Bring Me Fire (3 page)

Chapter 5

"
This is Conner."

He picked up on the first ring, which Sky had not been expecting.
"Um, yes, hello?" she said.

"
Yes, this is Conner," he replied, a slightly testy note sneaking into his voice.

Sky swallowed.
"Hi. My name is Sky..."

"
Sky? I don’t know a Sky. Can I help you with something?"

She took a deep breath, feeling nervous all of a sudden. This was not going how she had planned, she was not making the spectacular first impression that she had hoped.
"My name is Sky Sanders. I was given your number. Aidan Monahan, the owner at
Prelude
, gave this phone number and said that..."

"
Oh,
Sky
!!" The voice on the other end suddenly swelled with enthusiasm and she could practically hear the smile on his face. "Sweetie, I’m sorry, I’ve had a hell of a morning. You wouldn’t even believe it if I started to tell you. Yes, yes, I talked to Aidan and he told me to be expecting your call. So you’re interested in the job?"

Sky opened her mouth but nothing came out.
"Yes," she said finally. "Yes, I am."

"
Okay, great. I’m actually in the city right now, running a few errands. I’m in the Castro. Can you meet me at
Café Flore
in, say, forty-five minutes? I’m apt to slap the next person who looks at me wrong if I don’t get a latte."

"
Sure, I can do that."

"
Excellent. Now, I know this is kind of an impromptu interview, and I usually don’t like to put people on the spot, actually, that’s a lie, I love seeing people squirm, but really, come as yourself. No need to get all dolled up. Think of this like a first date, except like a first date in the ideal world. Meaning; don’t front, don’t pretend to be someone you’re not in the hopes of getting me to like you. There’s enough of that going around as is, no need to add to it. Think you can handle that, sweetie?"
"Come as I am," Sky repeated. "Yes, I think I can."

"
All right! Well, I will see you shortly."

"
Wait, how will I know who you are?"

"
Just look for the prettiest queen in the place. I’m wearing my Burberry scarf. And a navy pea coat. It’s a little warm for it, but it’s so fabulous and it goes so well with the rest of my getup that I just had to wear it. We all have to make sacrifices, right? Okay, bye!"

The line went dead.

Sky pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it a moment. Conner’s whimsical voice was still echoing in the confines of her head so she knew she hadn’t imagined it, but what on earth had just happened?

She glanced at the clock and then went into the bathroom to brush her teeth again. She glimpsed herself in the mirror, and though he told her to come as she was, she dug through the medicine cabinet and applied two dabs of concealer underneath her eyes.

She took the Muni Metro into the Castro. The day had turned out pleasant, a clear blue sky and a few wispy clouds overhead. The air smelled of freshly brewed coffee and something sweet, like cinnamon and sugar. She stood on the curb in a crowd of people, mostly men, waiting for the light to change. She hadn’t changed out of the outfit she’d worn to brunch, a pair of black leggings and a long-sleeved Free People tunic, turquoise with cream and orange embroidery.

Café Flore
was crowded, as usual. She scanned the outdoor seats and saw several people with Burberry scarves. No pea coats, though. She went inside. A tall, lanky man stood at the counter, talking to the person behind the cash register. He wore, what looked like from behind, a navy pea coat, designer jeans that appeared to be as tight as her leggings, and peeking out from the top of the jacket, a Burberry scarf. Sky walked over and stood next to him. She waited until the person he was talking to moved over to the espresso machine before she said anything.

"
Hi. Are you Conner?"

He turned his head only and looked down at her. A pair of Prada sunglasses perched atop of his spiked bleach blond hair. His eyes were the same color blue as the sky and she was taken aback by how
striking he was. Long, straight nose, full lips, covetable eyelashes.

"
Wow," she said. "You really are the prettiest queen in this place!"

He arched an eyebrow.
"My name’s not Conner."

"
Oh...um, I’m sorry, I’m supposed to meet someone..."

