The Horticulturist

Norah gulped as she arrived at the Hotchner Mansion. She worked for one of Aaron Hotchner's companies, but had never met the big man himself. He had many companies and many, many employees, and she had never expected to be contacted by his secretary or at least she assumed it had been his sectary. She was just one cog in a vast empire after all. She had never expected to be noticed by somebody as important as Mr. Hotchner. What her ultimate boss wanted she wasn't entirely sure, but she know she was about to find out.

Could it be about the sexual harassment she had been going on for awhile Norah wondered briefly. No, Norah finally decided she doubted Mr. Hotchner even knew about it. His resources and employees were numerous and a man like him did not notice someone like her being sexually harassed by somebody in a higher position then her own. She had nearly been cornered several times but had managed to get away. Norah was thinking about leaving her position and getting a job elsewhere, but was undecided. The only problem was that Mr. Hotchner business paid a lot more than most other places and she would hate to leave such a lucrative position. She doubted she would find anything similar, except at one of his other companies. It was well known that Hotchner preferred the higher overhead to keep his employees happy, by giving them a safe environment in which to work and enough money to put away for a rainy day. Everything was on the highest scale, equipment, employees, pay, hours. Of course, there were bound to be a few bad eggs in such a vast empire. Since it was her boss doing the harassment she had just kept her head down and tried to avoid him, which wasn't always possible and definitely not easy. She could be fired in a flat second if she wasn't careful and she knew it. Probably without references and yes, she suspected that her boss could be that vindictive. Mr. Coke could come up with some reason to fire her she knew whether it was true or not it wouldn't matter to her career.

There were rumors of course that Mr. Coke had harassed several of the female employees at the Hotchner Nursery. They were only rumors though, but Norah had no doubt that those rumors were correct. Maybe she could transfer she considered as she pushed the intercom button on the front gates.

"How may I help you," came a voice with a faint accent.

"I'm here to see Mr. Hotchner. I'm expected. Norah Greenway.

"Of course ma'am. Please drive forward and park in the garage," said the voice, before the giant gate started to open. Norah drove he car up the long driveway admiring the lawns and the flowers. The Hotchner estate was beautiful and well maintained. The massive front lawn and gardens must take a whole horde of gardeners to keep up, though it was probably maintained by droids programed for the purpose. Norah couldn't see Mr. Hotchner allowing so many strangers onto his land, so yes, it was probably droids that maintained everything, as not only would that be massively cheaper, it had the advantage of no people wandering around where they weren't supposed too. It wasn't like a man of Mr. Hotchner's status could not afford the best help available.

If the gardens and lawns were any example the house was going to be spectacular. Finally, Norah got to the end of the driveway and before her was a massive house that she had seen at a distance as she drove along. The house had slowly grown larger and larger as she approached and now here she was right in front of it. It was a massive mansion with at least five floors. There had to be hundreds of rooms. Norah studied it and saw that like the gardens were well-maintained or at least the front was, though she was sure the rest of the house was in just as a good condition.

Norah drove around the house and saw the garage door already open for her car, just as the voice had indicated over the intercom. She drove inside and saw the light on the spot she was supposed to park. Norah drove into her designated spot and then he got out of the car. She surveyed the massive garage and all the cars she could see. They were all expensive brand names from what she could tell, which was to be expected. Norah admired one of the cars, which was one of the newest ones on the market from Rossi motors a very expensive brand-name. She admitted that she was a bit of a motorhead and that she would love to own such as slick vehicle one day. Oh, well she doubted she ever would be able to so she wasn't going to worry about it, Norah sighed in regret. Finally, she knew she had better get going if she didn't want to be late for her meeting and so hurried towards the elevator. The voice over the intercom had told her to push the button for the entryway and that's exactly what she did.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Greenway," The same voice that had been on the intercom greeted her. "Welcome to the Hotchner Mansion. If you'll follow me I'll escort you to Mr. Hotchner. I'm Derek Morgan by the way. I'm his majordomo and also security."

