Meeting Mister Black
"I am Sirius. Sirius Black."
"I know who you are…"
"What's your name then?"
"Remus… Lupin."
"So Remus… Lupin, may I get you a drink?"
Today started out like any other day. It was the alarm clock that woke me up, the sound of that bloody owl. Katherine picked it out. She thought it was hilarious, she did. I then had breakfast with her, tea and toast. A shower, then off to work.
Back when I had met Katherine, I had been planning on becoming a lawyer. But that all went to shit when I got into a bad car accident and had to learn how to read and write again. My brain had gotten scrambled in the accident, and it's a miracle I'm still here. I'm happy and grateful and all that, but I'm now stuck cleaning hotel rooms at the Black Tower Hotel. Let me tell you, cleaning other people's shit hadn't exactly been my dream job. But hey, it makes a living. And there are worse places to work than the Black Tower Hotel. It is after all, the most expensive hotel in the country, the original hotel started by some rich bloke nearly a hundred years ago. He had left it to his son, who then had left it to his son, who had managed to build more Black Hotels. But it's the Black Tower Hotel, the original one, that you will have heard of. It really is as luxurious as they say, so like I said, there are worse places to work.
"You coming to the party then?" James had asked me, just as I was getting into the workroom. Let me tell you, the hotel is as fancy as anything, but the workroom is the one room at the hotel that looks like it belongs in a one-star hostel. The smell alone, it makes me want to run and never come back. After all, there are no paying guests who will see it, so why bother looking after it? Bastards.
"I don't think so, today was one of those days," I answered, as I started getting out of my work clothes.
"Shit? Blood?"
"Both. And worse. Let me tell you, the richer, the filthier they are.
"You're only figuring that out now?" James laughed, and I turned to face him. He had only been working at the Black Tower Hotel for about a month when I had gotten this job, so as we were the two new guys, we had stuck together. And we're still stuck together, nearly two years later. "Come on, man, don't make me go out there on my own."
"Then don't go."
"But Lily will be there. Tonight is the night. I can feel it in my gut," he said, a serious look on his face, and I couldn't help but laugh. He had fallen in love with Lily the minute he had met her, over a year ago, back when she had started working at the Hotel Bar. But he hadn't had the guts to ask her out.
"Fine, I'll go with you. But the minute you ditch me for her, I'm going home."
"Deal," he laughed, and I shook my head, as I got my suit out of my locker, and continued to get changed. We are only allowed to come in and out of the hotel wearing a suit, only to go upstairs, and get changed into our work clothes. It's all about the image. God forbid, a guest sees one of us in jeans and a t-shirt.
"Mister Black himself will be there as well," James told me, as we made our way downstairs. The man who had created Black Tower Hotel, had passed away, and had left the hotel to his son, who had eventually left it to his own son, who had run the hotel for years, and who had managed to turn it into a chain, make their name a brand known all over the world. But just over two years ago, he had decided to call it quits, and he had left it all to his son. There had been quite a bit of fuss about it, because the youngest Black had only been in his mid-twenties, and he had, up until then, only ever been in the papers and the magazines, because of his behaviour. The parties, the girls, the drinking. Sirius Black was known for his partying, not for being responsible enough to run the Black emporium. Everyone had been sure of it, he would drive it into the ground within months. But now, just over two years later, they are making more money than ever, so I suppose he can't be that bad.
"Have you ever met him?" I had asked James, but I already knew the answer. None of us had ever met him. He was only ever seen at the hotel when there was an event, a party, a special guest. Not to speak to his employees. He has people to do that for him.
"As if. Tonight will be the night, though. I feel it in my gut."
"Wow, you do feel a lot about tonight, don't you?"
"Tonight is just going to be special. I can feel it…"
"In your gut?"
"Exactly."
James had run off to go and flirt with Lily, only minutes after we had arrived at this work-do, and all I had wanted to do was go home. But something had drawn me to the bar, and I had decided to stay for just one more drink. People were already getting drunk, and clinging onto each other, dancing, laughing, making out. That's what these work-do's are like. We all get fucked, in more ways than one, and the next day, we all act like nothing happened. Until the next work-do. Not me. Not this time. One more drink, and I was going to go home. Back to Katherine.
"Can I get a non-alcoholic beer?" I had asked the girl behind the bar. She had looked at me as though I had asked for a blood and vomit-cocktail. But eventually she had gotten one for me.
