When Jackie returned to the inside of Northern Horizons once again, she was surprised by how little its appearance seemed to disturb her. The partially-torn china dolls appeared to have more noticeable smiles when she turned to look at them, the furniture looking somewhat cozy; the sort of place where you can take a seat after a long day and enjoy a nice cup of tea. Even the cracks on the wall were just small blemishes that caused you to slightly frown at first, but then turn away forgetting what it was that you found so disfiguring only a moment ago. It's as if leaving the hotel for the first time and then coming back gives you some sort of amnesia that makes you forget that you found the place so creepy at first sight, Jackie thought.

Or perhaps knowing what was going on with Rose really was giving her some form of courage which wasn't there before.

Upon making it to the door where bold black letters formed the words "Michael Truman: Northern Horizons Owner", Jackie paused for a moment, about to take a seat. This wasn't necessary, however, because a young woman with mousy brown hair tied up into a neat ponytail came walking out, carrying both a small binder and a white purse with her. She was wearing a white overcoat with fur adorning it around the neck, black trousers, and brown boots, as well as white gloves despite the fact that it was only a slightly cool day.

"Good day, miss," she said with a friendly smile upon seeing Jackie. "Are you part of the London Private Education Committee for Progress as well?"

"Oh no," Jackie responded with a small laugh, feeling somewhat uncomfortable after hearing the very formal title of the committee this woman was a part of, although it did seem to explain her formal style of dress. "I'm actually here for a job interview for the position of the winter caretaker." She then felt herself blush, astonished at how willingly she admitted such a thing to a woman like this.

"Well, in that case," the woman responded cheerfully, "You will still be able to join us for the LPECP's Christmas party. Mr. Truman has just approved of our request, and he told me that whoever becomes the new caretaker of the hotel will join him in hosting the party. Don't you believe that to be very generous of him?"

Could she really be expressing gratitude, or was it one of the usual arrogant remarks from the posh which were meant to sound polite but which were actually said with the intention of looking down upon those with less privilege than themselves? But when Jackie looked into the woman's eyes, there didn't seem to be a trace of arrogance. If anything, she appeared to be rather excited about the event and the fact that she was meeting one of the possible hosts.

"Yes. It does sound like it would be a good start for me if I get the position," Jackie answered.

"It would be indeed, and I wish you all possible luck with your interview. Mr. Truman is a little odd, perhaps taking too much pride into his accomplishments and the history of the hotel, but he's also quite friendly and will do anything possible to make you feel welcome."

"I've heard a bit about him already," Jackie said with a grin. "It's hard to tell what to make of him, don't you think?"

Looking a little confused, the woman nodded. "Perhaps, but isn't saying that he's got an ambiguous personality going a little out of the way? I mean, I've met some people who've been manipulative before, but I don't believe you can really say that about Mr. Truman."

Realizing what she was probably thinking, Jackie said, "No, I didn't mean that you should be watching out for him. It's just as you told me: some of the other workers here think that he goes overboard when it comes to the promotion of the hotel. See what I mean?"

"Oh yes, miss," the woman responded, now looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry. It's just that I was once taught to always be on the lookout for those who might be suspicious, appearing to have secret motives and capable of harming you. Such lessons helped me a lot when I was young and very easily frightened by everything I saw."

"I see," Jackie said somewhat sympathetically, although she had no idea what this woman was talking about. "Well, I hope I'll be seeing you for the party. My name is Jackie, by the way."

"And I'm Victoria. It would be a pleasure to see you again as well." She then gave her another warm smile and started walking away, looking at Jackie somewhat curiously as she took her time approaching the exit of Northern Horizons.

Jackie waited until she was gone before opening the door to Michael Truman's office. Standing right next to her as the door opened was Truman himself. He was a tall man who looked to be around his late thirties with dark hair in a crewcut and aqua blue eyes, wearing a beige suit with a blue tie and black shoes. On his desk, there was a framed photo of a blonde woman in a sundress, an Apple computer, a large binder with many multicolored labels, a stack of post-it notes, a telephone, and three white mugs along with a plate of bite-size cakes and cookies. There was a stereo in the middle of the room playing, once again, the Eagles (this time, the song being played was "Already Gone).

