Clayton had demanded that he handled the application emails for a few days and he had been allowed to. Among all the mails that had come from people in America who were willing to relocate and come work in London, a particular lady's email had caught his fancy. He had read through her letter more than twice. Ruth McCurdy, same was her name. He had made up his mind to give her the job she had applied for. Luckily for her, the position was vacant and he would only be wicked if he let the position vacant for longer than it had been when there were people out there willing and capable to work in the position. He was thinking along those lines when he sent her the mail of acceptance. She would come all the way from New York to London for the job. He told himself not to act too surprised. People did such things everytime because they had like to change environment. People migrated and immigrated everyday in Europe and America, sometime, not because they had been living in deplorable conditions or because they had come to seek greener pastures.
Ruth woke up to the mail stating that she could travel to London under the company's expenses and she would have a free lodge to stay until she had gotten her first pay and would naturally get herself an apartment_ if she did not already have one_. She was having a hard time trying to believe what she had read. She read it again and almost cried for joy. She was leaving New York for good and would be starting her life all over again in London. She could not be any more excited than she was.
But then, when she had first read the conditions for employment of foreigners, she had not seen the benefits which were now mentioned in the mail. She was certain there had been no such goodness and it only amazed her that she was lucky enough to be one who would enjoy the privileges. She would leave in the next one week.
Reynolds was not sure what exactly he was doing at the cheap bar. He had been driving late that night and among the many exotic places that were still up for business late into the night, Ford's had been too. He took a bend and returned to the bar that he had passed. He was not going to get himself drunk and worn out. That, he was sure of. He would not risk having his face in the papers by morning while he had been drunk the previous night. As he stepped onto the Kerb between the pavement and the bar, he thought he had made a bad decision. Perhaps, bad decisions had been all he ever made and it should not bother him so much anymore. He stepped in and sat at the last seat, close to the door. Perhaps, so he could see whoever came to the bar first. There were few men in the bar. Some of them drunk and staggering and the others, engaging in lively conversations. What was he even doing here?
The waitress walked up to his table . He looked first at the feet peeking out from her flats and then up to her ironed crisp uniform that bore a badge that read, Ford's. He did not know what to make of her. Her hair was tied back in a mean ponytail and the shadows under her eyes told him she hardly had enough rest. She appeared to be too professional for the job she was doing. She looked too good to be working in a place like that. Perhaps, she had a degree that she was not making use of.
"What would you like, sir?"
She asked. She yawned more than once while waiting for him to place his order. It was almost twelve a.m in the morning and they seemed to be on of those small bars that stayed up really late. The bar man, contrary to the mood of the lady standing before Reynolds, seemed to be in a good mood. He did not look a bit exhausted as he clapped and hummed to one of Celine Dion's blues. He was generally happy with his job _or so it seemed.
Alicia could already feel her feet ache as she stood waiting for the gentleman that was only watching her to place his order. He did not.
"Would you like me to come back and take your order when you have made Up your mind?"
She asked as she lifted her palms to her mouth and yawned for the umpteenth time.
"get me a bottle of the most expensive beer you have here"
He said. Alicia nodded and began to walk away. What if he did not like the most expensive beer they had and then like some of the customers she had been unfortunate enough to serve, turned around to blame her for whatever seemed to be an error.
He called her back.
" What if I don't like what you have?"
He asked her. She had expected it but now that he said it, it pissed her so much. She was Angry enough to roll her eyes before trudging back to him.
"You should have asked that before demanding that I bring you the most expensive beer we have here. What did you expect, gentleman? ".
She asked . Her mood was definitely sour and she had no desire to entertain anyone who would get her any angrier.
" Is that how you speak to the people who patronize you, lady?"
He asked. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. She would have to apologize to him. She had caught Ford's eyes and they had been questioning.
" Apologize to me now, lady".
He demanded just before she could apologize. She took deep breaths and calmed her nerves before he could reiterate.
" You don't have to order me around here, I have one boss, not two and that means, you don't get to order me".
" You don't mean what you have said, do you? "
He asked, oddly surprised. She Nodded. From the corners of her eyes, she caught Ford's figure walking steadily towards the table. He had noticed that she spent longer than she ought to and he was coming to see what the matter was. She would not let him ask questions.
" I am sorry,"
She said to Reynolds and walked away.