Ventura's Highway

"I'm sure you've heard the rumors, and I can tell you they are all true. I am not an easy person to work for, Ms. Stevens. I expect you to be available at all times day and night. My needs take priority over your own as well as anyone else's. Will that be a problem for you?"

"No, Ms. Collins. I understand completely."

"I have a half-dozen more qualified people sitting outside waiting to impress me, and yet in spite of your having only one recommendation from someone I trust, my gut tells me you value loyalty and loyalty is everything to me. Other than results, of course. If you don't produce results, your loyalty won't be enough to keep you around. So if you want the job it's yours. Whether or not you keep it is up to you."

"Yes. Yes, I very much want the job!"

"When can you start?"

"Immediately, if that's what you need."

"Good answer, Ms. Stevens. I think we're going to get along quite well."

"Yes, Ms. Collins."

"And since we'll be working closely together, I need people to think you and I are more friends than employer-employee so please call me Ventura."

The older woman paused then said, "And you don't mind if I call you Jordyn do you, Ms. Stevens?"

"No, of course not, Ms...I mean...Ventura."

Ventura Collins was in the Los Angeles area to publish her fifth book. Three of the first four had been bestsellers with the last one selling well over two million copies. Her personal assistant had unexpectedly quit after announcing she'd fallen in love and planned to get married, knowing it would cost her her job. Ventura was interviewing for the position and after seeing just three other people, she'd gone with her instincts and hired someone with no experience working with a celebrity author and hoped she wouldn't regret it.

"Very well then. You'll need to sign a non-disclosure agreement and your contract before we go any further. Once you've done that, take my iPad and copy my schedule onto yours. You will then be responsible for updating it and informing me of any and all changes. Also do the same with my contacts list, and do keep in mind the terms of the non-disclosure agreement. There are a lot of very important people in that list; people who would be extremely unhappy to learn their private information had been leaked. And I would be even more unhappy. Do I make myself perfectly clear, Jordyn?"

"Yes, Ventura," Jordyn replied.

"Make sure you do because if you leak their names or any personal information about them, you'll not only be fired, I will seek legal recourse."

Jordyn Stevens had just turned 35 and had worked as an executive assistant for a major law firm in Los Angeles for nearly ten years. No, she'd never worked for a celebrity before, but she'd gained an incredible amount of knowledge about how to keep busy, powerful people happy, and she could organize and keep a constantly-changing schedule as well as anyone.

Jordyn had read all the previously-published books Ventura Collins had written and had loved every one of them. Although she'd never tell a soul outside of her mother who lived in Portland, Oregon, she was a hopeless romantic at heart and Ventura's books spoke to a part of her that yearned to be filled.

She'd been deeply hurt just after graduating from the University of Oregon 13 years ago when the first and only man she'd truly loved and for whom she'd fallen hard, betrayed her and left her heartbroken just hours before their wedding. Grief stricken, she'd gone back home for nearly a year before finding the strength and resolve to get back in the saddle, as it were. Through a friend with whom she'd graduated, she found an inroad into her first job as an executive assistant in the Portland area, and from there worked her way up and into one of the most prestigious law firms in Los Angeles.

She was very well compensated for her skills and superb work, and she found herself loving the fast-paced, dynamically-fluid lives of rich and powerful people. In a way, it was an addiction and one she found very satisfying. So when another friend tipped her off that Ventura Collins was looking for a personal assistant, she forwarded her resume to her friend, who in turn, sent it to Ms. Collins. That had gotten her foot in the door while her excellent personal skills had gotten her the job. Her rather pleasing exterior hadn't hurt either, especially in a world where youth and beauty were so highly valued.

Yes, she was 35, but no one who didn't know her personally would ever guess her to be even close to that age. Her skin was flawless and there were still no creases around her eyes or even a hint of laugh lines around her mouth. She wore her naturally very blonde hair quite short, but it was the perfect look for the long-but-very-youthful looking face which sported a gorgeous smile and an even more beautiful pair of baby-blue eyes.

