Marcus strode along Manhattan's busiest street. It had become a little tighter than it was the last time he was here. Tall buildings had occupied spaces that were once used for car parks. The trees that made the city look sane, were felled. Malls had been built on where used to be a natural park. Every corner exuded live glitz and razzmatazz, too glaring to ignore.
Now he longed for Baltimore. There was peace and quiet there, and people lived longer, because the air from the trees was fresh.
Baltimore was structured for calm first, then wealth.
Marcus would jokingly think the person who founded the city was already wealthy, and was looking for peace instead.
NewYork was crazy. Very fast-paced.
Marcus gave a mirthless laugh. No wonder he was a go-getter, and once-upon-a-time, arrogant. But Ava...
"Haaaaaa!" Marcus exhaled softly. He had missed seeing her. Ava was warm. Very resilient, exactly what Baltimoreans were known for. He had seen her rise from the very bottom to being her own Boss. His personal investigator had told him her restaurant lounge was the most beautiful and exquisite places he had ever visited—finer than most of the popular ones in NewYork. Her standard was top-notch.
Damn girl!!!! Marcus exclaimed excitedly, impressed at her growth.
"Hey, watch your step!" An old woman, called out, poking Marcus with her walking stick.
"Oh! Sorry!"
He hadn't realized his thoughts had distracted him. He watched the woman move in measured pace, into a crowd that crossed the road.
Looking away from her, around a place, he knew too well, he spotted BlueBird —his building—the tallest, most exquisite, structure, still standing in its full grandeur. BlueBird had occupied two acres of land, stretching its boundaries as far as Times Square.
Marcus just stood and stared.
The place looked far neater than he had imagined, the exterior tastefully refurbished, and..Something suddenly caught his attention, a huge backdrop with his photo engraved on it, hung loosely off a mini two storey building inside. He remembered this building...
It was the last he had built and commissioned before he left for Baltimore. The building was for youngsters, interested in tech. Equipped to standard of everything they'd possibly need. Marcus wanted to stimulate the minds of teens, and young adults to love technology.
That was how he started. "Grand pa...
Marcus stopped thinking , and turned his focus back to the picture his eyes had caught...
It was his.
It announced his memorial.
"My memorial?" Marcus muttered, unsure of what to think.
"Why?"
He drifted his thoughts to the accident.
Whoever did this, really wanted me dead.
His phone rang.
"Fred."
"Sir, is this a good time to talk."
"Shoot."
"Dr Phyl was rushed to a hospital four days ago, not too far from Ava's lounge." Fred's voice was audible, but it sounded distant to Marcus.
"Why?" Marcus' attention seem torn between his memorial photo and what Fred was saying.
"Heart attack Sir." He had visited Ava's lounge, but slumped on his way to his car. But for Richard, who noticed he dropped, Dr Phyl would have been dead.
"Who's Richard?" Marcus wasn't familiar with the name.
"A colleague." Fred announced quickly. "Keeping track on Ava was becoming tiresome .l needed help. Good thing is, he's from NewYork'.
"I don't care if he were from Baltimore, or any other state." His eyes narrowed. "All l want is frequent update on Ava's safety."
"Does Ava know!"
"Yes."Fred's voice drifting in the wind. She's been with him since then."
Marcus could not believe what he had just heard.
"And Alfred?"
"He visits when he can. He's been where..."
"Fred, l got to go. Your eyes must not blink, while watching Ava. Keep them safe."
Marcus hung up quickly.
"Anthonio." Marcus,' eyes lit with joy. He had missed him so much. He felt like a boy again, so eager to run to his Grandfather.
Anthonio was on the balcony, speaking to someone he couldn't recognize. Suddenly, he turned in the direction where Marcus stood, few meters outside the main gate, and in a few seconds, their eyes met.
Anthonio withdrew his gaze, but Marcus kept at it. He didn't know if it was he, Anthonio had looked at, or the thousand and one distracting things above his head.
He saw Anthonio enter an office through a tinted automatic door.
