What Can You Not Buy With Money?

There were two bedrooms in the condo. Lucy led me to my room.

“Just remember, enter my room and you’ll wake up in the trunk of my client’s Pontiac,” Lucy’s face was straight and blank.

The room was a comfortable size. It was much larger than my old bedroom. A single closet and a bathroom were part of the room, along with a pair of windows.

“Just remember that the bathroom has another entrance in the hallway. Don’t worry,” Lucy smirked at my blatant expression. “I never use that one.”

I placed all of my belongings in the corner. In the room, it felt strangely out of place. I never felt so thankful to whoever was out there that had given me good fortune. It must sound horrible, but I was glad my mother kicked me out.

I took my shoes off and my feet snuggled into the soft carpet. I didn’t have time to relax, but I wanted to enjoy my spacious home. I had seven days to find a job that paid enough for Lucy to let me stay here.

I didn’t have shampoo or soap at the time, and I thought it best not to ask Lucy to borrow any. I put on my shoes, took out my wallet, and headed out to buy a newspaper and toiletries.

“Wait, Mary,” Lucy came out in a pair of worn jeans that had dried grease stains. She wore a uniform collar shirt with her name tag over her heart. “I’m heading to work. Are you going anywhere?”

“Yeah, I need to get some things. And look for a job,” I quickly added, my chest skipping a beat. It was a dreadful emotion when you’re terrified of someone.

Thankfully, Lucy nodded in approval. “Then take this,” Lucy took out of her pocket a set of keys. She quickly removed a house key from the key ring and gave it to me. “I’ll get a copy made if you stay. Oh, and we better trade phone numbers.”

“Thanks,” I accepted it as we exchanged cell phones.

“I’ll be back at eight tonight.” Lucy handed me back my phone and took hers. We left the room and I locked the front door. As we walked toward the elevators, Lucy continued to banter. “So you just turned eighteen today?”

“Guilty.”

“Yikes, well it’s going to sound weird considering what’s happened, but Happy Birthday. What’s kind of cake would you like?”

“I don’t want a cake,” Desire was scratching across my body. My favorite was strawberry. But I didn’t want to have her go through any trouble. “Thanks, though.”

“Uh-huh…” Lucy eyed me warily, as we descended to the ground floor. “I’ll see you later, just be there by eight so I won’t get locked out.”

It seemed strange that Lucy would think me as reliable. But she was a good judge of character, or she must have known that I wouldn’t dare stand her up.

Lucy walked toward the direction of the giant garage a few meters away. In the opposite direction was the grocery store which I went to.

I passed by the sushi bar. Through the tinted window, I saw a darkened Walker dressed in a tie dyed Happi coat and matching headband. He was in a lively conversation with a customer as he swiftly chopped up fish. I could barely make out the green gleam glowing in his eyes, and when he burst into laughter with his client, I took a sharp intake of breath. He was mesmerizing to look at. I quickly fled from sight and continued down the sidewalk.

When I entered the grocery store, I passed by the many racks of magazines. I caught a glimpse of Benjamin Burgess’ face on a copy of the Globe, which I refused to stop and read.

Benjamin Burgess was an icon in the business world. He took control of Burgess Incorporated, an international computer company that specialized in developing software and video games. Due to his success, he was one of the youngest and richest CEOs in the country, and was proclaimed to be the future Bill Gates. He was the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen in person. For my senior year in high school, he gave a speech in front of Mira Mesa High School. It was a clichéd proclamation that dreams could be achieved if one tried hard enough. Since he was close to my age, he managed to capture the respect of my class.

I had earnestly listened to his speech and was inspired by his charisma and the power in his words. I crushed hard, and I became a fan of his the moment he finished his speech. He was signing autographs and taking interview questions from the press and students. I was one of the few people who shook his hand that day.

You’d think I would have been the happiest girl alive to have felt the skin on his palm against mine, and I was for the first few minutes. Being the eager infatuated puppy dog I was, I had cut the rest of class and hid behind the bleachers as he collected his things. Due to the heavy security he had with him, I couldn’t do anything but catch a glimpse of him through the cracks of the seats.

