Chapter 13
Bob put wood on the fire and then sat close to the wood stove and watched the fire through the glass on the door. Ann sat in the other chair and was quiet with her thoughts. If she could do the job the extra money would ensure that Breda would realize her dream of becoming a doctor.
She was aware that Bob had said something to her, "I'm sorry my mind was wondering. What did you say?"
"You can tell me to mind my own business or whatever, but I'm curious why a beautiful woman like you never got married again. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that."
Ann shook her head slowly and then told him about Ray, his gambling, her rape, the flight from New York and how she happened to get into the florist business. When she finished talking the tears were flowing down her cheeks. Bob got out of his chair, walked over to her and took her hand. He pulled her out of her chair and sat down in the other chair and pulled her into his lap.
"I'm sorry I asked you about that Ann. Just sit here with me a while. I just want to hold you for a while. I'm sorry that I asked you..."
Ann put her hand over his mouth and whispered that it was Ok and then let him hold her. As much as she hated to admit it to herself she liked having a man's arms around her. Bob held her for over an hour; neither of them saying a word.
Ann felt content to be in his arms but she knew that his legs were going to go to sleep so she stood up, "I think that I'll go to bed. Thank you for holding me. I liked that."
"Ann, I'm sorry that I..."
"I'm glad that you asked. It was time to stop reliving it every day and being afraid that those two men would find me some day. I feel as if a weight has been lifted from my chest and I can start living a normal life again."
She reached up and kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you again for holding me. I forgot how nice it was to be held."
She turned and walked up the stairs to the sleeping loft. She was exhausted and climbed into bed with her clothes on and she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Bob sat for a long time watching the fire through the glass of the wood stove. He had been afraid, when he bought the wood stove, that it wouldn't be big enough. It kept the cabin as warm as if the cabin had central heating. He fixed himself a stiff whiskey and water and sat in the semi-darkness sipping the burning liquid. God, he wished that he hadn't asked Ann the question! He felt like a fool for prying into something that was painful to her. He finished his drink and leaned his head back to rest on the chair and closed his eyes.
He woke up to Ann shaking him gently, "Did you sleep in the chair all night?'
Bob saw that it was morning and he sheepishly nodded his head, "Ann, I'm really sorry that I asked you... I guess that I was just trying to make conversation. They say that a fool will always find some excuse to put his foot in his mouth."
"Don't keep beating yourself up over that. I've allowed that to dictate how I ran my life for too many years. I've relived that day a million times. It's time to move on. Now, if you are really serious about that job, I'll start as soon as the couple that wants to buy my business settles on it. Just one thing I insist on; if you feel that my work is not to your satisfaction, you'll let me go."
"Agreed, now how about we get packed up and start back down to civilization. We can stop in Hinley and get breakfast somewhere. There are several good restaurants that serve a great breakfast."
"Don't forget, you'll have to give me the name of the garage that towed my car. I'll call them Monday to find out how much it will cost to fix the car."
"Ann, I wouldn't put too much money into that car. I'm sure that it's going to cost at least two thousand to fix it. I could see that you did a lot of suspension damage when you ran into the ditch. I'll let you use the Skoda until you officially start with the company. Then, if anyone shoots at you, you won't get hurt," he added with a chuckle.
Ann look at him quizzically, "Won't people think I'm driving a tank?"
"No. You'll know that you're driving an armored vehicle but it looks just like every other Skoda. No one will know that it's armored."
Ann smiled, "Tell me again what a Skoda is. I've never heard of it."
"A Skoda is a Czech car. VW bought into the company somehow and they've made the Skoda into quite a respectable car. In Europe, they say that the Skoda is the poor man's Mercedes. It is as luxurious as some of our so called American luxury cars. You'll find that it's a bit heavy and you have to get used to the drive manners of the car. You have to remember that it has a few hundred pounds of armor to carry around. We did a few things to the engine to compensate for the extra weight."
They began to pack their things and in about two hours they were heading down the mountain. Bob pulled into a restaurant in Hinley that he knew served a good breakfast. They were seated right away. The waitress brought two cups and the coffee pot and poured them each a cup of coffee. Bob asked for a few minutes to make up their minds and the waitress left them.
"Bob, I really don't need to use your car. I have the van if I really need to go anywhere."