Marcus didn't come to meet surprises, at BlueBird neither did he come as a tourist. He came for something much more important.
Holding the gate's intercom, he dailed security by heart, though the numbers were engraved on a gold plated metal on the wall.
Someone picked.
"Hello. I came for a job interview. I'd like to see HR."
Marcus was surprised when he was ushered in a few minutes later.
My security had improved, he muttered beneath his breath.
A heavily armed uniform man who towered about 6 foot 3, stood suddenly before him.
"My name is Traj. I need you to pass through this door for a search."
Marcus was blown away. He wanted to give a sturdy handshake to Traj cos he had seen professionalism at its core, but it took a great skill of self control, not to. With what he saw on the outside, he couldn't wait to see the inside.
Marcus passed security.
He had to.
The plot was going as planned. The accident altered his finger print, so no one suspected a thing.
BlueBird was beautiful.
The parking lot had an austere to it, he just loved. Ornamental plants were grown there. A large part of the space had been replaced by organic carpet grass. Too green, and healthy, he was tempted more than once to touch it.
In the middle, was a fountain. Fresh water poured out from a breath taking work of art.
Marcus wanted to scream.
Soon, he was seated at the HR's office, too large you'd think it was a board room. The design of this place was delibrate.
Marcus loved large spaces.
BlueBird was giant in tech, so the building had to reflect his personality. He had spared no cost then at maintaining it, just as whoever was the new CEO, spared no cost at all, still maintaining it. The person knew him too well.
This's what l'm talking about Anthonio!!!
Marcus knew without a flicker of doubt, that Anthonio was responsible for the change around here...
Even the banner—a loud voice popped in his thinking.
Marcus frowned a bit.
I'll know why he did it. Soon!
HR walked in.
She was tall, and very smartly dressed. Marcus sat, studying her every step. In the past, his employees were always afraid of his look. His handsome face had always carried a tact of arrogance and intimidating meaness. Most of them avoided eye contact, and he loved it.
"Hello!" The lady said beaming with a smile that made Marcus picture her as Ava. She extended her hand to greet.
"Andrea!"
"Ma—Merrick Woodrow!" Marcus said, biting his lips again. He prayed silently he would not repeat this mistake. Why the hell couldn't he just get used to his new name. "Merrick. Marcus. Merrick, see, Merricksounds easy." Marcus entertained himself in his head.
"I don't see your name, Mr Merrick as an applicant. Did you follow the instructions on our website carefully?" Andrea asked, wishing she could see his mame somewhere, hoping it would just appear. She too squealed at what she saw...
She thought Mr Merrick was a Greek god turn human. He had the most chiseled chin, and forehead she had ever seen. His lips were just the right size and volume...
God!!This man was beautiful.
"I didn't apply through the site because my job title doesn't fit any of the listed ones." Merrick started to say.
Andrea was confused, or she didn't understand what he said.
"I beg your pardon, but if your job title wasn't listed, then why are you here?"
Marcus smiled.
He loved her confidence. She did better than Aria—his former HR—at least. He had fired her as quickly as he had hired her, cos she wanted more than just being his HR.
He had slept with her twice, before he got bored,and got her fired.
"The job invitation says too, that for positions not listed, applicants could apply in person."
Andrea lost a little balance. If she hadn't held a rail close to where Merrick sat, she would have sprained an ankle.
Looking down again at the paper she held, she took a roll call, at the non-professional job vacancies BlueBird wanted...
One word stared back at her.
"Janitor!"
Raising her head to him, her eyes scanning his plain, yet very good looking clothes, unblinking, she said, "l'm sorry Sir, you're probably in a wrong place cos this is certainly not the job you are looking for."
Merrick stood. Tilting his head ,and squinting his eyes at her, he was taller, so it was easy to say what he wanted to say.
"Ma'am, if that's the only job vacancy that required walk-in applicants, and seeing no one is here but me, on the day, and the exact time as scheduled on the website, then l wasn't babbling when l said what l said..."
"I am applying to be a Janitor in BlueBird."