And then, I heard him speaking to the President of his company. The President was at least three times Benjamin Burgess’ age. It was obvious he disliked working for someone as young as Burgess.

“Well done, sir. It was a very moving lecture.” the President had appraised him in a half-hearted monotone that struck me painfully. It was as though he could care less.

“I doubt anything I said went through their heads. They all looked like a group of lazy kids that didn’t give a damn what I had to say.”

The President remained silent as he attentively continued listening to his boss.

“But as long as it was good publicity, it wasn’t a complete waste of time. Hopefully Slater Corporate will approve of the deal with us after this little charity,” Benjamin Burgess sneered.

My short lived admiration shattered into thousands of emotional fragments. It was disheartening to find out that even a complete stranger looked down upon me. It was a rude wake up call to witness the revelation of a person. After that, all I could feel for him was contempt. Just hearing his name brought me down with a case of depression. Maybe I was being a bit sensitive, but I kept it to myself. No one knew of my complex with this man.

I immediately grabbed a thick copy of the Union Tribune and fled the massive stacks of commercial media. After I collected my usual collection of hygienic supplies, I went to the self checkout line.

“Mary?” A voice that was faintly familiar gasped from behind me.

I turned to see the face of an old high school... friend... Lila Maddock.

“Oh my god, it is you!” Lila wrapped her arm around me tightly, holding me for a second too long.

“Hi,” When she finally released me I looked carefully at her face. I could hardly recognize her, but I could make out the facial shape. Her nose was an alienated shape that was much smaller than her previous one. Her once thin lips were plump, supple, and shaded with a dark red lipstick. Her once glorious blonde hair was dyed a fiery red that looked unnatural but did kindly to her creamy skin. In high school, she had hazel eyes, but bright blue contacts took away her rare color. Even her chest seemed to have changed. It had ‘grown’ over two bra sizes last time I saw her.

“Lila?” I was in disbelief. She was stunning and gorgeous but it stabbed me with a bit of confusion.

“Yeah, don’t I look amazing?” Lila turned around and raised her hand up in the air for a pose. “I decided that this flower needed to bloom.”

“Wow,” I was awestruck. “Was it…” I had to carefully think of the right words to say. I heard those who’ve done plastic surgery were sensitive about what people said.

“Just a few modifications here and there,” Lila ran her fingers through her smooth hair. I could see an expensive manicure flash through the locks. “But it was affordable enough. So what’re you doing on this side of the tracks, I never knew you had it in you.”

Lila had left Mira Mesa High School halfway through our senior year due to her father winning the lottery. But Lila had never called or emailed me after that. It had been a release, ironically, that she had left my life. She was one of those friends that made you dread spending time with.

“I just moved,” I had to avoid letting anything slip to Lila. Though she was a past friend, she had always been conniving and vindictive. I couldn’t let anything show for her disapproval, or I’d somehow regret it. “I’m looking for a job full time.”

“Oh, but I thought you’d head to college this semester. You always seemed like the book type.” Lila’s tone wasn’t remotely close to complimentary. Her eyes, though they were a different color, still held that smug hate that fired at me.

“I just don’t have the time,” I was getting defensive. College was a distant dream that haunted me every moment I sat down and thought of my life so far. I could hardly afford college, and not being a minority—I couldn’t pay for financial aid. Even community college would have been too hard, for I wouldn’t have been able to support myself and my studies. I wondered how Lucy managed to pull it off so well.

“Why not? You got yourself a boyfriend?” Lila grinned and moved her perfectly plucked eyebrows up and down.

“No,” It felt like a rush of high school had rained onto my skin. I felt a few months younger; a bit happier. “I’m job hunting.”

“Really?” Lila stared at me with disbelief. “That’s cool—I have an interview in a few hours.”

“Nice,” I nodded, “Where?”