"It's very nice to meet you Mr. Morgan," Norah said shaking the big black man hand.

"Is very nice to meet you to Ms. Greenway. You can call me Derek."

"Norah," Norah said briefly and Derek nodded.

Derek Morgan certainly didn't look anything like any majordomo she had ever seen on TV, but she was aware that was a stereotype of your typical butler. Still, it was a stereotype for a reason. Her escort was big, had massive shoulders and a bald head. It was clear that he worked out as he had the perfect six pack and not an ounce of fat that she could see. As Norah studied him out of the corner of her eye she noticed that his skin was a lighter color then if he was fully black, so it was likely he had some white in his heritage. It was even possible that one of his parents had been white while the other was black. Still, Derek was a handsome man.

They got on another elevator and Derek pushed the button for the top floor.

"Mr. Hotchner's office is on the top floor along with the master bedroom and the library," Derek explained.

"Sounds like you could live on the top floor and just close up the rest of the rooms," Norah said

"Yeah, you could," Derek laughed easily. "He has an autochef up there, several of them actually and I make sure to keep them fully stocked, since neither one of us cooks very well."

"Do I need to say you're men," Norah said with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you going to tell me you're any better," Derek asked with a smirk. "Just because you're a woman doesn't mean you necessarily know how to cook."

"I'll have you know I can order takeout like a pro," Norah said condescendingly.

"See, you're just as bad and it's supposedly the women that cooks, not the man," Derek told her with a smirk.

"Alright, but that hasn't been true for centuries," Norah admitted. "It doesn't have to be the woman that cooks as plenty of men have that skill nowadays."

"Just not me or Aaron," Derek said.

"You address him by his first name," Norah asked curiously.

"We've known each other for a long time," Derek explain briefly. "We are closer than most employees are to their employers. Really, we're friends, he just writes my paycheck. He knows he can trust me not to betray him."

"It must be nice to work for someone that respects you," Norah said trying to keep the envy out of her tone.

"Yeah, it really is," Derek said noticing Norah's tone though saying nothing. The elevator dinged and the massive doors opened. "Here we are Ms Norah. I'll just escort you to his office and then leave you. I'll be available to escort you back out when you're done."

Derek led her down the hallway that was thickly carpeted in a royal blue. There were expensive paintings on the walls, but didn't know enough to identify the artists. There were also statues and vases on little pedestals and she assumed that they were quite valuable as well. At least it was all tasteful Norah couldn't help thinking, as she knew that some peoples taste ran to the ugly and the gaudy, even the obscene.

Derek stopped in front of a massive carved door and gave a strong knock. It sounded like the fist of doom, Norah thought suddenly nervous.

She wasn't used to being in such elegant and rich surroundings, which was partly what made her nervous. Mr. Hotchner was extremely rich and well-connected. He could make or break her career. She had every right to be anxious.

"Come in," came a voice that had no particular accent.

Derek opened the door easily, even though the wood, which looked to be mahogany, was at least an inch thick, so it had to be heavy.

"Aaron, Ms. Greenway is here for her appointment."

Derek then gently pushed Norah into the room that was filled with bookcases that had actual hardback books on them not disc copies.

Norah noticed the door shutting gently behind her and she stood there not moving suddenly rooted to the spot.

"Come sit down Ms. Greenway," Aaron suggested after minute. "There's no need to be nervous I don't bite, I promise. Not unless you want me to anyway," Aaron added with a wicked smirk. "Would you like some coffee? Or maybe tea?"

That was enough to break the spell that she seemed to be under, as the last comment along with the smirk caused her to laugh and Norah sat down in one of the comfortable chairs in front of the massive desk.

"Coffee sounds good right now," Norah said

Aaron hit the intercom and told Derek to get coffee and bring it to his office.

"So you requested this meeting Mr. Hotchner," Norah began. "I was kind of surprised when your secretary contacted me telling me that you wanted to meet me. I would think that you wouldn't even know who I was."

