A Night in the Garden

Janet wrapped a towel around herself and walked out of the bathroom. A nice hot shower was always a good start to the day she thought as she picked her phone up from the nightstand and sat on the edge of her bed.

There was a text from her older brother Tyler.

"Free for lunch?"

"Sure."

"I'll pick you up at 12. Any luck."

"No"

"Sorry, but I might have something for you, tell you about it at lunch."

"OK, see you then."

She set the phone down and proceeded to get dressed. Putting on a pair of black shorts and a white tank top, then headed to the kitchen for breakfast. She pulled out her laptop, scrolling through various job boards as she ate her yogurt and English muffin.

Things had been going so well she thought. She had landed a job at an exciting start up fresh out of school. Even as the junior person on the small marketing team she had been making decisions and pitching ideas, a level of responsibility she would have had to wait years for at an established firm.

Then it all came crashing down. She still wasn't sure what had happened. Chicanery with the financing somehow, it damn sure didn't have anything to do with her or the marketing department. Yet here she was out of work for the last three months, and it seemed everyone who had worked with the firm was blackballed until the dust settled. No one seemed to want to take a chance on hiring someone who might be implicated in something. As if the 25-year-old Assistant Marketing Director could have somehow been the cause of it all.

She found a new listing, one she felt she was qualified for and set to work tweaking her resume, then researching the company a little more so she could write an appropriate cover letter. She was just getting ready to send it when her phone chimed.

"Be there in 10" the text from her brother read.

Deciding it was best not to rush she saved everything and closed the laptop. She put on a pair of sandals, checked her hair, grabbed her purse and headed out of her apartment. She was just at the bottom of steps when the black BMW 750 rolled to a stop in front of her. The window slid down and her brother smiled out at her.

"Hey stranger!"

She shook her head and laughed, "I still can't get over you and that car."

"Don't judge me," he said with light hearted defensiveness, "it's a company car, they make me drive it!"

"Yeah, sure they really twist your arm, don't they?"

She got into the car and as soon as she was buckled up, he was turning the car around and heading back out of the parking lot.

"Our clients have certain expectations; you have to look the part."

"You don't have to explain that to the marketing major Mr. MBA".

He laughed, "I know, but you always bring it up."

"I just never pictured you driving something like this. Still adjusting to my brother being the wolf of Wall Street."

"Hardly, so little of what I do has anything to do with finance, I'd have probably been better off with a marketing degree. Anyway, Chipotle, OK?"

"Wow, cheaping out on me?"

"Of course not, but I'm kind of in a hurry today. I've got a client meeting at one, but I really wanted to talk to you."

"What about?"

"A job, but let's wait until we can sit down and talk, OK?"

"Fine with me."

The Chipotle was just down the street and they were soon sitting in a booth with their burritos.

"So, job?" she asked waiting for Tyler to finish chewing.

"Look, this is going to sound a little weird at first, but stay with me, ok?"

"I'm not jumping out of a cake!"

He laughed, "Of course not, as short as you are I doubt you could!"

She threw a napkin at him, "5ft 2in is NOT that short."

"No," he reflected, "it isn't, for a Hobbit."

"But seriously," he resumed, "please hear me out, okay?"

"Of course."

"I was talking to one of my clients the other day, I obviously can't say who," he began.

Janet nodded, Tyler worked for a large financial firm in their private wealth group, managing clients' investments. The people he dealt with were very high net worth and the only thing they guarded more jealously than their money was their privacy.

"This gentleman always asks about the family, he's one of those old school types, he knows all his staff's spouses and children, makes sure the kids get gifts for their graduation, that sort of thing. Anyway, I had told him what happened with you, and he asked me if you were still looking for work. I said you were, and he asked if you would be interested in something a bit unusual with a carrot at the end."

"A carrot?" she asked, "and what pray tell do I have to do to earn a carrot?"

"He's looking for a security guard."

"Someone wants to hire a 5ft 2in 93lbs girl as a security guard? That's totally logical."

"Well, someone once told me 5ft 2in isn't that short..."

"For a Hobbit" she shot back.

"Like I said, hear me out, security guard probably isn't quite the right term, more night watchman, or possibly camera watcher?"

