Chapter 9

Saturday morning, as soon as my alarm sounded, I rang a local taxi company and booked a taxi to the airport. I showered, dressed and had breakfast, noting that the guest room door stayed firmly shut. Harriet was clearly not a morning person. She still hadn't surfaced by the time the taxi arrived so I scribbled a quick note for her, telling her when to put the trash out and detailing various methods of contacting me while I was away, then I picked up my bags and left.

The journey to the airport had its usual traffic holdups but I arrived in plenty of time. However, at the check in, the airline said that the destination airport was currently fogbound, all flights currently in the air were being diverted to another airport some 400 miles away and my flight was currently delayed for at least two hours.

I knew that Denise had arranged for me to be met when I landed but I didn't have their contact details so I sent her a text message, hoping she'd check her phone despite it being a weekend. Surprisingly I got a reply was almost immediately, thanking me for the information and asking to be kept abreast of developments.

I bought a doorstep-sized paperback from one of the airport shops and settled down for a long wait. I was about halfway through and had just finished my second disgusting airport coffee when I heard boarding for my flight being announced. A quick check revealed that my destination was now clear enough for planes to land, and takeoff would be about two and a half hours later than originally scheduled. I texted the update to Denise then boarded the plane.

When I got off the plane, I collected my luggage then looked around for a placard with my name on. I didn't see one, despite having had text confirmation from Denise that she'd received my previous travel update. Then I saw Denise herself waving to me.

Denise Yamikawa was half white American, half Japanese, a combination which endowed her with exotic good looks. Normally Japanese girls tend to be short and cute, but Denise was tall and athletic, almost as tall as myself even without heels, although she had the fairly typical Japanese physique of small breasts and flat ass. Her most unusual feature was her hair; sometimes it looked jet black but in other lighting conditions it seemed to be deep brunette. Although work meant I had met her a few times and I had interacted with her quite a bit by phone and e-mail, we were hardly more than passing acquaintances so I was surprised to see her waiting for me at the airport.

"Hi Dave, good to see you. I expect you're tired after all that hassle so let's get to the car and I'll drive you to the hotel."

"Thanks. I wouldn't say tired so much as stiff from all the sitting down. Does the hotel have a gym and a pool?"

"Yes to both. We use this hotel regularly but knowing your preferences I double checked before I booked."

I followed Denise to a surprisingly luxurious car. It clearly wasn't hers, either a rental or a borrowed company car. I deposited my bags in the trunk then she drove to the hotel. I was pleasantly surprised; it was an expensive, up-market hotel. I made to head for the registration desk but Denise stopped me.

"It's okay, Dave," she said, handing me a room keycard, "I've already checked us in to our suite."

"We?" I asked, gobsmacked. "Our suite?"

"With Brant gone, there's an opening in Contracts. I persuaded Dean to let me try out for the job, so I'm going to shadow you for your whole time here. Dean also thought it would be better for morale if you didn't work from the office, so I've had all the relevant files transferred over here. I thought you'd want to get down to business as quickly as possible so we can spend all day tomorrow going through the paperwork and getting up to speed." Denise nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "That is okay, isn't it? The suite has two bedrooms, but I can book a separate room for you if you'd prefer."

It seemed I'd be having a celibate week. Just what I didn't want after my frustrations with Harriet. On the other hand, perhaps the arrangement would expedite work and get me home again as soon as possible.

"No, that's good thinking on your part," I replied, earning me a very happy smile of relief.

The suite was larger than my apartment and had all the facilities necessary to host meetings, a significant proportion of the floor area being taken up by a conference table and chairs. Piled on the table were several heaps of folders.

"All the contracts Brant handled in the past year," Denise explained. "Dean wants us to vet them all and recommend appropriate actions." Then she waved her hand towards one of the bedrooms. "I thought you'd like that room because it has the best view over the city," she said, "so I've put my stuff in the other room. We can switch if you want."

"No, that's fine," I said, even before I had seen the room. I picked up my bags and carried them inside. The room was luxurious and well- appointed, and I tried not to imagine what the suite was costing the company. The bed could easily accommodate four people, a waste in view of my likely celibacy. As for the view, most of the city was still shrouded in fog, so confirmation of the quality of the view would have to wait for better weather. I did the necessary unpacking, hanging my suits in the wardrobe so the creases would fall out, and putting my personal toiletries in the en-suite bathroom. The hotel- supplied toiletries would be requisitioned to replenish my home stock for overnight guests.

When I emerged from my bedroom, Denise was waiting for me. "What are your plans for this evening?" she asked. "Have you eaten yet?"

"I had a plastic meal on the plane. I'd like to hit the gym for a bit, then go for a swim, then order something simple from room service. Work can wait until tomorrow."

"That's fine, order what you want from room service; all charges while we're here will be picked up by the company. Do you mind if I join you?"

"Which part? The gym, the pool, room service?"

"All of them."

Denise had really meant it when she said she was going to shadow me the whole time. On the one hand, she was an intelligent, attractive woman and I would be happy with her company. On the other hand, as a work colleague I regarded her as off-limits, so the week's celibacy would be even more frustrating.