For dinner, Istop at Leung’s for take-out and then drive home. After eating myfood, I call Jason. As soon as he answers, I say, “So, tell meagain about this job?”
He laughs andtells me to be at his dad’s office at 7 am, that way if I don’tlike what I hear, I’ll still make it in time for work.
Chapter Five
I wake up ahalf an hour ahead of my alarm. After I shower, I make a smallbreakfast and sip on a coffee. At 6:00, I dig through my closettrying to find something classy and appropriate for the meeting. Ireally need to make a good impression. I find my grey pencil skirtand a matching blazer. Grabbing a pair or pumps, I stuff everythinginto my backpack and head out.
South Granvilleis very upscale compared to the areas I normally frequent. All theshops are posh and overpriced. The neighborhood caters to theelite, offering swanky art galleries, Italian clothing designersand fancy eateries. I park at the Esso gas station on the corner ofBurrard and Oak and lock my bike. Then, I use the station’swashroom to change. When I’m done, I text Jason and walk towardsSouth Granville.
When I get tothe building, I take the elevator to the second floor. As soon asthe doors open, I see Jason. “Wow, look at you. You look so hot. Ialmost wish I were a lesbian.”
“I’m not thatdesperate,” I laugh.
I follow himdown a short hallway to a door that says, Lyster InvestigativeServices. When we walk in, I see his father, Ed, sitting behind amahogany desk in front of a large window. Ed stands up, shakes myhand, and then tells us both to have a seat.
“So, you wantto be a P.I?” Ed asks, folding his hands on the desk.
“Well, Imean…yes. It definitely sounds interesting,” I answer.
“Jason tells meyou’re a mechanic by trade. Is that so?”
“Yes. I’ve beenworking at Ziggy’s Garage for the past five years.”
“This job is alittle different than being a grease monkey. You’ll have tointerview clients and be sympathetic to their needs.”
“Noproblem.”
Ed nods andwrites something down.
“Do you havefamily in the lower mainland?”
Oh shit. I wasafraid of this.
“My father isaway, and I lost my mother and my sister many years ago.
A look ofsympathy comes over him.
“That’sterrible. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“It was a longtime ago,” I say, forcing a smile.
After a fewmoments of silence, he says, “Well, I guess you can ride aroundwith Jason for a few weeks and learn the ropes. You can starttomorrow morning. Just so you know, I don’t put up withslack-asses. If I hire you, you’re here to work. Don’t forgetthat.”
“I won’t, Ed,and thank you.” I shake his hand, then Jason and I make a quickexit.
In front of theelevator, Jason nudges me, “Good job. You’re in.”
“He probablyjust felt sorry for me,” I shrug.
“He wouldn’thire you because he felt sorry for you. It was probably your skirtthat convinced him you were right for the job.”
“You’re a pig,Jay,” I say, shaking my head.
“Just kidding.Dad likes big women. You’re too scrawny. You’re safe.”
When theelevator doors open, I step inside and tell Jason I’ll see himbright and early tomorrow.
After I changeinto my street clothes at the Esso, I hop on my bike and drive toZiggy’s. When I arrive, Rae is standing in the office talking toBetty, probably working out how many of my hours to give to hisfriend.
“Rae, I’m gladyou’re here. I want to talk to you,” I say.
Betty turns hereyes from her computer and looks at me. I think she’s secretlyhoping that I tell him exactly what I think.
“What’s up?” heasks.
“Well, Icouldn’t help but feel a little slighted when you told me you weregoing to cut my hours, so I went out and got another job.”
“You what?” Raesays, standing up straight.
“Yeah, I mean,considering the garage isn’t pulling in that much business, Ifigured I’d better cover my butt and find employmentelsewhere.”
“Are youserious? Well, I hope you’re not planning on leaving right away. Ineed to train someone new.”
“Yeah, here’sthe thing, Rae. I’ve been working here since you were in highschool. I did the best job I could do, no matter how shitty the paywas. I always stayed loyal to this place. So, when you come to mewith some bullshit story about knocking my hours because there’snot enough business, I felt a little betrayed. With that in mind,I’ve decided to leave now, as in right now.”
“You can’t dothat. You’re leaving me high and dry.”
“Doesn’t feeltoo good, does it? I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Don’t you have afriend or someone you can hire?”
Bettysmiles.
Chapter Six
I roll over andhit the alarm. Getting up an hour and a half earlier in the morningsucks, but at least I don’t have to freeze my ass off from the openbay doors at the garage anymore. After I have a quick cup ofcoffee, Jason texts to tell me he’s downstairs. When I hop in histruck, he’s sipping on a coffee and tapping the steering wheel tothe radio. His eyes are half open and red.
“Long night?” Iask.
“Yeah, youcould say that,” he smiles mischievously.
“You’re such aman-whore.”
“It’s true,” helaughs.
“So, what arewe doing today?” I ask.
“Some old richcodger hired me to follow his twenty-one-year-old girlfriendaround. He thinks she’s cheating on him.”
“Wow.Really?”
“Oh yeah, weget all types, man.”
Jason hands mea clip board with notes.
The first thingon the sheet is, gym-7:30 am. We drive to East Vancouver and pullover halfway down the street.
“She lives inthat house,” he says, pointing to a white ranch style home.
After listeningto a couple of songs on the easy listening station, the front dooropens on the house we’ve been watching. A young woman with long,blonde hair tied in a ponytail opens the door of the house. She’swearing a matching pink work out suit and is carrying a small bagand a backpack. She walks out to a light blue BMW parked on thestreet. When she drives passed us, Jason holds the clip board infront of his face. “Always look like you’re busy when a mark getsclose. You don’t want to be spotted.”
“Noted,” I say,nodding my head. Jason waits a bit before spinning the truck aroundthen follows
