Love Therapy (Stanton Falls #2)

by Kaci Hart

  The truth was that she didn’t really want to move anywhere else anyway. She loved where she lived. Her apartment fit her well enough, though she might upgrade somethings. Her mind flirted happily with the idea of purchasing a nice queen size bed with one of those nice memory foam mattresses and the heating and cooling features. Her mother had showed her the one she recently purchased the last time she went by to see her and it was the most comfortable thing she had ever sat on.

  “I have been thinking about picking up a few things here or there.”

  “Good. At least you are living it up some, even though I would gladly take you going on a date than I would buying a mansion, but we can’t have them all, right? Anyway, I gotta go Donna. God forbid this husband of mine have to fix a meal for himself for a change. He’d die of starvation.”

  “Alright Christa. Talk to you later.”

  Donna hung up the phone and placed it on the table--swapping it for her sandwich, which she took a giant bite of. Christa had been Donna’s best friend since high school and knew her better than anyone except maybe her mother. She was one of those people Donna was really thankful for in her life. She was always honest with her about her faults and flaws and always had her best interest in mind but if she didn’t let up on the find-a-boyfriend-to-complete-you thinking. Donna didn’t know how much more of it she could take. It’s not like Donna had good example of love to fall back on.

  Before becoming a counselor, she only saw a few real marriages up close and they all had issues ranging from a horrible husband like her father to the few marriages that seemed like they were truly happy. It seemed like a crap shoot to her with a one in a hundred chance of resulting in real happiness anyway. Fairy tales and TV show families simply didn’t exist in real life. Unless a person was like her mother who put love above everything based on her values. Those same values that resulted in she and her mother crying for fear. Her father had never hit them once but his verbal abuse was just as bad. If being constantly afraid and unsure was what she had to look forward to in a relationship, she didn’t want any part of that.

  Donna ran her fingers over the top of her glass of milk as she was accustomed to doing when she was in one of her deep conversations with herself. She knew that she might fall in love someday because it was human nature to desire companionship and even though the past had hurt her, she was sensible. She knew that her father was an extreme case so she always kept the door open in case fate decided she was supposed to have that. But she was never going to find it. If she was going to fall in love, it was going to have to blind side her, pin her down, and make her say “I do”.

  Christa was right though, and Donna knew it. She deserved to enjoy some of the fruits of her hard work. She finished off her food and made her way to the computer to research all new furniture for her apartment.

  ***

  Nick rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger. He needed to take a few minutes break so he walked to the lounge to get a cup of coffee. The rest of the staff had been gone at least an hour or two but there he was, still working late into the evening. That’s how it had been over the past few months. When he’d actually started the business he had done it not as an endeavor to fail or succeed, but more as just something to take up his time without him having to go work for his father. Not that he had any problem with his father or the traditional family business and he was even pretty sure that he would end up running it one day, but for now he didn’t want to be known as Nick Dellinger Jr. He wanted to have a separate identity. His company, specializing in marketing and financial services did just that for him as it was the complete opposite of his father’s manual labor factory jobs.

  At first, he thought it would be easy, and when it wasn’t, he sort of slacked off--just playing a figurehead role. That was until one of the people he employed had a real major life event and the company had almost no resources set up to help them. That was when he realized that his company wasn’t just about an identity separate from his father’s. It was the rent or mortgage, grocery money, and college education for dozens of people in the city. He actually had a responsibility to those people that had accepted the opportunity to work for him. It was more of an honor than he had imagined and he had to make sure he honored their commitment to his company back.

  He made his way back to the office and looked around at what he and his people were building together. He remembered Aaron approaching him in his office when he was working late one night almost two years ago. That was right about when he really started devoting more of himself to the company.

  “Yo, Nick. Time to check out man.”

  “No can do Aaron. I got a lot of work to do.”

  “You see, that’s starting to really freak me out. Since when do you stay late for work?”

  “C’mon Aaron, I have things to do.”

  “I’m totally serious. I may sound like I’m joking with you all the time but I’m your friend and of course I worry about you. You cut your hair to a respectable length, come in to work on time every day and leave after everyone else on a regular basis now. Not that there is anything wrong with any of that, but it’s just so sudden that I wouldn’t be a friend if I didn’t at least ask.”

  Nick was tickled at the thought of Aaron getting all concerned about him until he noticed that his face was completely serious.

  “Wow. You really are serious. Was I that bad of a slacker that me putting some serious time into the business worries you.”