"Nonsense. I don't know when or even if I can sell that car. Most people that want a B6 vehicle don't want a mid-sized car. They go for the big SUVs or a Mercedes. If they can afford an armored vehicle, they can afford a Mercedes. Don't forget to tell me to give you a gas credit card. Armored vehicles aren't built for great gas mileage."
The waitress took their order. Bob ordered steak and eggs and Ann ordered the same.
Bob was quiet for a few minutes and then looked at Ann and smiled, "You know how you think of something that has to be done but you just never get around to doing it? I've been thinking for a long time that our office is kind of drab. We could use some plants. How about I put in a standing order for two large flower arrangements for our lobby each week? You can start doing that Monday. I'll leave it up to you to make it suitable for our office. I'll sign a contract with your shop for our office interior landscaping and monthly maintenance. That should give the new owners a little boost."
"You don't have to do that," Ann said.
"No, I want to. Like I said I've been thinking about it for a large time but I just never got around to it. You can start the office landscaping right away or you can give the new owners something to chew on their first day."
Ann smiled, "I think that I'll leave that part for the new owners. I remember what it was like starting out."
After breakfast they started for home. As soon as they neared Manassas Bob headed to one of the many industrial parks that dotted the suburbs of Manassas. He stopped in front of an imposing brick front office building that had no signs telling visitors what the name of the company was. Three very large industrial buildings were situated in back of the office building. None of the buildings gave a hint as to their purpose.
"Come on inside the office so that you can see the lobby. You might have to pick out something to hold the flowers. I'll show you around the office and then we'll get the Skoda for you."
As Bob took her around the building he pointed out the various departments and briefly explained what they did and how many people worked in that department.
"Here you're a security company and you don't even have an alarm system in your office," Ann said.
Bob pointed to an obtrusive bulge in the corner of the room, "Every inch of every room is covered by cameras. Our security people are watching us right now. If they felt that we didn't belong here, they would push a button that would lock every door in the building. Each of the windows is covered, inside and out, with plastic film that is virtually impregnable. If you throw a chair at the window the glass will break but the window will be held in place by the plastic, trapping you in the building. If you were armed, we could flood the room with gas to incapacitate you. As soon as we pulled up in front of the building we were being watched."
Bob continued to give Ann a tour of the building. He stopped in front of a large office and opened the door. He walked into the office and Ann followed him. She noticed that the door closed softly.
"This will be your office. The phone is secure and any conversations will be heard by only you and the person you are calling. You have your own secure fax and computer and the computer will send no information to anyone unless you tell it to. I'll have my IT people spend a day with you to show you the ins and outs of the computer system."
"Where is your office?" Ann asked.
Bob smiled and took her down the hall. He unlocked a door and took her into a large office that was very expensively furnished. She saw that there was a full bathroom off of the office and there was a private conference room that could only be accessed from the office. There were four computer screens that were lit up and there was data being recorded on the computers. Bob opened a drawer on his desk and took out a credit card and handed it to her.
"This is your gas card. Come on. Let's get that car so you can get home and call your daughter. I'm sure that you're dying to tell her how bad I've treated you this weekend."
Bob led her to one of the large buildings in back of the office building and opened the door with his key. Just inside the door was a large room with many computer screens that showed every room of the building. Ten men sat on chairs monitoring the screens. Bob knocked on the door and a man in an expensive suit answered his knock.
"Ann, this is Pete Samper, he's our chief of security. Nothing gets past this guy. Pete, this is Ann Simmons. She's going to be working for us as vice-president of sales. You'll have to spend some time with her to instruct her on our security protocols. She won't start for about a month. She's going to take the Skoda. You'll have to make sure that she gets all of the cards and passes that she'll need."
Pete nodded and waited. Ann instinctively knew that he wasn't going to say anything. Pete Samper was one of those men that didn't say much unless it needed to be said.
Bob started toward the back of the building. He stopped at a car that was covered. There were about twenty other cars, of various makes, covered with tarps. When he pulled the cover off the car that they had stopped in front of; Ann saw that it was a white car and it looked as normal as any car.
Bob started the car and made sure that it was running Ok and that it had a full tank of gas and then got out and held the door open for Ann.
Ann hesitated, "Are you sure?"
"I sure am. Give me a call and let me know the exact date that you want to start."
Ann got in the car and put it in gear and drove to the large garage
door at the end of the building. Bob waved as she passed him and the
door started to open when she was about twenty feet from it.