Chapter 2

The sun beaming through the windows of the hotel awakened me. I hadn’t thought to close them as the setting sun on the other side of the hotel hadn’t much bothered me when I went to bed. Toronto wasn’t that far north, but far enough that the sun rose early in the morning in the summer and you needed dark curtains if you wanted to sleep late.

I found the paper lying outside my bedroom door. It was the Globe and Mail and it reminded me that it was a Wednesday, not a Tuesday as it should have been if I hadn’t lost three years somehow. Of course, the fact that I was waking up in the Royal Suite of the Fairmont Royal York was also a clue that something very strange was going on.

I was just looking around for the coffee maker when there was a tentative knock on the door. I pulled on a robe, making sure I was decent, and then called out for them to enter.

It was Alex from last night and she looked quite tentative, almost scared to come into the room.

“I saw that the paper was gone and I thought you were awake. Could I get you some breakfast, perhaps some tea or coffee?” she asked, her voice quavering.

“Alex, we need to talk about what happened last night,” I started but she started shaking so badly that I thought she was either going to bolt from the room again or fall. So, I changed tactics.

“Sit down in that chair!” I commanded, and to my surprise, she immediately sat without any hesitation.

“Now look, I think you are an incredibly attractive woman, and any man my age would be thrilled to have a woman more than a decade younger than him, who looks as beautiful as you, as a companion. However, you want to be with me because of something I did, something that I don’t remember, and somehow that feels wrong to me. It feels like I am taking advantage of you. It would make me feel like a monster.”

Alex paused and I could almost see the force of will go through her body before she gathered herself and looked up at me. In her wide and beautiful eyes, I saw that I had just made the situation both better and worse. While I was sure that we would be able to get past the events of last night, I feared her hero worship was even worse now.

Ale nodded and smiled at me. “I understand Mr. Dekker and let me apologize for my behavior. I wasn’t very professional and let my feelings and emotions get the best of me. I certainly wasn’t considering your feelings and emotions.”

She paused and looked down at the floor as if she were gathering her thoughts, but then she shook her head and looked back up at me and I could see that she was all business again.

“Now how about some coffee?” she asked, “And I’ll put in an order for some breakfast?”

I smiled and nodded, taking the menu she handed me.

I stood in front of the closet and tried to figure out what to wear, having no idea what I was going to be doing today. I had gotten an email from Jim, my boss, explaining that he had gotten an email from a very nice employee at the Fairmont by the name of Alex who had explained that I had no memory of what had happened. He told me in no uncertain terms that they still considered me an employee, but to take as much time as I needed before coming back to work. And of course, he would keep my memory loss confidential unless I told him otherwise.

So here I was in a foreign country, in a big city with nothing to do. Of course, I wondered how I was going to pay for this suite, so I decided that I needed to get a few items like that taken care of right away. Deciding that I needed to look the part of a business person as I negotiated for the room and other services, I pulled out one of my power suits and proceeded to dress for battle as I might when negotiating contracts for my company.

When I was ready, I walked into the main lounge and found Alex there waiting for me.

“Alex, can you ask the hotel manager to come up to the suite as I need to discuss the further use of the suite with him.”

Alex paled but nodded, walking quickly over to the house phone.

“Is there anything I can do, Sir,” she asked as she dialed, “Is there some problem with the service?”

“No, the service is fine, but I cannot afford such luxury as this on my salary. Now that I think about it, I have three years’ worth of bills that I need to take care of back home!”

I felt the panic start to set in and the world went a little fuzzy around the edges just then. Suddenly Alex was by my side, helping me sit in a chair.

“Just breathe, that’s it, just slow, deep breaths.” she was softly saying.

Once it was clear I wasn’t going to pass out, she smiled at me and took my hand.

“Now Mr. Dekker, while you may not remember what happened, you need to be gracious and let people say thank you for what you did. A small part of that is this hotel is providing this room and the service that goes with it free of charge. It is great publicity for the hotel to have you staying here and only the queen herself coming for a visit would cause a problem with needing this floor. I suspect that even she would defer to you!”

“And as for your house and bills in Memphis, I can assure you that it has all been taken care of. There is a foundation that took over care of your home shortly after you disappeared. Your home quickly because a shrine and people from all over the world, from all religions and countries, came to pay their respects. Your home is now an even bigger attraction than Graceland!”

While I was sure that Alex wasn’t intentionally lying to me, this was a hard tale to swallow. My modest home in mid-town Memphis was a shrine? A shrine to what, I wondered?

“So, this hotel room is free for me to use as long as I wish?” I asked, not quite believing her.

“Absolutely true,” came the answer from the doorway as the hotel manager, the same man who rode up the elevator with me yesterday, walked into the suite. “While I do not need to know the details to preserve your privacy, I have been informed by Ms. Alex that you do not fully comprehend the gratitude we have for what you did. But rest assured, the use of this suite, and all of the services of this hotel are yours to use for as long as you wish. It is our pleasure to have you as a guest.”

“Thank you, I am humbled by your generosity and you have a lovely hotel and a wonderful staff,” I replied, specifically indicating Alex. “If there is anything I can do for you please do let me know,” I added, mostly out of habit.

“Well, now that you mention it, there has been a throng of reporters camped out in front of the hotel hoping to catch sight of you or hoping you might make an appearance or some kind of statement. Have you considered any of those things?”

