Jason hesitated just a moment. “She says she does.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
“I guess I’m not totally. Let me explain her story. Gina is an only child, which is certainly not unusual in our line of work. It’s actually pretty common. Also as usual, her parents doted on her, didn’t know when to say no to her, especially her father. Her mother saw the problem, but her father apparently didn’t even see it. According to her mother, it was a source of disagreement between them.”
“That’s a shame,” Paul said.
“It is,” Jason agreed. “Things changed when she went off to college. She apparently flunked out her sophomore year, but told mommy and daddy the professors hated her and were mean, so she quit. Her father went to talk to them and had his eyes opened. Since then he’s realized his wife may have been right, but he wasn’t sure what to do about it.”
“It can be a bit overwhelming,” Paul commented.
“Especially for the person who caused the problem.”
Cheyenne was shaking her head. “But I don’t get it. Why would she be anxious to start the program? I would think she would be fighting it.”
“This is where it gets interesting,” Jason said. “Gina’s grandfather, George Billings, her mother’s father, passed away and left her an inheritance. She was anxious to get her inheritance and move out, since she and her parents haven’t been getting along nearly as well now that her father sees the monster his daughter has become. Her grandfather was a very intelligent man, amassing quite a fortune in business. He saw what was happening and knew she would throw her inheritance away quickly and still not be happy if something didn’t change, so he put a proviso on her inheritance. She will receive it as soon as she successfully completes our program, or upon turning thirty-eight.”
Cheyenne and Paul both laughed. Paul voiced the question they both had. “Why thirty-eight? I’ve heard of when they turn twenty-one, or even twenty-five, but I’ve never heard of thirty-eight.”
“According to him, he was thirty-eight when he had his first truly successful business. He considers that to be when he finally grew up and took life seriously.”
Paul was still laughing, and shook his head. “That’s funny. How do you know all this? Did he say that in the will?”
“No. I actually talked to him before he died. He called and asked if we could meet. I had a nice visit with him. He said he would never put that stipulation in his will without talking to me about it first, making sure I would agree to it, and I appreciated that. He had quite a few questions about the program, as well. He wanted to make sure he knew exactly what he was doing. We talked about Gina at great length. I got quite an insight into how she was raised and how she matured through the years.”
Paul leaned forward in his chair. “And based on that, you agreed to take the challenge?”
“I did. I explained how our program works, and he nodded his head. He said he’d talked to the family of one of the ladies I’d worked with in the past, and he was generally aware of how it works. He said he thought it was just what Gina needs. I gave him a copy of the contract we have them sign, and he included that with the will. Her mother called me first, upon her father’s death. She was aware her father had put that in his will, and said he’d talked to her about it. She had a few questions she wanted to ask me about it, though. She assured me her daughter had read the contract.”
“And she was ready to sign it?” Paul asked.
“Her mother said she read the contract and is anxious to start so she can get her inheritance.”
“That’s refreshing,” Paul said. “I usually spend the first day or two answering questions and giving her time to decide if she’s going to accept the terms, with no changes, and agree to the program. If she’s anxious to start, we have a big head start.”
Jason nodded, but Cheyenne couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “And you believed her?”
Both men turned to her, surprised by her outburst. Jason reached over to take her hand in his. “What are you saying, honey?”
“You yourself said she’s anxious to start the program so she can get her inheritance. That’s all she’s interested in.”
“But her mother said she read the contract and is anxious to start. You’ve read the contract. You know it clearly spells out that she and the man she’s working with will go over what is acceptable and what’s not, and anytime she does something that’s not acceptable she’ll be spanked.”
“And she’s probably assuming you can’t be serious about that, or that she’ll just have to get it changed.”
“But you know there are no alterations.”
“Yes, I do know that now, but I doubt that she does. Think about it. If she’s been spoiled, she’s used to having things her way. I’ll bet she is anxious to get this program started, but in her mind she’s going to change the terms to suit her, and the program is just a technical delay that will take a little time, but once the terms are changed to suit her, she’ll endure it in order to get her inheritance. The end result is the only thing she’s focused on.”
Both men were quiet for a few moments, before Paul spoke. “She may be right.”
“I’m thinking the same thing,” Jason said. He turned to address his wife. “What makes you think that? You didn’t grow up spoiled.”
“No kidding,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “But I’ve been around princesses that were. They’re so used to getting their own way they always assume they will. It never occurs to them they may not.” She giggled a little and said, “I’ll bet they’re shocked the first time they’re over your knee and reality sets in.”
Both men smiled, recalling instances where that, in fact, did happen. “I should have thought of that,” Jason said. “You’re right in everything you said. This whole case is so different; I guess I was getting the cart before the horse.”
“You were going by what she said, and you might be right. I may be wrong. She may have read it and is ready to do the program.” She paused, and both men were obviously thinking, so she gave them a few moments. “And if you go look out the window you may see Bigfoot flying past on his unicorn, too.”
