by Mia Ford
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.”
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 littl
e 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?”
Calvin’s face fell, and then contorted into an expression of confusion. Veronica nearly groaned, knowing that their conversation was now going to take a much different turn.
“What do you mean?” Calvin asked, shifting on the couch to face her more head on.
“I think…” Veronica paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. “I think that maybe the situation we’ve created for ourselves is not the situation that’s for the best in the long run.”
An expression of hurt passed over Calvin’s face, and he said nothing. Veronica felt a twinge of guilt, but she knew that she had opened the door, and that she couldn’t very well close it now.
“All we’ve managed to do by living together,” Veronica explained slowly. “Is fall into a routine, and lose all the variety in our life. There’s no spontaneity. There’s no romance. We have a set schedule. We barely go out because you’re so disappointed by the way I conduct my work and you’re worried we’ll go broke.”
As she spoke,
Veronica started thinking less and less of how it would impact Calvin, and more about how good it felt to finally get some of these frustrations off her chest.
“I am grateful to live here, and at first it was nice to live with you,” she went on. “But now, I just feel like I’ve been here for the past ten years. We live together, but it’s like all that I do create more problems, without the added benefit of closeness and intimacy. Speaking of which, we also barely ever have sex anymore, and what’s the point of even having our own place together if we don’t even need the privacy.”
Calvin looked shocked by the admission, and she could tell that her comment about their sex life had made him a little uncomfortable.
“I’m… sorry,” Calvin shook his head. “I had barely even noticed.”
“Calvin,” Veronica said, her tone slightly accusing. “I try to come onto you every single night, and I’m lucky if I get any kind of action every two weeks. I hate to break it to you, but that’s really not enough for me. And it certainly doesn’t justify staying here where I have to pay rent when I could just live somewhere else and get paid to do it.”
Calvin still looked a little affronted, and Veronica could all but see the wheels turning in his head as he processed her words.
“I just really think,” Veronica said softly, reaching out to place her hand on his knee. “That this situation could end up being really good for us. We can both spend some time on our own and figure things out for a little while. And eventually, maybe we can try living together again. But for now, I think it will be better if I move out, and you could find a smaller place to live on your own. The contract did say he would pay to break the lease if it inconvenienced me.”
Calvin nodded, but was silent. He seemed a little dejected, and again Veronica felt a little guilty.
“Hey,” she said softly, looking over toward him. “Are you okay?”
“I think so,” Calvin nodded, giving her a small smile. “I just had no idea things were like that for you. I mean, I know I was riding you about your job. But I really had no idea you were feeling any of these other things.”