Financially, this new deal was more than satisfactory. Her already more than reasonable, six-figure salary would be increased an additional 35%, and she would have the opportunity to travel most of the country, as well as many of the major cities around the world. The only downside Jordyn could see was that it would be an even greater challenge to have any kind of a personal life, but that had pretty much been the case for as long as she could remember. And the sting of having been hurt so badly so long ago meant she was still gun shy about ever getting involved with anyone that seriously again.

It wasn't an issue of her not being able to attract men. Just the opposite was the case. Being the face of several very important attorneys allowed her to meet an endless number of highly successful men, and many of them had been being very good looking. She'd lost track of the times she'd been asked out or directly proposed by both single and married attorneys or the rich and famous clients they represented. She'd politely and professionally refused all offers from married men and selectively accepted those she found interesting among those who weren't.

Jordyn occasionally dated someone, but preferred casual hookups because that way, there was no chance of getting hurt. The one thing she never let happen was for things to get serious. Her fear of relationships aside, her job came first and as long as she could meet her physical needs, there was no reason to even consider getting serious let alone settling down.

And yet, at 35, she was, for the first time, beginning to experience what so many other women had described as the ticking of their biological clocks. Jordyn's had started making noise roughly a year ago and had only gotten louder since. Like any good professional, she'd learned to tune out the noise and focus on her job, catching a few stolen moments of pleasure when and where she could. For the time being, that was enough, but a nagging voice in the back of her mind warned it that might not always be the case.

Ventura planned to be in LA for nearly a month as she sought out a new publisher to begin promoting her latest book, Affairs of the Heart. Jordyn couldn't wait to devour every word of every page, living vicariously through another of Ventura's main female characters who, against all odds, would find love, happiness, and begin raising a family with a handsome, loving man.

Marriage and a family were out of the question for now, and the foreseeable future, as Jordyn knew she'd be very busy her last month in town and busier still once she started coordinating the many stops on Ventura's next book tour. Still, she hoped to find time for a little romance of her own or at least what passed for romance in her own very busy world before she left.

"Jordyn? Are you paying attention?"

She heard what sounded like a distant voice speaking to her and immediately said, "Oh. Yes. Of course, Ventura."

Jordyn smiled brightly to cover up the fact she'd been daydreaming for the briefest of moments.

"Then please have room service send up lunch. My daughter, Courtney, will be joining me, and I'd like you to meet her. You may also stay and have lunch with us—if you'd like. And none of that shitty diet Coke today. Make mine a regular—with ice."

Jordyn had learned long ago that a request was the same thing as an order so she understood she'd be staying to meet Ventura's daughter and for lunch. Actually eating, however, was her choice.

As was so often the case, Jordyn hadn't eaten a thing all day and was famished. She knew she could grab a quick bite while getting acquainted with Ventura's only child, Courtney Collins, who was a 22-year old recent graduate of Stanford University. Ventura had casually mentioned the only reason she hadn't gone to Harvard or Yale was her desire to closer to her doting mother, whom, according to Ventura, she adored.

Rumor had it that the only thing more important to Ventura Collins than money, fame, and power, was the well being of her little girl, who was a budding socialite in her own right. Jordyn had seen photos of her (not all of them had been flattering) in various gossip magazines which, unlike men and Playboy Magazine, she really did read for the articles. Having been an integral part of her former firm's defense of numerous rich and powerful clients in the entertainment industry, Jordyn had had to stay on top of 'who's who' and more importantly, what they were doing, and Courtney Collins was always doing something.

Those things included recently marching topless in support of breast feeding in public, leading protests for climate change and animal rights for PETA, and an arrest for drunk and disorderly conduct along with possession of cocaine and marijuana shortly after graduation.

Her public image aside, she was a stunningly beautiful girl with money, connections, and boundless energy—a potentially dangerous combination for someone that age to be sure.

Jordyn would withhold judgment until she knew for herself, but everything about Courtney Collins screamed trouble and high maintenance. In just a few minutes, Jordyn would be able to assess the younger woman's character for herself. But for now, her immediate concern was getting lunch to Ventura, itself no small task with her many dietary restrictions, not the least of which was being a diabetic who constantly craved and asked for sugar, something Jordyn was supposed to ensure she didn't get no matter how strongly she demanded it. Handling her new boss's first order for regular soda when drinking it was verboten, was the first of may challenges that lay ahead.

The food arrived just moments before a small entourage of people led by one Courtney Collins. She didn't so much as acknowledge Jordyn as she walked right past her into her mother's office.

While she hadn't said anything to Jordyn, she had glanced at her briefly and rolled her eyes.

Jordyn knew the look well. It said, "Another one of the little people unable to afford designer clothing."

Courtney was wearing a designer dress, carrying a designer bag, and wearing designer shoes. Jordyn knew who made each of those items and could afford to buy them, she just wouldn't be able to pay her rent or do other little things like...eat.

Jordyn wore the best off-the-rack clothes she could find which were often as beautiful, if not more so, than designer labels which cost a dozen or more times as much money. Looking professional was one thing. Being a snob was another.

"Jordyn? Please come in here," she heard Ventura say.

She took a deep breath, turned around and smiled the biggest smile she could as she walked in.

"Courtney, darling? This is my new executive assistant, Jordyn Stevens. Jordyn, my daughter Courtney."

Jordyn knew to wait and see how the younger woman would react before speaking.

"At least this one's pretty in that...mature kind of way," she said after giving Jordyn and her store-bought clothes a dismissive look.

Without looking at Jordyn again, Courtney said, "Are you going to stand there all day or have a seat? Mother says you'll be joining us for lunch, and since my opinion wasn't asked, I suppose that will be okay this one time."

Courtney was the only person on earth who could get away with treating Ventura Collins like that. In fact, her mother not only didn't take offense, she seemed perfectly comfortable with her daughter's endlessly snide comments directed either at other people or at her famous mother.

As they ate, Jordyn listened carefully to every word just in case she needed to recall some small detail later on. Most of the talk was idle banter or the latest gossip in Hollywood or New York, the only two places in America that mattered to either of them.

"I'm already bored with Los Angeles, Mother," she said as she sipped her tea.

"Then why don't you fly to Paris or Rome?" her mother said before taking her first sip.

"Is this diet, Jordyn? What did I tell you?" she hissed as she pushed it away.

"Don't mind, Mother," Courtney says. "At least not when it comes to sugar."

She smiled a fake smile at Jordyn and said, "Well done. You might just last a few days."

Jordyn smiled back without speaking and kept listening.

"Sawyer wouldn't have it. He's so...America first, you know?"

She leaned toward her mom then said in hushed tones, "He honestly believes America is an exceptional country!"

Ventura and Courtney both laughed as the older woman said, "Well, it is exceptional for those of us with talent and money!" which generated another laugh.

Jordyn hadn't had time to see who Courtney was currently dating or involved with, but she had heard the name Sawyer once before. It was on the hit TV series from several years back called Lost where one of the main characters, played by the hunky Josh Holloway, was named James 'Sawyer' Ford. Jordyn made a mental note to find out who the 'lucky' man in Courtney's life might be, and just as importantly, see if she could learn why he'd been chosen.

"You need to ensure he understands early on how things work, dear," Ventura said as she took a bite of the grilled cheese sandwich, dripping with butter, she'd requested.

"He's going to be a challenge. He's comes from flyover country and has this...independent streak. And now that he's finally had his first real taste of notoriety, I'm sure he considers himself an equal in the relationship."

That comment brought on another round of laughter as Jordyn endured the rest of Courtney's visit. When she finally announced she had many things to do and had to be going, Jordyn breathed a silent sigh of relief.

She'd have the remnants of lunch cleared away, turn her mental notes into written reminders in a new file labeled 'HM' for 'high maintenance', then do a quick search and find out who this Sawyer might be. The fact that he seemed to love his country was a solid plus in Jordyn's book even though most of the people she'd worked for or knew in LA were politically liberal and had a very different view of America than she'd grown up with. They tended to largely believe, to at least some degree, that America was this kind of horrific place that had been illegitimately founded by white slave owners who 'stole the land from those wonderful Native Americans' even as they made millions getting rich in this 'terrible country.'