"Camera watcher?"

"Apparently the whole place has CCTV, he needs someone on the night shift to watch the cameras and occasionally take a stroll around the perimeter."

"Aren't there companies that do that? I hear their ads on the radio all the time."

"Yeah, but he has certain...standards and expectations that he isn't confident they could meet. He's intensely private, he doesn't want some rotating staff of people making minimum wage on the property, and that's what he'd get from one of those companies."

"And the carrot?"

"Well, it's a temporary job. The lady who usually does it is taking maternity leave, so they need someone to fill in until she gets back. Then he will find you a marketing job here in town that is at least as good as the position you had. Most likely with one of his companies, but he said if they don't have something he will make phone calls."

"Phone calls?" she asked.

"This guy is connected, there are probably a dozen companies in town that would hire you to do nothing just so they'd have a favor to call in. But don't worry, he knows you want a real job, a real opportunity."

"Pay?"

"$1200 a week, and you only work 70 hours every two weeks."

"How does that work?"

"You will work Sunday-Wednesday the first week, then the second week, Sunday to Tuesday. You alternate Wednesday with the other guard. 10-hour shifts, 8 at night until 6 the next morning. What do you think?"

"There is really a good job at the end of this?"

"Yeah, I've been working with him for almost 6 years now. He does what he says. The interactions I've had with his staff, well, they all seem to love him. I deal with a mixed bag, but he's one of my favorites. Good guy all the way around."

"When do I have to decide?"

"Well, he's actually who I'm meeting with at 1, I was hoping I could tell him one way or another, and it's TOTALLY cool if you say no."

She thought for a minute...what the hell, "I'll do it."

"Awesome, I really hope this works out."

"Me too."

He glanced at his watch, "but now, I have to get you home so I can get across town for my meeting and deliver the good news".

Back at her apartment Janet proofread the cover letter one last time and sent it off. No sense putting all her eggs in one basket after all. She was laying on the couch reading when her phone dinged at her to announce a text.

"Can you start this Sunday night?"

"Sure."

"When are you free to do all the paperwork?"

"Tomorrow afternoon, ok?"

"1pm?"

"ok"

"814 Webb Lane, it's in Bushwood Estates, the guard will be expecting you, Ty will meet you there, he's the security manager. Business casual. Let me know how it goes!"

She responded with a thumbs up, put the phone down, and returned to her book.

The next day she spent the morning at the gym, had a quick lunch then prepared for her first day back to work in months. She copied the address over into Google Maps and let it chart her course.

Bushwood Estates was the epitome of old money. All the houses were on at least 5 acres, some quite a bit more, and they were massive and beautiful. Even the guard shack at the gate could be on the cover of an architecture magazine she thought as she pulled to a stop in front of it.

"May I help you?" A very serious looking man in an immaculate uniform asked as she rolled the window down.

"Janet Loomis, I'm here to see Ty, well I actually don't know his last name."

The second guard pointed at a computer screen, the first guard looked down, nodded, then turned his attention back to Janet, "It's fine Ms. Loomis, you're on the list."

He hit a button and the gate began to open.

"Thank you," she replied and put the car into drive.

The GPS led her on and she turned onto a winding drive through well-manicured grounds. The house came into view and it was massive, it could have passed for an English country estate on Downton Abbey. There was a black Range Rover at the end of the drive, her worn Rav4 looked conspicuously out of place as she parked beside it.

As she closed the car door a voice called out to her, "Miss Loomis?"

She turned to see a man emerge on a pathway that was subtly concealed by the landscaping.

"Yes, I was looking for Ty?"

"Well, you've found him," the man said in a relaxed drawl, "Ty Pickering, I'm head of security for Mr. Czervik."

He extended a hand and she shook it, "Nice to meet you Mr. Pickering."

"Just Ty, if you would, Mr. Pickering is my father."

"Sorry, nice to meet you, Ty."

He gave her a warm smile, "I understand you are going to be helping us out while Maggie is out, we do appreciate that. Mr. Czervik thinks very highly of your brother, so I'm sure you will fit right in."

"I certainly hope so, I'm new to this sort of thing, but I do appreciate the opportunity."