"You would think that, wouldn't you," Aaron agreed easily. "And of course, usually you'd be right I would have no idea who you were except for one thing."

"One thing?" Norah asked puzzled.

"I had my computer expert run a search on people with degrees in horticulture to replace my head gardener who is leaving his position. Family emergency. His brother is in the hospital and he might not wake up."

"I see," Norah said quietly observing the information. "Why not just put an ad in the paper?"

"I could have," Aaron admitted. "But if I had I would have no doubt had people lined up outside my gate and not all of them would've necessarily had the right qualifications. It would've taken forever to sort out who had the right qualifications and who didn't and while I know putting an ad in the paper is sometimes necessary I figured it was easier to just let my computer expert put in the qualifications I wanted for the head position and find someone suitable. While that person didn't necessarily have to already work for me that's the way Penelope started. I, after all, have access to my own employee files and all I had to do, was tell her how to set the computer parameters for the search."

"That's the really smart way to do it, as it would've sorted out employee files in minutes," Norah stated quietly.

There was a knock on the door and Aaron called come in. Derek came in with a tray that held a coffee pot, 2 cups and saucers and bowls with real sugar and cream.

"So how do you take yours? Black or with sugar and cream?"

"Two sugars and some cream," Norah said. She stared the coffee pot which looked antique and had probably been in the Hotchner family for generations. It was also probably real coffee and not a soy product. Real coffee nowadays, was very expensive, thanks to the depletion of the rain forests. Norah took a sip and closed her eyes as if she was in heaven.

"Never had real coffee before?" asked Aaron with a smile on his lips.

"On my salary," Norah snarked with a sarcastically raised eyebrow. "I tried it a few times and I was amazingly addicted after my first cup, but the problem is I can't afford it on a regular basis. I save having a cup for special occasions."

"I understand," Aaron said. "Must be hard only drinking one cup every few years."

"It is, but unfortunately," Norah said, taking another sip of coffee closing her eyes in appreciation.

Aaron watched this in amusement before he started speaking again. He couldn't actually blame her for her pleasure, as coffee was something of a limited resource now.

"We started with employees from Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey and would've spread out that search if necessary," Aaron continued once Norah had opened her eyes, not letting on how attracted he was too Norah Greenway, as she was a gorgeous woman with her blond hair and baby blue eyes. Norah Greenway had the body of a siren with curves in all the right places and she was around his supposed age.

He said supposed age because he was immortal and had been around for a very long time. He had never been married never had any children though that didn't mean he had denied himself sex. He had just never fallen in love, not truly, madly, deeply anyway. Norah Greenway could change that just by being who she was if he allowed himself to feel, to actually fall in love. He'd wait and see Aaron decided. Give Norah some time to reach a decision about working as his head gardener, let her get settled in if she accepted.

"Your pay will be triple what you are making now," Aaron added.

Norah blinked truly shocked at the offer. Aaron nearly laughed. He couldn't really blame her for being in shock actually as making triple while working for him was much more then she had likely ever dreamed. "You'll have 7 other gardeners helping you out as the grounds are massive and they need to be constantly tended."

"I just figured you used droids," Norah murmured so softly that and barely heard her. "I figured you would prefer that as why have people you're not sure you trust walking around your grounds? I mean they might damage something or steal something valuable."

"If they do and are caught on camera they're given a warning," Aaron said once Norah looked up. "If they do it again they're docked pay. On the third offense though they're fired. I can understand needing money for massive medical bills and insurance not covering it. Still, there's really no reason for stealing, unless they're threatened or their families are threatened, but then, they should go to the police."

"Some people are too afraid to, afraid of what will happen to their family," Norah said quietly and Aaron nodded in agreement.

"So why me? I'm sure there are plenty of other people here in New York that have the right qualifications that have more experience then I do," Norah asked a little hesitatingly.