  “Umm, yeah a bit at least. And not just me. Your mother called me the other day to ask if everything was ok with you. I told her as far as I know. She thought maybe some woman had broken your heart so you were retreating into work.”

  “Well her I understand. She’s always worried about me. But you man, get real.”

  “Hey, no one can say I didn’t ask. I mean, it’s a total three sixty. It’s like you are going through a reverse mid-life crisis, if there is such a thing. Instead of buying a motorcycle and staying up all night drinking, you are really getting your act together. I shudder to think what’s going to happen here when you really start applying yourself.”

  “Well, I figure it’s my company but the people that work here have families too. I want to do my part for them.”

  “I understand man but make sure you don’t burn yourself out. You gotta find a happy medium. Go on a date or something.”

  “I’ll have time for that once I get things in order like I really want them around here but thanks for looking out. I knew there was a reason I hired you on here.”

  “Oh, for moral support? Here I was thinking it was based on my title of IT Director.”

  “That too.”

  “Regardless, I’m calling it a night so I’ll see you bright and early again in the morning I’m sure.”

  “Later.”

  Nick had never noticed before then how much he had changed but it was definitely for the best. Today was different though. He wasn’t there late because he had a ton of work to get done. He was there because he wasn’t able to get his regular workload done and that was for one reason.

  Donna.

  Her smiling image popped up front and center in his mind. It had been a few days since he had crossed paths with her last and she was on his mind. He was so caught up in her that he found himself going by the diner some mornings around the same time, hoping that she might show up and he would have a chance to talk to her again. He knew it was kind of stalkerish and definitely sad but she was in his thoughts so it was tough to let her go. The worst part was that Aaron could tell what he was doing and told him to just let it go because there was no reason to think she was into him like he was with her. She didn’t even know him.

  Easy for you to say.

  That’s how Nick felt. Aaron and Emily were celebrating multiple years of marriage and she was pregnant with child. Meanwhile he hadn’t even scratched the surface of a good relationship. He had dated, but nothing with substance. What they had was substance and that was what
he wanted. He walked up to his office window and looked out the window at his city. Before he realized it, he had already begun thinking how great it would be to raise a family there. Moreover, Donna was the one that he saw himself raising that family with. He realized how foolish of a thought that was and quickly scolded himself.

  A family. The only woman that I am remotely interested in, I don’t even know her last name. Check back into reality now why don’t you Nick.

  He turned from the window and sat down, beginning to scan his remaining work for the night. A minute later, he had shut his computer down and was getting ready to leave the office. No matter how hard he tried, he kept hearing her sing song voice in his head.

  ‘Now how y’all boys doing?’

  He knew he wasn’t going to get another minute of work done. He might as well head on out and get a start on his nonexistent weekend. No matter what, he knew something was going to have to change. He was going to just have to let his hopes for ‘them’ go. He’d do that starting next week.

  Chapter 4

  Donna sat in the office for the director of HR at ND Marketing & Financial Services. It was quaint and kind of homely, like the rest of the building. It was not typical of what one would expect from a professional services business. Then again, it was a company located in Stanton Falls, the capital of quaint. The HR director was going over all of the particulars of the company and perks she would obtain working for the company. Even though she was considered a contracted employee and not a direct employee of the company, many employee benefits would extend to her.

  “Now Ms. Sherman, if you will give me just five minutes to file some of this paperwork we just went over, I want to take you on a tour of our facilities, give you the layout and make sure you meet everyone here that you need to.”

  “That would be great. I’ll just review some of this info you gave me, so take your time.”

  Wow, these guys really do take care of their employees.

  Donna looked over the packet and saw benefits ranging from top notch medical and dental care to emergency child care assistance. No wonder everyone in the office seemed so happy. It was apparent to her that the owners of the company really wanted to have an environment that supported employee development and happiness. They were vested fully in the lives of their employees. She looked forward to meeting them later so that she could tell them how excited she was to be working with a company that cared so much for its employees.

  Even with that, she knew that there was a reason that she was there. No matter how many smiles those people wore, they were still real people with everyday issues and she would be the perfect person to help them out. It would be the perfect opportunity for her.

  “All done. Are you ready Donna?”

  “Yep. Can I just leave these here until we get back?”

  “I’ve got a better idea. I haven’t taken you by your office yet. It’s right down the hall so I’ll take you by there first.”

  “Great!”

  Donna followed the woman to an office that was about one hundred meters down the hall.

