syntax

noun

1. the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language

2. the structure of statements in a computer language

Car shopping with Patricia was a breeze. She drove Grant and I in her car to the sales yard that had a few suitable vehicles for me to purchase. I found an older model BMW SUV in black. It was in excellent condition and I didn't bother looking at anything else. Grant checked the engine which was great and we paid cash and Grant drove it home for me.

As a personal vehicle is was good. As a company car, it was great. I was happy. And it was easy to get in and out with crutches and a knee brace on.

Patricia met me back at home. When I invited her in for morning tea, she felt right at home in a big fancy multi-million dollar home. We drank and ate little nibbles in an upstairs lounge room while Patricia went over all of my new company documents.

"You will need to secure insurance on the car and other assets as they come in."

"The car is a personal vehicle."

"You should sign that over to the company, have it buy the car off you so you can claim expenses for it as part of your tax return. Make sure to keep all your documents secure."

"The safe is in my bedroom wardrobe bolted to the floor."

"Wont be secure enough. If someone is desperate enough, they will remove the whole safe from the premises easily then take their time opening it. A safety deposit box would be best, at your bank. It might cost a bit but the security is top notch. Can't go wrong with that. Take my word for it."

"Oh, OK. Thank you."

"You mentioned being your bodyguard. Would you like to talk about this aspect of your job?"

"Not here. Lets go for a walk about the back yard."

She followed me down stairs and out the back door. We walked towards the pagoda, passing a few gardeners along the way. Once I felt we were alone I tested her.

"Can you tell if there is anyone around nearby?"

"I can and there isn't," she replied without looking around.

"What I'm going to tell you sounds like the delusions of a broken teenaged girl, and it mostly is. What you need to know is that this is my perceptions and how I feel." I wait for her to nod before I tell her about the 'dream' I had of my first timeline, a rough overview of what happened, how Eyva trapped me into so many wrong decisions, how I ended up in a mental hospital.

"I know that when I woke up here again, just a few weeks ago, it all felt so incredibly real. My father had just died and my mum was planning on marrying Wallace. I knew everything from the dream of 'before'. Then I met Wallace, Jack and Eyva, and she is every bit as horrible as I dreamed about. Before my dad's funeral I'd never met any of them before in my life."

I look up at Patricia to see her stoic face. She nodded for me to continue, then I told her of my interactions with Eyva since the night before wedding, then the fall at the mall with Aaron Chalmers, his connection to Eyva and how Eyva is treating me now since my surgery.

"Before, when I dreamed about her setting me up again and again, I knew what her MO was, knew how she thought, how she hid behind a facade of the sweet, perfect daughter who could do no wrong. Now that has been stripped away, maybe a bit too early, as I don't know how things will escalate, how she will escalate from now on. I don't know how her psyche will develop with this bad girl persona she is being forced to take on. And this worries me.

"That's where you come in. I need you to work along side me on my projects and my business as a whole. But I also need you as a bodyguard, both physically as well as online with any media coverage of my business and projects. I also have one more person to add to my team, if I can convince him to join us. Between you and my hacker, I should be able to get around any mud she starts flinging my way, but its the physical guarding that I'll need your help with." Patricia nods.

"What does that look like, day to day?" She asks.

"I have two months left of high school, and I think I can mange this fine. I'll need you to transport me to and from school. This was her favourite time of the day to cause accidents. When I was out of the house and not at school either, basically away from any CCTV recording."

We chat for a while longer, asking each other questions, getting to know each other. I outlined a bit more about what I'd like Patricia to do for me, including petty accounts, office assistance, secretarial work. I gave her a basic timeline for the things I will be starting up, but I warned her that there were bound to be more ideas added to the list.

"I basically need you to run my company for me while I'm still in school, or university. I will try not to over burden you with too much work, but I can't do so much without yourself as I'm still at school. After two months, I'll be at university with Grant. I'd like you to teach him self defence as part of your job description. During the three to four years at uni we will be building several businesses under my umbrella company 'Pryus Projects', and then selling them for millions."

She raised an eyebrow at my statement of the worth of my businesses.

"I told you I'd never lie to you. Don't doubt me now, you just wait and see."