Chapter 4- An Alliance Forged
Sunday, August 1, 9 PM
After a quick dinner, Ethan headed back over to Big Jerry’s hoping to catch Allison before he left town. He was scheduled to be in Des Moines the following morning, so couldn’t stick around much longer. He didn’t have a lot of time to give his crazy idea a try.
Ethan peeked through the window, and he spotted a mountain of a man holding down the fort behind the counter. The guy was almost as wide as he was tall, sporting an out-of-control beard and massive hairy forearms that looked like they belonged to a grizzly bear. Ethan stared for a second, this man would make an absolutely incredible background extra for the Scottish clan war.. Big Jerry himself, Ethan assumed. It was a good name.
A car pulled up behind him. He turned around just in time to see Allison getting out, “Bard? That you?
Inside the store, Big Jerry had taken notice of Allison and Ethan. He came outside to make sure everything was okay. Ethan walked over to him, “You ever think about getting into acting, Big Guy?”
Jerry responded, “Yeah! All the time!”
Allison was at his side, “Jerry, this is Ethan Blackwood.”
Jerry looked down at Ethan, which Ethan had to admit was a bit of a new experience for him, “Like the author?”
Ethan said, “Very much like the author. Are you a fan?”
Jerry considered, “No. My wife is though. Can I get an autograph for her?”
“Sure, but in exchange for the autograph, I need a few minutes to talk to Allison?” Jerry agreed, so Ethan poked around in his backseat, emerging with a copy of Where the Heather Blooms and his favorite silver marker. Ethan signed the book, and Jerry headed back into the store.
Allison turned to Ethan. “I wasn’t expecting to see you again. Run out of gummy worms already?”
Her tone was cautious. Ethan seemed like a nice guy, but Allison had been burned by “nice guys” before, in her experience, some of the worst stalkers started out exactly like that. Her eyes flicked toward the storefront. Seeing Big Jerry standing close to the glass door brought a sudden wave of relief, a reminder that she wasn't entirely on her own if this situation went south
“I wanted to ask you something…” Ethan took a deep breath and said all in one word, “How-would-you-like-to-come-work-for-me?”
It took her a little while to parse all that, “Wait. Are you offering me a job?”
“Yeah, you said before how badly I need an assistant.”
“What makes you think I have any idea how to be anyone’s assistant?”
He shrugged, “Earlier today, my entire world started spinning sideways. Everyone else in my life panics when that happens. You didn't. You took charge and made it so I can breathe again. I don't care about a résumé, Allison. You are the right person for the job.”
“What would being your assistant even look like?”
"Answering emails. Coordinating travel. Handling schedules."
"That makes sense."
"Sometimes you might have to remind me where I'm supposed to be. Or where I actually am."
"That's concerning."
"OH! And this might be the most important part. You will need to prevent me from buying books."
"What's wrong with buying books?"
"I have a problem."
"What kind of problem?”
"I own six copies of The Hobbit. Not six different editions. Six copies of the exact same book"
"Why would someone own six copies of The Hobbit?"
"What if I lose one?"
"You would still have five more!"
"Unless something happens to those five too!"
"So, basically, you need adult supervision."
"Yes, that's the job exactly!”
“What’s it pay?”
“How much do you make now?”
Allison did some quick math in her head before giving a number that was a little more than double what she actually made last year even counting all the overtime she had been working. Might as well see if this guy was serious.
He did some math of his own before saying, “I can triple that and pay all your expenses. Clothes, hotels, food. We can even set up a per diem for random expenses that you may have come up. Honestly, my last assistant was able to basically bank her salary and live off the per diem. It’s a good deal.”
“What’s the catch?”
“It’s a lot of travel, the hours kind of suck, and your boss is prone to panic attacks and terrible at asking for help.”
Allison looked into Ethan’s eyes waiting for him to laugh at her. This had to be some kind of prank. This kind of thing doesn’t happen to people. Especially not to her. While she saw a lot of trouble and mischief in those expressive blue-gray eyes, this didn’t seem to be a joke.