"I've interviewed several potential prospects, but none of them quite fit," Aaron said. "One of the employees I interviewed had a kind of a cunning expression. He had sneaky and underhanded written all over him. I doubt he'll last long in the garden center across town, as I've already contacted his boss and told him to keep an eye out, make sure nothing turns up missing. He's only been working for one of my companies for six months."

"What about the others?" Norah asked.

"While one I interviewed was going to take the position, his wife was in an accident and now is in a coma. He wanted to spend as much time with her as he could, so regretfully turned down my offer. He also has three small children two 2 girls and a boy to look after, while their mother is incapacitated. He can't afford childcare, especially not with the medical bills."

While cars were much safer in this century there could still be accidents. Cars had autopilots now, though you could put it on manual and drive yourself. There was still such things as drunk drivers that didn't think to put a car on autopilot, or the autopilot was malfunctioning for some reason. There was also a lot of air-traffic, not just ground traffic from those owners of vehicles that had that feature. Having an air car was more expensive than having a ground car, though there were plenty of people that still had them. There were plenty of people that didn't own cars at all, since they were so expensive and simply used the subway or the bus system to get from one place to another. Buses were much slicker nowadays and not the big hulking boxlike things they had used to be. If Aaron hadn't been around in the 20th century he never would've known how much some things had changed over the years. Well, not unless he looked it up out of curiosity or because he was into history anyway.

"You are the fourth person I have offered this position, your grades from college were excellent, you kept a 3.7 grade average, which isn't easy to do. You passed all your other classes with good grades, you've been a model employee over the last 3 1/2 years and you've constantly been praised for your initiative, for your understanding of plants and their needs. Also, you're excellent in convincing customers to get some plant or that they're not sure about and you usually turnout to be right. You were due for a raise pretty soon actually, your second since you started. I like employees that show initiative, that know their job and know what to do it without having to ask, someone who remembers what they're told the first time."

Norah blushed at Aaron's description of her abilities, but she had to agree that she had initiative and an excellent memory. Aaron Hotchner had apparently done his research, but that's what you did when you were going to hire someone for a important position, especially considering that it was on his own land where his home was located. While she was sure that there was plenty of security it wouldn't be impossible to break in, though Norah suspected that the hacker that got passed the security system would have to be really, really good.

"Alright, you've made your point, so I accept. I was thinking about leaving the job anyway in finding another position. I was just shocked when this opportunity landed in my lap."

"Oh, any problems with the job?" Aaron inquired.

"I don't want to say," Norah admitted. "I love the job there's no doubt about that. Let's just say there have just been some personal difficulties. I love planting things, having my hands in the soil."

"I can guess," Aaron said. "I'm not naïve Ms. Greenway. Someone has been harassing you. Tell me who it is so I can investigate."

"I don't want to make waves," Norah said.

"Do you think you're the only one that this person has been harassed Ms. Greenway? If whoever it is has been working for me for any length of time or been a long time customer you are likely not the first person that they have done so too."

"I shouldn't have said anything," Norah admitted not looking at Aaron at all, keeping her head down. "You are my ultimate boss after all. Most bosses would have just put the employee on report or fired them depending. You were being so understanding though, that I opened my mouth before I thought. "

Norah admitted if only to herself that there was something about Aaron Hotchner that invited confidences. She wasn't exactly sure what it was, but Aaron Hotchner kind of gave off a vibe that said you could trust him. She wasn't exactly sure why she believed that she could trust him considering she'd only known him for about an hour and that was hardly enough time to know how trustworthy a person was. Perhaps, it had to do with his confidence in himself and his ability to handle such a massive business empire. Perhaps it was because as far as she knew he had never cheated someone in business and so many people who became wealthy did that to make themselves more money, broaden their own bottom-lines.

"You don't have to tell me. I can do my own investigation," Aaron said finally seeming to understand what Norah was thinking. "I can't blame you for not wanting to. You're right about most bosses thinking you're lying or making it up to get someone in trouble. Well, either that or they just do not care and are not going to do anything other than lay on a beach somewhere, but that's the way to get the legal charges filed. Even if you submitted a complaint nothing would necessarily be done unless there was a lot of them."

