Page 28 of Big Book Boss

"What you would expect. Pissed off."

She looks at Samaera. "How did you convince him?"

Samaera looks at me smugly and says, "I sort of threatened a discrimination lawsuit."

My mother laughs, delighted. "And have you met Janet yet?"

"Yes, we've met." Her eyes twinkle into my mother's.

"And your first impression?"

"She's the worst sort of bully."

My mother clasps her hands together and beams at us. "Finally!"

The waiter comes to our table. I ask Samaera what toppings she likes on her pizza. She answers, "Everything except anchovies."

She explains to my mom, "I'm not a picky eater. I have four older brothers, and my mom is a widow. I couldn't afford to be or I would have starved."

Then she looks at me. "I'm good with as many toppings, or as few, as the two of you enjoy."

I smile at her. She is every man's dream. "We eat ours all the way. Except anchovies and banana peppers."

"Perfect." Her eyes shine into mine and I swear it felt more like admiration than satisfaction on our choice of pizza toppings.

As I order for us, their conversation stays on the events of Samaera's hiring today. She tells my mom about sprinting to the building to meet the deadline she unintentionally placed on herself.

I put my arm over the back of the booth and relax, enjoying the hilarious tale. Samaera leans forward and whispers her confession. "I thought Precious Kitty Publishing covered cats. Not pussies."

My mother closes her eyes, throws her head back, and laughs —hard. Samaera cuts her eyes at me and winks, and I give Dixie Doodle a wink back.

The rest of our lunch is filled with a question-and-answer session on whatever topic the conversation flows to. My mom learns about her getting fired and going to the Karaoke bar and winning, but she stops short of telling her we met there first.

So, I volunteer the information. "That's actually where we met." My mom's sharp mind instantly pieces together the rest of the unspoken story.

Samaera laughs and admits, "If it weren't for Bastian's buying me drinks, my stage fright might have gotten the better of me."

"So, you two are friends as well. That's even better."

Samaera says, "I don't think our fluke meeting qualifies as friendship. But we did recognize each other this morning after my grandiose entrance."

"How long have you lived in New York City?"

"A while now. I arrived full of hope and enthusiasm, but that quickly waned to need and desperation. I took the first corporate job I was offered, which was reading manuscripts for Hartman & Hartman. I was fortunate enough to find a few diamonds amongst the lumps of coal and was rewarded with a promotion."

"Ah, you know the publishing business?"

"No, ma'am. I don't know tthe ins and outs of the actual business. I only knew my job and dedicated myself to working hard to be the best at it. They rewarded me with a new challenge in the guise of a better position. Because I'm organized, I was made a personal assistant. I liked my boss. She was fair."

Our pizza arrives and I serve us each a piece. My mother and I listen attentively to Sam and she continues, "It hurt when I got the boot, to be honest. I knew it could happen because I knew our numbers were critically low, but it still stings to be fired." She takes a bite of her pizza, rolls her eyes, and says, "Umm, this is really good."

My mom asks, "If I were to call your old friends from high school and ask them to tell me what your best quality is in one word, what would they say?"

"Probably … that I was funny." She looks at me and asks, "What would your old high school friends say?"

I laugh, "No," and shake my head.

My mother says, "Probably that he was a rebel without a cause."

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