“Wait, you are not some kind of sex freak, right? A lot of authors are into some freaky stuff. You are not planning on tying me up in your basement and making me listen to Coldplay, right?”
“I don’t even have a basement. How about I give you the numbers of my past assistants so you can check up on me if you want?,” He paused for a second before asking, “Coldplay?”
“I don’t know what sex freaks are into! Give me those numbers. I need some time to think about it.”
He reached into the car, getting a pen and McDonald’s napkin. He jots down a few numbers. At the bottom he adds his own, and someone named Martin Keller.
“I am all over the map for the next few days. Des Moines, Omaha, Kansas City. If you can’t get me, call my agent. Martin usually the best person to actually track me down.”
“What about benefits?”
“Yeah, medical, prescriptions, some kind of retirement thing. I think we have dental?”
Allison gave him a look that was equal parts concern and exasperation. “You aren’t exactly making me feel encouraged, Bard.”
“When you call Martin, he can run you through all that corporate HR-ish stuff,” Ethan said, shifting as he realized the silence was lingering a bit too long. “That all sounds like adult supervision stuff, and I don’t keep track of that well.”
Allison stared at him, her expression hardening just a fraction. Must be nice to have never had to worry about a premium in your life.
Ethan seemed to catch the shift in her energy, and the casual grin faded instantly. “I’m sorry. That was callous of me. I didn't mean it like that."
He rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to find the right words. “Look, if you need a specific type of climbing shoe for a mountain trail, or a custom carving knife, I am your guy. I will research for days to make sure you have the tool you need because those things are tangible, and I can hold them in my hand and in my brain.. But insurance and all that. That gives me headaches. The second someone asks me to choose between Aetna or Horizon, it all just feels the same to me. My brain just rolls over and shuts down. I’m not dismissing what you need, Hart. I’m just... genuinely terrible at the invisible stuff."
He looked at her earnestly. "Talk to Martin. Tell him what you need, and I’ll take care of it. I promise.”
Ethan started to head to his car; he raised a hand to Big Jerry, who waved back at him. Ethan realized he should get out of here before Big Jerry found out he was trying to poach his employees.
“I still don’t get it. Why me?”
“I need someone who's organized enough to keep me pointed in the right direction, stubborn enough to tell me when I'm being an idiot, and who knows where to find the best stale gummy worms in Iowa. I really think that’s you. One thing though, if you are going to keep calling me Bard, I need some kind of nickname for you too. It puts our relationship on an uneven playing field.”
“People called my Ally growing up, I’ve kind of always hated it…”
“Definitely not Ally then. What do your friends call you?”
“Hart mostly.”
“Why Hart?”
“Because it’s my last name.”
“Allison Hart,” he repeated back to her, mulling the name over as if he had never heard it before.
“It’s a pretty common name. There are a lot more Harts than Blackwoods.”
“Allison Hart sounds like the name of one of the characters in my books.”
“Your character’s names have a lot more vowels in places that make no sense to the rest of the English-speaking world.”
“So, Hart? Do I get to call you that?”
“Are we friends, Bard? Stick to Allison. Maybe you can earn your way up to Hart.”
“That’s if I see you again,” The words slipped out before he could stop them.
For the first time since they'd met, Allison seemed momentarily caught off guard.
A long pause settled between them. Then she nodded toward the gas station, “I need to punch in.”
She took a step towards the door, though she definitely lingered for an almost imperceptible moment. “I will call you either way, I won’t leave you hanging.” She said as she left him standing alone in the parking lot.
She yelled from the door, “Hey, Bard?”
“Yeah?”
“Don't buy any more books while you're waiting for me to call.”
Ethan watched her disappear through the door. Then he looked at the bag of books sitting on the backseat of his car that he bought from Carol, “That's fair.”