"Good morning, Mrs. Tyler," Truman said in a voice which reminded Jackie of that of a salesman on the telly: loud, overconfident, and persuasive. Stretching out his large, slightly calloused hand in order to greet her, he went on. "We highly appreciate the interest which every applicant displays by wanting to be a part of the Northern Horizons family."

"Why, thank you, sir," Jackie said politely as she shook his hand. "I believe I have all the necessary experience to help make your hotel as special as it has always been."

"That's quite excellent, indeed," Truman replied with a nod of approval. Then, gesturing towards his desk, he said, "Please feel free to take a seat and help yourself to some coffee and refreshments as I review your resume and documents."

Jackie did as he offered. On her way to her seat, she smiled upon seeing some motivational quotes framed on the walls, the biggest being "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again", followed by "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself". Also posted was Van Gogh's "The Bedroom" and several paintings of buildings.

Truman turned off the music and then walked up to his desk in a rather sophisticated and balanced manner, keeping his back straight and smiling a little too much. Upon sitting down, Jackie handed him all the documents he'd requested of her yesterday. He seemed to only glance at each document for a couple of seconds before moving on to the next one, yet he still gave signs that he was taking good notice of her experiences and other information, nodding several times when he found something that must have impressed him, and jotting down notes when he found it necessary. Within only a while after he'd started, he stacked all the documents up beside his binder and gave her a nod of approval.

"Well, Mrs. Tyler, I must say that I'm very impressed with your past work experiences. You've managed to publish several written pieces for magazines and worked for around two years at a nursery school. For someone who didn't attend university, these are major accomplishments."

Jackie smiled. "It wasn't really anything major, though. I've only published three short stories for literary magazines which almost no one has heard of and one small article for a newspaper, and I didn't even get paid for the first one I did. At the nursery school, I was just an aid, which isn't the same as being a teacher."

"But you've still managed to do a whole lot more when you're only in your early twenties than I did when I was around your age and had completed my university degree," Truman insisted. "In those days, I was working as a waiter four nights a week in order to pay off my debts from university, while still having to make time to attend job interviews in the daytime. I would never have imagined myself as the owner of a successful hotel back then." He said that last part with the salesman voice once again, letting his audience know there were always obstacles in the way of obtaining that perfect product.

"It wasn't any easier for me either," Jackie tried to explain. "If you've actually looked at all my job experiences, I spend three years as a shop girl in two different stores. My husband passed away when my daughter Rose was just a baby, and I've always had to work really hard to support the both of us, without the help of any family or even friends at some points. Part of the reason why I submitted some of my writing for publishing was because I continued thinking there was still a chance that it could help me in the future. You of all people should know we always need to start small, is that right? My former boss always told me she thought it was a waste of time and that I should just remain satisfied with the work I could get, but I still went ahead with it. I got rejected ten times, but I still got at least those four pieces published. I always saw it as worth the extra work…"

"Mrs. Tyler, I could spend all day not just talking about my own failures as a businessman, but that of Richard Jameson, my predecessor. When he was given ownership of Northern Horizons in the mid-seventies, he told me that the place appeared to be literally falling apart, with the walls almost fully covered with cracks and paint which was peeling off, and some rooms were loaded with cockroaches and others bugs which appeared in the most random of moments. The most guests the hotel received on an average month was six, and there were often full months when no one would stop by for a visit at all. Any traces of Northern Horizon's glory days seemed to be buried in the forgotten past. But after dealing with a handful of misfortunes, including half of the staff quitting, something suing after suffering from an infection which was believed to be caused by insects in the rooms, and the horrific murder committed by one of the caretakers…"

A murder? Jackie wondered. Could that have been what Allison talking about when she brought up the caretaker with twin daughters?