A smile stretched across his face and he burst out laughing.
"I’m just joking! You found me.
And
complimented me. I like you already." His eyes went to her hair, then scrutinized the rest of her outfit. "Girl, you’re not looking so bad yourself. Marcus is just making my drink. Want anything?"

"
No, I’m okay. I’ve had plenty of coffee this morning already."

"
Okay. Let’s go find somewhere to sit."

They managed to sidle their way over to a corner table two older men with a little dog in a purse had just got up from. Conner sat down and stretched out his long legs.

"So you’re interested in the position," he said. "And you used to work for Aidan. Who I can tell you had nothing but wonderful things to say about you. My brother and Aidan are good friends, I don’t know if you know that or not. My brother is an excellent judge of character, which therefore makes Aidan an excellent judge of character. So, already, you’ve got that going for you. Though do you mind me asking, why aren’t you working for Aidan anymore?"

"
Um ..." She fiddled with the corner of the table, aware of him watching her. There was no point in trying to make something up. "His wife didn’t like me."

"
Ah. Well, that makes sense. I have the great misfortune of knowing his wife. It’s funny, isn’t it? How sometimes the nicest people end up with the biggest bitches? It’s kind of like, when two beautiful heteros mate and have ugly offspring. It just doesn’t make sense."

"
I guess that’s one way of looking at it," she said, surprised he’d be so open with his dislike for Ashley. But it also felt nice, in a way, like he was already on her side.

"
It’s the
only
way of looking at it," he said with a grin. He looked past her, over her shoulder. "Thank you, Marcus," he said, taking the latte Marcus had just hand delivered. "You’re a doll." He held the glass mug daintily and took a sip. "Mmm. The only way I could enjoy this more would be if I mainlined it and I have a ridiculous fear of needles. Anyway, look at you. Your hair is fabulous. That hair alone is going to get you this job." He smiled, and she smiled back, unsure she had just heard him correctly.

"
My hair is going to get me a job?"

"
Sweetie, I knew the second I saw you, standing in that cluster of man meat, waiting to cross the street, that you’re the girl for the job."

"
How’d you know it was me?"

"
I just did. It was meant to be. I’ll be honest: I love my job but I hate hiring new people. It really is like dating, and I could tell you some horrific dating stories. We’ll save that for another day, though. But when Josh told me he wanted to hire someone to help with his art collection, and he wanted me to be in charge of finding the person, well, I put it out there to the universe: Give me a sign. Give me a loud and clear sign that my oblivious ass is not going to miss, so I know I’m hiring the right person. Granted, asking the universe does not always work, I can attest to that. I’ve asked the universe for a better ass, to find Mr. Right, to be able to eat ice cream from Bi-rite every day and not have it go directly to my thighs."

Sky looked at his lanky gazelle legs.
"It seems the universe answered you on at least that account."

"
No, no, it most certainly did not. I just don’t go there every day. Once a week, at most. But that’s beside the point. The point is, sometimes you put a request out there to the universe and it
does
work. It restores one’s faith in such things. It’s nice."

"
Okay," Sky said, not entirely sure what he was talking about.

"
I don’t know what you know about Josh. You look like you might be a little too old to have been swept up in the teen heartthrob craze when
One Fine Day
came out. Have you seen it?"

"
Sorry, no. But it’s one of my little sister’s favorites. That and the other one...?"

"
Just a Kiss
.
One Fine Day
was better in my opinion, but that’s irrelevant, because Josh doesn’t want to talk about anything having to do with his previous life as an actor. Art is his passion, and thankfully, he is one of those rare individuals who can recognize where his natural abilities lie, and it is not with painting, trust me. I’ve seen some of his work. However, he has impeccable taste and has amassed quite a collection which now needs to be given some semblance of order. This is not going to be a small job, and it’s going to require someone who is thorough, thoughtful, and meticulous."

"
So you can tell by my hair that I’m all of those things?"

