Читать книгу Merciful Law - Darby Sr. Rae - Страница 8

Lydia set up the interview for 5:30 Friday evening. I arrived at the gated home of Emmet Navar with a few minutes to spare. The impersonal security guard waved me through as I looked curiously at the mansion in the distance. The traditional estate was close to the size of my house… well, my old house in Florida. The front lawn was as long as a football field with perfectly manicured shrubs lining the driveway. I should have asked Lydia more questions. Who is this man and what does he do?

Susan, the nanny, greeted me at the front door and welcomed me into the two story entryway. She looked normal. Everything from the woodwork to the décor screamed old money. There was a parlor of sorts on the left and on the right an office occupied by a man on the phone with his back to me. Susan led me down the hall.

Past the first few rooms the house opened up to a grand room with an exquisite black baby grand piano in the center. There were two cordovan leather sofas on the far side of the piano facing each other and an ornate mahogany coffee table between them set on an oriental rug. Beyond the piano and sofas was a staircase straight out of The Sound of Music. To the right of the staircase was a grand dining room with a table large enough to seat about forty people. To the left of the staircase was a rather long hallway leading to another room I couldn’t quite see.

Susan continued the tour to the back of the house. The gourmet kitchen was complete with custom finished stainless steel appliances, two dishwashers, a center island with double sinks, and an antique drop leaf kitchen table that seated six people. Beyond the kitchen was a family room with built-in bookcases, a fireplace, a leather recliner, and two overstuffed fabric couches…no television. We walked through the family room and a small mud room out to the backyard. To the right there was a three car garage attached to the house and off to the left about one hundred feet was another three car detached garage with a breezeway. The rear driveway alone was larger than Jed’s car lot.

The boys were busy playing outside, and so far it seemed Lydia had been telling the truth. This family appeared normal enough; at least at first blush. No signs of sacrificing virgins, demonic children, in-laws from hell, or armed guards with machine guns.

We walked back inside and Susan had me wait in the library. The collection of priceless books would have rivaled Lawrence’s any day. There were first edition volumes of Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Grapes of Wrath; even original works of Edgar Allen Poe and Charles Dickens. I stood admiring the books when I heard a voice outside the room.

“Annie…Annie…Annie? Annie, is that your name?”

Oh no. That is my name. Lord, I had to get better at my new identity. “Yes…yes…I’m sorry. I was just admiring your books. You have quite a collection.”

“Emmet Navar,” he said, extending his hand to shake mine. “Do you collect books as well, Annie?”

“No, my…ah…father did.” I lied returning his firm handshake. “Not close to the priceless collection you have, but I share his appreciation.”

Emmet and I stood while we talked. He was personable, but very matter of fact. He outlined the details of the job and his expectations. He shared that he is a private person and I would be required to sign a privacy agreement stating I would not share information with the press, sell pictures, write a book, etc. “I hope you don’t find that offensive,” he said. I speculated why he was so anxious about his privacy…was it related to his business or his family? Either way, I appreciated his position and assumed he would extend the same level of privacy to me, which was vital.

“With such a litigious society and privacy increasingly compromised, I completely understand your desire for confidentiality. However, in the spirit of reciprocity, I only need your assurance nothing unlawful or dangerous is happening here.” Damn it…That didn’t sound like it came from a woman that spent her days in a day care center singing Barney songs and wiping runny noses! I had to be more conscientious of my communication style. Emmet looked at me a bit sideways. “Sorry,” I winced. “A little too much Court TV I guess.”

Emmet didn’t believe the Court TV comment, but Susan entered the room with the two boys and we were on to the next topic. “Annie, meet Joshua and Elijah.” I sat down so the boys could approach me, just in case they were shy. Well, they were not shy. They were two of the most zealous children I’ve had the pleasure to meet. Elijah was six and Joshua was eight. They were in first and third grade. They talked at the same time and were absolutely charming. After a ten minute data dump of information they were quiet for a moment.

“When I grow up, I’m going to be a herpetologist,” Joshua said.

