Offer

I poured a cup of tea into the cup sitting at the table in front of Jimmy. I placed the kettle on top of a tablecloth and sipped a cup for myself that I already prepared beforehand.

"Sorry for the mess," I said as I tried to wipe my tears-stained face and fix my frazzled hair. "It's always like this."

"It's fine," Jimmy said with a chuckle as he sipped the tea I just offered him. He then moaned underneath his breath after gulping the drink and taking two more sips thereafter. "This is really good."

"Yeah? I never really tried it myself. I just opened it, see?" I then showed him the previously untouched wrapper of the tea before taking another sip. I smiled nonchalantly while my saddened eyes gazed at my ceiling as I continued to speak. "My aunt gave it to me when she came here for a visit. I agree. It's really good."

Jimmy looked at me as he blew on the surface of his tea before taking another sip. The way he looked at me contained some semblance of pity in it, but it didn't feel like he's looking down on me just like everyone else whom I had come to speak with recently.

Jimmy then gently placed his cup on the table once more before saying, "You must be wondering why I came here."

My eyes then slowly fell upon Jimmy's familiar gentle smile. "I sure do wonder, Jimmy, I do," I placed my cup down as well as I tapped my fingers on the table. "but I don't really mind the suddenness," I said with what I can only describe as the first genuine smile I have given for the past few days.

Jimmy then looked at me intently but not because of one of his weird, quirky kinks. He was gazing at me directly, and I could feel that there's something he wanted to tell me, but he didn't really know if this was the right time to say it.

"I'm fine, Jimmy." I chuckled while gently scratching my nape. "Don't look at me like I'm some kind of dumb kid—just reel me in."

"Well, okay..." Jimmy said timidly with a pained smile. "I won't beat around the bush anymore then. I came here to give you an offer."

"What offer?" I said with a raised eyebrow.

"A job offer."

That three words alone made me see Jimmy in such a delightful light, far different from how I previously viewed him. Well, I think it probably has something to do with the circumstances of our meeting before, but well, Jimmy is really not a bad guy, albeit he has some questionable things he likes to do sexually. I mean, he just gave me a car and a hundred grand without asking for other compensation or gratitude. Jimmy also looks fresh like an enthusiastic younger brother who would always beam a smile at you in your darkest days. Nonetheless, one could still see a few wrinkles on his face, signaling that he's probably nearing his thirties like me.

When I first met him, I remembered that he was wearing some kind of posh, semi-elegant suit, which further elevated an elitist vibe coming from him. Not to mention, I first met him in an equally obnoxious-looking nouveau riche establishment. It didn't help that my first impression of him was a foot freak lackey of yet another luxurious-looking person. No, it was not at all a good look for Jimmy, but he still remained as just another run-in-the-mill and a harmless guy who just so happens to have a weird job description.

Now that he visited me with a loose white shirt, a pair of brown jogging pants, and an old pair of rubber shoes, his status as just another dude living in the block finally sunk into me, although I am relatively sure that he's not living around LA. Nevertheless, his casual look right now made him seem so much more approachable, almost making me forget about the weird things he had done to me in the room. Almost.

And to be fair, in the eyes of someone who's desperately looking for a job, seeing a person visit to offer any kind of position, no matter what it is, are three-folds of blessings that I could only ask from some kind of supernatural deities coming from high above.

Yes. In my eyes right now, Jimmy is akin to a god.

"What job?" I said with an indolent look on my face, but in truth, I was beyond excited.

"I want to have a sales representative for my manufacturing company," Jimmy replied without even batting an eyelid. He then took another sip of his tea and smiled like an excited kid before continuing, "The job is not easy, you see? That's why the people I hired for the job often come and go. Recently, something... well, happened to the person who once held the position I'm offering to you right now, and he's, well, I guess I can say he kinda quitted?" He spoke with somewhat ambiguous words, but I was already sold when he told me that he's planning to make me a manufacturer's representative.

"I... Wow. Would you like to see my resume?" I said with an apparent excitement already rising towards my face,

Jimmy then raised his hands and made me face his palm as he shook his head with a smile. "No need. I came here knowing what your qualifications are. All I'm asking, really, is if you're interested or not." Jimmy then slid a cheque right in front of my eyes, and I could swear that my eyes turned into the shape of a dollar sign with my mouth agape as I looked at the sheer amount of money in front of me. "That will be your monthly salary." 

