Kritter
The one and only...
Mallorie took a seat on her front stoop, pulling her jacket tighter. Earlier that day, she'd left a message with her father to say she got her license. Now she trembled at the sound of his voice, unsure of how to address him. Mr. Durham sounded too formal, Matthew too direct, and Dad was out of the question.
"Hi, thank you for calling me back," she said, choosing to leave his name out. "You wanted me to contact you when I passed the test?"
"What was your score?" he questioned.
"99%." Mallorie said, expecting his disappointment, although she heard no discernable change in his voice.
"When time do you usually get out of school?"
"2:45."
"And when do you graduate?"
"Because of all the snow days, June 26th."
"Are you free this Saturday?"
"Yes."
"Meet me at the Infinity Tower at 10:00 am. Speak to Ann in the lobby there, she'll send you up. And remember, please be discreet."
"Yes, no problem," she answered. "See you then."
"Have a nice day," he said, ending the call.
---
Scaffolding covered the front of the Infinity Tower where workers put the finishing touches on its mirrored facade. Mallorie squinted upwards to where the building's curved top melted perfectly into the blue sky above it. It stood fifty stories tall - a dazzling new beacon ruling over its older, less glamorous neighbors. Inside, the sound of nail guns, saws and power drills echoed loudly through its halls, offsetting any tranquility the curved oak desk and green, leafy plants might have lent to its unfinished lobby.
Mallorie took a seat on one of the tufted leather couches and dug through her purse for a mirror. This was only the second time she was meeting her father, and she found herself apprehensive at the prospect. For some reason, Matthew Durham terrified her. Whether it was due to her mother's warnings or her own experience with the man, his brusque, robotic coldness was unnerving, and despite her attempts to calm herself, she still trembled when he appeared before her in a fitted black suit.
Without a word of greeting, he gestured once with just two fingers, beckoning her to follow. His eyes flicked upwards as they walked, narrowing on the dangling lights that hung from the lobby's ceiling. His step slowed, his eyes zeroing in on a spot of white paint on one of the fixtures.
"Ann," he called out to a tall, dark-haired woman who stood behind the desk. "Get someone to clean that."
"Yes sir," she responded quickly, hustling away to find a workman.
Matthew let out a huff of annoyance, and then nodded Mallorie towards the elevators. While he was a man of few words, she noticed he spoke quite a bit with his eyes and hands, expecting people to pick up his thoughts from subtle visual cues.
He continued to stare forward as the elevator doors closed. "Does your mother know about this internship?"
"No," Mallorie answered.
"And it hasn't been discussed with her because...?"
"She didn't want me talking to you," Mallorie admitted.
He nodded briefly, his detached gaze lifting to the floor indicator. "Which question did you get wrong?"
"On the real estate test? It was a question about the 'perc test,' but I'd never heard the term before. The online course didn't cover it."
"Do you know the answer now?"
"Well, yeah." Mallorie laughed nervously. "Now I'll never forget it." She shifted uncomfortably on her feet as he remained silent, feeling awkward in his presence. It seemed he only made eye contact with her when there was some distance between them, and she couldn't decide if it was guilt or a fear of developing paternal affection. She followed him out of the elevator and trailed him to a spacious office.
He shut the door behind them and then walked over to a window, opening the blinds to reveal a beautiful view of the glass enclosed lounge five stories below them. "You'll work here over the summer."
Mallorie frowned, joining him to gaze down at the building's inner sanctum, which contained a landscaped garden around a sparkling blue pool. "But I really wanted to work someplace where I could learn more about business."
"This building...is a business." His eyes turned upwards, taking in the upper floors with reverence. "And this business...is sacred to me, so I need you to learn how to run it from the ground floor up. When it's completed, you'll have the hotel," he said, pointing towards its entrance off the lobby. "Four restaurants, twenty-five boutiques in the mall, the gym and the pool, the office units." His eyes started rising again. "And over one hundred multi-million dollar residential units up top. There's going to be a total of twelve different departments from accounting to guest relations to maintenance to management," he said. "And for the next four years, while you're going to school, I want you to get a taste of every one of them."
Mallorie took a step back from the window. "You're scaring me," she whispered.
Matthew eyes lit with a genuine smile. "It sounds like a lot to learn. I know. And it is," he said, leaving the window to take a seat at his desk, his demeanor considerably lightened. "But if I asked you right now, 'Do you think you could learn it all?,' what would you answer?"
"Yes," she said honestly, her eyes still flitting across every facet of the building she could see from that vantage point.
"Yes," he repeated, nodding at her answer as if he expected it. "It's clear you have a head for business." His eyes sought out a picture of his family on the wall, taking a moment to evaluate it. "The only one of my children who does."
Mallorie turned to face him. "What about Brooke?"
"Brooke...likes horses," he sighed, his bitter disappointment manifest in his growling voice. "Parker likes sail boats. Richard likes Lacrosse. So..." His intense gaze fell on her. "Let's hope you're up to the task. Ann downstairs will be your guardian here. Learn from her. For now, up until you graduate, you come when you can. Don't push yourself, but don't slack, do you understand?"
"Yes," Mallorie said, feeling overwhelmed. This was far more than an internship. This was an invitation to a future she hadn't even conceived of an hour ago. He was looking for her to manage his building somewhere down the road. "Thank you," she said, numbed from the shock of the magnitude of that thought.
He nodded once. "I'm sure you can see yourself out."
"Yes, thanks." She started for the door, her hands wringing against the bottom of her jacket, both excited and distressed by the prospect. Her father really was impressed with her, and he believed in her potential. She just hoped she wouldn't disappoint him.
"Mallorie," Matthew called behind her as she stepped into the hallway.
She paused, glancing back at him.