“At Burgess Incorporated.” Lila cleared her throat. Lila whispered it with vehemence and glee. “Did you hear the news that last week Benjamin Burgess’ personal assistant committed suicide?”

My skin started to get gooseflesh and I felt my pores tighten in nervousness. “No, why?”

“Well, there’ve been some rumors that the work had too much stress on him. She jumped off the corporate building!” Lila snickered.

I quickly collected my purchases, and waited as Lila slowly began scanning her belongings. They consisted of aspirin and Fiji water.

“I applied a few days ago, and they asked me to come in. Just think, me, working for the Benjamin Burgess!” Lila giggled as she paid with a credit card. It was platinum.

“Good luck,” I said half heartedly. I doubted Lila even needed the job.

“Why don’t you come along? Maybe I could smooth talk the front desk into giving you an application. Maybe you could be a custodian there.” Lila’s gaze hardened as she studied my reaction.

“No thanks, I’m not a fan of Burgess’.” I was placing it delicately. I never wanted to work anywhere related to that company. I’d rather give up that apartment.

Lila’s hardened face curled into a cruel smirk. “Oh, don’t be like that. I’d love for you to work at the same office. We could have lunch together, and drive to work in the mornings.”

The more Lila spoke, the more I began to remember how much I dreaded her voice. I wasn’t a push over, well not completely. But Lila terrified me. She was the Hera of my life: The vindictive, jealous, and powerful type of woman.

“Thanks, but I’m more of the medical assistant type. I’m not into computers.”

Lila was done paying, and she had a plastic bag in one hand, and grabbed my wrist with the other. Her grip was overpowering and forceful. “But an assistant is an assistant. You organize papers and show some cleavage to your boss. Maybe we could both nail the same job. I bet there’s enough to go around.”

What a liar. She was only dragging me because I didn’t want to. Lila enjoyed forcing me to do things I hated. She didn’t care about getting me a job—she just wanted to waste my time. I could see it in her harsh face and snickering posture. She thought this was an entertaining game.

“Really, I don’t—” I tried to yank my hand away, “—want anything to do with Burgess!”

Lila managed to drag me out of the grocery store. “I’ll call a cab. It’ll be on me. Please, I can’t do this alone. Besides, you owe me after the milk incident!”

Ah, the milk incident. Lila gave me money and asked me to buy her lunch back in high school, while she snuggled with one of her boyfriends. I went into line, balanced two trays, and gave Lila hers. Lila took a drink from her skim milk, and spat it all over the table. It had expired three days before. I apologized, because I never checked the dates on the cartons. My milk was expired over a week, but it tasted fine. Milk is milk. It had been refrigerated long enough. Lila held it against me all the time. And if I refused to her demands, I would find my locker broken into or my gym uniform somehow 'shrunk'. I never proved it was her though. But it fed my suspicious appetite. Abuse was cruel, but I’d rather have it peacefully disappear rather than fight it.

“Great,” Lila took my blank expression as an agreement. She took out her cell phone and dialed the cab’s number gave our location.

“Fine,” I inwardly exhaled exasperated mental fumes. “Will Mr. Braggadocio interview you?”

“Who?” I was shot an empty stare. We stood at the front of the sidewalk.

“Ben Burgess,” I explained.

“Of course, it’s his per-son-al assistant, duh.” Lila finished her sentence with her lips agape, revealing perfect white teeth. “What does Braggadocio mean?”

“A guy who thinks he’s the greatest thing alive.”

“But it’s true,” Lila quipped in his defense. “He’s so hot. I swear, I’d sell my soul just to screw him.”

The bright yellow taxi rolled up and hissed softly as it halted next to us. I opened the door, and Lila dived into the car. I followed, and when I closed the door I was greeted by her heavy perfume. It smelled thickly of Lilacs. I was surprised I didn’t taste it before, but at that moment I was enjoying the taste of flowery eau de toilette.

