"So how are things going with your new job," JJ questioned. "You've been there several months now you're bound to have the lay of the land."
The two of them were sitting together on her couch enjoying talking to each other and catching up on the news.
"It's great," Norah said enthusiastically. "The fact, that I no longer have some wanker trying to corner me in order to molest me has been grand. Of course, I really enjoy the job too, as it mostly nice and peaceful and I can work by myself."
"So the under gardeners are working out then," JJ said.
"I did have a little trouble with two of them at first. They thought that one of them should be in charge because they had been there longer, but I simply explained to them that Mr. Hotchner wouldn't have hired me if he had felt one of them could handle the position. They might've grumbled, but they've been no further trouble. Of course, I might also have threatened to put them on report, since technically, I'm their boss now."
"Well, that would've done it for many, especially if they could tell you were serious," JJ laughed, pushing a piece of stray blond hair behind her ear.
"I could see their point of view though," Norah said biting her lower lip. "They have been there much longer than I have and Mr. Hotchner could have promoted one of them instead."
"But would they have been able to do the job, do it right?" JJ asked.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I believe not. They're decent gardeners and follow directions well, but other than that they really haven't shown any initiative, which you need to be the head of such a massive garden."
"I've heard the garden is huge but lovely," JJ said.
"It is. It's gorgeous and Mr. Hotchner gave me free reign to design it anyway I like. I'm welcome to change it is often as I want. It's definitely my dream job."
"Sounds like it," JJ said. "Congratulations. I haven't seen you this happy in a long time. Stressed, aggravated, angry, annoyed, but not happy."
"You can mostly thank Coke for that," Norah snorted. "That wasn't the whole problem of course, but he was the main reason for much of my stress."
"So did Hotchner ever investigate Coke like promised?" JJ questioned.
"I never told Mr. Hotchner, Coke's name but yes he did investigate. I'm assuming one of his many employees handled that and not himself. He told me a few weeks ago that Mr. Coke had been fired."
"And you didn't tell me?" JJ chastised.
"I guess I forgot," Norah admitted. "I was initially very happy at the news as that's a chapter in my life closed."
"So was he arrested...?" JJ questioned.
"No, Mr. Hotchner told me that he wasn't arrested only because none of the women wanted to come forward. He was fired and forbidden from ever getting the position at one of his companies again. His name is now on the banned list. I'm sure that Hotchner sent out Coke's information to all his bosses and supervisors, the ones in charge of hiring and firing at least."
"It's the least he could've done," JJ said severely.
"Don't think too bad of him JJ. You have to remember that his empire is vast and Coke was only in charge of that particular nursery. If I'd only I told him the guys name during the interview it probably would have been over much sooner," Norah said.
"It still would've had to be investigated as Hotchner wouldn't just have taken your word," JJ said her ire fading, as Norah was right. "They would've had to track down the other women that he'd actually succeeded in molesting and even those that he tried to molest, but managed to get away from him, as it shows a pattern of behavior. Hotchner doesn't seem like the kind to fire someone without a lot of evidence. It probably wasn't too hard for whoever did the job for them to find who was molesting young women who all worked at the same nursery as you. It's where you worked after all and since you mentioned it during your interview, even if that was on accident, it had to be work related. I doubt very much that Aaron Hotchner is a dummy, because if he was he wouldn't have gotten as far as he has and own hundreds of companies or employ thousands of people, including you and myself."
"That's true," Norah agreed. "I'm only glad it turned out as well as it did. I could very well have been blackballed from ever working at any company Hotchner even partly owns, which would have made my employment opportunities go down the drain. Even moving to another city wouldn't help, since he owns a lot of businesses all over the world and really I don't want to leave New York. Luckily for me he listened even though I didn't mean to reveal my problems with Coke. I suppose I'm also lucky that he's not the vindictive type and that he's sensible and didn't immediately deny that there could possibly be any problems. I think he actually cares about his employees a lot more than other wealthy types."
"Of course not," JJ said. "New York is where your life is, it's where you decided to settle once you finished college, it's where your friends are. Starting over is never easy, so it's no wonder you don't want to move. I certainly wouldn't in your situation. As for Aaron Hotchner if he actually cares about his employees...I would say it's possible, but certainly rare for his type."