"That's the same question I got wrong," he said gently.
She shared a poignant smile with him, and then started walking again, fighting back tears of confusion and relief all the way to the street.
"Hi, thank you for calling me back," she said, choosing to leave his name out. "You wanted me to contact you when I passed the test?"
"What was your score?" he questioned.
"99%." Mallorie said, expecting his disappointment, although she heard no discernable change in his voice.
"When time do you usually get out of school?"
"2:45."
"And when do you graduate?"
"Because of all the snow days, June 26th."
"Are you free this Saturday?"
"Yes."
"Meet me at the Infinity Tower at 10:00 am. Speak to Ann in the lobby there, she'll send you up. And remember, please be discreet."
"Yes, no problem," she answered. "See you then."
"Have a nice day," he said, ending the call.
---
Scaffolding covered the front of the Infinity Tower where workers put the finishing touches on its mirrored facade. Mallorie squinted upwards to where the building's curved top melted perfectly into the blue sky above it. It stood fifty stories tall - a dazzling new beacon ruling over its older, less glamorous neighbors. Inside, the sound of nail guns, saws and power drills echoed loudly through its halls, offsetting any tranquility the curved oak desk and green, leafy plants might have lent to its unfinished lobby.
Mallorie took a seat on one of the tufted leather couches and dug through her purse for a mirror. This was only the second time she was meeting her father, and she found herself apprehensive at the prospect. For some reason, Matthew Durham terrified her. Whether it was due to her mother's warnings or her own experience with the man, his brusque, robotic coldness was unnerving, and despite her attempts to calm herself, she still trembled when he appeared before her in a fitted black suit.
Without a word of greeting, he gestured once with just two fingers, beckoning her to follow. His eyes flicked upwards as they walked, narrowing on the dangling lights that hung from the lobby's ceiling. His step slowed, his eyes zeroing in on a spot of white paint on one of the fixtures.
"Ann," he called out to a tall, dark-haired woman who stood behind the desk. "Get someone to clean that."
"Yes sir," she responded quickly, hustling away to find a workman.
Matthew let out a huff of annoyance, and then nodded Mallorie towards the elevators. While he was a man of few words, she noticed he spoke quite a bit with his eyes and hands, expecting people to pick up his thoughts from subtle visual cues.
He continued to stare forward as the elevator doors closed. "Does your mother know about this internship?"
"No," Mallorie answered.
"And it hasn't been discussed with her because...?"
"She didn't want me talking to you," Mallorie admitted.
He nodded briefly, his detached gaze lifting to the floor indicator. "Which question did you get wrong?"
"On the real estate test? It was a question about the 'perc test,' but I'd never heard the term before. The online course didn't cover it."
"Do you know the answer now?"
"Well, yeah." Mallorie laughed nervously. "Now I'll never forget it." She shifted uncomfortably on her feet as he remained silent, feeling awkward in his presence. It seemed he only made eye contact with her when there was some distance between them, and she couldn't decide if it was guilt or a fear of developing paternal affection. She followed him out of the elevator and trailed him to a spacious office.
He shut the door behind them and then walked over to a window, opening the blinds to reveal a beautiful view of the glass enclosed lounge five stories below them. "You'll work here over the summer."
Mallorie frowned, joining him to gaze down at the building's inner sanctum, which contained a landscaped garden around a sparkling blue pool. "But I really wanted to work someplace where I could learn more about business."
"This building...is a business." His eyes turned upwards, taking in the upper floors with reverence. "And this business...is sacred to me, so I need you to learn how to run it from the ground floor up. When it's completed, you'll have the hotel," he said, pointing towards its entrance off the lobby. "Four restaurants, twenty-five boutiques in the mall, the gym and the pool, the office units." His eyes started rising again. "And over one hundred multi-million dollar residential units up top. There's going to be a total of twelve different departments from accounting to guest relations to maintenance to management," he said. "And for the next four years, while you're going to school, I want you to get a taste of every one of them."
Mallorie took a step back from the window. "You're scaring me," she whispered.
Matthew eyes lit with a genuine smile. "It sounds like a lot to learn. I know. And it is," he said, leaving the window to take a seat at his desk, his demeanor considerably lightened. "But if I asked you right now, 'Do you think you could learn it all?,' what would you answer?"
"Yes," she said honestly, her eyes still flitting across every facet of the building she could see from that vantage point.
"Yes," he repeated, nodding at her answer as if he expected it. "It's clear you have a head for business." His eyes sought out a picture of his family on the wall, taking a moment to evaluate it. "The only one of my children who does."
Mallorie turned to face him. "What about Brooke?"
"Brooke...likes horses," he sighed, his bitter disappointment manifest in his growling voice. "Parker likes sail boats. Richard likes Lacrosse. So..." His intense gaze fell on her. "Let's hope you're up to the task. Ann downstairs will be your guardian here. Learn from her. For now, up until you graduate, you come when you can. Don't push yourself, but don't slack, do you understand?"
"Yes," Mallorie said, feeling overwhelmed. This was far more than an internship. This was an invitation to a future she hadn't even conceived of an hour ago. He was looking for her to manage his building somewhere down the road. "Thank you," she said, numbed from the shock of the magnitude of that thought.
He nodded once. "I'm sure you can see yourself out."
"Yes, thanks." She started for the door, her hands wringing against the bottom of her jacket, both excited and distressed by the prospect. Her father really was impressed with her, and he believed in her potential. She just hoped she wouldn't disappoint him.
"Mallorie," Matthew called behind her as she stepped into the hallway.
She paused, glancing back at him.
"That's the same question I got wrong," he said gently.
She shared a poignant smile with him, and then started walking again, fighting back tears of confusion and relief all the way to the street.
Last edited: