CHAPTER 6
Veronica set the phone back on the coffee table with a sigh. She knew she couldn’t ever tell Calvin about how attracted she was to Davenport, but a part of her felt like concealing that fact was deceptive. At the end of the day, she was only concealing it to spare his feelings, and that would have to be enough.
Besides, it wasn’t as if anything would ever come of her attraction to Frank Davenport. He was likely the object of attraction for many women, and surely nothing ever came of it. After all, he was hiring her as his babysitter, so there was likely already another woman in his life.
Veronica shook her head and decided to focus on the job she had at hand. This was a particularly good group of kids, and all she would have to do was watch them for a couple of hours before their parents got home from work.
Veronica changed into a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt, then gathered up her purse and left the house, being sure to bring her wallet and phone charger with her just in case.
It didn’t take her long to arrive at the house, just before the kids got there. She liked working with them. The oldest, a girl, liked to sit and read, and the younger one liked to talk to her about whatever had happened throughout his day. The hours passed quickly, and before long their parents were home.
By the time she returned home, it was about six thirty at night. She was already mentally preparing herself for the dinner she would have to cook, and to read over the paperwork Davenport had given her. She turned her key in the lock and stepped into the house, only to be taken completely by surprise.
Calvin stood by her chair at the dining table, which was decorated by a red tablecloth, and had a candle burning in the center. On the plates was her favorite dish, chicken parmesan, as well as a large bowl of salad. She looked up at him surprise, and his face broke out in a smile.
“This is…” Veronica started, and struggled to find words. “Wow.”
“I wanted to surprise you!” Calvin laughed, and moved to take her purse from her shoulder, setting it by the hall tree. He then led her over to the table, pulling out a chair for her and helping her to sit down.
“Well I’m definitely surprised,” Veronica said, giving him a soft smile.
“I am just really happy for you,” Calvin said, leaning down to give her a kiss. “And I can’t wait to look through all this paperwork with you so that we can decide if you actually want to take the job!”
Veronica nodded, and began to help herself to the salad he had prepared for her.
“I mean, whatever you decide,” Calvin waved a fork in the air as he spoke. “I’m happy you even went to the interview and that you impressed him enough that he offered you the job.”
Veronica felt a little deceitful. If Calvin had seen the relaxed, almost too personal nature of the interview, he would likely not have been half as impressed. Still, she had not seen Calvin so excited or even remotely happy in months, and she didn’t want to lose the atmosphere of the moment.
“Well maybe we can celebrate a little after we look through all the paperwork,” Veronica suggested, allowing her voice to take on a darker inflection.
Calvin looked up at her and blinked, obviously taken aback by the suggestion.
“Oh, well I mean yeah, we’ll have to see!” he said, and Veronica couldn’t help but be a little disappointed by his lack of enthusiasm. Still, he had done all this for her, and to pressure him into having sex wouldn’t exactly be very fair of her.
Veronica allowed them to settle into a comfortable silence. She did her best to enjoy her meal, but she could feel that Calvin was practically itching to just clear the table and break out the paperwork. So, as much as she would have liked to relax and savor this meal, she hurried up for his sake.
When they were finished, they both worked together to clear the table and clean the dishes. Then, without prompting, Veronica moved to retrieve her briefcase. She moved over to the couch in front of the coffee table, and spread out the papers along its surface.
Calvin was at her side in almost an instant, eagerly looking over the multiple sheets of paper.
“Okay, we can take turns reading all the papers, and when we are both finished,” she said calmly. “We can discuss the contents. Deal?”
“Deal,” Calvin said eagerly, and immediately snatched up the thickest stack of papers.
Veronica sighed a little, and took up a paper of her own. Over the course of about thirty minutes, they had both read all the papers. For the most part, it was all standard issue legal information, including a nondisclosure agreement. That was not unexpected for Veronica, as she would be working in his home and she would be bound to be exposed to something or other that he didn’t want discussed in the long run.