  “Here is your office. We have a standard kind of decorating here as I am sure you can tell--but if you want to change anything to make it more conducive to what you will be doing here, just submit it through the portal I showed you online and I’ll make sure to get it ordered as soon as possible.”

  Donna looked around her office and had no qualms whatsoever.

  “I don’t think that will be an issue at all.”

  “In that case, here is your key. You can go ahead and leave your things on the desk and lock up. I never lock my office but feel free to do whatever makes you comfy.”

  “Thanks.”

  Donna did lock the door. She was all for small town trust but she had just moved back from a big city and it wasn’t out of her DNA just yet. After locking up, she followed the woman through the various areas of the building. It was a nice enough atmosphere to work in. She’d introduced her to various managers and staff before bringing her back to her office.

  “Well, that’s the tour of the place. What do you think?”

  “It’s great, but I thought you were going to introduce me to the head of the company.”

  “Oh my, I did just shuffle right on past his office didn’t I? My mistake. Let’s go meet him now. He’s really a good guy. This company has helped a lot of families in our town, especially the younger ones. It’s not so easy to find jobs where they can use their degrees from the universities in towns like this one. With places like this one that Mr. Dellinger has started, some of our young folk, like yourself, can come back home and find places to work rather than having to move to a bigger city.”

  Donna knew what she meant. If she hadn’t already known that Mr. Faulkner was going to give her a job when school was done, she might have had to take one of the offers she had outside of Stanton Falls.

  The owner really did seem to care about the community. Not a surprise, seeing that it was one of the Dellingers. This town was their home and they took every effort to bring success to the people there. She never remembered meeting even one of them but she looked forward to finally meeting a member of the most well-known family in the town.

  The woman walked up to a secretary’s desk.

  “Trudy, is Mr. Dellinger available? I’d like him to meet our new counselor.”

  “As available as he ever will be. Never takes a break so you might as well head on in. Let me just let him know you are coming in.”

  The secretary picked up the receiver and spoke.

  “Sir, Monica from HR wants to bring a new staff member by for her introduction…..I’ll send them right in.”

  She placed the receiver on the hook and then looked up at the two ladies.

  “He’s ready for you right now.”

  As they walked towards the door, Donna saw the name plate on the side.

  NICHOLAS DELLINGER,

  PRESIDENT AND CEO

  Why does that name sound so familiar?

  The second the door opened, she knew. As he looked from the papers on his desk, the recognition showed on his face immediately.

  “Donna I’d like you to meet our President and CEO...”

  “Nick?” Donna spoke before the woman could even finish her statement.

  “Umm...yes, that’s what I was going to say. Nicholas Dellinger. But it seems you already know that. Apparently you both know each other already?”

  Nick still had a look of surprise on his face. He clearly was not expecting to see her at all. He jumped up from his chair to greet her with a smile.

  “Yes we do. Donna? You’re the new counselor?”

  “I am. I didn’t realize this was your company to be honest.”

  “Well I don’t like to call it my company. We all run it together. So…”

  Before he could finish, Monica jumped in.

  “Excuse me just one second. Since this was my last stop on the tour, I’m going to go ahead and leave you two to your reunion.”

  The woman turned towards Donna, offering her hand for a shake.

  “Welcome to the company.”

  After thanking her, Donna turned back to Nick.

  “So this is funny.”

  “What? Did you forget me again already?”

  “No not that. And I didn’t forget you last time. I just didn’t recognize you. That is a totally different thing.”

  “Try telling that to Aaron for me one day. I got poked fun at the whole day as the unmemorable one. He even called me the king of forgettable.”

  Donna laughed as Nick made a mock pained face.

  “I’ll tell him the next time I see him, I promise.”

  “Well he works right down the hall so you will have your chance.”

  “You two work here together?”

  “Yup. He’s head of IT but has always been my right hand man here. So how did we luck into getting you on staff?”

  “Long story short, you couldn’t afford or didn’t want to pay for D
r. Faulkner.”

  “I guess every cloud really does have a silver lining. I would venture to wager that we’ll be really happy about how things turn out.”

  Donna could swear that he was talking about more than just her working there but she was sure it was just her imagination. There was no way that he was expressing any real interest in her.

  “You think so?”

  “Yes I do indeed.”

  “Well I like working with positive people. Speaking of which, I wanted to make sure I told you how happy I am to be here.”

  “Thanks Donna but it’s just your first day.”