"But it certainly makes his employees loyal to him to where they never go elsewhere for work," Norah said. "I only decided to settle here, because I got an offer to work at the Hotchner Nursery and since I had heard only good things about working for the richest man in the world I took it. Of course, I sent in numerous job applications, to various places all over the country. I never expected to get one at a nursery owned by Hotchner, as the competition is bound to be tough."
"You had numerous offers and could've taken any one of them," JJ said. "I'm not surprised you had an offer from one of the companies owned by Hotchner. After all, your grades were excellent and your background is clean."
"Still, I would've expected to start somewhere small," Norah shrugged. "Maybe at a gardening center and once I gained some experience then maybe they'd hire me at someplace like a nursery. That's not how it happened, but that's what I expected."
"People without college degrees work at garden centers, not someone with a masters degree in horticulture," JJ told her friend. "The person who hired you obviously saw a talent, to work hard, work long hours and a willingness to start at the bottom."
"I suppose," Norah said. "It doesn't really matter now though."
"So how are things on the romantic front? Any prospects for a boyfriend?" asked JJ.
"Not really no," Norah said, unable to hide her blush and as she immediately thought of Aaron Hotchner.
"You like someone at least, a lot," JJ said immediately noticing her friends blushing.
"Yeah, I do," Norah said as there was no point in denying it. "Its likely not going to go anywhere so I'm not going to worry about it."
"So who is it," JJ asked. "Who do you believe wouldn't even look twice at you?"
"My boss," Norah said after a slight hesitation.
"So you have a crush on Mr. Hotchner then," JJ said with a raised eyebrow.
JJ couldn't actually blame her friend for having a crush on Aaron Hotchner, as she had seen his picture in the paper and he was indeed very handsome. He was also said to be charming and generous to causes that called to him, but nearly impossible to beat in business or at least that was the rumor.
"You would be too if you ever met. I'd seen pictures in the online newspaper of course, but he's far more handsome in person and practically oozes sexuality. I felt like I was drowning whenever we were in the same area."
"So have you seen him often?" JJ asked.
"We talk for a few minutes every morning he's in town. I sit out in the garden on this bench that's built around this humongous oak and have breakfast if I've stopped at some bakery to pick up a pastry or a muffin. I enjoy my cup of coffee and eat my breakfast in peace, before I get started on work for the day. Its my time for a little peace and quiet as I know the day will likely be busy."
"And he comes out just to have a conversation with you," JJ said giving Norah a look, that basically said are you stupid.
"What?" Norah questioned puzzled at the look JJ was giving her.
"The man takes time out of his very busy schedule just to spend a few minutes talking to an employee when he could be buying Jupiter or something," JJ said pointedly. "You don't find that suspicious."
"Maybe the man just likes to get outside once in awhile," Norah protested. "Everybody needs some fresh air occasionally."
JJ rolled her eyes at Norah's denseness. It wasn't deliberate either.
"Come on seriously. It's obvious the man is flirting with you," JJ said in an exasperated tone.
"Is that what you believe? Seriously?" Norah asked with a laugh at the ridiculousness of her friend's statement. "You got it all wrong as why would he look at one of his employees when he could marry someone in the same social strata. Someone more gorgeous than I am and with her own trust fund."
"And probably as shallow as a puddle of water," JJ said. "He could've married years ago if he'd wanted someone with a money to their names. He's obviously very choosy in who he wants to settle down with."
"I still think you're wrong," Norah said stubbornly. "I won't deny that I'm attracted, but I'm certainly no model and he's also my employer. I'm not about to mess up a good thing by letting my crush become known. He'll probably find a reason to dismiss me on the spot and I have a contract for the next five years, but there are clauses in it that could see him fire me."
JJ rolled eyes and said nothing simply letting the silence lengthen to let her friend know what she thought about that scenario.
"Alright, maybe I'm exaggerating, but still I don't want to risk it," Norah said. "I like my job and I'd like to keep it for awhile longer."
There was no convincing her friend otherwise JJ knew so she dropped the subject for the moment.
~~~Aaron and Norah~~~