Chapter 3 – Second Impressions

Louise Gardner’s office was tidier than he had expected. A sturdy oak desk, sparsely covered with papers, stood sideways on to a big window overlooking the street, and the chairs in the room were all old, with scuffed legs and distressed fabric seats. There were filing cabinets lining all the walls, the labels showing which of her many charities each dealt with. In an ante-room, several clerks clattered away at keyboards or talked animatedly on the phone.

Louise ushered Bobby to an armchair in the corner and asked him if he would care for something to drink. “There’s only tea, coffee or water,” she said. “We don’t waste money on sodas or alcohol, there are too many important things to spend money on.”
Bobby asked for black coffee, and Louise opened the door into the next office and asked a busily typing young man to fetch the drink for their visitor, and one for her. Then she turned back to Bobby.

“I do have one indulgence,” she said. “Behind that door (she pointed) is a private bathroom, and when I’m this grubby, it’s a godsend. Would you mind if I freshened up a little while we wait for our drinks?

Bobby said he wouldn’t mind at all, and settled back in his chair with a report on one of the charities from the coffee table.

Five minutes later, just as the coffee was brought in, the bathroom door opened and Louise came out. Bobby suppressed a moan.

Before him stood a vision that banished all thought of being careful.

Louise Gardner had cleaned the dirt from her face, released and brushed her hair, and changed into a soft pink sweater that clung in all the right places, and some fresh jeans that made him wonder how on earth she was going to manage to sit down. It was a sight guaranteed to make any red-blooded man catch his breath at the very least.

But what struck him most were her features. Her eyes were round and wide, a deep, deep brown, with long curved lashes. They seemed to contain a permanent smile. Her nose was small and slightly tip-tilted, her mouth, though not full, was generous. Her face was a perfect combination of rounded and oval, with a shapely curve to the jaw. He admitted that, though she gave the immediate impression of being pretty, she was nothing outstanding in the details, but the sum of those details made her beautiful, stunning, the good nature written on her face transforming it into something truly special.

He could barely prevent himself from falling at her feet and declaring undying love. Only one thing stopped him, and it wasn’t his good sense or a feeling of embarrassment or decorum.

It was just that she was so young.

Louise performed the miracle of sitting down in the painted-on jeans, apparently without doing herself any injury. She took the chair opposite Bobby.

“Mr Goren,” Louise began, “I know from the news coverage about your current situation. Let me say that I believe you have been treated very unfairly. But I hope the NYPD’s loss will be my gain.”

Bobby smiled. “What do you have in mind for me, Ms Gardner,” he asked.

“I need someone to be my right hand. A lot of people work with me to carry out all our projects successfully. Things run pretty well. But I’m only one person, and I feel that a second brain keeping track of the overall mission will make a big difference as we take on more causes.”

“Mission?” Bobby asked, a frown appearing on his forehead. “You aren’t a religious foundation?” If there was one thing his work had taught him it was that being in any religious organisation was not for him.

“No, not at all. It’s just a convenient way of talking about what we do.”

“I think I need to know more about exactly what you do before I can consider working for your company,” said Bobby cagily. He hated himself for saying it. He wanted to jump at the job just so that he could spend happy hours getting to know, not the job or the organisation, but its founder. As if she read his mind, Louise Gardner said, “Of course. I’d be happy to have you working with me for a trial period with no commitment on your side, but I must insist on paying you.” Bobby opened his mouth to speak, but Louise continued, “I won’t take no for an answer on this matter. You cannot afford to work for nothing, and I’m not in the business of exploiting people. I thought $200,000 would be fair. So, are we on?”

Bobby’s eyes nearly popped out. She didn’t give him time to protest.

“There is one particular new project I’d like you to consider taking charge of. It’s a centre for young people who’ve slipped through all the nets to get their lives back on track. An old warehouse owned by one of my family’s interests is going to be converted into a series of workshops. Young men and women will be able to improve their literacy and numeracy, learn new skills, and get advice on careers, health, you name it. And I mean that – you name it, you can do it.”

Bobby felt himself reeling from the possibilities he had just been offered. This would be good for kids, and for him too, not to mention his shattered finances. But he would have to get his hormones under control.

Well Bobby, he thought, good luck with that, working closely every day with Louise Gardner.