"You don't drink?" I heard someone ask, so I turned around, only to see a face that I, up until that moment, had only ever seen in the papers.
"I ehm… I still have to drive," I stuttered, nearly knocking over my drink, trying to pick it up.
"I see. I am Sirius. Sirius Black."
"I know who you are…"
"What's your name then?"
"Remus… Lupin," I managed to say, still flushed and embarrassed. Actual Sirius Black. My boss. The owner of this hotel. Sirius Black.
"So Remus… Lupin, may I get you a drink?"
"I've got one," I say, as I show him my non-alcoholic beer.
"An actual drink," he laughs, flashing a smile that makes him look somewhat arrogant. I don't think he's trying to be arrogant though. Or is he? Why do I even care? He won't remember me in five minutes, when he's off to the next person, getting them a drink, to show them what a great boss he really is. "We've got taxi's waiting for all of you, to make sure you all get home safe."
"You do?"
"Yeah." He flashes a smile, and before I know it, I've returned it. "So, what will it be?"
"Ehm…"
"Wait here for just one second," he says, and he leaves and walks off. That was that then, so much for being a great boss. Ditching me before getting me that drink. It's free, so I can get it myself, but that's not the point, is it? Bastard.
I'm about to leave, when I feel a hand on my lower back. So I turn around, and see mister Black, flashing a smile, while holding out a bright-coloured drink.
"Special recipe, I had to get it made," he says, as he takes his hand off my back, and hands me the drink. He picks up his own from the bar, and takes a sip. It is far too bright for my liking, and it looks like something Katherine and her friends would drink. But I don't want to offend my boss, so I take a sip. And it's strong. Really strong. But great.
"Wow," I laugh, and for just a second, I detect a shy look on mister Black's face. "Is this your recipe then?"
"It is. Mixing cocktails, it's a bit of a hobby of mine. I'm glad you like it."
"I do," I admit, and I flash another smile, expecting him to now leave, and go and talk to another one of his employees. Make the round, show them how great he is.
"So, Remus… May I call you Remus?"
"Sure."
"You've worked here for two years now, haven't you?" he asks me, and I stop right in my tracks. I had been walking with him, as he had led me away from the bar.
"How do you…"
"I hired you."
"No, I…"
"I hired you," he repeats, as he puts a hand on my lower back, leading me away from the bar, away from the party, out of the Hotel Bar. "I decided you deserved this job, after what had happened to you. You deserved much better, actually.
"So I got it out of pity?"
"No, please forgive me if it came across like that. I gave you the job, because I thought you could do with some good news, that's all. I wish I could have given you a better job than cleaning rooms, but there were no other jobs, so…"
"But…" Sirius Black, actual Sirius Black, hired me? He gave me this job? He knows about me? I had assumed that some schmuck had hired me, based on the fact that I was some moron who couldn't read or write. By the time I had gotten the job, I had learned some of it again, and I'm not exactly a moron. But it doesn't look good on your resume, does it, 'can't read or write'.
"So, Remus," mister Black continues, before I get to say anything, "would you like to know a secret?"
"Ehm…" No, I don't. Secrets are never good, are they? Especially secrets kept by the rich and famous. But I really do want to know. It's the drink, I'm telling you. I know I should say no, but this drink is messing with my brain. "Okay…"
"Do you want to know what is on the top floor of this hotel?"
"Extra rooms, for when the hotel is overbooked, right?" That is what we had been told. The eleventh floor is full of luxurious rooms, built simply for when the computer has made an error. Because god forbid a guest has to be told that their booking has to be cancelled.
"Do you want to see?" mister Black asks me, a cheeky, somewhat arrogant smile on his face.
"Sure." This is the big secret? I get to see the unused rooms?
He leads me to the lift, and gets a key out of his pocket. Without it, there is no access to the eleventh floor. It makes me wonder if these rooms are special. Are they themed? Do they have special items in them? Is a special guest staying in them? Are they so bad, that they need to be cleaned? That's why he's showing me? My mind is racing, as the lift is making its way upstairs. But then I catch him looking at me, that smile still on his face, his dark eyes focussed on me.
"Mister Black…"
"Sirius."
"I'd rather call…"
"Sirius."
"Sirius," I say, my face getting flushed. "Are you sure you know who I am? Are you not thinking of someone else? I clean rooms here, I…"
"I know who you are," he says, reaching out to put his hand on my arm. He gives it a little squeeze, just as the lift comes to a stop.