"I suspect you will pick up on things quickly, let's head to the guard shack and get your paperwork done. My plan was to take care of that, give you a quick tour and then get you on your way. Maggie has insisted on working this week, so it will be the two of you for those three nights. She will teach you everything you need to know."

Ty turned back the way he had come, and she followed along. The path led back through some hedges and her car was out of sight in seconds. Her new boss moved with a graceful assurance, like a big cat on the savannah, master of all he surveyed. He wasn't particularly tall, 5ft 10in or so she thought, nor particularly large, maybe 175 lbs. but he was lean, and obviously well-muscled. He had short cropped blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She had no idea how old he was, he could be 30 or he could be 50, his face was tanned and weathered but he had one of those faces that arrived at an age and just refused to budge. If he was 30, she was sure he'd look the same when he was 50, and if he was already 50, she was certain he had looked that way since he was 30. Heck, he probably looked that way when he graduated high school. Trade the tan tactical pants, black polo, and semi-automatic pistol on his belt for jeans, a western shirt and a six-shooter and he could ride into Dodge City to save the day.

They turned a corner and she snapped out of imagining her new boss as the new Sheriff in town. There was a small building in front of them beside a large and rather solid looking gate. A small parking area sat across the road from the building.

Ty turned back to her, he pointed down the road, "That is the next turn off Webb from the drive you are in now. Going forward the staff parks here," he gestured towards the lot. A black Suburban, a blue Toyota Camry and a Ford passenger van filled 3 of the 8 spaces.

"And this," he said with a sweep of his arm, "be it ever so humble, is our home."

It was maybe 15 feet on each side, the front and half of each side was all glass, giving an unobstructed view of the approach, the gate and the parking lot. The windows stopped at a heavy looking metal door and the rest of what she could see was solid. Ty made his way to the door on the side closest to the gate. He pressed his index finger against a pad. A scramble pad came to life and he tapped in a code. He opened the door, ushering her inside. A desk ran the length of the room under the windows, it was lined with monitors all showing what appeared to be CCTV feeds from around the property. A middle-aged black man, dressed similarly to Ty sat at a keyboard, eyes scanning the various displays, out the window, then back to the displays.

"This is Danny, part of our day shift team."

"Nice to meet you Danny, I'm Janet."

Danny looked up and returned the smile, "Welcome to the team."

There was a table in the middle of the room with a chair on each side, and two doors along the backwall with a set of lockers between them.

"Take a seat, let me grab your paperwork."

Janet sat down and Ty opened went through the door to the left and returned a moment later with a manilla folder.

"Now the fun part," he said handing it to Janet, "but before we get too far into this, I want you to read over the form on the top. It's a non-disclosure agreement. We'll give you all the time you want to look it over and read it. If you want to call a lawyer, or take it to one that's just fine too. It's nothing particularly onerous, but Mr. Czervik wants to be 100% sure people know what they are agreeing to. He's a bit of stickler about that, and he's a bit of stickler about his privacy."

She nodded, "I can respect that."

Janet opened the folder and took the sheet off the top and began to read. It had been a long time since her last Business Law class in school, but it seemed pretty straightforward.

Ty sat wordlessly while she read.

She went over it twice, then looked up at him, "seems pretty reasonable."

"I've always thought so," he replied, "now let me give you my practical interpretation?"

"That would be helpful."

"What that agreement says is that whatever happens at work, stays at work. We don't even want you discussing things that might seem mundane like 'it was really busy tonight'. Mr. Czervik's competitors can be rather curious about what he is up to, and sometimes it's all about putting together lots of little clues to figure something out."

"Loose lips sink ships?" Janet remarked.

"Absolutely," he responded approvingly, "and then the really obvious stuff. Don't take pictures on the grounds, really, don't take any pictures once you come in past the main gate. When you are making your rounds leave your cellphone here in the guard shack. Are you good with all that?"

"I am."

"Want to consult a lawyer, phone a friend, anything else? It's ok if you do. It isn't going to hurt anyone's feelings."

"That won't be necessary."

Ty held out a pen and she signed the paper, then he passed it to Danny who signed on the Witness block.

