When he looked up he noted her scrutinizing the office surroundings. “Something wrong?” he asked.
“It’s kinda funny.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“You got a funny office, is all.”
“How do you mean?”
“Well, there’s no clock anywhere, no trash can, no calendar, and no phone. Now, I ain’t worked in any places where people wear neckties on the job, but even Red over at the truck stop keeps a calendar, and he’s on the phone more than he’s not. And the lady out front, she don’t got a clue as to what’s going on. Hell, with those three-inch nails, using that typewriter would be mighty hard anyway.” LuAnn caught the stunned look on his face and quickly bit her lip. Her mouth had gotten her in trouble before, and this was one job interview she couldn’t afford to blow. “I don’t mean nothing by it,” she said quickly. “Just talking. Guess I’m a little nervous, is all.”
Jackson’s lips moved for an instant and then he smiled grimly. “You’re very observant.”
“Got two eyes like everybody else.” LuAnn smiled prettily, falling back on the old reliable.
Jackson ignored her look and rustled his papers. “You recall the terms of employment I gave to you over the phone?”
She snapped back to business. “One hundred dollars per day for two weeks, with maybe some more weeks at that same pay. I work until seven in the morning right now. If it’s all right I’d like to come and do this job in the early afternoon. Around about two? And is it okay if I bring my little girl? She takes her big nap around then, she won’t be no trouble at all. Cross my heart.” With an automatic motion LuAnn reached down and picked up the toy keys from the floor where the little girl had flung them and handed them back to Lisa. Lisa thanked her mother with a loud grunt.
Jackson stood up and put his hands in his pockets. “That’s fine. It’s all fine. You’re an only child and your parents are dead, correct?”
LuAnn jerked at the abrupt change in subject. She hesitated and then nodded, her eyes narrowing.
“And for the better part of two years you have lived with one Duane Harvey, an unskilled laborer of sorts, currently unemployed, in a trailer in the western part of Rikersville.” He looked at her as he recounted this information. He was not waiting for affirmation now. LuAnn sensed that and merely stared back at him. “Duane Harvey is the father of your daughter, Lisa, age eight months. You quit school in the seventh grade and have held numerous low-paying jobs since that time; all of them I think would be accurately summed up as dead-ends. You are uncommonly bright and possess admirable survival skills. Nothing is more important to you than your daughter’s well-being. You are desperate to change the circumstances of your life and you are just as desperate to leave Mr. Harvey far behind. Right now you are wondering how to accomplish any of this when you lack the financial means to do so and likely always will. You feel trapped, and well you should. You are most assuredly trapped, Ms. Tyler.” He stared across the desk at her.
LuAnn’s face was flushed as she stood up. “What the hell’s going on here? What right do you have—”
He impatiently broke in. “You came here because I offered you more money than you’ve ever earned before. Isn’t that right?”
“How come you know all those things ’bout me?” she demanded.
He crossed his arms and studied her intently before answering. “It’s in my best interests to know everything I can about someone with whom I’m about to do business.”
“What does knowing about me have to do with my opinions and surveys and such?”
“Very simple, Ms. Tyler. To know how to evaluate your opinion on things I need to know intimate details about the opinion maker. Who you are, what you want, what you know. And don’t know. The things you like, dislike, your prejudices, your strengths, and weaknesses. We all have them, in varying degrees. In sum, if I don’t know all about you, I haven’t done my job.” He came around the corner of the desk and perched on the edge. “I’m sorry if I offended you. I can be rather blunt; however, I didn’t want to waste your time.”