What Veronica did not expect, though, was for a part of their arrangement to be that she take up residence in his home. There would be a private room and bathroom expressly for her, and she would have complete access to the kitchen. The purpose of this was that he often had to be away on business, and he needed someone whose presence his children could become accustomed to.
In addition to watching his children, she was expected to take care of a few of various household tasks. While there was a housekeeping staff, there were a few things that required a more personal touch, such as cleaning bedrooms and doing laundry. This took Veronica a little off guard, but it was nothing too different than what she did at the houses she already worked for.
She would not be expected to remain at the house at absolutely all times, and she would be allowed to take time for herself if it was needed. Any time he was at the home in the afternoons and evenings, she would not be required to be there, but she was to be in the house by ten o’clock each night, unless she had requested off. Which, if he was at work in the day, meant she essentially had a full-time job.
Incidentally, that also meant that she had a full-time salary. He was offering her a hundred thousand dollars to do all this, as well as bonuses and tips whenever he saw fit. She would also get bonuses for going on vacation with him and his family, which seemed to her like a two-fold benefit.
Altogether, this whole deal seemed like an absolute dream come true. The pay would be more than enough to satisfy Calvin, and that was what he had seemed most concerned about. In addition, he would be saving money that he could have been spending on food. He could probably also move into a smaller apartment by himself, since she would be living at Davenport’s home.
Secretly, Veronica was grateful for the opportunity to move away from Calvin and spend her time elsewhere. Living together had, in her opinion, not really served to benefit their relationship. Spending so much time together, in her opinion, seemed to subtract from their intimacy, and caused them to fall into a pattern. To Veronica, it seemed like the separation would, in fact, be a good thing.
Veronica determined that she did, in fact, want to take the job. The money alone was too good to pass up, and all the other factors only served to make her more determined to go through with it. She would listen to what Calvin had to say about it, and truly listen to what he had to say, but ultimately the decision was hers, and she had all but made it.
“So,” Veronica spoke as she gathered up all the papers into one pile. “What do you think?
Calvin seemed deep in thought, his eyebrows meeting in a frown in the center of his head. His fingers stroked over his chin as he thought, and Veronica fought the temptation to roll her eyes.
“Well I think the pay is a great deal,” Calvin offered, though his tone did not seem very thrilled. “And the duties outline in the subscription don’t seem too far out of the norm of what you do at anyone else’s house for a lot less money than what he’s offering you.”
Veronica nodded silently. She could already tell that there was a ‘but’ coming up, and she was already preparing her rebuttal.
“I have to be honest with you though,” Calvin said, and ran a hand over his face. “I don’t really like the idea of you taking up residence over there. It just seems like a little bit too much to ask, in my opinion.”
“Well,” Veronica said slowly, folding her hands in her lap. “He did explain that the reason he wants me there as a permanent resident is just to take care of the kids. He probably just doesn’t want to deal with wet beds and kids coming up to him to talk about bad dreams. He probably just wants to be able to come home and have a good night’s rest.”
Calvin blinked, and frowned.
“I don’t know,” Calvin shook his head. “I just really don’t think it’s the most… appropriate thing for you to live there.”
Veronica felt the first sparks of irritation.
“The contract explained that several of his household staff reside there,” Veronica explained as calmly as possible. “And my situation would be no different.”
Veronica watched as Calvin seemed to undergo some kind of internal struggle. She knew that he wanted to say something, but was obviously reluctant to do so.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked him as gently as she could.
Calvin looked over at her and released a sigh.
“I mean it’s just,” Calvin said softly, and gestured to the room around him. “We have this great setup here. We moved in together, we’re in a serious relationship. I think we’ve got a great thing going here. And to just lose all that for the sake of a job? I don’t know. The job is supposed to help supplement all this, not lose it altogether.”
Veronica listened, and she supposed he was making good sense. Still, as much sense as he was making, she couldn’t really bring herself to completely agree.
“Well you make a good point,” Veronica said, speaking as slowly and gently as she could. “But honestly, what we have here together… is it really that great?”