"Ok then, the rest of this paperwork is pretty straightforward, where your paycheck is going to and all that stuff the government wants to know so you can pay your taxes. If you want to get started on it, I'll be in my office taking care of some other paperwork let me know when you are done, or if you have any questions. That's the bathroom," he pointed to the remaining door in the room, "and there are drinks in there if you need something," he gestured towards a small refrigerator to Danny's left.

He headed for his office and she began filling out paperwork. As he had said it was all boilerplate employment documents and she was quicky finished. She knocked on his office door and he reappeared.

"Done, or a question?"

"Done."

"Excellent, shall we take a little stroll?"

"Sure."

"Danny, you have the helm."

"I have the helm," he responded with a laugh, "I'll try not to crash us into anything."

"Ohhh, almost forgot," Ty said, he stepped back into his office and motioned for Janet to follow.

He hit a few keys on his laptop, then slid a fingerprint scanner forward on the desk.

"Put your right index finger on here, all the locks are biometric".

She complied and he watched the screen for a moment.

"Finished," he slid a 10 key pad over to her, "6-digit pin, anything you want."

She tapped in a number; his eyes went back on the screen. He hit enter on the keyboard and nodded.

"Let's take a stroll."

They left the building and went to the gate. There was a smaller gate for pedestrians next to the large vehicle gate and Ty put his finger on a small pad next to the latch and there was a metallic click as it unlocked. He opened the gate and held it open for her. He closed it and gave it a tug to make sure it was locked.

"Always make sure the gates are locked behind you," he commented.

The back of the house was to their right, with a large, lush lawn behind it, the fence was tall, black wrought iron, it had to have been 9 or 10 feet tall. It stretched off to left, a brick path running parallel to it, perhaps 20 feet in from the fence line. There were ornate lamp posts every 30 or so feet.

The area inside the path contained the most beautiful botanical garden she had ever seen. They walked the perimeter and then Ty led her through the garden proper, there were several twisting trails that opened into small clearings with various statues. Most appeared to be marble, in classically Greek styles. One of Hercules, if she remembered her art history class, with the lion's skin, Neptune with a spear, fighting an octopus, Diana drawing her bow.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Ty asked.

"Yes, all of it really."

He smiled, "we're almost to my favorite."

They came into a larger clearing, there was a small pond with an island in its center. The island was a small hill, rising 5 or 6 feet above the shoreline around the pond. On its top was a dome, supported by 6 columns, under the dome was a statue, a man and a centaur, both holding drawn bows as if they were heading into battle together,

"Ares and Chiron?" she asked hesitantly.

Ty smiled and nodded, "very impressive, you know your Greek mythology."

"Never thought it would come up again after school."

They walked around the pond, Janet noted the stone benches placed around the perimeter of the clearing, providing a place to sit and admire the statues, then followed another pathway. They emerged from the garden back near the guard shack.

"Your basic duties are to monitor the cameras," Ty began, "from inside the shack, as Danny was doing. You may have noticed that all of the lamp posts had cameras on them, they have motion sensors as well, if something moves it will alert you and automatically train the camera on whatever it detected. If it is a racoon climbing the fence," he shrugged," if it's something more troubling, then you remain in the guard shack and call the security company. If you think it rises to that level, call 911 and then call the security company."

"Does that happen often?"

"No, we haven't had to call either in several years. The last time was the Grandson of someone from down the street. He got drunk and tried to climb the fence. The security company gave him a ride back to Grandpa's house. Not much out there worth stealing, at least not that you could carry away in the dead of night."

"I suppose not, but then..."

"Why go to all this trouble?"

"Well, yes."

"Fair question, because Mr. Czervik decided we should." He said with a shrug, "that's good enough for me. You?"

"I'll believe anything you want if there's a steady paycheck in it."

"Well said."

They went out the gate and were outside the guard shack.

"If you don't have any more questions, that concludes the tour. Maggie well show you how everything actually works, and you will have three days with her to make sure you have a handle on things."

He pulled a business card out of his wallet and handed it to her," If you think of anything call me. I'll order your uniforms and they'll be waiting here on Sunday; you can change into them when you get here."