"Jameson learned from his mistakes and decided to make as many changes as possible while only having a limited budget," Truman went on, seeming to get more enthusiastic as he went on. "He let go of those staff members he observed to be most incompetent and hired many new ones whom he felt went beyond the usual expectations of typical hotel workers, used money to do some advertising in local papers, using stories from Northern Horizons first twenty years as a luxurious hotel to persuade people to come visit, and did a lot of renovations within the building, even taking part in some of the manual tasks himself. One year later, people from all over the UK and others parts of the world took interest in Northern Horizons once again, and Jameson was able to achieve his goal at last."

"So what do you believe to be the point of all this?" Jackie asked.

Truman eyed her with some curiosity, seeming more amused than upset about her remark. Then, in what was possibly the most clichéd way possible, he declared, "Everyone and everything, no matter where they come from, will fall to the bottom at some point. Circumstances are always changing for people and businesses, and not always for the best. But it's those individuals who are not afraid of taking risks, who remain focused on achieving their goals even under the most excruciating of situations, who will lift themselves up once again and slowly make their way towards the top. You, Mrs. Tyler, are slowly climbing up that mountain, facing many obstacles on your way up, but you haven't let go yet. You're still moving up. I've made it closer to the top in the past couple of years, but still know that I have a couple more steps in the way. And the lovely Northern Horizons, who's had her ups and downs, remains with us every step of the way. How she'll be in the future depends on us."

Jackie had to cover her mouth with a napkin in order to keep herself from laughing. Michael Truman truly should have considered hosting a couple of motivational workshops at some point. Many who were down on their luck would probably love to hear such an amusing speech.

"How inspiring, Mr. Truman. Now can you please tell me whether you see me as a qualified candidate or not?" she finally said.

Truman laughed. "Glad to see we both have a sense of humor, Mrs. Tyler, but I think I already answered your question when I talked about your previous experiences. I've been holding interviews with other applicants for over a month now, and you're by far the most competent person I've spoken with so far."

"Are you serious?" Jackie asked, surprised.

"Of course I am," Truman answered as if it were obvious. "I've had three applicants who never even finished secondary school, including one with a bad police record and a past cocaine addiction, and another who did finish school, yet he had a very poorly written resume and could barely write a sentence. In comparison to them, you're a much more qualified candidate."

Does he have to be so critical about their lack of skills? Jackie thought. This certainly seemed to contradict his attitude on anyone willing to overcome the obstacles being able to achieve. "So, when will you make your final decision?"

"I could do it right now if you're willing to accept the position today," Truman replied. "Because honestly, Mrs. Tyler, there are only two other people I'm willing to consider for the job, and neither of them have anything close to your experiences. I've always wanted a caretaker who could go beyond the manual tasks required of the position and express some interest in both the history of the hotel and what is that visitors to London want out of their time spend in the hotel and our wonderful city."

Jackie knew that she really needed the job, but she felt that it seemed a little irresponsible of Truman to just offer her the job based on a review of her documents and not asking her questions as was done in most interviews. "Are you sure you didn't want to ask me anything regarding what I have to do in the position first?"

"Oh yes," Truman said, sounding as if he'd forgotten about doing this part before. "So, let's start with this: how comfortable would you be with handling security?"

"I'm highly observant, and I've gotten quite a lot of experience with looking after my daughter. You probably understand how parents always have to be on the lookout for their kids' safety," Jackie answered confidently.

"I don't have children of my own, but no one ever forgets how they were such a handful for dear old Mum and Dad," Truman said with approval. "Second question: are you able to do a lot of cleaning and handling of heavy objects?"

"I do quite a lot of that at home as well, so yes, I do believe I'm capable of doing that."

"That's as good an explanation as I need. Now, do you usually work well with others? Would you have the patience to handle tourists or difficult hotel guests?"

"Well, I've met a few visitors from foreign countries before, and I've always enjoyed getting to know them and helping them around when possible. If someone's being difficult, I could try talking with them to make things better, but I'd be lying if I said that I could handle them on my own without any issues."

"I don't think anybody could, Mrs. Tyler," Truman said understandably. "Fortunately, Northern Horizons has a good staff which can help you out if you ever run across any hard situations, including bad guests." Then, taking a look at his watch, he said, "And one more very important question?"

