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very hard job.
Plus, it comes with lots of perks. You'll get to drive in fancy cars,
stay at nice hotels, and experience things you probably wouldn't be
able to anywhere else.”
    “ And
the pay?” I cut straight to the point.
    “ Considering
your unstable job history, I'll start you out at nine dollars per
hour. If you can make it past three months, I'll raise you to eleven.
I know it might not sound like much, but you'll get bonuses along the
way. If the company is doing well, I give out a Christmas bonus of
between five hundred and two thousand dollars, depending on the
prosperity of the company for the year. I also give three weeks of
paid vacation once you've been on with Syngex for a year, as well as
one week of paid sick leave. And of course, all of your benefits will
be paid for.”
    “ Sounds
good to me. So, are you offering me the job?” I asked, hopeful.
    Jack
leaned back in his seat, a sly grin playing across that perfect face
of his, as if he knew he had me right where he wanted me. “It's
yours if you want it, Miss Strayer.”
    “ When
can I start, Mister Kemble?”
    “ How
about on Monday at eight o'clock?”
    “ Sounds
good.”
    “ Well
then, if you don't have any questions for me, I believe this
concludes our business.”
    “ I
can't think of anything right now.”
    Jack
stood, rounding his desk to walk me to the door. My body tensed as he
placed a hand on the small of my back. His touch sent an electric
current through me, though I couldn't tell if it was from discomfort
or excitement.
    I
bit my tongue all the way to the elevator, a nervous habit I had
picked up as a child. The blonde women followed me with their eyes,
probably assuming I hadn't gotten the job. Little did they know that
I was now the black sheep of the group. Or the brown sheep, depending
on how you looked at it.
    When
I got home, I waited anxiously to tell Mandy about my exciting day.
She looked drained when she walked through the door after another
long day of school and work.
    “ Guess
what,” I said, bouncing lightly on our sofa as I watched Mandy
cross the room to put her tote bag down.
    “ You
got a job,” she replied, taking the fun out of it.
    “ Yup.”
    “ Dog
groomers?” she asked with a disappointing lack of enthusiasm. I
wrote it off to her being tired.
    “ Nope.”
    Mandy
paused. “Syngex?”
    “ Yup.”
    “ Really?”
Now there was excitement in her voice. She turned to me, leaning
against the table.
    “ I
was interviewed by Mister Jack Kemble himself.” I beamed.
    “ You're
kidding.”
    “ Nope.
And guess what else.”
    “ What?”
    “ That
guy Jim I told you about who came to my rescue when I had a flat was
actually Jack Kemble in disguise.”
    “ Ha!
I told you he was attractive.”
    “ I
know, right. I feel like an idiot now. If I looked up his picture
like you told me to, I would have known.”
    “ You
still might not have recognized him. What are the odds of running
into Jack Kemble on the street?”
    “ Well,
I didn't actually run into him, per se.”
    “ True.
Who'd have thought he'd come all the way downstairs just to help you
change a tire? I know the man does a lot of charity work, but still.”
    That
was something I hadn't known about him. Maybe I should do my
homework. Perhaps Jack Kembe wasn't as bad as Mandy had initially
made him out to be.
    “ Were
there a lot of blondes on his floor?” she asked.
    “ Yeah.
It was weird. They were all blonde, and all gorgeous.”
    “ He'll
probably want you to dye your hair blonde.”
    “ Ew.
Why?”
    “ Because
he likes blondes.”
    “ Pfft.
He hired me like this; he can deal with me being a brunette.”
    “ He's
your boss now. You can't have that attitude,” she chastised me.
    “ Isn't
there some law against making employees change their physical
appearance?”
    “ Not
that I know of. If it's legal to enforce a dress code, then I imagine
it would be legal to ask an employee to change their hair color.”
    “ That's
just stupid,”