Taken

by Mia Ford

  “Yeah,” Veronica murmured.

  “Well, goodnight,” Calvin said, and settled down into the bed.

  “Goodnight,” Veronica responded, and settled into the bed as well.

  She felt Calvin wrap his body around hers, and she didn’t protest. She knew that this would be the last night they spent together for a long while. She wanted to feel more sentimental, but the feelings never stirred within her. She simply made herself comfortable and fell asleep.

  When Veronica’s alarm went off in the morning, she was a little surprised to find that Calvin was no longer in bed with her. She looked around for a moment, wondering if he was in the shower. She listened for a moment to try and tell if he was in the kitchen, but she heard nothing.

  She rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom, brushing her teeth. She realized about halfway through that she was headed to Davenport’s estate today, and her stomach fluttered with excitement, and not entirely about getting such an incredible job. She wondered if Davenport would be there to greet her himself, or one of his associates.

  Veronica scolded herself for her wayward thoughts. She may be moving out, but she was still with Calvin, and Davenport was off limits.

  Veronica moved out of the bathroom and headed to her closet. She carefully selected a simple outfit of a white blouse, a black blazer and a matching pencil skirt. She would likely have to be more practical with her wardrobe in the future for her tasks around the house, but for her first day she figured something nicer couldn’t hurt.

  Once she was satisfied with her wardrobe, she considered the fact that she was to start living there immediately. The paperwork had said Davenport would arrange movers to come to her apartment and collect her items, but he had perhaps not accounted for the fact that she lived with Calvin.

  So, she collected a few sets of clothes, and put them into a small suitcase. Then, she would speak with Davenport about her situation, but still be able to stay there as per his request. When she was fully packed, she gathered up her suitcase and purse and headed down to the ground floor of their apartment building.

  Veronica stepped out onto the street and reached into her pocket for the business card that had been among the papers Davenport had given her. The number on the card was for a driver that would take her to the estate. She felt a flash of nerves and excitement and dialled the number.

  “Thomas Elkhart speaking,” a man answered after the first ring. Veronica recognized it as the name on the card.

  “Hello,” Veronica said, feeling a little awkward. “I’m Veronica Lawrence, I’m starting work at Mr. Davenport’s estate today. I was told to call this number to get there.”

  “Certainly Miss Lawrence,” the man answered pleasantly. “I have your address right here and I will be there to collect you shortly.”

  “Oh,” Veronica blinked in surprise. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure,” the man said, and the phone went dead.

  Veronica felt another flash of nerves and excitement. She set her suitcase on the sidewalk and sat on top of it as she waited. It was not long until a car pulled up on the curb just in front of her. She stood, and the driver, fully dressed in a crisp black suit, stepped out of the car.

  “Miss Lawrence?” he asked her, a smile on his face.

  “Yes,” Veronica nodded, moving to pick up her suitcase, but he beat her to it.

  “Nice to meet you, ma’am,” he said kindly, moving to put her suitcase in the trunk of the car. “I’m Thomas.”

  “Nice to meet you too,” Veronica replied.

  Thomas moved to the rear passenger’s side door and opened it for her. Veronica stepped into the car and allowed him to close the door behind her. She buckled her seatbelt, and waited for Thomas to seat himself in the driver’s seat.

  Soon, they were moving back on the road. Veronica felt her heart pounding in her chest as they navigated outside of the city and into the more richly populated areas on the outskirts. More and more space began to form between homes, until the countryside surrounded them.

  Finally, they turned down a long driveway and approached a large gate between brick pillars. Thomas pressed a button on a remote he had on him, and the gate began to draw back and open, allowing them access to the rest of the driveway.

  Veronica allowed herself to look ahead, and her jaw nearly dropped as she took in the sight of his home. It was not quite a mansion, but it was still a very large home. She could see that outside was a pool house, and there was surely a pool to go along with it. There was a fountain in the circle drive, and there was yet another gate to pass, this one situated between more brick columns, but gold instead of the black of the first.

  Thomas once again pressed a button on the remote, and the gate opened inward. Thomas drove into the circle drive, and he stopped when they were in front of the entry to the home.

  Thomas stepped out of the car and moved to her door, then opened it. He offered his hand to her and she took it, allowing him to help her onto the driveway. He stepped away to get her suitcase out of the trunk.

  “Right this way,” he smiled and gestured toward the staircase leading up to the door.

  Veronica nodded, awe still written across her face as she took in the beauty of the large home. As they approached the door, Thomas moved to the side and pressed a small button, and Veronica could hear the sound of the doorbell ringing through the large home.

  Promptly, the door swung outward, and a woman, apparently in her thirties, appeared to greet them.