Jordyn's father was a Vietnam and Gulf War veteran and a retired Air Force colonel. Although she wasn't one to wear her patriotism on her sleeve, she was very proud of America and the way it had helped to liberate tens of millions of people from Nazism, totalitarianism, and communism during the 20th century. To be sure, slavery and Jim Crow were huge stains on the nation, but the fact that it had dealt with and moved beyond them, even if residual effects remained, was what mattered most. At least to her anyway. But then she'd always been a glass-half-full kind of person who looked for the good in people and the entirety of their being, and she applied the same rule when it came to something like a nation state, as well. She thought the invasion of Iraq was the biggest blunder of her lifetime and made no attempt to hide her feelings. Other than that, she believed that while America wasn't perfect, in her mind it is was the protector of freedom and democracy around the world and a force for good, not some 'evil empire,' it's 'warts and dings' aside.

An expert at multitasking, Jordyn had the hotel's kitchen crew in and out of Ventura's office by the time she finished typing up her notes from the conversation during lunch and was in the process of Googling 'Courtney Collins, Sawyer, boyfriend' when seconds later, Jordyn said out loud, "Hello, Josh Holloway!" even though Sawyer Godwin looked more like a combination of football player Tom Brady and a younger David Beckham than the co-star of the TV series about the survivors of a plane crash on an island no one seemed able to find.

"Okay," she said as she scanned his bio. "This makes sense."

He was one of the hottest new male models in LA and had just done a shoot for a well-known, high-end designer label.

"His first taste of notoriety," Jordyn said to herself as she kept reading.

He'd grown up in a small town in North Carolina, graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill two years ago, then moved to LA where he'd lived in relative obscurity until getting his first break just over a year ago working for Macy's. That first break allowed him to get his foot in the door, and he'd had numerous opportunities since, culminating in the Tommy Hilfiger spread featured in several prominent fashion magazines. Jordyn scanned through several of the photos showing this Sawyer guy in various stages of undress, wearing or at least holding, designer clothing on some part of his unbelievably hunky body.

"Smart, gorgeous, and lashed up with the likes of Courtney Collins. Interesting," she thought as she made some notes for a file she labeled 'Josh Holloway'.

She didn't have time to try and find out or even mull over why he was with Courtney. She could only make assumptions and assumptions were one thing she avoided like the plague. Yes, he might well be as shallow and vacuous as Ventura's spoiled-rotten daughter, or there could just as easily be some other reason she was unaware of. Whatever the reason, it was none of her business except insofar as it came to ensuring Ventura's happiness, and that clearly extended to keeping her daughter happy, as well.

The first week flew by so quickly Jordyn had trouble believing she was already well into day eight by 7am. She'd been in the office for an hour already making phone calls and working on a dozen separate issues she needed to address before Ventura strolled in around ten o'clock.

It was nearly 7pm when Ventura left for the evening and Jordyn still had to contact a client in Tokyo which was 16 hours ahead. She decided to wait another hour before calling, because without Ventura around, she could get more done in an hour than she could in four when her boss was there making constant demands on her time.

Jordyn was dotting i's and crossing t's at light speed when the elevator opened just before 8pm. It wasn't typical to have someone show up that late, but it wasn't unheard of, either. She looked up and saw someone step out and look around, and in that brief moment, she knew exactly who her visitor was.

"Good evening!" Jordyn said pleasantly.

"Um...hi, there," he replied politely as he looked around as though he expected to find someone waiting for him.

He kind of pointed at her then said, "You must be...Jennifer, Ventura's new executive assistant."

"I am. And it's Jordyn," she said showing no hint of feeling slighted.

"Sorry. Courtney's not exactly careful about remembering other people's names. Well, unless they're imp..."

He stopped talking for a moment then said, "I was supposed to meet Ventura here at 8pm. I know I'm a little early, but...this place looks deserted. Except for you, of course."