CHAPTER 5
Veronica choked a little on the coffee she had been sipping, her head spinning at the sudden turn in conversation.
“Are you serious?” Veronica asked, and Davenport laughed a little.
“I am very serious,” Davenport gave a single nod. “I am offering you the job if you want it.”
Veronica’s head spun. She had certainly not expected to be offered a job immediately in the interview.
“I don’t know what to say,” Veronica shook her head from side to side, still in disbelief.
“Well, don’t say anything for the moment,” Davenport held up a hand. “I will have Lynn send you home with a file of paperwork detailing the requirements of the job, the pay, and all manner of details. You can take it home and peruse it, and if you should say yes, you can sign the documents and report to my estate in the morning to start. If you have to decline for any reason, just send me an email, and I’ll understand completely.”
Veronica had to work hard to keep her jaw from dropping. This was all moving so fast, and she could hardly keep up. She shook her head a little, reminding herself that she had to respond.
“I can’t tell you how much this means to me,” Veronica said, laughing in disbelief. “Thank you so much.”
“Well, don’t thank me just yet,” Davenport laughed. “I’ve heard I can be a hard man to work for.”
Veronica laughed, and she followed suit as Davenport rose from his seat.
“It was a pleasure to meet you Miss Lawrence,” he said, holding out his hand, which Veronica immediately took and firmly shook.
“Again, I can’t thank you enough for this opportunity,” Veronica said, almost giddy.
Davenport laughed, and held his arm toward the door.
“Let me walk you out,” he offered. Veronica felt his hand on the small of her back, and she stiffened as she felt a shiver roll up her spine. She stopped cold, and looked up to meet Davenport’s intense gaze. She saw a glint of some emotion in his dark eyes, and she felt her mouth go dry.
They lingered that way for a long moment, and Veronica was certain that something had passed between them.
“After you,” Davenport spoke again, his voice sounding to her like a soft growl.
After another shiver racked her body, Veronica shook herself and moved forward toward the door. She couldn’t tell if she was more grateful or disappointed when they were no longer alone, greeted by Lynn.
“Lynn, will you give Miss Lawrence the necessary documentation to begin her employment?” Davenport addressed her politely. Lynn looked over at Veronica and her face lit up.
“Of course!” Lynn said happily, and turned to open a drawer of one of the filing cabinets behind her desk.
“I have to go back to my office and look over a few papers before my next meeting,” Davenport looked down at Veronica from his superior height. “It really was a pleasure meeting you today, and I certainly hope I will see you tomorrow. Until then, have a wonderful remainder of your day, and if I don’t see you, I hope you have a wonderful life.”
“It was a pleasure to meet you as well,” Veronica managed to say, though she was certainly having trouble forming coherent thoughts with his eyes lingering on her as they were. “And I hope the same.”
Davenport lingered for a moment more, letting his eyes sweep up and down her body, before he turned and stepped back into his office, the door closing behind him. Veronica stared at the door for a moment after it shut, her mind still racing from what had just happened.
“I think he likes you!” Lynn said excitedly as she placed the papers on the desk for Veronica to retrieve. “Congratulations! I think that was the fastest interview he’s ever had! Well, at least since I’ve started working here.”
“Thank you,” Veronica said as she collected the papers, sliding them into her briefcase. She felt numb, and she couldn’t get the image of Davenport’s dark eyes out of her head.
“All you have to do is read over them and sign on the dotted lines,” Lynn said cheerily.
“Thanks,” Veronica said. “It was great to meet you, and thank you so much for being so encouraging and positive.”
“Just doing my job,” Lynn smiled brightly. “Have a wonderful day!”
“You too,” Veronica smiled, and then headed back toward the elevator.
Veronica couldn’t stop thinking about her interview as she headed out of the building and down the street back toward her apartment. Her mind was a little hazy, and while she wanted to be feeling excitement over her new job, her mind lingered instead on the man who had given it to her.
There was something about being near to him that made her feel electric. Like he was passing his energy directly into her just through his proximity. His easy smile and low voice served to draw her in, but the constant fire in his eyes kept her just enough on edge to keep her from getting too close.
It was a delightful combination, and she contemplated her own reaction to him even as she arrived at her apartment, being sure to close and lock the door behind her. She moved into her bedroom and changed out of her dress clothes, hanging them back up in the closet, except for her shirt, which she tossed in the hamper.