"
No, of course not. But that’s the whole putting your trust in the universe thing I was talking about. Your hair is a sign to me that you’re the girl for the job. Therefore, you will be all those things I just mentioned, because that’s what’s needed." He took another sip of his drink. "What are you doing for the rest of the day? Or the next few hours, at least?"
"I didn’t have anything in mind. Looking for a job."

"
Well, you can cross that off your list, because you’ve basically got one. Granted, I am only the guard of the tower, not the actual king of the castle, so we’ll have to get his final blessing, but I’m so sure he’ll be on board with this that I’ll stop drinking lattes for a year if you don’t get hired."

"
That sounds like something I should get in writing," Sky said.

Conner laughed.
"Don’t push it, sweetie. Why don’t you come back with me and meet Josh. Think of it as impromptu interview, part two. Again, I think it’s almost better to do things like this, because then you don’t have days or weeks to prepare or freak yourself out. Planning can be overrated. Sometimes things just happen, and you have to go with it."

Sky nodded.
"Okay," she said. Just go with it. She could do that.

Chapter 6

It was hard for Sky to believe that just yesterday she’d been standing in
front of Ashley, getting fired and feeling like her life was over. And now, she’d just zoomed across the Bay Bridge in the front seat of an Audi TT, on her way to meet Joshua Davis. She texted her sister to tease her.
You won’t believe who I’m about to go meet.

OMFG!!!! STFU, u r so
luckeeeeee!!!!
Came the reply, closely followed by
Pic or it never happened.

Sky had never been to the Oakland Hills before, though she’d heard some of the houses there were even more luxurious than the ones in Pacific Heights or the Marina. The Audi climbed through narrow, winding streets, gaining altitude. Other than going home to Walnut Creek, Sky had little reason to venture into the East Bay and she generally didn’t go to Oakland. But she felt like she’d been transported to a completely different world as the houses grew more and more grand, with impeccable landscaping and lawns so lush they looked edible.

Conner stopped the car in front of a huge white wrought-iron gate. He leaned out the window and punched a few numbers into the keypad affixed to the gate’s left-side column. The door swung back slowly and he drove through.

"
Now, I think it goes without saying that you’re allowed to tell people what you’re doing for work, and even who you’re doing it for, if you must, but you cannot, under any circumstances, disclose the location. I realize this sounds a bit extreme, but Josh is an extremely private person. Don’t try to ask him anything too personal, definitely nothing about his acting days, don’t try to take his picture and text it to anyone to prove that you really do work for him, don’t go through his bathroom trash looking for locks of hair or fingernail clippings."

Sky laughed.
"Gross."

Conner shot her a sidelong look.
"Stranger things have happened."

The driveway was
long, and wound up another hill to where the mansion was perched. It was white and modern looking with a lot of glass. "You’ve got a view of all five bridges from up here," Conner said. "It’s about nine-thousand square feet, which is a lot of house for a person, but Josh has it filled to the brim with art. You’re going to be amazed."

He parked in a horseshoe-
shaped driveway and Sky slowly got out of the car. Even the air here smelled different; clean, clear and almost astringent.

"
Follow me," Conner said.

They went up a set of marble steps and in through the front door. Once inside, Sky stopped short, her mouth dropping open. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting the interior to look like, but it wasn’t this. The massive foyer was full of paintings, sculptures, mixed media pieces in rustic wooden frames. Some were hanging, but most were leaning against the walls. There appeared to be a dozen or so rolled canvases occupying one corner. She recognized a few of the paintings, pieces she’d studied in school or seen in her textbooks.

"Wow," she breathed.

"
Acquaint yourself with some of this art, if you’d like," Conner said. "I’m going to go talk to Josh and let him know what’s going on, and then I’m sure he’d like to speak to you himself. I’ll be right back."

"
Sure," Sky said, already moving toward one of the paintings, an oil on canvas of brightly colored koi fish swimming through an ocean of flowers.