“I hadn’t, not really. I’m still digesting everything and adjusting to this,” I replied.

“If I might make a suggestion, a personal assistant, or a spokesperson might be a good idea about now.” the manager commented. “There are several good communication agencies here in Toronto, I could have a few of them send over candidates for an interview?”

Alex spoke up then.

“Mr. Dekker, I was a communications major and interned at King Communications here in Toronto. I’d be happy to serve as a liaison for you with them if you’d trust me to do so.”

“So long as you don’t mind me stealing your employee for a bit of additional activity, I think we have a solution,” I suggested to the manager.

“I look forward to hearing from Alex about a plan so that we can better manage the crowd downstairs,” he said and with a half bow, turned and departed the room.

Alex looked at me, silently asking permission to depart as well, and with a nod from me, she was out the door as well.

And so, I found myself alone in the suite again, wondering what to do with myself. I decided to try and catch up on news that was about aliens that had occurred in the past three years.

I groaned as I looked again at the schedule. If I had known this was the alternative I would have happily continued to take the solitude of life in my hotel suite with nothing to do and only the hotel staff to keep me company.

Alex had returned a short time later with an attractive blonde by the name of Jennifere Winemiller who worked for King Communications. She and Alex were all business as they talked about the many ways I could approach the press downstairs. Alex had insisted that Jennifere sign a non-disclosure agreement before we started speaking. Only then did Alex let me tell her about my lack of memory of anything that had happened.

To her credit, Jennifere was the consummate professional. She immediately launched into a series of options and strategies. There was everything from the hermit option where I did nothing and said nothing to the press and minimized my exposure to the Hollywood star option where I soaked up the limelight.

She had also gotten in touch with the foundation in Memphis, hoping to coordinate a public approach with them, only to find that they were on their way to Toronto on the chance they would be able to meet with me.

We decided on a strategy of minimal exposure but not reclusive, accepting invitations on a very selective basis, trying to cultivate an image of a socially conscious person, but without an “agenda” that the far-right or the far-left could claim.

It would start with a short press conference which would occur tomorrow at 10 am. That would give the story time for the evening news in Europe the noon news on the east coast and the morning news on the west coast. It would make the overnight circuit in Asia and greet them in the morning. Jennifere worked with me on a few themes and promised to return this evening with a draft that we could practice going over.

We’d then get an early start with a few practices in the ballroom before they opened it to the media. Then we’d have a working breakfast with some practice questions and a few more practice sessions before the big event. I was already nervous and dreading the event.

“Tomorrow, we’ll need to address how you want to handle requests for appearances. While you could opt to contract out this work, even though this may sound contrary to my firm, I would advise you to hire a personal secretary, someone who is accountable only to you.”

Now knowing a little about working across international borders and hiring and paying people in another country, when I heard this, I just groaned.

“But could your firm handle it until I get back to Memphis and set about doing that?” I asked. “I do not want to have to navigate the Byzantine laws that make up the labor and employment rules in both our countries.”

Jennifere and Alex both found that amusing because they both started laughing.

“I’m sorry, Sir,” Alex said contritely when she realized that I wasn’t laughing. “You have been proclaimed a citizen of the world, hence you can hire and do business anywhere in the world. It was a UN decree, but adopted by almost all countries, at least any that you might want to visit.”

I agreed to consider the proposal, and Jennifere gathered her things and prepared to leave, while Alex busied herself with her job in the rest of the suite, leaving me, once again, with nothing to do. So, I flipped on the television to see what was happening.

“Sir, excuse me,” I heard Jennifere ask quietly from my side.

When I turned and nodded to her, she continued, “I know we just met, and my recommendation doesn’t carry much weight, but I’ve known Alex for a while and she hasn’t had many breaks in life. She is a hard worker and very talented. Her skills would make her an excellent personal assistant for someone in your position. She is also fluent in several languages and that may come in quite handy in the future.”

“Thank you for your recommendation. I’ve been impressed with her so far.” I replied. She was a hard worker, that was obvious, and if she had been trained to deal with the media, that would be very useful. The language skill I hadn’t seen, but I had no reason to doubt it. It was just the hero worship that worried me.

With that, she nodded and left the suite, and I spent the rest of the morning watching the news and reading the paper, trying to catch up with current events and what the media were reporting about my return.

Amazingly, there was no word about me leaking out from the hotel. Hotel staff were notorious for their leaks and I was more than a little impressed with the Fairmont and its ability to keep things quiet. While it was true that my exposure to the staff had been limited to Alex, the manager, a butler, and a few odd housekeeping staff, I expected a few cell phone pictures to be sneaking out, or at least a few rumors.

At noon, Alex knocked on the door to the study, where I had started to spend most of my time.

“Sir, could I speak to you for a moment?” she asked.

She had changed out of her hotel uniform but was dressed in a very stylish business suit and heels that at once screamed sexy and at the same moment screamed that you had better take her seriously despite the fact that she was a very feminine and sensual woman.

I nodded and she saw my look of uncertainty at her change in appearance.

“I went off-duty at noon, Sir. Ingrid is here and will be in shortly to ask about lunch. I was hoping to ask for a moment of your time before I gave you a copy of my resume to apply for the job of your personal assistant. I realize that I am being somewhat aggressive about this, but I would point out two things: first, you badly need someone immediately, and two, I am qualified and very much need the job.”