She looked up and saw two large, intimidating men staring at her, both with ‘the look’ on their face and one eyebrow raised. Seeing their identical looks, she laughed.
Jason cleared his throat. “Cheyenne, do we need to have a little discussion on attitudes?”
“No, we don’t,” she assured him. “I was just kidding. And I’m sorry I laughed, but you should have seen it; you two had the exact same look on your faces. When you train these guys, do you give them a mirror so they can practice ‘the look’ to make sure they have it right?”
Jason glanced over at Paul, who was doing his best to keep a stern face and not break out laughing, but it was obvious he was barely hanging on, much like the problem he himself was having. He looked back at her, and the mischief and sparkle in her eyes was his undoing. He started laughing. “See what I mean, Paul, when I said she’s been a daily challenge for me?”
He reached over and picked his wife up in one easy motion, noting the look of surprise on her face, and set her on his lap, giving her a hug. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.
“I see that,” Paul said with a smile of his own. “You’re a lucky man, Jason. I hope you realize that.”
“Oh, I do,” Jason assured him. “She’s still a challenge, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Good,” she said with pride in her voice, “because you’ve already had your chance to change me. You had six weeks to do your best, and this is what you ended up with. That means like it or lump it, buddy, this is what you’re stuck with.”
He reached around and gave her a mostly playful swat on her bottom. “Oh, I like it all right,” he said. “But don’t be so sure you can’t still be changed. I have a strong right arm that says if you start having too much of an attitude, I’ll bet it can indeed be changed.” He leaned do
wn and caught her lips in a kiss before she had a chance to argue. When the kiss ended, his mouth was close to her ear as he whispered, “Do you really want to argue about this in front of an audience, my dear?”
Her eyes caught his momentarily and she answered him by giving him a quick kiss on his cheek, and looking back toward the file sitting in front of them.
He smiled at her and gave her a little wink, before moving on. “Paul, I think she has a valid point. I think you do need to go into this with what she said in mind.”
“I agree. I’ll be ready, and the first time she suggests any kind of change in the way we run our program, I’ll have to make it quite clear that there will be no changes.”
“She isn’t going to like that,” Cheyenne commented, mostly to herself.
“Maybe not, but she’ll have to learn to accept it,” Jason said, studying his wife carefully. She was deep in thought. He glanced over at Paul and had to smile to himself when he saw him watching Cheyenne, as well. Paul was very good at what he did. He picked up on things quickly, like the fact that something was definitely on her mind.
Jason gave her a little hug. “What are you thinking, honey?”
“Oh, nothing,” she said with a far away look on her face.
“Cheyenne?”
The hint of warning in his voice instantly got her attention. She looked up at him and saw the serious expression. “Okay,” she said with a sigh. “By sitting in on this meeting I’m seeing this program in a different light.”
“And?”
She sighed. “It’s not as easy for you guys as I thought.”
Both men chuckled a little. “This job is definitely not the easiest job I’ve had,” Paul said. “The most fulfilling, yes, but certainly not the easiest.”
Jason nodded in agreement. “Definitely. You thought it was easy for us?”
“Well, maybe not easy, but for instance, when I said she isn’t going to like hearing there will be no changes to the program, Paul’s right. He’s going to have to be ready for the response and deal with it. It will be overwhelming to her when she realizes she isn’t going to be able to change it to her liking. It’ll be hard on her—trust me, I know—but no matter how disheartened she is, you have to go forward. That can’t be easy.”
“It isn’t,” he assured her, “but it’s a little easier knowing that although it’s extremely hard for her at the time, the sooner she realizes it’s going to happen and she can’t stop it, and the sooner she accepts that fact, the sooner she’ll feel better.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Let me ask you something. Are you happier now than when we first met?”
A big smile spread across her face as she looked up at him. “Of course I am. I’m so much happier now, I can’t hardly believe the difference.”
“Was it difficult for you the first time you found yourself over my knee and realized you couldn’t stop what was about to happen?”
“That was so hard, such a sinking feeling. I felt utterly helpless.”
“Then I did my job right,” he surprised her by saying. He explained further, seeing the confusion on her face. “You feel helpless when you realize you can no longer control what happens. Then it’s my job to guide you from that low, to learn how to change your behavior so you feel pride in yourself. That ultimately makes you happier. In your case, it was easy to see how much happier you were, which made my job easier. Much easier.”
“So you’re saying I was easy money for you?” He knew he’d never tire of seeing the impish little grin she had on her face.
“Brat,” he said, giving her a little hug.
“I thought you said I was challenging. Now I’m a brat?”
“You’re a challenging little brat, and I’m glad you’re mine. But seriously, I imagine you are seeing a different side to this program. Are you still in favor of it?”
“Oh, absolutely. I’m here to tell you it works. There’s just more involved than I realized. I guess that means I have more respect for you guys and what you do, and what you go through in doing it.”
Both men’s eyebrows rose, and they both smiled. “Thank you, Cheyenne,” Paul said.