"
Just don’t break anything," Conner said as he disappeared down a hallway.

There were enough paintings in this foyer alone to fill three
Prelude
-sized galleries. Did he really have art all over the place like this? Stacked in the corners, on the tables, covering every available surface? It was like a dream and a beautiful nightmare all rolled into one. Cataloging all of this could take months. But she would get to be intimately involved with all of this art. She would get to examine it, up close, study it, examine what feelings it brought up in her. That’s what she loved about art; not just the initial surface aesthetic pleasures, but the deeper feelings it stirred when she stopped to really consider the painting and the artist’s intention.

Having this job would be better than any job she could ever get at a gallery or even being the curator at a museum. This place
was
like a museum. She couldn’t believe this was actually happening. She made a mental note to thank Aidan, if and when she ever saw him again. 

Her phone started vibrating in her handbag. She dug around for it and pulled it out. A text from her sister:
omg, have u met him yet?? i am dying!!!!!

Not yet
, she texted back.
And don’t expect any pics because—

Behind her, someone coughed. Sky jumped, dropping her phone, which bounced on the floor twice before coming to rest. She turned.

Joshua Davis stood on the bottom step in jeans and a black v-neck sweater. His arms were crossed and he had a frown on his face.

"
Oh, hi, I...um..." Sky leaned down and retrieved her phone, stuffed it back into her bag. "I’m sorry, I was just..."

"
I sincerely hope you weren’t attempting to photograph anything."

"
No, no. Of course not. My sister just sent me a text. She’s actually a really big fan of..." Sky stopped, remembering what Conner said. "A big fan of art and I was just telling her that I think I’d just found the most impressive art collection I’ve ever seen."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing the lie.

"So you know something about art."

"
I love art. I studied it in school. I always wanted to be a painter, but appreciating art and having artistic ability are two totally different things. As I know from first-hand experience."

She smiled; hoping he’d think what she said was funny or at least a little amusing in a self-deprecating sort of way, anything to get that frown off his face. Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure that she had this job. In fact, it seemed that Conner’s whole notion of hiring someone based on what the universe provided was ridiculous. It would seem, in fact, based on the way Josh was looking at her now, that he found her unsatisfactory on all levels.

"I’m Sky." She went over and held her hand out. "Nice to meet you."

He looked at her outstretched hand, and for a second, she thought he wasn’t going to shake it. If that was the case, she figured, she might as well walk out right then and there, because clearly, she wasn’t the right girl for the job. But then, right as she was about to pull her arm back, he reached out and took her hand. His grasp was firm but gentle and she felt a tingling in her arm. Up this close, she could see what all the fuss was about, why girls like her sister were completely enamored. He was as beautiful as any of the fine art paintings Sky had ever seen, so good-looking it was difficult to determine exactly what it was that made him so handsome.

He looked her right in the eye. "I’m Josh," he said.

There was a moment of awkward silence. When it did not appear he was going to say anything, Sky made a sweeping gesture with her arm.
"Your house is lovely," she said. "You’ve got a very impressive art collection."

"
So you’ve already said."

She gulped. Had she already said that? She didn’t know. What she did know, though, was that if he were trying to make her feel as uncomfortable as possible, he was doing a marvelous job. In fact, he seemed quite content to just stand there and say nothing and leave her squirming.

She straightened, smoothed back her hair. "Well, this job interview is going spectacularly, but I think I’ll just show myself out. Sorry to take up your time."

She felt simultaneously thrilled and dismayed to see that he was nodding. It sucked not to get the job, but she wouldn’t be working for a weirdo. She turned and started to walk toward the door.                

"So you can start Thursday, then?" he called out after she’d taken a few steps.

She stopped and turned.
"Excuse me?"

"
We’ll see you Thursday," he said, nodding, as though she’d replied with an affirmative. "Nice to meet you, Sky."

He turned and walked back up the stairs, leaving Sky standing there, completely confused.