“And I’m going to be an etymologist.” Elijah chimed in cheerfully with an adorable lisp. I was pretty sure he meant entomologist. I couldn’t imagine he would be that excited to study words.

“Reptiles and bugs, how are you going to feel when your brother’s reptiles are eating your bugs?” I asked.

“I’m going to Madagascar to study big bugs, huge bugs…bugs bigger than Joshie’s reptiles; bugs that could eat him!”

“Is that right?”

“Do you want to see our reptile room?” Joshua asked. “Yeah, the reptile room,” Elijah cheered.

My college roommate was a zoology major and was forever commandeering new pets. Reptiles were her favorite, so I learned by osmosis. I never imagined my exposure to herpetology would prove useful. “Want to; I would be disappointed if I didn’t…that is if your father …”

Emmet was already giving an authoritative nod of approval. Each child took one hand and they lead me up the vast staircase to the reptile/ bug room on the third floor. It wasn’t at all what I had expected. The room was about sixteen by twenty feet, maybe bigger. Most of the wall sharing the hallway was glass. The floor was completely covered with sand. There were several potted cacti, a few potted trees, two piles of rocks, a few scattered boulders, and a small waterfall of sorts in the corner of the room. A desert mural was painted on the remaining three walls and the ceiling was painted to look like the sky. I had expected a few tanks with turtles and frogs; maybe even a little snake. This was truly eccentric.

The room had no windows or vents. The boys opened the door for me and the three of us ambled in. I turned to Susan and asked if she was joining us. She shivered a bit and shook her head no.

The room was warmer than the rest of the house; eighty-five degrees or so. Walking around were six large bearded dragons and two large turtles. On the walls and trees were numerous anoles and geckos; thirty at quick count. On the tallest rock pile next to the waterfall there were two mountain horned dragons. Several types of frogs hopped around among countless crickets. A huge thing that looked like an iguana swam in a shallow pond at the bottom of the waterfall. No snakes. I was careful not to step on anything.

The boys sat on the floor and talked about all the creatures and critters in the room. I sat on the boulder next to them making sure my shirt was pulled well below the back of my pants. The surroundings didn’t bother me, but I would lose all composure if a cricket jumped down my pants.

“Sometimes if the anoles get too close to a bearded dragon, they get eaten,” Elijah shared.

“Does that make you sad?”

“Not anymore, but it used to.”

Joshua picked up the mountain horned dragon and set it on my shoulder. The excitement they had talking about their pets was inspiring. What I found amazing was the knowledge these two little people had regarding these creatures, their habitats, and eating habits.

We must have spent a good thirty minutes in the room when I saw Susan and Emmet in the doorway. I didn’t look up because Elijah was still talking to me. I strained to hear their conversation.

“I told you,” Susan said to Emmet. “Un-phased; she even has one of those scaly things on her shoulder.” A few more minutes passed as they stood and watched. “Okay boys, time for dinner,” Susan said.

The boys stood up without complaint, brushed the sand off their pants, and each took a hand to lead me back downstairs. As we walked to the kitchen we passed Emmet in the library. He was on the phone.

“I know that isn’t your process, Lydia, but I’d like to offer her the job while she is still here. If she says no, she says no. In fact, to give her more exposure to us, she can join us for dinner. Do you want to speak with her first?” I could hear Lydia responding in her kindergarten teacher voice. It sounded as if she was reprimanding Emmet. “Not a problem, Lydia. Susan and I both feel she’s qualified. Besides, this isn’t rocket science. Anything she needs to learn Amanda or Susan can teach her. As far as the background check…” he said, his voice trailing off to a whisper.

Soon Emmet came to the doorway to the kitchen. “Annie, would you come with me for a moment please?” This time I immediately answered to my new name. We walked back to the library and he handed me the phone. “Lydia would like to speak to you.”

“Annie, he wants to offer you the job. He is going to invite you to dinner if you want to get to know the family better before you make a decision. It’s up to you. You don’t have to give him an answer tonight, but if you stay for dinner, he is going to expect one. You’ve had an unusual week of interviewing. This isn’t how I have the hiring process structured. There’s a feedback call, a second interview, I do a write-up for both parties, a formal offer is …” The frustration in Lydia’s voice was amusing.

