had no idea what he was talking about. Then she realized that she had let her arm droop as they were talking, and he had seen the nightgown that she had been working to hide.
So that was me making a first impression on my new boss, she thought with a sigh. I assume that it could have gone worse. For example, I might have just set myself on fire while on camera.
She was embarrassed, but overall, she was too excited to let it get her down. She would pack up her toiletries and the few clothes she was taking. She would talk to Mrs. Andersen down the hall about taking care of Masha until Olga got back. She might take a farewell walk through her neighborhood.
Then she would be gone.
Then the future would come, and Heidi, who had finally achieved the degrees and certifications that she had been dreaming of for almost a decade, was ready.
*
She wasn't sure what she was expecting when Mr. LaMer, that is, Jaque, said he would send a car. She guessed that it would be like a very nice cab, one of the sort that she had always longed to take when she was first starting school at Columbia. At the time, she had been counting pennies to make sure that she could get lunch every day. Cabs had seemed like an absurd luxury.
She couldn't have guessed that just a handful of years later, she would be waiting in front of her apartment and an honest-to-god limo pulled up. At first, she simply wondered who in the building had rated a limousine being sent out for them. Then, her heart dropping into her shoes, she saw that the man driving it had hopped out smartly and was approaching her.
"Are you Ms. Conrad?" he asked deferentially.
"Yes! I mean, yes, I'm Heidi Conrad. Are you … are you my ride?"
He smiled at her politely. "Yes, Ms. Conrad. Mr. LaMer dispatched me to bring you to LaGuardia. Do you have any other things beyond this bag?"
"No, just this … oh!"
He paused in the act of picking up her luggage, raising an eyebrow at her in surprise. Somehow, she hadn't connected the fact that she was getting into a limo with the fact that she was likely not going to need to get her own bags. When he reached for her bag, she had automatically gone to stop him.
"No, nothing's the matter," she said faintly. "Thank you."
She did manage to remember that he was going to open the door for her. The interior of the limousine was as luxurious as the outside, with buttery leather seats and what looked like a full wet bar. A raised glass screen between the driver and the rear compartment meant that it was entirely sealed. The privacy was nice, but she wondered if the people who were driven about in limos ever got lonely, or if the drivers did.
She was dressed smartly in black slacks and a crisp white blouse, but in the gorgeous car, surrounded by trappings of wealth that she had only dreamed about, she felt distinctly shoddy. For a moment, she was afraid that everyone at her new workplace would take one look at her and know exactly how poor she was, but then she composed herself.
I'm here to do a job, just like everyone else here is, she told herself. They can't fault me for that.
The thought comforted her right up until they got to LaGuardia, and the driver walked her right past customs. Someone glanced at her passport, and she found herself ushered through a back way right out onto the runway. All around her were the sounds of planes arriving and taking off. She didn't know where her bag had ended up, and she felt as frazzled and overwhelmed as she ever had been in class.
"Ms. Conrad? This way, please."
A young woman in a sharp blue uniform guided her to a mobile stairway that went straight up to the cabin of a jet. When she had rushed around trying to get ready, she had envisioned first class, but never had she imagined a private jet.
"Would you care for a beverage while we await Mr. LaMer's arrival?" the woman asked her kindly, and Heidi found enough wit to nod.
"Juice, please, if you have any."
"Orange, guava, or apple?"
She started to say
So that was me making a first impression on my new boss, she thought with a sigh. I assume that it could have gone worse. For example, I might have just set myself on fire while on camera.
She was embarrassed, but overall, she was too excited to let it get her down. She would pack up her toiletries and the few clothes she was taking. She would talk to Mrs. Andersen down the hall about taking care of Masha until Olga got back. She might take a farewell walk through her neighborhood.
Then she would be gone.
Then the future would come, and Heidi, who had finally achieved the degrees and certifications that she had been dreaming of for almost a decade, was ready.
*
She wasn't sure what she was expecting when Mr. LaMer, that is, Jaque, said he would send a car. She guessed that it would be like a very nice cab, one of the sort that she had always longed to take when she was first starting school at Columbia. At the time, she had been counting pennies to make sure that she could get lunch every day. Cabs had seemed like an absurd luxury.
She couldn't have guessed that just a handful of years later, she would be waiting in front of her apartment and an honest-to-god limo pulled up. At first, she simply wondered who in the building had rated a limousine being sent out for them. Then, her heart dropping into her shoes, she saw that the man driving it had hopped out smartly and was approaching her.
"Are you Ms. Conrad?" he asked deferentially.
"Yes! I mean, yes, I'm Heidi Conrad. Are you … are you my ride?"
He smiled at her politely. "Yes, Ms. Conrad. Mr. LaMer dispatched me to bring you to LaGuardia. Do you have any other things beyond this bag?"
"No, just this … oh!"
He paused in the act of picking up her luggage, raising an eyebrow at her in surprise. Somehow, she hadn't connected the fact that she was getting into a limo with the fact that she was likely not going to need to get her own bags. When he reached for her bag, she had automatically gone to stop him.
"No, nothing's the matter," she said faintly. "Thank you."
She did manage to remember that he was going to open the door for her. The interior of the limousine was as luxurious as the outside, with buttery leather seats and what looked like a full wet bar. A raised glass screen between the driver and the rear compartment meant that it was entirely sealed. The privacy was nice, but she wondered if the people who were driven about in limos ever got lonely, or if the drivers did.
She was dressed smartly in black slacks and a crisp white blouse, but in the gorgeous car, surrounded by trappings of wealth that she had only dreamed about, she felt distinctly shoddy. For a moment, she was afraid that everyone at her new workplace would take one look at her and know exactly how poor she was, but then she composed herself.
I'm here to do a job, just like everyone else here is, she told herself. They can't fault me for that.
The thought comforted her right up until they got to LaGuardia, and the driver walked her right past customs. Someone glanced at her passport, and she found herself ushered through a back way right out onto the runway. All around her were the sounds of planes arriving and taking off. She didn't know where her bag had ended up, and she felt as frazzled and overwhelmed as she ever had been in class.
"Ms. Conrad? This way, please."
A young woman in a sharp blue uniform guided her to a mobile stairway that went straight up to the cabin of a jet. When she had rushed around trying to get ready, she had envisioned first class, but never had she imagined a private jet.
"Would you care for a beverage while we await Mr. LaMer's arrival?" the woman asked her kindly, and Heidi found enough wit to nod.
"Juice, please, if you have any."
"Orange, guava, or apple?"
She started to say
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