Chapter Six

Eighteen Months Later

Tessa clasped her hands tightly in her lap, willing them to stop trembling. She had known real fear on far too many occasions in her nineteen years – during multiple stays in homeless shelters with Gillian; the night of the fire that had taken her mother’s life; the encounter with Sean in the Wallace’s kitchen when she’d been afraid he would try to rape her. But she didn’t think she had ever been as intimidated by any of those events as she was at this very moment, and struggled not to quiver with fright as she was subjected to yet another of those piercing, assessing glances.

The woman who sat across the desk from her had initially appeared harmless, very nearly the age that Tessa’s grandmother might have been – had she actually ever known her grandmother, that is. Mrs. Francine Carrington was a small woman, a good seven to eight inches shorter than Tessa, and as thin and wiry as a sparrow. Even though it was the middle of May and already eighty degrees outside, she was dressed in a severe suit of maroon tweed, along with a cream colored blouse that had been buttoned up to the neck. Her black leather pumps were what Tessa thought of as “sensible”, and she wore neither makeup nor jewelry. Mrs. Carrington had dark auburn hair that had been drawn back into a tight, severe bun, and her stern, rather pinched features were mostly overwhelmed by her thick, oversized horn rimmed glasses.

The glasses, however, were nowhere near thick enough to disguise the derisive looks the very intimidating Mrs. Carrington kept directing Tessa’s way as the interview – which was beginning to feel more like an interrogation – continued. With each question that was fired her way with very deliberate precision, Tessa’s hopes sunk a bit deeper that she had any chance whatsoever of getting this job. Mrs. Carrington didn’t seem even the tiniest bit impressed with the few real qualifications that Tessa possessed, merely muttering a little “humph” when she looked over the grades Tessa had received in her courses at community college.

She had just completed her first year of a two-year certification program in Office Administration, and she’d been pleasantly surprised at the high marks she’d earned in every class. Of course, the program consisted entirely of office technology courses such as word processing, spreadsheets, keyboarding, and the use of equipment like fax machines, photocopiers, and telephones. But Tessa had been highly praised by all of her teachers and the program administrator, and had just recently been singled out to apply for this part-time job at the prestigious Gregson Resort Hotel on the outskirts of Tucson.

Linda Melendez, the program administrator, had raved about the luxury hotel chain to Tessa during their meeting a few days ago. Apparently the company liked to recruit employees locally as much as possible, and frequently posted entry level positions with the area colleges.

“I could never afford to stay at one of their hotels or resorts, of course,” she’d confided to Tessa, “but a girl can dream, can’t she? I did attend a wedding once at the local resort, and it was like something out of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”. The Gregson properties are known as the most exclusive in the world, and they have hotels on six continents. If you could snag a job there, Tessa, you’d be set for life. It’s also reputed to have excellent employee benefits and working conditions, and a very low staff turnover. And I realize this is only a part-time position you’d be interviewing for, but it would be a foot in the door. If you make a good enough impression, I’m sure you could work your way into a full-time spot before too long.”

Tessa had been intimidated the moment she’d driven through the massive front gates of the resort, and her trepidation had only increased upon seeing the immaculately manicured lawns, pools, and golf course spread out over the sprawling grounds. She hadn’t been able to keep herself from staring in awe as she’d walked inside the main building, never having imagined this sort of opulent splendor. Everyone around her – both employees and guests – were well dressed and well groomed, and she’d felt incredibly gauche in her neat but obviously cheap dress and shoes – an outfit she’d hastily purchased just for this interview.

And judging by the disparaging glance Mrs. Carrington had given the navy shirtdress and faux leather pumps, she wasn’t the least bit impressed by Tessa’s fashion sense. She was, however, more than a little taken aback when Tessa did exceptionally well on her typing test, and then performed equally well on the other clerical tests – filing, basic arithmetic, fact checking, vocabulary. For her final test she was required to construct a spreadsheet, and Tessa’s fingers nearly flew over the keyboard as she filled in the data to compile the relatively simple pie chart.

The interview and tests had been going on for almost two hours before Mrs. Carrington finally gave a brief nod from across her desk.

“You’ll do, young miss,” she said in her very precise British accent. Tessa had learned that the Gregson Group was headquartered in London, and that many of their employees worldwide were of British descent. “You are exceptionally young, of course, and appear to be afraid of your own shadow, but we’ll work on that. And your wardrobe will certainly need some tweaking. That dress is a good two inches too short for my liking, and a bit too snug in the bust. And where on earth did you buy those atrocious shoes?”

“W-Walmart, ma’am,” stammered Tessa, trying to still the frantic beating of her heart as she wondered if her hearing was deceiving her. Was the terrifying Mrs. Carrington actually offering her the job?

“Walmart?” Mrs. Carrington spat the name out as though it left a bad taste in her mouth. “Isn’t that the place that sells lawn furniture, canned food, and television sets all under the same roof? You mean to say they actually sell clothing there as well?” She shook her head in disgust.

“I – I’m on rather a tight budget, ma’am,” Tessa replied uncertainly. “It was all I could afford.”

“Humph.” Mrs. Carrington seemed overly fond of that expression. “Well, you should take your first paycheck and purchase yourself a decent pair of shoes, a couple of skirts that don’t show too much leg, and some blouses that aren’t overly tight or sheer. I’m pleased to see that you wear very little makeup and keep your nails short, though you will need to do something about all that hair. No need to cut it, but try to keep it confined a bit, hmm? You’ll learn, young miss, that being part of the Gregson Group means that there will always be a particular image to maintain. Your wardrobe doesn’t need to cost the earth, but it does need to follow certain standards. Understand?”