Burgess Incorporated was headquartered deep in the heavy business section of San Diego. It was a massive sky scraper that loomed over other private companies like a king over ants. The building sparkled in the scorching sun, the giant B.I. logo of the company clear as crystal on the roof of the architect.

“I hope my ears don’t pop when we go up,” Lila whined as we left the cab. “Why did he put his office on the top floor?” She flashed her credit card, and gave the driver a miniscule tip. I quickly compensated by adding a spare ten I found in my pocket. He gave me a thankful grin, his teeth a light yellow but his eyes warm with gratitude. He shot Lila a disgusted stare, then drove off.

Lila didn’t notice. She walked in a trance, her high heeled steps out of beat from her excitement. I followed behind her, biting my lower lip as my eyes darted everywhere.

It was about lunch time. I saw an overweight man in a brown suit seated on a bench in the front courtyard. A gentle breeze fluttered his red tie in an almost comical fashion. He had in his hands a large sandwich, that he hungrily feasted upon.

There were two gardeners trimming the hedges that surrounded the complex, and two large men guarded the front doors, one on each side. We entered through the sliding glass doors, and the scent of fresh papers tickled my nose. The air conditioning was on full blast and the atmosphere inside was so clean it looked brand new.

The main lobby was furnished with luxurious and expensive recliners. Paintings hung on the wall, coated in a heavily talented artistic aura surrounding it. Seated behind a large desk was an attractive man that looked old enough to still be in college. He was typing away on a laptop, his dark eyes darting up to see us.

Lila walked up to him, her approach more like a pounce.

“May I help you?” He asked. He had a name plate resting at the corner of his desk. The name Vern Karlsson boldly stood out of the metal plate.

“Yes,” Lila’s voice turned smug and hostile. “My friend and I are here for an interview with Mr. Burgess.”

Vern Karlsson gave her a look over. He picked up the phone to his left, and dialed 'one'.

“Hello, Mr. Burgess sir. There are two women here about the assistant opening. Yes sir. Yes sir,” He covered the mouthpiece of the phone. “Which one of you applied for the job again?”

“I did,” Lila tossed her hair over her shoulder. A stray lock was long enough to tickle my nose.

“Your name,” Vern explained, his tone impatient, intense, and annoyed.

“Lila Maddock.” Lila took out of her purse a pack of gum, which she popped two sticks into her mouth. I could barely make out her shaky fingers. Despite her confident tone, her face looked tight and stressed.

“Her name is Lila Maddock,” Vern repeated into the phone. “Yes sir, I’ll send her up with an escort. And her accomplice? Yes, sir. Right away, sir.” Vern hung up the phone, and pressed a red button twice below the numbers. After a few moments, two tall and large men dressed in security attire approached us. “Please escort Ms. Maddock to Mr. Burgess’ office. The regular protocol: pat down search and inspect belongings before she enters the office.” One security guard took a step toward Lila and gestured for her to the direction of the elevators nestled in a corner of the building.

“Here,” Lila handed me her previous grocery purchases. “Think of this as thanks for coming here. Sorry for the trouble,” she didn’t even sound sympathetic. Great, I thought, I had overpriced bottled water. At least Lucy and Walker would appreciate the Japanese import.

“May I leave then?” I was eager to escape the overly perfect atmosphere. It was suffocating. It was as though the furniture would jump to life and swallow me whole.

“Actually,” Vern awkwardly winced and fidgeted his fingers into his lap. “It’s rules that you are to be questioned and searched. This man,” He nodded toward the large man, “will take you to the security wing. It’s more for the safety of Burgess and the company than anything else.”

I looked at the man, whose apathetic stare was enough to confirm that this wasn’t a joke.

“Can you do this?” I asked, getting a little shaky as I pondered the options. I could A: run like hell, screaming bloody murder and call the police. But that would probably get me in trouble for trying to elude an officer. Then there was B: defend myself at all costs, even if violence ensued. But I wasn’t in the mood to get maced or tazed. And finally C: Let them do what they would. Would I make a scene out of it?