Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
I notice the one he’s holding is the priority phone, which is supposedly for Sally to call him with urgent news.
I’ve been trying hard not to be the crazy girlfriend. I mean, that phone is for work but it rings at all hours of the day—and night. Every time I hear a slice of the conversation, Mason’s always talking about work, but I don’t like it when he turns his attention away from me, only to focus on another woman.
Normally, I wouldn’t say anything. But tonight, I’m feeling invincible.
Just as Mason’s about to press the green Accept Call button, I put my hand over the screen. “May I?”
Mason stares at me, not understanding what I’m trying to do.
“May I speak with Sally? Like I said, I know her from high school.”
“Sure, but it might be—” Mason pauses as I take the phone away “—important . . .”
Sally sounds confused when she hears my voice greeting her.
“Is Mason there?” she asks.
“Hi Sally,” I say, “this is Ava. I’m with Mason and the others right now. He’s been telling me about the problem with Mr. Garcia. Is this about him again?”
“Yeah,” Sally says. “I had no idea you even knew my bosses. This is crazy. But yeah, Mr. Garcia is on the other end of the line. It’s really hard to even schedule anything with him. I always have to go back and forth multiple times.”
I’m aware of the problem and I’ve actually been thinking about a silly idea that might just work.
According to Mason, the problem isn’t that Mr. Garcia primarily speaks Spanish because the Hunters do have bilingual employees.
The problem is, Mr. Garcia’s learning English and he insists on calling Hunter Meditour himself every time, just so he’ll get some practice. Whenever someone tries to address him in Spanish, he always reverts back to English.
So far, the Hunters have been complying with his requests because he’s an important business partner. But there has to be a better way than taking a mountain of calls from him every day.
“Can I speak with him?” I ask.
“Oh.” Sally sounds surprised. She nervously giggles. “Do you secretly know him, too?”
“No.”
“Is Mason okay with this?” she asks.
“Hang on.” I hold the phone up to Mason’s ear. I mouth the words, “Just say ‘yes.’”
“Yes . . .?” Mason says.
I take the phone back. “He says it’s totally fine.”
“Okay. I’ll put you through. Hold on one moment,” Sally says over the phone.
The Hunters watch me with interest and confusion, but the fact that they’re letting me do this means they trust me, and that makes me happy.
“Hello,” says a man with a thick accent.
“Hello, you must be Mr. Garcia,” I say chirpily.
“Yes. Who is this?” His use of short sentences gives me a clue about his fluency level, and already, I’m not surprised communication’s a challenge. Still, I have to give this guy some props for putting so much effort into learning the language.
“Oh, right. My name’s Ava, but you probably haven’t heard of me. Mason’s told me a lot about you, though.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He tells me you’re learning English and you’ve improved a lot lately.”
Mr. Garcia laughs, a merry sound that immediately makes me imagine him as a plump, middle-aged man with a red, happy face. “I’m not good yet,” he says.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not easy, learning a language. Actually, the reason Mason tells me about you is because I’ve been learning a language, too.”
“Oh? What language?” he asks, sounding interested.
“It happens to be Spanish.” I laugh softly as I wait to see if he takes the bait. Meanwhile, I walk into my bedroom, the Hunters trailing behind me.
“Oh, I am expert in that language,” he says, laughing again.
“What a coincidence.” I pause for a second to make it sound natural. “Oh, would you mind if I practice a little of my Spanish on you?”
“Of course not,” he says.
Sitting at my desk as the Hunters look on behind me, I grab a pen and a piece of paper. Then, as I speak with Mr. Garcia, I ask his questions in writing to Mason, who then tells me what to say.
I confirm everything two, three times in both English and Spanish. My Spanish is only almost passable, but it’s enough to get the job done.
When I finally hang up, Mason’s staring at me with amazement. “That was the smoothest phone call I’ve ever had with him, and I didn’t even have to listen to his grumpy voice.”
“Oh, is he usually grumpy? He sounded perfectly nice and friendly.” I’m still grinning from the success of my plan.
“When he’s trying to think of a word and it doesn’t come to him, he gets frustrated and grouchy. Sometimes, he hangs up and calls again ten minutes later, after he’s checked a dictionary or something,” Mason says.
I laugh. I can’t imagine how angry that must make Mason.