"Yes?" Jackie asked, wondering what it would be.

"How well would you be willing to handle remaining within the inside of the hotel for extended periods of time without being able to leave?"

"What do you mean?" Jackie asked, slightly confused by the question.

"After the murder of 1980, which was unfortunately committed by one of our own caretakers, Jameson started changing things around for caretakers. It used to be required that they remain confined to the hotel for long periods of time, sometimes without leaving at all, and Jameson was smart enough to see how this might have been a reason why this incident occurred. Of course, Mrs. Tyler, you'll be able to come and go as you please, but as tradition goes, you'll still be required to live in the hotel for three months. If you had to remain inside for longer than a day under due to certain circumstances, such as a snowstorm coming around, do you think you'd be able to handle it?"

"Oh dear," Jackie said hesitantly, feeling nervous about finding out that she'd been right about what she'd suspected to have occurred with the former caretaker. "I think I'd do my best to remain occupied in some way if I knew I couldn't go outside. There's always my writing, of course, and making sure I have plenty of books to read. In a place as big as this, I could spend time in the rec room with my daughter, or fixing up a meal in the kitchen. It's all a matter of keeping yourself busy, I believe. If anything, it's usually boredom which drives people crazy sometimes, especially during isolation."

"You've got that right for sure," Truman said, once again sounding impressed with her answer. "I'm glad that you'd be able to find a variety of ways to remain occupied. One of the advantages of hiring someone who's educated for these positions is that they're so good at keeping themselves from being bored. Another applicant told me that the only way he could remain satisfied in such as a situation would be if he would be able to watch all his programs in the telly. Can you imagine how long you could stay sane if only the television could keep you entertained?"

He's doing it again, Jackie thought, starting to feel annoyed. Out loud, she said rather curtly, "I believe, Mr. Truman, that anyone could find themselves getting bored when spending a long time indoors, regardless of how educated they are. In fact, I'm probably more like someone you'd consider typical for my level of education if I were to have so little to do."

"Now, Mrs. Tyler, let's not make too big a fuss over this," Mr. Truman demanded, putting his hand up as if Jackie had been yelling at him. "My harmless little remarks on social class aren't meant to be taken seriously. The point is that some people seem so resigned to their situation that they're practically dead inside, just doing the lowliest of activities to drown out their frequent boredom. You, however, seem to have this light shimmering within you that keeps you going through the toughest of times."

Then, looking at his watch again, he said, "Well, my time's running out. I've got a meeting to attend in a half hour to start planning the annual Northern Horizons Christmas party. That's why I had Victoria Harris, who's an English teacher at the Margaret Woodhouse Academy, over here before you came. Like you, she seems pretty sharp, if not a bit old-fashioned, but having someone like that to plan a party for the hotel is a great advantage. I'll be sending you an outline of the meeting. That is, of course, if you're willing to accept the position within the next couple of days, if not now."

"Give me a day to think about it, and I'll give you a call about my final decision tomorrow," Jackie responded.

"Excellent," Truman said cheerfully. Shaking her hand once again in farewell, he stated, "I'll be looking forward to working with you if you decide to join our team."

"And so will I," Jackie replied, hoping that perhaps this would be the case within a month.

So that's Michael Truman. He's not really a bad guy (at least not most of the time), but he can be hypocritical when expressing his views of how anyone can make it to the top if they're willing to try while still putting others down whom he sees as less motivated. Later on, we'll see more regarding his pride in the past when we learn some of the reasons behind having the creepy old stuff remaining in the hotel and how he responds to demands from Jackie and others to have things change.

Also, those of you familiar enough with the classic series (yes, we're having another former companion joining in) should be able to guess who Victoria Harris is. I can tell everyone that she's going to have interesting post-time traveling life, but how she'll contribute to the plot is something we'll have to wait and see for a while.

As always, thanks for reviewing, favoring, and following! Since the 20th chapter is coming up, I'll be sure to think of something special for it.