“Yes, thank you,” Jason echoed. “And for the record, I am so proud of you, and how you’ve grown. My respect for you keeps growing.”
She blushed, and quickly tried to change the subject. Both men were aware that compliments still tended to embarrass her, so they knew immediately what she was doing, and allowed it, even helped her. Jason began. “So, getting back to our case at hand, Paul, I think you do need to go into this expecting her to assume she can change the program to her liking.”
They spent the next two hours talking about Gina. They talked about her relationship with her parents, as well as with others, such as her teachers and professors. They talked about other acquaintances, and her lack of long-term friends. Paul would spend the next day, Saturday, going over his pages of notes and finalizing his plan, and on Sunday he would fly to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He would get settled into the motel room and pick up his rental car in preparation to meet Gina at her parents’ home on Monday morning.
Chapter Two
Paul was invited into the Jamison home Monday morning at nine o’clock by Gina’s mother, Nancy. She invited him into the living room, where he noticed a tray of coffee and assorted pastries. Once they both had coffee, Paul asked about the one person who was missing. “Is Gina here, or did something come up that pulled her away?”
“No, she’s here. She’s upstairs. She should be down pretty soon.”
“Was there a problem this morning? I assume she knew I would be here at 9:00?”
“Yes, she knew. She’s late for everything. She calls it fashionably late. She knew you were coming because she said she set her alarm clock so she’d be up this morning.”
“She had to set her alarm clock to be up and dressed by nine o’clock?”
Nancy rolled her eyes and nodded her head. “Unfortunately, yes.” She sighed, and looked at Paul with sad eyes. “To be honest, Mr. Parker, I am truly glad you’re here. Since she’s come back from college, she’s been impossible to live with. She hasn’t given up on John, her father. She still thinks she can get him to come around again to her way of thinking about things, but she’s been nothing but rude to me, unless John is around. She’s totally different to me then.”
“There’s that much of a difference in how she treats you?”
“Oh, yes. She knows I think she’s way out of line and won’t give in to her, so I’m of no value to her. She still thinks her dad will come around again, though.”
“So what time does she usually get up?”
“Unless she has something special to do, usually around noon.”
“Does she go out at night, or what does she do all night?”
“I honestly don’t know. She doesn’t tell us a thing, and I honestly don’t know what she does after we go to bed.”
“Okay. You said you have a guesthouse she can stay in while we’re doing this program?”
“Yes. The pool and tennis court are out behind the house, and the guesthouse is just past them.”
“So it’s cut off somewhat from the main house here?”
“Oh, yes. We won’t be able to see or hear you two down there. Will that be a problem?”
“No, that’s good.” He checked his watch and looked toward the staircase. “Would you mind seeing if she’s about ready to come down yet?”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Parker.”
“Please, call me Paul, and it’s not your fault.”
Nancy went to the stairs and yelled out, “Gina, Mr. Parker is here waiting for you.”
“That’s fine,” she yelled back. “We’re starting that program of his today, so as I understand it he’ll be here all day. I’ll be down in a bit.”
Paul stood up and went to the staircase. “Miss Jamison, our appointment was for nine o’clock. It’s almost an hour past that. Would you please come on down so we can talk
?”
“I’ll be down in a bit,” she repeated. “You’re going to be here all day, so we’ll have plenty of time to talk.”
“I’ll only be here all day if you agree to the program and sign the contract.”
“I already told you I’ll do that, so calm down. I’ll be down in a bit.”
“What are you doing up there that you can’t come down now?”
“I’m getting dressed, ready.”
“Whatever you have on is fine. I’d like you to come down now so we can talk. If you don’t sign this contract I’m wasting my time here.”
“Do you have a problem with your hearing? I said I’m going to sign it. I was told we’d start today, so this better count as the first day.”
“What do you mean count as the first day?”
“It said it takes six weeks. That’s forty-two days, forty-one after today.”
“It’s a minimum of six weeks. The program is over when I say you’ve completed it. If you persist in ignoring me and our appointment time, I can guarantee it won’t be completed in six weeks.”
She was downstairs in two minutes, stopping on the bottom step right in front of him. She was a pretty lady, with long, dark brown hair and pretty brown eyes to match. She was about 5’5”, so by staying on the last step she was eye level with him. “What do you mean you’ll make it last more than six weeks?”
Paul was pretty nonplussed by her entrance, but reminded himself he was a professional. “I take it you’re Gina Jamison. I’m Paul Parker. Nice to meet you.” He held his hand out, which she ignored.
“I assumed that’s who you were. I understood this program would take six weeks.”
“Let’s go in and sit down on the couch so we can go over the contract. I’ll explain it, and how the program works.”
“I read the contract. It said six weeks. I have the copy I was given, so if you think you can change it now, you better think again. I understand you’re to be paid by the estate, so I assume that’s why you want to extend it now, but I have my copy upstairs that says six weeks, and I intend to hold you to that contract.”
Gina and Paul (Last Chance Program Book 2) Page 2