“Lydia,” I interrupted, suppressing a chuckle. “I would be honored to stay for dinner.”

I handed the phone back to Emmet and he motioned for me to have a seat. Once off the phone he offered me the job, again reviewing the requirements, duties, and pay. He asked that I join the family for dinner and wait until after dinner to give him my answer. “Any questions?” He asked.

“Yes, tell me …do you have an alligator pool or shark tank for your budding scientists?”

“Not yet,” Emmet said, finally lightening up while we walked to the kitchen. “I deflect enough disapproving feedback from the reptile room, but Eli and Josh love it…and it’s incredible what they have learned since we created it.”

Susan ducked out after serving us dinner, and Emmet’s formality dissipated as the boys asked me questions…like if the Hulk and King Kong were battling, who did I think would win; would I rather be eaten by an alligator or an anaconda; and my favorite, if I was a female wrestler, what would my name be. I knew all children weren’t this entertaining to be around, but I couldn’t help feel a bit cheated not having any of my own.

After answering all of their questions, I asked, “So what happened to some of the ladies like me who worked for your dad?” I was interested in getting the children’s perspective of employee turnover.

Eli looked over at his father first, then with the most innocent expression he said with his cute little lisp, “Well, the first one…um….we didn’t know she didn’t like frogs,” shrugging his little shoulders. “And she always wore dresses and scarves too. You shouldn’t wear stuff like that around frogs. She never came back. Dad mailed her all her stuff.”

“But you like frogs,” Josh said.

“Pretty much,” I said, “so I guess we don’t have that problem since I’m okay with frogs and I usually don’t wear dresses and scarves.”

“Guess not,” Josh said with a sort of problem-solving maturity.

I couldn’t help get a quick visual of Emmet’s assistant with frogs up her dress and tangled in her scarf running from the house screaming, never to return. This job would be anything but boring.

“Any other disasters you need to warn me about?” I asked.

“Well it won’t happen again, right Dad,” Eli said very adult like, looking at his father. “But one time all the crickets got out.”

“Out of the reptile room?”

“No. We just got home with a box of one thousand crickets. Dad set it on the kitchen table. I was just looking at them and the box sort of fell on the floor. All the crickets started to hop out while Mary was trying to make lunch for us.”

“Yeah,” Josh said shaking his head like a little man. “We lost another lady that day.”

“What did you do about all the crickets?” I shuddered a bit.

“Dad just sucked them up in the vacuum cleaner and we let them go in the reptile room. None of us were screaming.”

“So besides dodging frogs and crickets, what do these ladies do for your dad?” I asked. Emmet gave me a sideways glance.

“Well, some of them didn’t do much—just stared at dad a lot,” Josh offered honestly.

Emmet seemed to choke a bit on his food.

“I see, and what else?”

“You have to laugh like this when you’re around Dad.” Josh threw his head back, flipped his hair a bit and let out a sorority girl cackle.

“Joshua!” Emmet scolded.

“They do,” Eli defended.

“Well, you may have to help me with that Josh,” I said glancing at Emmet, noticing a hint of a smile. An attractive man like him was clearly used to female attention.

“Dad says you have to be able to read his mind and finish his sentences too.”

“Is that all?” I asked Josh.

“No, if Dad has a party you have to walk around in a pretty dress and hug a lot of people.”

“Do I ever get to do anything fun?”

“Yeah!” Eli chimed in. “…you get to play with us…sometimes on Saturdays, or if Susan’s sick, or on vacation, or if Dad has to work really late or has to go out of town—or if you just want to any time…you can just…you know…play with us. We’re fun!”

“That could be the best part of the job,” I said. “Is there anything I should be careful not to do?”

“Don’t ask Dad about Mom,” Eli whispered as though Emmet couldn’t hear him.

“Anything you don’t like to eat?” I asked, quickly trying to recover from the sudden discomfort.

“Well, we’re not supposed to tell you if we don’t like something you cook, but we really don’t like tomatoes, spinach, and stuff that smells nasty.”

“Yeah, nothing nasty,” Eli echoed.

