Valencia's misconception about her job due to the way she had been received the day before was dispersed within the first hour after she resumed work the next day. This time she was directed to the outbuilding a bit farther from the house.
She wondered what the building was used for in the past but none of its former purposes could be seen in the current state the building now. It had been converted into a modern office. The three comprises three well-equipped rooms.
"This one is mine" Jordan had told her that morning as he pointed to the largest and she could see that the office where he received her the night before was more of a backup office compared to this.
One side of the room was adorned with rows and rows of walled shelves that were choked with books. Valencia could almost hear the antique oak shelves protesting under the weight of so many books. She wondered what anyone would need with that much book but then being a private investigator must involve searching for a lot of information, she guessed.
His table was surprisingly simple looking almost ordinary, piled high with folders and files some splayed out and some straightened out precisely like soldiers in a drill. A lone couch was placed on the other side, close to the entrance and the coffee machine was right there in his office. Interesting.
He showed her her office which was only a bit smaller than his with a shelf that housed a few books. She guessed this was where he kept things he didn't need urgently in the other room.
He briefly opened the third room and what she saw amazed her. Different gadgets that she couldn't pinpoint. Top-grade systems and monitors with beeping sounds and a motion-detecting Automator.
He smiled when he saw her reaction and shrugged sheepishly as they went back to her office.
"I fancy myself an inventor," he said with a self-deprecating smile "Haven't invented anything, you see"
"But you are hopeful" she added lightly.
"There, we are doing well already. Already completing each other's sentences. Just like Bonnie and Clyde"
"They were lovers sir and criminals too," she said drily and he laughed
"We wouldn't want that now," he said and Valencia had no idea which one he wouldn't want. The criminal or the lover part.
After informing her that he would be out most of the time and in the home office when he was back, he handed her the task for the day.
Valencia booted her assigned computer and started work, in no time at all, she was deeply engrossed in the tracking of licence plate numbers. She was discovering more than she had ever thought she would know about vehicles and their legalities in no time. As morning morphed into the afternoon, she was still hunched over her system in her findings.
She loved it.
For the first time in her life, she was doing something worthwhile. She was been something else than just a flower that had to be protected in her father's garden.
She learned more and more about what it meant to be a private investigator as time goes on. Jordan went out a lot, he had this camera that he went about with. Most times, he would not be back when she closed and she would have to close the office and then drop the key with his aged housekeeper, Molly.
She handled more things in the office as time goes on and he was a fair boss. Her eagerness to learn seemed to have endeared her to him and she appreciated his tirelessness. He let her handle more things as time goes on. Running license plate numbers to determine the owners of vehicles, researching marriage and divorce records, and obtaining criminal histories. Also, she took his phone calls when he was unavailable and sets up appointments for him.
Just the week before, she had even helped him process some photographic pieces of evidence that he got regarding a criminal case. He didn't eat much and it came down to her getting him food or bringing one down from the house. Molly had implored her that she ensured he took care of himself.
She liked him all right and she had never seen him with any woman before. She saw how some of his female clients looked at him and make him realise that they are available but not once had she seen him cross the line.
She wondered what kind of woman he liked. Just curiosity of course. She might even ask him one of these days, she thought to herself. just to satisfy her curiosity.
Months after she started working for him, she implored him to take her with him when going on surveillance.
He promised to do so one of these days but that day had not come. The closer they worked and the more synced they became, Valencia realised that her boss was not just an ordinary private investigator working just to make a living, he was a man on a mission.
What could he be investigating?
She looked up from the profiling she was doing as she heard him thump his feet outside before entering the office. The rain had been pouring down without abating since morning.
The cleaning lady, Sally was just rounding up when he got in, she was late that day.
"Hi, Sally" Valencia heard him call.
"Hello, Mr Alarick" Sally replied "So, sorry I came late today. My boy was colicky throughout the night"
"That is fine" he replied dismissively "Is he fine now?"
"Yes, thank you, sir," Sally said then she packed her instruments and bade them goodbye.
"Morning, Jordan" Valencia said as she came to the door of her office.
"Good morning, Val" his tawny eyes sizing her up.
Valencia still finds it odd how he looked at her with a mixture of interest and disinterest. It was as if he merely admire her as one would a specimen.
"He is your boss, girl" her subconscious whispered to her.
She dismissed her errant thought as he smiled at her, then with an arched brow.
He asked, "Are you ready?"
Could he…? His widening smile confirmed her thoughts.
Oh, she was born ready.