"Or until some woman is cornered and raped and then gets pregnant with the bastard's baby," Norah said sounding very cynical

"Unfortunately that happens and I'm sure that those rich men were sorry they were not paying attention if that happens. You have to admit though that not all complaints are valid."

"True enough," Norah agreed soberly.

"I won't fire you nor will I have your boss fire you, Norah," Aaron told her in a gentle tone. "No woman should be harassed sexually or otherwise. I can guess very well what's going on, but whether I'm right or not, well I don't know for with absolute certainty unless you tell me. I know very well what can happen in the workplace, when someone tries to take advantage of someone they consider weaker or get someone fired. Unfortunately, women have to put up with a lot of crap sometimes, even in today's workforce."

Aaron didn't say things were much better then they had used to be centuries ago, as that would be giving away more information than was safe. Norah Greenway might not figure out his secret, mostly because it was so unbelievable, but there was no point of taking chances, as she was a shrewd, intelligent woman from all reports, intuitive and able to put clues together if given enough pieces. She might not believe what she'd learned, but still he needed to be careful.

"Well, that's not what I expect you to say," Norah said looking at Aaron thoughtfully.

Norah could tell that he was being honest and forthright with her, as she had learned to read people pretty well and Aaron wasn't bothering to hide what he was thinking. While his expression was unreadable Norah could see the emotion in his eyes, which were dark brown. In fact if she was reading his eyes accurately he was furious on her behalf, because of the harassment she had to endure. Apparently, he cared about his employees, more than she had figured the big boss would, as she was only very small cog in a very vast network of a humongous machine, that stretched from New York to Los Angeles, to Miami to London and many places in between. Considering how many people he employed around the world, she was surprised he cared so much about little, old her. She was a good horticulturalist and she knew it or she wouldn't have been hired, but she had figured that that would be as far as it went. She did her job she went home. Most big bosses didn't notice little people like her, but Mr. Hotchner appeared to be different.

"And what did you expect Ms. Greenway?" Aaron asked.

"For you to either ignore my words and pretend you didn't hear them, because you didn't want to deal with it, probably thinking that I was imagining things or making it up to gain attention, because I'm just not as important as you are. Possibly threatening to write me up, as I said earlier, putting a black mark on my perfect work record of never being reprimanded."

"While that's kind of insulting I do understand that most big bosses ignore the little problems until they become quite large. Yes, they're busy so am I, but I do try to pay attention when someone files a complaint or one of my managers report to me a problem, as they don't bother me for no reason. I'm a busy man after all," Aaron said.

"I understand that, as it's the manager who determines if there really is a problem or if it's all exaggerated or doesn't really exist other then a little workplace friction, just different personalities rubbing against each other," Norah said.

"And the manager is supposed to handle most problems if the supervisor can't. Depending on the business there might be a main manager and several managers of different sections and a ton of supervisors. That's not to say that someone can't get to me if necessary but it'd be a rather long process."

"That's the way it should be," Norah said. "You're a busy man with fingers in a lot of different pies, which is why I don't want to bother you with my little problem, especially since I just accepted your offer to be head gardener here, though I would think you would promote one of the under gardeners, instead hiring someone new."

"I'll look into it myself then," Aaron said. "As for promoting from within, none of them are ready for the head position or the responsibility it entails. There are couple that have absolutely no organizational skills nor the imagination. You have to be able to plan when to put down the seeds for certain plants since some are seasonal as you know and only grow in certain weather, you have to have imagination to plan what you want the grounds to look like, like where to plant the flowers to get the best light. They have to be told what to do and when to do it. Once you do they're competent enough. Most of them them don't have their master's degree though. I believe that a few of them are still working on it part time. From what I know you have a good imagination and will be able to plan something that's attractive, as well as functional. If this was just a little garden, like a housewife keeps then those under gardeners I mentioned would be able to handle it, but here the grounds are massive."