She still had a few hours before she had to babysit, so she decided to head to the gym. She changed into a pair of yoga pants and a sports bra and tank top and tightly tied on her tennis shoes. The gym was only a half- mile away, so she set off at a jog.
As she made her way there, she felt the reality of her situation sink in. Frank Davenport had offered her the job. This created a complicated mix of emotions within her. While she was happy to have gotten it, she knew this meant that she would be in close proximity to him… and she wasn’t entirely sure how that made her feel.
Veronica tried to sort through her emotions as she worked out, which was having a negative impact on her form, and keeping her from getting the most out of her time there. Frustrated, she set down the dumbbells she had been trying to curl, and moved over to get a drink from the fountain.
She shook her head, and determined to focus enough to get through the rest of her workout. She was by no means skinny, but she loved to be healthy, and to maintain her curvaceous figure. So, she cleared her mind, and got through the rest of her workout, and then jogged home.
Once inside, she stretched herself out and then undressed to get in the shower, wrapping her hair up before stepping under the flow of the water. Once she was clean, she moisturized her skin with coconut oil and changed into a loose t-shirt and some shorts, then moved to sit on the couch and watch TV before she had to start getting ready for work.
No sooner had she settled on the couch than her phone started to vibrate on the coffee table. She looked at the screen, and her Picture ID of Calvin appeared on the screen. She picked up the phone and answered it.
“Hello,” she answered easily, her eyes still lingering on the show she had been watching.
“Hey, you never called me!” Calvin said, his voice full of energy. Veronica felt a surge of guilt, not just for forgetting to call him, but for all the thoughts she had been having about Davenport.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Veronica sat up on the couch, and picked up the remote, turning off the television. “I just completely forgot.”
“It’s okay, you’re fine,” Calvin insisted, and Veronica could tell he was eager to hear about the interview. “How did it go?”
Veronica hesitated a moment, wanting to leave him in as much suspense as she possibly could.
“It went...” Veronica hesitated, and dragged it on for as long as possible. “It went great. He offered me the job.”
“Veronica that’s amazing!” Calvin shouted into the phone, and Veronica pulled the receiver away from her ear.
“I know, I know,” she laughed lightly into the phone. “I could hardly believe it.”
“Well wait hold on,” Calvin sounded suddenly concerned. “You said he offered you the job?”
“Yes,” Veronica confirmed.
“Well did you take it?” he asked, his voice insistent.
“Not yet,” Veronica answered.
“What?” Calvin exclaimed. “Why not?”
“Well, he gave me a bunch of paperwork to go through,” Veronica explained. “He said to look it over, and that I could make my decision from there.”
“Well, have you looked at it?” Calvin asked her, and she could hear the irritation creeping into his voice.
“Not yet,” Veronica said none too snappily. “I thought it would be best if we looked through it together. I don’t want to make any decisions without your input.”
“Oh…” Calvin said, and she could hear his tone become gentler. “I guess that’s very thoughtful of you.”
“Yeah,” Veronica sighed into the phone, shaking her head. “I was thinking we could go over it tonight after dinner, since Mr. Davenport wants my answer by tomorrow.”
“Wow,” Calvin said, his voice surprised. “That seems a little soon.”
“Well, there’s not much paperwork,” Veronica shrugged.
“Well, I mean it’s a good job,” Calvin mused. “I hope you’re considering saying yes.”
“Oh, I am,” Veronica nodded, though she felt a little guilty for her own reasons for wanting to accept the job, an image of Davenport floating around in her mind. “I think it should be a really good job.”
Veronica heard Calvin release a sigh over the phone.
“I’m so glad to hear you say that,” Calvin laughed lightly. “I was afraid you wouldn’t want to take the job even if he offered it.”
“Well we can look through the paperwork together tonight, and we will make a decision together,” Veronica said, knowing those were the words that would make him the happiest.
“Wow, I honesty just can’t believe you’re being so open,” Calvin said. “I know we still have to go through the paperwork and everything, but I just want to say again that I’m already so happy with your giving all this a go in the first place.”
“Well whatever it takes to make you happy,” Veronica said, and she hoped he didn’t hear the hint of sarcasm in her voice.
“Well I really appreciate that,” Calvin said, and Veronica felt a little guilty again.
“Alright, well you get back to work,” Veronica said. “I’m going to start getting ready for work.”
“Okay babe,” Calvin said nicely. “I’ll see you when I get home tonight.”
“See you,” Veronica said monotonously. “Bye.”