“Hmm. No nasty smelling stuff. That could be almost all of my cooking.”

“That’s okay,” Josh offered, patting my hand. “Susan can help.”

“Well thank you; and thank you too, Eli. You two have already been a huge help. I appreciate your honesty.”

“If everyone’s finished eating, let’s clean up,” Emmet directed.

“Annie, you sit. Would you like coffee? Susan made some before she left.”

“Please.” I smiled.

“I’ll get it!” Josh exclaimed.

“Be sure to ask how she likes her coffee,” Emmet instructed.

“How do you like your coffee?” Josh parroted deepening his voice.

“Do you get coffee for your father, Josh?”

“Yes.” He answered proudly in his normal voice.

“Then make it the same way you do for him, please.” This wasn’t the time to get fussy about coffee. I watched as this little family buzzed around the kitchen rinsing plates and putting away leftovers. It seemed Emmet wanted to give me a few minutes to ponder my job offer. I wondered— what’s the catch? They appeared perfectly normal—well, except for the reptile room—I couldn’t imagine the job could be that difficult. Emmet was a bit stiff, but I could deal with that. After all, Lawrence wasn’t a bursting pool of affection. The kids were definitely spirited, but respectful and clearly interesting. It seemed that there was opportunity to spend more time with them if I wanted to, but it wasn’t required.

“Alright boys, say goodbye to Annie and get ready for bed.”

“When are you coming back, Annie?” Josh asked.

“Annie and I will discuss that,” Emmet answered firmly. I gave the boys a wink and they seemed to leave the room satisfied.

“Annie,” Emmet began, “the lion’s share of your work will be running the household. I work from home a couple days a week and the rest of the time I am at the office. I don’t need any assistance professionally. The only exception is if I entertain clients here. You and Amanda will collaborate on those efforts. Amanda is my assistant at the firm.” The firm, I thought. He may be an attorney too. No wonder he looked at me funny when I started to spew legal jargon. I needed to be cautious with my vocabulary.

“At the house, as I mentioned, Susan handles most of the laundry, going to the grocery, and cooking while she is here. She is responsible for the boys except for Wednesday afternoons and on the weekend. You’ll prepare dinner Wednesday night and breakfast during the week. If I have to travel, I’d rather the two of you coordinate coverage. I prefer cooperation to a dictatorship here. Your job is to take care of the house and my personal affairs. With the house, you are in charge of the operations, per se. If something breaks, call and get it fixed. If someone quits like the maid or lawn service, replace them. I don’t enjoy micromanaging or giving constant instruction. When Josh said you have to read my mind and finish my sentences, he wasn’t far from the truth. If a decision has to be made, just make it.

“Annie, just because the job isn’t difficult, doesn’t mean it isn’t important. I don’t have a problem with mistakes. I have no tolerance for stupidity or carelessness. Since you’ll be living here, you are welcome to join us for all meals, but you aren’t required to. Just inform Susan regarding dinner so she can set a place for you. On the weekend I’d like you to take care of Saturday breakfast and lunch now and then. Sunday you are completely off unless I am traveling.”

“Lydia said she reviewed the pay with you. I don’t provide health insurance until you have been here for ninety days; I pay my staff at the house once a month; nobody is paid under the table and I don’t give out loans.

“House rules, no men in your room. No overnight guests. No suggestive or immodest behavior. Be mindful that I am raising my children in this house. If you exhibit judgment that compromises my ability to raise responsible, well-adjusted children or you put them in harms way for any reason, you will be immediately terminated. As harsh as that sounds, realize you have a job to do. Certainly you have worked with parents who bore the same attitude toward your function within the family.

“I would like for you to start Monday. You may use the entire weekend to settle in if necessary. Do you have any questions?”

I stood silently for a moment just looking at Emmet, more for dramatic effect than anything. I didn’t want to seem desperate for the job and answer too quickly. I couldn’t think of any questions. His dissertation was quite complete—besides, he clearly expressed he didn’t relish providing instruction. “What time Sunday would be convenient?” I replied.

Emmet smiled and reached out to shake my hand.