Norah briefly wondered if Aaron really meant what he'd said about looking into her problem. She supposed she'd see eventually, though it would probably be several months at least before there were any results.

"I understand," Norah said finally.

She knew exactly what Aaron meant, when he said that some people needed specific directions on what to do when it came to planting a garden, especially one as big as the Hotchner estate. She'd known people like that in college. She was sure there would also be grass to mow and not just a garden to plant. Aaron probably had somebody else to handle mowing the actual lawn and raking leaves, so it might not be part of her duties. Maybe a droid of some kind, to do that particular chore. Droids could be programmed to do basically anything after all, to drive a car, go grocery shopping, go pick up takeout or clean an area, such as a kitchen or living room. Droids were a useful part of everyday life, especially for those that could afford them.

"Good, I'll expect you to start two weeks from today to get started and meet your under gardeners. I'll have one of them give you a tour since they know the garden far better than I do, so you can familiarize yourself with them," Aaron said. "Feel free to be creative to change things, as Eddie certainly did on occasion. Really, whenever the mood struck him. It doesn't really matter to me the design of the gardens, so long as they are no vines on the footpath for someone to trip over and everything is reasonably tidy, trimmed and contained it doesn't really matter what the design of the garden is."

"I bet you're sorry to lose him," Norah said with very little sympathy, though she did try to sound like she was truly sorry at least for Aaron's head gardener quitting. It wasn't that she didn't sympathize with Eddie's wife's accident, just that this, working on the Hotchner estate was her dream job and if Eddie's wife hadn't ended up in the hospital in a coma she had no doubt she'd still be dodging her boss's grubby hands.

"Yes, I am. He was excellent at his job," Aaron said. "You'll also get excellent insurance through my company that will pay for most any medical problem, medicine, surgery that type of thing."

Norah began to feel a little guilty, because she was actually glad for a second about the wife's accident. Not that she had been so severely hurt of course, but because this Eddie had had to give up a job he probably loved to spend a lot of time at his wife's bedside. She had always wanted to work on an estate like this, but had figured that it would be years before she had such an opportunity or possibly never. She'd had enjoyed working at the Hotchner nursery and if it hadn't been for the supervisor's, in other words, her boss's grubby hands, she would've been happy there forever.

"That's very nice of you," Norah said. She had very good insurance now, since she worked for Hotchner, as it was part of the entire employee package.

"Taking the higher overhead means that people rarely leave their jobs, because their happy where they are, so there's not a lot of turnover. There are many businessmen who don't understand that or don't care," Aaron explained. "Of course, it depends on where you work and what your position is as to what your insurance covers."

Norah was nodding at this because that made complete sense. Someone in a lower level position, one without as much education a bachelors or masters degree or a doctorate wouldn't have as many options, unless they paid for them out of their own pockets.

"I'll walk you out," Aaron said finally once he had named how much she would be paid per month. It was indeed nearly triple what she was making now and that made her happy. It meant she could move to a bigger place, as her apartment was tiny, though at least it was in a decent part of town.

"There is no need to I'm sure you can call Mr. Morgan to escort me out. I know you're very busy Mr. Hotchner.

"I don't mind," Aaron said. "It's about time I get out of this office for a few minutes at least. Life isn't all about work. I could use the fresh air."

Norah quit arguing after that as it wasn't her place. If Mr. Hotchner wanted to escort off the premises or at least to the elevator that led to the garage where her car was parked then she'd let him.

"Thank you for this opportunity Mr. Hotchner," Norah said once they reached the elevator, not the same one that she came up in.

"You're quite welcome, Ms. Greenway," Aaron said. "I'll send you the contract so you can read it and make sure it's to your satisfaction before you sign. I know you'll be working here for many years. "

"That's the plan," Norah said before she pushed the elevator button for the garage. "I'll be waiting for that contract Mr. Hotchner."

~~~Aaron and Norah~~~