A few moments later, Morgan Blodwyn was sitting in his car at the far end of the parking lot when he caught sight of Melody Brynleigh walking away from the fast food restaurant at the corner.
He frowned as he saw the young woman had changed from the utterly pathetic outmoded skirt and blouse she wore to the previous interview into a pair of jeans and the ugliest worn shirt he had ever seen.
He took a quick glance at the fast food restaurant and immediately noticed that it was a shabby and junky place. Never mind eating there, he wouldn't set foot in such filthy place. What the hell was she doing in this place?
During the initial round of the previous interview, the young woman had provoked some discomfort, but she had also been hostile and brash. Sarah, his girlfriend, had told him that her sister was interested in applying for the job, and now he met her in person.
Despite the fact that she was her Sarah's sister, he had a feeling that Melody Brynleigh would be an excellent choice for the position of his personal assistant.
She had no qualifications he had required, lacked the self-assurance he looked for in employees, and wore inappropriate clothes that were tattered in several parts, but she had courage. That's exactly what he required.
Melody Brynleigh, with her guts and determination, was just the person he needed to help him expand his business. The thought nearly made him chuckle.
As he pulled out his car of the parking lot, he tapped a button on his steering wheel that directly linked to his phone. When his friend and mentor, Jasper Wilson, picked up, he exclaimed, "Jasper! I'm heading to your house. I'm about to do a really dumb thing."
"Sounds interesting. Please come over," he said, and then hung up the phone.
Morgan might have chuckled at Jasper's quick response to phone call a few years ago. It had become, however, merely taken for granted.
After driving for half an hour, he finally arrived at the driveway of a huge mansion. Even though there was a luxury, detached guest house next to the front gate, fifteen bedrooms in the main house, and a pool house at the opposite end of the large pool, Jasper would snarl at anyone who dared to call it a mansion.
The best time of year to visit this countryside was spring. Everything was green and luscious at the moment. It's only a matter of time before the grass would turn brown and the trees have trouble holding onto any rain that might fall. Everything would be hot and uncomfortable by summer.
However, there was no brown grass to be found here. In the mornings, Jasper's complex sprinkler system watered the lawn and garden, and in the afternoons, when the heat made everything but swimming unpleasant, the pool sparkled in the sun. Morgan knew Jasper Wilson to be a very kind man, despite the fact that he was very rich.
It was a secret that the old scoundrel was so generous. But Morgan did. Morgan was a careless brat who was on the brink of ruin before Jasper rescued him from the vicious path. Morgan's parents even wouldn't recognize the man Morgan became now, but with Jasper's help, Morgan overcame his low point and blossomed into a successful adult.
Even though Morgan owed the old man everything, Jasper would not take any payment, no matter how much money Morgan made.
Through the course of their years-long bond, Morgan came to trust Jasper more than anybody else, including his own parents. Morgan regarded Jasper as someone to whom he could always turn to for support anytime he needed a break, just as the old man had done for him in the past.
"What's up?" Jasper blatantly demanded as soon as Morgan entered the study.
After putting Melody Brynleigh's resume on the old man's desk, Morgan strolled over to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a shot of vodka. He did not bother to ask Jasper for permission, knowing that doing so would only make the old man more irritated.
"You're going to hire a woman for PA?" When Jasper asked the question, Morgan was now seated in one of the seats in front of the man's desk, and his bushy and white eyebrows lowered in fury as he glanced at Morgan.
"I broke my own words."
While sipping his vodka, Jasper let the resume fluttered back to his desk. Morgan was the focus of his thoughts for a short while.
"So, who is she?" he asked.
"She is the sister of my girlfriend. A young woman on the verge of ruin, she is both young and desperate." Halfway through raising the glass to his lips, he halted. "She may already be in the midst of a desperate situation, but she is probably just surviving by stumbling along, attempting to keep her head above water even though she may be drowning."
Jasper's lips pressed together and he took a long sip of his scotch. "What happened to her?"
Morgan peered into the crystal glass of yellow liquid, narrowing his eyes as he recalled Melody's angry comments before her undignified exit. Surprisingly, he didn't react badly to being mistreated by the woman. "Frankly, I have no idea. But she's just too young to have such a bad attitude."
For a brief second, he stopped and smiled. "Jasper, you would have been suprised to see her. Truly, she was absolutely outstanding. This woman... she's the first woman I've ever met who actually yelled at me."
"She assured me that all the other women who had interviewed with me before her were just looking for a way into my bed, and that I should hire her because she's a hard worker and would never initiate sexual relations with me. She said something to the effect that she was done enough with such men. She is ..." Once more he paused, shaking his head. "Unbelievably fabulous."