytime you want and use the pool table,” she told him. “Or just come over to visit.”
Kyle seemed to brighten at her suggestion. “Okay, thanks, Jo. I will, as long as it’s okay with my parents.” Kyle had seen the raised eyebrows his dad was giving him.
Jo laughed, “Nice save, Kyle.” He grinned back.
A chime sounded at the door, and Dalton’s face appeared on the little screen. “I have the menus you requested, Miss Becker. Shall I bring them up?”
Jo walked over to the intercom and pressed the blue button. “Yes please, Dalton, and thank you.” She pressed the green button to send him the elevator, even though she knew he had a key. A second later, Agent Davis’s face appeared on the display.
“Miss Becker, I know you have met Dalton and he is cleared to enter the apartment. Just make sure that you personally know the person you are allowing to enter. No delivery people, no maids, and no chauffeurs – no one that we haven’t cleared unless he or she is a personal friend is allowed to enter the elevator. I just wanted to remind you of that. After you order your meal, if a waiter from the downstairs restaurant tries to deliver your food, you have to decline. This is very serious.”
Jo was startled at first by his quick appearance on the screen. “Okay, Davis. Thank you for the reminder. I wouldn’t have thought about the waiter.”
“That’s why we are here,” Davis replied with a smile. “After you place your order, why don’t you all come next door to the security suite, and I will show you what we do from here,” Davis suggested.
Jo looked around to see if anyone beside herself wanted to go. It looked to her as if each one was either nodding or saying it was a good idea, so she agreed. “I will call the star button on the phone when we are ready. Or is there a direct intercom to you?” Jo had been pushing the blue button to respond each time, since she didn’t know what else to do. She wondered vaguely if that meant someone in the lobby could hear their conversation. Davis quickly put her mind at ease.
“On the other side of the display is a yellow button. That is a call button, to get our attention. Once we are speaking, the blue button only comes in here, to the security suite, and is blocked from going downstairs. If someone were trying to buzz you at the elevator below, they wouldn’t get through. It’s a one-line intercom only. Buzz me with yellow, and then talk with blue as you are now,” Davis explained.
“All right, thank you for the clarification, Davis.”
“Dalton has entered the exterior hallway.” Davis informed her and then he disappeared from the screen.
There was a knock on the door, and Jo, who was still standing nearby, opened it. She took the menus from him, thanked him, and he left.
Once everyone had a menu, it became silent in the room. Jo was amazed at the elegance of the apartment restaurant. There were items on the menu she had trouble pronouncing.
“What’s ‘Farfalle alla Rustica’?” Kyle asked his mom.
“I think that’s a pasta dish, Kyle. Pasta and veal,” she replied.
Kyle scrunched up his face. “Yuck.” He looked farther down the list. “What’s ‘Pesce Spada alla Griglia’ then?” he asked again.
Mindy browsed the menu to find the item he was asking about. “Oh, it looks like grilled swordfish. It comes with broccoli and potatoes,” she read from the description below the entrée item.
Kyle looked up at his mom. “Where are the chicken strips or the hamburger?”
His father laughed. “Why not try the ‘Frog Legs Provencale’?” he suggested.
“I can’t believe people actually eat this stuff,” Kyle responded glumly and tossed the menu down on the table.
Jo laughed and had to agree with him. She was sure there would be plenty of chances to eat fancy meals. There was no reason to start today.
“How about a cheeseburger, Kyle?” Jo suggested.
Kyle grinned shyly. “Now you’re talking.”
Alex grabbed a pen and a notepad sitting near the phone. “Okay, what does everyone want? This is going to be my job so I’m going to practice on you.”
“Cheeseburger and fries,” Kyle told her. “Hold the onions.”
“Same for me,” Jo said.
“I would like the Yellow fin Tuna Steak Salmoriglio,” Mindy told her.
Alex looked at her blankly. “Can you spell that please?” she asked dryly.
Mindy laughed and pointed it out on the menu. Alex dutifully copied it down.
“Next?” she asked.
“Beef Wellington for me, Alex,” her mother said.
“New York Steak, medium well,” her father ordered.
“Surf and Turf,” Brad ordered, and he placed his menu card on top of all the others.
“What’s a ‘surf and turf’ Dad?” Kyle asked.
“It’s Filet Mignon and jumbo shrimp,” came the reply.
“That sounds good,” Charlie commented. “Order me that, too, Alex.”
“Okay, I’ll make it three. Sounds good to me, too,” Alex finished writing and looked up. “Is that everyone?” Everyone nodded so Alex went to the phone and placed the order.
Jo looked at her lawyer. “Brad, do you have any idea how I go about hiring you and Alex and Charlie? Do I need to talk to the Human Resources Director at BeckFord?”
Brad shook his head. “Actually, no. Well, yes for Alex, but Charlie and I will be working for you personally and that is something I can set up for you.” He paused for a moment. “Should we discuss salary?”
Jo nodded. “I hated to bring it up, but we do need to talk about it. I was wondering if you could find out for me how much Mr. Masterson was paid, and also how much the fashion lady, what was her name?” Jo asked.
“Ms. Maricela Zayden,” Charlie replied. She shivered, “That lady gave me the creeps.”
Jo laughed and agreed. “Me too,” She turned back to Brad. “Find out what fee Ms. Zayden charges. I think we should match it for Charlie.”
Charlie’s careful father shook his head. “I’m sure that Ms. Zayden charges her clients based on her expertise. Her fee will be exorbitant, and entirely too much for Charlie.”
Jo smiled. “So what? I want Charlie to make as much as the flashy, pompous, degrading Ms. Zayden makes. Besid