I then quickly grabbed the cheque to see if what I'm seeing is real or not. It is very, very real; the money is just as real too. Obviously, I agreed to Jimmy's offer right away without even a second thought because, to be honest, even if this transaction might sound shoddy or scam-ish, at this point in my life, I really just need to have whatever job I can find in a position that I would enjoy. This offer, this position, and this salary are more than anything I could have ever asked for, making me forget that I had just seen my best friend's casket going six feet under just a few hours earlier.

Jimmy then delightfully shook my hand before telling me just how stressing my job truly is. Apparently, I was supposed to handle a new team that had just been formed a month ago in Jimmy's company. The only problem is that all of the seven people that he will be placed under my wings are all 100% new to the life of sales, and I mean, no experience whatsoever. My job then was to supervise, orient, teach, and harness them into becoming a capable employee while still doing other sales-related jobs myself. In short, I have to babysit seven newbies while handling some other tasks on the side.

It sounded hellish.

But I accepted it anyway.

I then spoke a bit more with Jimmy before he told me that he has to go home soon to prepare for a gathering that he must attend in a few hours. I saw that it was already ten in the evening, so I'm not sure what kind of gathering he still needed to do, but I'm not here to break an employer's bubble. I then happily escorted him out of the building before he looked at me with a brochure in his hands.

"I heard what happened. I... Believe me, I was trying my hardest not to do this, but think of this as my way of extending more kindness to you."

I then took the brochure in his hands and saw that it had information about a forum that Plural Heights is doing tomorrow.

"The people who will go there are just like you; they also had some people who... left them way too early. They came because they have a story they wanted to tell, and there are people out there who would listen and understand what they have in mind."Jimmy said with a slightly nervous tone.

"Are you... asking me to attend this?"

"Yes, I would very much appreciate it if you would attend this forum." He then sighed while looking down at his feet. "Look, I'm sure you have some kind of bad perception at what Plural Heights is right now, and I'm not forcing you to attend this forum or anything, but I know that the people who went here came out with a delighted look on their faces, renewed! They were like different people altogether! I... If I may be blunt, but you look horrible right now. Very."

I chuckled, but deep down, I know that his point is coming through my mind right now. "I guess I am."

Jimmy then placed his hand on my shoulders; oddly enough, I didn't feel dirty about what he had just done contrary to my many wild expectations. "It's okay if you don't want to do it, but I would really appreciate it if you would at least see if this place can help you, you know, cope with all that had happened with your mother."

"How did you know all about this?" I asked with a shaking tone as I felt my tears welling up in my eyes.

"I saw you being interviewed in the news a few days ago," Jimmy said with a chuckle as he tightly placed the brochure on my shaking palms. "Please go. I'm not asking as a future boss, but as a person who knows how it feels to have loved ones go unexpectedly."

"Jimmy," I whispered underneath my breath. "Did you visit me with this offer because you pitied me after seeing me on the news."

"No." Jimmy said outright as he pulled his hands away from my shoulder. "It was just a coincidence that such a tragedy happened, but I was already offering this job to many other people before I went to you. I do admit that the tragedy is a part of why I approached you, and, in all honesty, the TV broadcast made me realize that you're desperate enough to accept such a torturous job like this."

"How did you know that I'm jobless?" I said with the same weak tone that I had used to everyone who had spoken to me recently.

"I..." Jimmy said with a stutter. "I didn't know. I just came here as a gamble because I thought you might want to accept my offer. You did! So I know that my gamble worked!" Jimmy said with a laugh as he scratched the back of his head. "You're not backing out of the offer, right?" This time, Jimmy was no longer smiling nor was he laughing.

"You're so weird, Jimmy." I said with a chuckle. "You flew all the way here when you could have just emailed me?"

"Call it a businessman's languid professionalism. " Jimmy then stepped towards me again and slightly bent his knees to look directly at my drooped head. "You're not backing away from the job, right?" This time, Jimmy doesn't look as approachable as he was earlier; I dare say, he actually looks a tad bit scary, although he still has that fresh feeling coming out of his relaxed face.

"There's no way I could deny an offer as great as that." I said with a smile while looking at the brochure he had just given me. "I just thought you're treating me like a kid just like all of those people who visited me all of a sudden when my mother died. At least you treat me with some kind of respect, and I respect that."

Jimmy then told me how pleased he was with my answer while tapping both my shoulders thrice. We then exchanged a few more other greetings before he finally left. As I stood there in the lobby while looking all lost and confused once again, I stared at Jimmy's back while he pushed the glass door open. He then beckoned a cab as my gaze fell into the brochure on my hands.

Plural Heights' Grief Healing Forum

"Yeah..." I said with a nod. "Yeah, okay... Okay, okay, yeah. I think I'll go." I said as I wiped the few drops of liquid rolling on my cheeks.