  “Mrs. Martinez,” Thomas spoke up. “This is Miss Lawrence, our new nanny.”

  “Of course, and you can call me Maria,” the woman gave her an easy smile. “We were hoping you would accept the offer. Mr. Davenport made it very clear that you were his first choice.”

  Veronica felt her stomach flip at that information.

  “Mr. Davenport is, of course, at work,” Maria went on, and Veronica couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. “But he will be returning this afternoon, as is his usual. Until then, I’ll be introducing you to the girls and showing you around the house, letting you know what you’ll be responsible. Oh, and of course showing you your living space.”

  Veronica nodded.

  “Alright, well I’ll leave you ladies to it,” Thomas said, moving to excuse himself. “Miss Lawrence, here is your suitcase. It was a pleasure to meet you, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around a lot more in the very near future.”

  “I’m sure,” Veronica smiled up at him. “It was very nice to meet you too.”

  With a smile, Thomas went back down the staircase and moved back over to the car, driving it away.

  “Here, let’s get you inside,” Maria smiled, and gestured to the inside of the home.

  Veronica took up her suitcase and followed Maria. Veronica barely kept her jaw from dropping as she took in the splendor of the foyer. It was like something someone would see in a movie. There were marble floors and even a staircase leading up to the second floor.

  “Yeah,” Maria chuckled at her. “It’s a lot to adjust to, but trust me, you will.”

  Veronica gave a soft laugh, and she followed Maria as she led her further into the house.

  Maria gave her a brief tour of the living room and the kitchen as they passed through. Both the rooms were outfitted with obviously extravagant and expensive furniture and appliances, and Veronica wondered where in the world he would even get any of these things from.

  She was a little surprised when Maria led her out of the house, and to the pool. It was large and plain square, and off in one corner there was a small gazebo, and under its shelter was a hot tub.

  “The girls love to swim,” Maria explained. “So you’ll have plenty of opportunities to come out and enjoy the weather.”

  Veronica nodded.

  “So do you live here at the estate as well?” Veronica asked as they made their way around the pool.

  “No, I’m just one of the daytime staffers,” Maria explained. “We do all the work i
n the day so the property is empty when Mr. Davenport comes home for the evening. Except for his security team, of course.”

  “And the nanny,” Veronica assumed.

  “And the nanny,” Maria verified with a smile.

  They finally made it to the door of the pool house. Maria withdrew a key from her pocket and opened the door.

  “This is the pool house,” Maria explained. “There is a shower just out here so you can all get clean after a swim.”

  Veronica nodded.

  “Whenever guests come to stay, this is where they generally take up lodging,” Maria explained.

  Veronica nodded, taking in all the information.

  With that, Maria locked the door again and led Veronica back to the house through another of its doors. This door opened up into what appeared to be a more informal version of a living room.

  “This is the den,” Maria explained. “This is where the girls like to play and Mr. Davenport will watch football or movies or whatever.”

  Veronica nodded more as they walked, and they approached another staircase, this one far less grand than the first. Veronica soon discovered, though, that they led the same place, as she could see the main one from down a hallway.

  There was a large open space that led to four different hallways. In the main area, there was a couch, as well a few chests and decorative boxes.

  “The girl’s toys are in there,” Maria explained, and Veronica smiled as she was led to one of the hallways in each of the corners of the body of the floor.

  The hallways were much longer than Veronica would have ever expected, with doors lining either side.

  “And here,” Maria said with a smile. “Is your room.”

  Maria opened the door, and again Veronica could not keep the look of shock off of her face.

  The room was large, and it was complete with a king-sized bed with a four-poster frame and curtains. The room also had a vintage vanity, a small cream colored sofa, and a chair, as well as a long bench at the foot of the bed. The bedclothes were a dusty rose color, and they complimented the cream colored walls and dark wood of the furniture and floors. To offset the hard word of the floor, there was a large, soft rug that matched the color of the bedding and tied the room together.

  There was also a nook surrounded by a window where veronica could picture herself curling up and reading if she ever had the time to do so.

  “And the bathroom is just over there, and your closet is there,” Maria pointed to two different doors.

  “Thank you,” Veronica said, more than a little shocked by the opulence of her dwellings.

  “Why don’t you take a minute to unpack what you’ve already brought,” Maria suggested. “And then I can give you the whole tour.”

  “That sounds great,” Veronica nodded. Maria gave her a smile and then made her way out of the room.

  Veronica sat down on the long bench at the foot of her bed and released a soft whoosh of air that had built up in her lungs. She was struggling to accept the fact that soon, this was going to become familiar to her, and it would be as natural as breathing to live here.

