Her Name...

Comfort - Part 4

I gave them some space. She hadn't seen her mom for a while, and I didn't want to intrude in their family conversation. I was scanning the line of people holding name cards, waiting for their charges.

"Looking for your boring old driver?" Chelsea said as she came up behind me.

"Yeah, I'm sure they were supposed to be here."

"Well, I'm sure my mom would be okay with dropping you, you live really close by."

I shook my head. "I don't want to intrude, and besides I don't want your mom to think badly of me."

"What's she going to think? We're just friends." She rolled her eyes. "Wait, isn't that your name..." her voice trailed off, and I turned to the direction she was facing.

There was a very...elegant woman, dressed formally in a black suit jacket, and a matching straight cut skirt, standing there holding a name card with my name on it. Her dark brown hair was tied back in a braided ponytail. She was beautiful, in a professional, business way and she looked just a little older than Chelsea; four or five years.

Chelsea turned to me, annoyed for some reason. "That's your chauffeur? Why? That's not... Ughh!!" She turned her face away from me.

"CeeCee, let's go!" Hannah called over.

"In a minute!" Chelsea shouted back.

"Hey..." Her voice was soft again...like it was after the first time she slept on my shoulder.

I turned and looked at her. "Yeah?"

"You'll call me, right?"

"Of course I will. As soon as I get a phone."

She looked into my eyes for a few seconds, then she blushed and threw her arms around me. I felt it again, that sense of comfort. I wanted it. So bad. I wrapped my arms around her. And then she pulled back and the moment was gone. It was too short. I needed more. She ran back towards Hannah and her mom. She stopped halfway, and turned to me, and grinned at me as she made the call me gesture. They went through the airport gates, and disappeared.

I turned back and walked over to the woman holding my name card.

She introduced herself, her name was Danielle Walker, and she was to be my new assistant. Her eyes were cold, and calculating. She didn't seem to like me much; I think she was expecting someone much older. Well it wasn't my fault they had offered me this job.

She handed me an ID card, and a phone.

"You will carry this card at all times." Her voice was stern, unyielding, but I could sense a slight... softness buried deep underneath. "The card will get you access to the company building. And this is your work phone. You will not use it for any private reasons, no exceptions." Her eyes flicked to the exit that Chelsea and Hannah had just used, and her lips curled. She seemed to disapprove of Chelsea.

She turned. "Let's go, sir."

I remained silent as I followed her and she led me to a sleek black BMW. A very official looking man hurried forward and started loading my luggage into the trunk. Well I guess Chelsea was right about the chauffeur. I quickly went over to help him, and I could feel Danielle's eyes on me. When we had finished, He rushed forward and opened the door for us.

Danielle stepped in very daintily. "Thank you," she said, and he bowed to her, as she gracefully slid down the seat.

I followed rather clumsily, and he closed the door behind me. I heard the engine hum, and we started moving through the streets.

"So Danielle -"

"Miss Walker"

"Miss Walker," I continued, "What do I need to know?"

"You'll be staying at the apartment the company is providing for you. Rent is taken care of, transportation, will be clarified with you tomorrow. I will be your assistant and secretary. I have been charged with taking care of your relocation, so feel free to call me if you have any queries. My number is stored in that phone." She pointed to the work phone in my hand.

"So what do I do about certain personal requirements that I have?"

"You mean your own phone so you can call that blonde bimbo from the airport?"

"Hey! Careful...you're still MY secretary. Not the other way around." I don't know why I said it. I was a little intimidated by this girl, but I was feeling quite angry at hearing her talk about Chelsea like that.

She became quiet and glared at me. Then something I wasn't expecting happened, I was prepared for her to argue it out, but she just lowered her head. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Don't let it happen again."

"Of course, sir. We'll be able to go out after work for any immediate requirements you may have. We've taken care of applying for your bank accounts, identity cards, and your driver's license." She pulled out a tablet and worked on it for a second. "I have a schedule that I have forwarded to your phone."

We pulled up to a luxury apartment building. A uniformed doorman hurried over and opened the door, and I got out. I turned and offered my hand to Danielle, who took it and, ever so fluidly, stepped out of the car. I turned to grab my bags, and I felt her hand on my shoulder.

"It'll be handled, sir. Let's go."

She led me into the building, giving a curt nod to the doorman who bowed, as he held the door open for us.

We stepped into the elevator, and she pressed the 3rd floor button.

"You'll be in 301." She said as we walked along the hallway. She stopped in front of the door, and pressed her thumb into the scanner. The lock clicked open and she led me into a beautiful one bedroom apartment.

It was big. A lot bigger than what I had back home. Home. That's when it hit me, that wasn't home anymore. This was going to be home.

She helped me register my fingerprints for the door lock, and then told me to get sleep and be ready by 8. I would have to report to work on the first day I was here, but I didn't mind. My luggage was brought up, and she bowed and closed the door behind her as she left.

Home. I looked around, and it was beautiful. The bedroom had full windows on one of the walls, and a thick, chocolate brown curtain that could be closed for privacy. The room looked over into a park, and the view was stunning in the night. The quiet lights of the sleeping city hung just over the serene sylvan scene of the park.

I had a bathroom attached to my bedroom; brown marble counters, which matched the rest of the house, and a large glass shower cubicle to the side.

The kitchen was just off the living room, which stretched out quite a bit. There was a long couch that stretched along the wall, and a large flat screen TV opposite it.

It was beautiful, this house. But I still yearned for the home I had back home, the one where Becca was over so often, it was almost like we lived together. I walked around for a bit, and dragged my suitcases into the bedroom. I forced myself to stop thinking about Becca, focusing on unpacking. It was a beautiful house. But something was missing to make it home.

Comfort...