Chapter Three

      Theresa stood in front of the Martinsen full length mirror, sizing up the dark blue blazer dress. She was twitching her mouth both ways and shaking her head as she decided against the fourth dress now. She moved over to the bed were she had laid out about six other outfit and picked up the black peplum blouse she intended to match with a black pant suit. It was going to be the first day at Havens Cloud and she wanted to make a good impression; more like blow their minds away with the outfit she would eventually wear. She was going for 'not too much, not too less'. And nothing she had sized up seemed to fit that description perfectly. Or so she thought.

      She felt a certain relief when she tendered her resignation letter at New Times Daily: practically dancing into the agency and gently slamming her resignation letter on Barris' desk. Not in a million years would he admit this, but he was losing his best P.R.O. and he knew it. She made sure to let him know that she got a job at his rival's agency as a Journalist, a job he wouldn't give her despite the vacancies, her hard-work and qualifications and left his office, in the same way she had come in but this time, a beautiful smug was plastered on her face.

      "Have you seen a brown envelope lying around?" William quizzed coming into the bedroom looking rather hectic.

      "You mean the envelope that got soaked up in the sink?"

       His eyes widened. "Soaked up?"

     She flung open one of the drawers by the bedside, revealing the neatly tucked envelope. 

     "I was joking," she poked him in the stomach and handed it over to him. 

      She could see the relief on his face. "Thanks babe. My father would have fired me today."

      "Can he do that?"

     "It's his company, he can do anything." He left for the kitchen where he was making toast bread with eggs and custard for breakfast. He decided they should settle for a sumptuous meal that morning seeing as every time, Theresa has to stuff peanut butter all over a bread and munch it down as breakfast whenever he doesn't sleep over. 

      She grabbed the blue high necked dress and white pants suit which went with a black blazer, from the bed and rushed over to the kitchen to get his opinion.

      "Do you think I should wear the white suit or this blue dress?" she asked walking into the kitchen.

     He studied the clothes for about five seconds before pointing to the white pants suit. He grimaced at how much effort she was making to impress Robert Johnson.

    "What?" she asked, sensing he wasn't saying something.

     William looked up feigning confusion. "Huh?" 

     Theresa went back into the bedroom and put on the white pant suit, picking out a black camisole she put on before finishing it up with the black blazer. She slipped on her black loafers, packed her hair into a smooth bun and applied beige pink lipstick before heading out. 

       William refused to drive her to the agency as he does almost all the time. He came up with the flimsiest excuse that he had to get coffee for his father at Oakleys before heading to his office. She couldn't quite place why he had been moody the entire weekend, but she chose to let it slide. Nothing should ruin her first day as a journalist, most especially her petulant boyfriend whom she thought would be incredibly happy for her.

      "Have a wonderful first day," he kissed her cheek and drove off.

        To say the grace which had been following her all weekend stuck with her till Monday morn as almost immediately she boarded a cab which took her to Havens Cloud in a smooth ride – no traffic, no drama.

     "Theresa Gray," she answered the receptionist who asked for her name. The woman cross checked the long book on the desk and shook her head. "Who did you say you were looking for again?"

    Theresa almost let out a frustrated sigh. Clearly, this woman hasn't been listening to all she had explained. She was just about to speak when Robert walked into the agency holding his coat in one hand. 

    "If it isn't the newest journalist in my agency," he spread out his hands, smiling at them. "Is there a problem here?"

    "Good morning sir. She claims to be Theresa Gray seeking for a job. But I wasn't informed about any interviews today."

     Now, Theresa let out that frustrated sigh. Claims? She wanted to draw that long ponytail of hers and scream into her ears 'Sissy, Theresa Gray is my name'.

     "I very much remember saying 'I got a job' here," Theresa retorted calmly.

     The woman's head fell and she quickly apologized for not paying any attention. 

      "Well Laura," he turned to the receptionist. "Theresa is the newest journalist in the agency so make sure to include her name in the system here to prevent any more of this," he referred to the situation that had just occurred.

      "Come on," he said to Theresa and they both rode the elevator up to the fifth floor where the conference room was situated. A bunch of other journalists were gathered there as Robert had informed them of the announcement he was going to deliver by 9am. They walked into the conference room and as expected, everyone's eyes were on her. Nothing gave away any negative review and she concluded she was rocking that outfit.

     "I know you must be all wondering why I called this impromptu meeting and who this young woman beside me," Robert started. Everybody's gaze came back to her. "This is Theresa Gray, your newest colleague. She will be working as a Journalist."

     Okay, so far so good, she thought. This was until Robert broke the second news. "And, I have awarded her the contract to write my biography. That'll be all."

    She could swear she saw jealousy in the eyes of some other journalists. So much for a good first impression, she thought. As if it couldn't get any worse, she was assigned an office rather than a desk like every other journalist. Surely, this treatment might send the wrong messages to her colleagues but, she eventually chose not to let that bother her and celebrate the fact that she would be working in her own office.

    "About your biography Mr. Johnson," she asked on getting to his office where he handed her a file to fill in the necessary employee details. "Was it an open contract?"

      "Yes." He replied. "I was going to give it to one of the other journalists before I stumbled upon your blog."

