I spent the rest of the weekend with mum, I treated her to a Sunday lunch with what was left of my extra bonus. No expense was spared and we ate well in a beautiful little Italian just off of Grosvenor Square.
It was a lovely late summer afternoon and as usual, Sundays are a bit quieter in London. To walk off the meal we took a stroll through Hyde Park and fed the ducks.
"I am proud of you son, dad would've been too."
My eyes welled up and I took her arm a little tighter, she rested her head into my shoulder and we took a bench on the side of the river.
The boats were filled with families and lovers, mums and dads with the two obligatory children as they laughed and splashed. I had missed all this, mum sensed it too because I heard a little sniffle from beside me as she dabbed her nose with her white lace handkerchief.
"I miss him." She said.
"I know, I do too."
"We did this when you were young, when you were about three I think." she said quietly. "A day at the zoo, lunch in Trafalgar Square then down here rowing. Dad was good, he rowed for Oxford, did I ever tell you?"
"No." I lied, so she could tell me again.
We spent the next hour between the tears, her telling me stories of my father. I wished I had more memories of him and a few more years, he sounded a great dad. I know she was biased but from the few memories I have of him, I found that I had to agree with her assessment.
"You remind me so much of him Bobby, so much. Same eyes, hair, and even the mannerisms. The way you brush your hair in the bathroom mirror, the way you stand. Sometimes as I pass and glance in, I swear its Jerry."
She smiled, hugged me into herself just that bit tighter and sighed.
I kissed the top of her head and whispered, "Me and you against the world mum."
"So, how did the weekend go?" Sandra asked at breakfast as she stared over her half empty cornflake bowl and morning mug of hot tea.
"Any gossip?"
"Like?" I replied, knowing what she wanted, but was too afraid to ask outright.
I was sure she had begun to suspect that there was more going on than was let on, she was no fool. She knew that the glances between Helen and myself when I was called in to JB's office had hidden meaning. Also the fact that I was in there for an hour at a time with almost a 'do not disturb' sign in big flashing red letters on the door. Everyone knew not to enter when I was in her office.
I was becoming an expert on JB's body language and could virtually tell just by seeing her first thing as she walked across the lobby whether or not I would be needed, she had a swagger about her if she was in the mood, business-like if not.
"Sounds like the boss." Sandra said as she tilted her head cupping a hand to one ear.
Click-clack, click-clack.
Sure enough, three seconds later she appeared around the corner of the kitchen wall. Leaning her hip against the counter and eyeing us up as she poured herself a coffee she said,
"Bobby, I hope you are not keeping young Sandra here from her work, she is very busy today you know."
"No-no JB, sorry JB."
She smiled down at me saying, "It is ok, she has a little time to spend here, just a little." Then redirected that smile to Sandra and added, "You do know that Bobby here fancies the pants off you, don't you dear."
My face reddened as she grinned, turned and walked away leaving me with a very amused co-worker.
"So?" Sandra remarked, tilting her head again, only this time her brow raised questioningly.
"You fancy my panties huh?"
"No-no-I..." I was tongue-tied as I tried to defend myself.
"Bobby, its ok. God you really are adorable sometimes."
With that, she put her dirty cutlery in the sink and walked off to her desk leaving me alone and embarrassed. JB was right though, I did fancy the pants off of her.
"Ok Bobby dear." JB said as I stood opposite her, "Today, today I am farming you out to advertising. I have informed Anita that you will be with her for the next three days learning the ropes. She is good, very good in fact, and she will take you under her wing and get you up to speed on how we rake in the dollars."
"Ok, thank you JB. I won't let you down."
As I turned to leave she said, "Wait, where are you going?"
I stopped and turned back to her, she had that evil grin. She was sitting on the edge of her desk and slowly opened her legs pointing to finger downwards.
"On your knees, I won't be seeing you for three days. Get to it."
The next morning instead of my usual floor seven I punched in floor five. The lobby could not have been more different, there were far more people here, more noise, more hustle and bustle, more of everything really. I made my way through the throng of bodies to what looked like the main desk.
"Erm, hello, I am Bob from upstairs to see Anita?"
"Bob?" the young man asked.
"JB sent me down."
"JB?" he said in the same puzzled manner.
I was a little annoyed now, was I as stupid as this kid when I started?
"Let's start again, I am...."
"Bobby!" a voice from just behind me said loudly.
"Hi, I am Anita."
A stunning woman about mid-forties stood holding her right hand out, her face lit up with a huge smile as she waited for me to take it.
"JB said you would be down this morning."
"Hi, hi, I'm bob." I said rather stupidly because she already knew that.
"Yes." She said still smiling. "Penny said you were pretty, she didn't do you justice."
"Penny? Pretty?" I said, with an even more stupid look on my face than the idiot behind the counter.
"Penelope, JB." She said. "our boss?" she nodded as if to say do you understand.
"Sorry, sorry, I was a bit confused. I've never heard her called Penny before."
"Not a problem, she has been Penny to me since school. We're old school friends, and have been ever since. Right, let's get you started, what do you know?"
"About?" I said, rather dumbly.
"About us?" she said. "What do you know about us, what we do, how we pay the bills?"
"Nothing really," I replied honestly. "I have been fetching and carrying for the boss for a month or two, she sent me here to learn."