Starring:
Date: November 24, 2009
Summary:
In a good mood once again, Hallis calls George to catch him up on her latest developments.
"You'll Never Believe This"
New York
It's late, before midnight but still late, Hallis has just returned fresh from the premier with her new boss and skipped the after party to allow time for the all important phone call. After a quick shower and a shange into one of the shirts George left at the apartment, Hallis lays down in bed and pushes a few buttons on her cell phone. Though they've only been dating, he's already made it to the top of the speed dial. After the customary few rings, she smiles as she hears his voice. "Hey, it's me… are you busy?"
Washington, DC
The good news is that George's schedule has been lighter than usual today. The bad news is that he's been called back to Washington for a couple days before the Thanksgiving break, and so a phone call will have to suffice. "Not any more, what's up?" he answers, leaning back into a cheap but functional couch and turning off the stereo.
"I got a job today." Hallis begins, letting him have a little bit of silence to digest the huge lump of news that she'd just given him. "I'm a…" There's a shuffle on the phone as she rummages through her purse to get the card she was given earlier in the day. "I'm a Retrieval Specialist for Jaden Cain, isn't that wonderful?" She certainly sounds porud of herself. "I got the job all by myself too, I didn't even need to call Daddy's assistant to have anything set up. I called the company and got the interview and everything."
George arches a brow. Everyone's heard of Jaden, of course, though he hasn't had occasion to meet the man in person. Yet. That'll need to change soon, now. "Hey, great! He's got a reputation for being a kid in a candy store, I bet he'd make a good boss. So… what's he got you retrieving, exactly? I thought he was more into computer software. Well, and cell phones, I guess."
Rolling over onto her stomach, Hallis swings her feet back and forth in the air like a smitten teenager talking to her first boyfriend. "He didn't say, I'm on call all the time though. He said that I need to be available when he calls for things. So I'm sort of like a personal assistant, right? Or maybe a personal shopper!" She takes in a quick breath of air and grins widely into the phone. Personal shopper! That's pretty much a dream job. "It was the oddest interview ever though, I met him in a place that had all sorts of video games, it's called an arcade."
"Ah, the infamous 'other duties as required'. I've got a few of those myself." The deliberately unspecified wing of George's staff made for a minor news story shortly after the election, congressman reaches out directly to promising college students yadda yadda. "Arcade… why does that not surprise me. Did you have to beat him at Mortal Kombat to get a passport?"
Laughing, Hallis shakes her head as though the man at the other end can hear her. "No I didn't have to fight with anyone, but we did play this car racing game. I picked the blue car and his car fell off the cliff twice!" It's an odd acheivement for the socialite to be proud of, but she won the job unfair and square. "Then he took me to a premier tonight, red carpet and everything! I stood on the side while he got his picture taken, then I got my picture taken!"
George doesn't answer right away, this time. Not that he doesn't trust Hallis to be true to her word, but he can't help but envision the billionaire trying to put the moves on his new employee - especially if he didn't know she was already seeing someone. "Huh. What sort of premier was it? I thought they mostly did movie premieres on Friday nights."
"It was some cartoon or something. I don't know, I wasn't really paying attention, I was too busy looking at all the people that showed up." Hallis pauses a little and frowns in concentration. "I did get my boss some popcorn though. So I definitely earned my money tonight. Did you know that you can get it with butter? Isn't that disgusting?" She pauses and takes a deep breath, obviously the small task was a little new to her. "I don't know how anyone eats that stuff, I would be afraid of chipping a tooth."
"Oh, right," George replies, snapping his fingers, "he and his family are the ones remaking Secret Squirrel, right? But that doesn't come out till next year, this must've been something else." He laughs at the mention of the popcorn, still easily caught off guard by which things are fresh and new to her. "Oh, it's not too bad, the hard parts usually all settle to the bottom anyway."
"I don't know…. Oh!! Guess what else is fabulous! I don't start work until ten in the morning! I thought for sure that I would have to start really early, but if I get to sleep before… Oh, well tonight I won't get very much sleep, but I won't have to get up until eight!" Then Hallis takes another breath, just to get enough air to rattle off her next bit of news. "AND guess what else? I hired a personal assistant too! She's going to live with me and teach me how to do things!" Yes, she's excited about learning how to be normal. "Her name is Andra Smith, she even has a large dog that will be good at keeping people away from my apartment. I told her that if that beast gets any of my shoes it will be the end of it though."
"I'd— hang on a second." There's a more distant sound of conversation on George's end of the call (sorry, I already have a subscription, but I can offer you a donation) before he returns. "—anyway, I'd lock up the shoes, just to be on the safe side. But that's good, I hope things work out with her." At least she is learning, not just dodging the issue.
"The really good news is I don't have to pay her very much. But I'm going to get her a new wardrobe and I think I'll have the people build her a bedroom when they're making a kitchen." Hallis pauses for a moment as she licks her lips and makes a small popping noise. "I think that's what I'll have her do tomorrow… set up all of that remodelling business. Do you think my apartment is big enough to have two bedrooms?"
"Oh yeah, you've got plenty of room— unless your clothes take up a lot more space than I think they do." Another subtle change in sound, as George puts the phone on speaker and goes to pour himself a drink. "It depends how much stuff she's got— where's she staying now, do you know?"
"No, I don't know. She'll be moving in tomorrow, I think, so it can't be anywhere very permanent." The sound of the drink being poured puts the quite sober Hallis a little on edge and she looks down her hallway and out into the living room. "I was thinking though, maybe after Andra teaches me how to cook something, I could make you supper one night? Wouldn't that be fun?"
Oh boy, George is probably in for any number of horribly failed experiments in the near future. But then he was there himself, once, there was an unfortunate incident with microwave popcorn and— "I'll look forward to it," he murmurs. "Speaking of, I should be back tomorrow afternoon, did you have anything in mind?"
"Work, group therapy, and the all important eating…" Hallis sighs loudly at the last bit, not looking forward to it in the least. "The doctor is refusing to give me any more diet pills, it's horrible." Then the little reminder about all the white facial hair sets her mind straight, "But I suppose it's better than the alternative. I'll just have to live with getting fat."
Yeah, more trips to the hospital, George thinks, unaware of the horror story that was told. "I'll do my best to brace myself," he deadpans. "I should probably let you go so you can rest up, but— will you have some time later that night? I've got to go see that friend that we talked about." With the crystal ball in her head.
"Oh! Yes, I'll be free for you any time in the afternoon. I don't think Jaden wants me to hang around his office all the time, I won't be getting any real details until tomorrow morning. But I'm sure that I'll be able to do whatever I want at some point… right?" Hallis isn't quite sure what kind of duties will be required of her, possibly more video game playing, maybe getting lunch. "Do you maybe want to pick me up from work? Or meet me somewhere? Or do you just want to meet me here?"
Hmm, he did want to get a look at the offices for himself, maybe even meet the Big Guy while he was at it. "You know, I might pick you up from work— I'll check the schedule for the red-eye train, call you in the morning and let you know, okay?" It'll mean getting up damned early himself, but he can catch a nap along the way to compensate.
"Okay George," Hallis chirps back, seeming much happier tonight than she has in days. Things are going right again and she has her own get up and go go juice to thank for it. Perhaps that is what has made the day so satisfying. "I can't wait for you to see where I work. Maybe they have a bring your boyfriend to work day! Imagine me showing up with you. All the other girls in the office will be so jealous."