       Well that explains the flash of jealousy she thought she had seen. "Thank you again sir." 

       As she turned to leave, Sam burst into the office, with a clearly annoyed expression on his face. His mid length tousled black hair was what caught her attention. It came to the side of his face and he ran a hard through it, pulling it back. Theresa forgot herself whilst staring at him. If the disgusted look he gave her was not enough to make her snap out of her silly thoughts, she didn't know what else would have. He was the head Publicist in the agency, and quite a fine man, clearly arrogant and without manners, she thought.  

    "What is this I hear about delaying tomorrow's paper?" he asked, flinging his hands in the air. He must have been too annoyed to notice the warm smile she gave to him when he turned again to look at her, she felt stupid when that disgusted face replaced the exasperated one just as he turned to her. Just what did she look like to him? This was certainly not how she wanted her first day to go. It would seem like she had made enemies already without even speaking to anyone.

     "We'll talk about this later, Samuel," Robert replied in a low husky tone. She wanted to quietly exit the office as it seemed like there was going to be a heated exchange. Rather, Sam stomped out of the office much to her relief.

      Robert sighed, leaning into his chair. "And that's Samuel Johnson. My nephew. Just make sure to be on time in whatever might involve you two working together and you'll be fine."

      She nodded in understanding. "I'll fill these in now." She motioned to the file in hand and left the office.

                     ************

        For the better part of it, Theresa's life seemed to be perfect. Or at least her career, and at the moment, that's all that mattered. She still couldn't comprehend why William had been 'stuck up' lately. He barely slept over at her place anymore and always had an excuse to miss dinner or lunch and whenever she wasn't available, he would get upset. Well, in the end of the month, she received her first and very appealing pay check which got her grinning for an entire week. Things were great at Havens Cloud. Her colleagues were quite welcoming. Everyone except for Sam. Not that she cared, but he never seemed to be happy. She had never seen him smile at anyone and especially not at her. They barely had to work together, thank God, or she might just end up strangling him in the course of anything if he dare throw her another disgusted look. She was non-existent to him and she very much liked it that way. Robert had scheduled a few meetings with her to talk about his biography and she always looked forward to learning of his interesting and roguish past. Everything was just fine until Mary Johnson came knocking on her door.

          On a Friday evening, she was at the agency preparing to call it a day when her phone rang. She dug dip into her bag, as she searched for her phone from where she had thrown it in earlier. It was an unknown I.D. Certainly not Robert Johnson's secretary again.

     "Hello?" she called through the receiver.

      "Hi Theresa," Mary's voice came in a soft hollow.

     "Mrs. Johnson?" she definitely recognized that soft and peaceful voice from the few times she had been at Robert's house. 

     "Yes dear," Mary replied. "I was hoping we could meet somewhere and talk."

      Talk? She instantly became curious.

     "Is everything all right Mrs. Johnson?" 

     "Everything is fine. I just need to discuss something with you. I'll text you the place and time, if you don't mind."

      "O – Okay." Theresa said and the line went off.

      It didn't seem like much of a request to her. Mary's voice always came out soft but today, it was worrying. The text came in immediately and she quickly packed her things into her bag and texted William that she wouldn't be able to make it for their dinner date before heading out to the diner Mary proposed they'd meet.

       Taking a seat across Mary in the Oakleys diner, Theresa studied her for a few seconds before breaking the silence.

      "You look troubled Mrs. Johnson," she asked in concern.

       Mary took a breath in and forced herself to put on a smile. Anyone could see something was weighing her down and she was trying not to make it obvious. 

     "I know you've been spending a lot of time with my husband and he's been telling you a lot of things," she started.

     Theresa's expression changed. She knew exactly where this was going. Mary was going to confront her on the rumors of her and Robert supposedly having an affair. This rumor circulated around the agency when she just came in but she paid no heed to it. 

    It was as if Mary noticed Theresa's change in expression as she immediately placated. "I heard the rumor, but that's not why I asked you here."

      Relief replaced the worn out expression on her face. "Thank goodness," she muttered quietly.

     "But," she started again, earning a frown from Theresa. "There's something about his past that troubles him. Something he never mentioned to me.

     Theresa sat back to listen tentatively.

     "And since he tells you things about his past, he might have mentioned it to you."

     "Uh – uh I don't have any idea – "

     "Has he mentioned anything about the time he got his breakthrough contract to write the sequel to a book, Double Shadows?" she asked curtly.

      Robert did talk about getting this sequel but nothing much was said on it. She dare say he was avoiding a lot of details when he spoke about it. But then, maybe there wasn't more to what he had told her.

     "He has mentioned this sequel but only that the book was a stepping stone to his success."

     "That all he said?"

      She nodded in affirmation. "I don't know if there's more. If there is, he certainly haven't said anything yet. He still talks about his folly high school days now. So maybe, we'll get to it."

      Mary was disappointed. "When he talks about it, please let me know."

      Theresa still wasn't sure what this was about but decided not to trouble her any more than she already was with questions. So, she let her curiosity sink.

      "I'm sorry I wasn't of any help Mrs. Johnson." 

      "Oh Theresa. Call me Mary."