Blackbourne Investigations 01 - Introductions

Chapter 3 - Kota cont.

‘What kind of job are you looking for?’ he asked.

I paused, unsure of how to word my reply.  How could I say absolutely-anything-as-long-as-I-got-paid-and-I-didn’t-have-to-sell-myself?  He’d know how desperate I was.  From my experience, it’s never good to let someone know when you’re desperate; they always use it against you. 

‘I have experience in quite a few industries so I’m sure I’ll get a few calls.’

Nola bustled over, placing two giant mugs of hot chocolate in front of us.  ‘Thank-you so much’ I exclaimed as I reached out to pick up the closest to me.  She’d saved me from answering Kota in depth.  Now I just had to redirect him. 

‘Thank-you for coming when you did’ I started, taking a sip of the hot chocolate.  It was amazing, I felt my eyes flutter shut as I savoured the delicious sweetness and warmth. 

‘Anytime Sang, anytime at all’ he murmured.

I opened my eyes to see Kota’s staring at me, his lips curling slightly before giving his head a small shake and picking up his mug. 

I took a deep breath.  I could do this, I hope.  ‘I just moved to Charleston from a tiny town in Illinois.  It hasn’t been the best time to move as no one seems to be hiring, but something will turn up soon.’  I glanced at him quickly then focused back on the coffee table. 

There, I had done it. I had opened up and answered him.  I felt like I owed him that at least for rescuing me.  

‘With the exception of tonight, how have you found Charleston? ‘

I hesitated, thinking over the last couple of days.  The quick search for a semi-furnished apartment that was immediately available.  The library visit to update my resume and subsequent printing.  Then the long day of job searching.  My run-in earlier and then meeting Kota.

‘It’s been good’ I answered, nodding slowly.  ‘I haven’t been this far south before and it’s beautiful here.’

‘You’ve travelled around a bit have you?’

I sucked in a breath.  My attempt at conversation wasn’t going as well as I hoped.  Every time I said something I seemed to be digging myself a deeper hole, giving away thoughts and past experiences more than I wanted.  ‘Mmmm...’ I indicated a vague affirmative and quickly took another sip of my hot chocolate, enjoying the feel of it slowly warming me. 

‘So Sang,’ Kota started.  I wrapped my hands around the mug to warm them and looked at him.  ‘I manage Blackbourne Investigations and we’ve been left short of a receptionist recently.  We need one to start as soon as possible, would you be interested?’

I knew my mouth opened in shock but my muscles didn’t seem to coordinate enough to close it.  Could it really be this easy?  Should I be even considering a job with someone who knew my real name? 

‘Pay would be ...’  Kota’s lips kept on moving, naming a figure far more than what I could have dreamed of getting and he continued outlining what sounded like a dream job with good hours.  Answering phone calls, typing a few documents, copying, mailing, general paperwork, the occasional coffee run.  Nothing I hadn’t done before.  I was in a daze. 

I took another sip of my drink, stalling while I frantically thought. 

‘Do you mind if I freshen up and have a quick think?’ I asked.

‘Of course, take your time, you don’t need to answer straight away’ responded Kota.

I jumped up and found Nola wiping down tables towards the front of the cafe.  She directed me to the bathroom and I rushed in to have some space.  What is going on?  How could my life have gone from miserable, with no hope, to this opportunity?  I braced my hands on the sink and looked up into the mirror.  My green eyes gazed back at me, looking too big for my pale face.  My lips were nearly colourless in the cold and my hair was a damp blonde mess with tendrils still sticking to the side of my face.  My lip was sporting a cut and the left side of my face had a faint bruise already forming with a small graze on my cheekbone.

How had Nola looked so welcoming and relaxed when Kota had dragged me in.  I looked an absolute mess.  How could Kota even be offering me a job meeting like we did?  I sighed, releasing my hair from it’s clip and finger combed it.  Retwisting it I put the clip back in and looked at myself again.  My hair slightly neater and everything still a mess.

Leaning against the wall I thought about my options.  Kota was seriously offering me a job.  I hadn’t even been given a possible job opening in my two days of searching.  It was better paying with better hours than any job I had ever had.  So why wasn’t I jumping at it? 

Kota knew my name.  He was handsome and kind.  He opened doors for me and wrapped a blanket around me when I was cold.  I genuinely liked him.  Was that my problem?  Was I just scared of these feelings? Or of letting someone close when I might have to run away? 

I took a deep breath.  Good money or not, a job or not, I liked Kota.  He knew I was avoiding questions but was still kind and understanding.   He might even become a friend. 

This was it, I was going to take his job offer.