  In a haze, Veronica unpacked her few belongings into the large walk-in closet. Her small quantity of clothes seemed even smaller compared to the size of the closet. Once the rest of her clothes were there, it wouldn’t seem quite so large, but there was no way they would fill it up either.

  She put her suitcase in a corner of the closet and looked around, making sure she liked the way she had placed her clothes. She stepped out of the closet and took in the sight of her extravagant room once more, then she left and went downstairs to meet up with Maria.

  Once there, Maria went through the house with great detail. She left no stone unturned, letting Veronica know what each and every room was, and which ones she was responsible for. By and large, the household staff took care of most of the things, but she was still responsible for the small maintenance items, and of course anything that the girls impacted.

  “Speaking of the girls,” Veronica spoke up as they came up in conversation. “Where are they right now?”

  “They’re out with the interim nanny,” Maria explained. “We just wanted to give you the chance to get the lay of the land and then meet them. They should be in at about noon; they went to see a movie.”

  “Okay,” Veronica nodded. She appreciated the time she had been given to get to know the house, but her main job would be interacting with the girls, so she was eager to meet them.

  “Well, that’s about all I’ve got for you,” Maria said, clapping her hands together. “Make yourself at home! Unless of course you have any questions.”

  “Actually,” Veronica said, and Maria raised an eyebrow. “I do have some concerns about my moving situation.”

  “Oh that,” Maria waved a hand. “Not even complicated. We have the best movers. We would just need your permission to enter the premises and we will take care of breaking the lease and everything. You don’t have to worry about any of that. And any furniture you have can either be sold or put into storage at Mr. Davenport’s expense at your discretion.”

  “Actually, that’s just the issue,” Veronica spoke up. “I live with my boyfriend, so our things are kind of mixed up together.”

  “Oh,” Maria blinked, as though that possibility hadn’t even crossed her mind. “Well that does complicate things a bit.”

  Veronica waited as Maria seemed to think the situation over in her head.

  “Well,” Maria frowned a little. “I’ll have to call Mr. Davenport and work out the situation with him. Do you mind if I step out for a moment?”

  “Of course not,” Veronica smile pleasantly.

  “The house is as good as yours,” Maria gestured around as she turned and pulled her phone out. “Make yourself at home.”

  Veronica watched as Maria went out the kitchen door onto the porch in front of the pool. She couldn’t help but feel a little awkward, but she figured she may as well try to normalize all this as soon as possible. So, she moved into the kitchen and took a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the sink.

  She moved over to the breakfast bar and sat down on one of the cushioned stools. She sipped at her water as she went through a mental list of the things she was responsible for. She assumed she would likely do her set of chores while Davenport was at work so that she wouldn’t be disturbing him in the evenings when he was home. That certainly wouldn’t be hard, and she could do it all while keeping a close eye on the girls.

  As Veronica was thinking of these things, Maria came back into the room, and she turned to look over at her.

  “Mr. Davenport says not to worry,” Maria said with a calm smile. “He is going to take care of absolutely everything.”

  Veronica frowned a little, and she opened her mouth as if to speak, but Maria held her hand up to stop her.

  “Miss Lawrence,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “I have worked for Mr. Davenport for a few years now. When he says he’ll take care of something, he means it.”

  Veronica blinked in a bit of surprise. She was used to fending for herself and being the stereotypical strong, independent black woman. Now, it seemed like someone was intent on making sure she was absolutely taken care of.

  “Thank you for calling him,” Veronica said, at a loss for what else to say. “I really appreciate it.”

  “You’re really going to like it here Veronica,” Maria said softly and genuinely. “Mr. Davenport makes sure that everyone on his staff wants for nothing. We’re like a family here.”

  Veronica smiled. She wondered vaguely if it was because he hadn’t had a family of his own growing up that he spread his wealth to so many people.

  “Well I’ll leave you to yourself,” Maria said. “If you need anything I’m sure you can find me. I’ll meet you in the foyer a little before noon so I can introduce you to the girls.”

  “Sounds great,” Veronica gave her a smile. Maria nodded, and turned, walking quickly to some other part of the hou
se.

  Alone again, Veronica stood and took her glass over to the sink, washed it and put it back in the cabinet. Maybe it would be easier than she thought to adjust to life here.

  The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur for Veronica. The girls, Ashley and Kaitlyn, arrived home promptly at noon, and had immediately attached themselves to Veronica’s legs.

  Veronica had been shocked, but managed to laugh, naturally putting her hand on the back of their heads. The interim nanny, a woman who looked slightly younger than Veronica in spite of the bulge that revealed her pregnancy and the wedding band that adorned her left ring finger, laughed, and said her farewells to the girls.

  From that moment on, it seemed almost as though the girls had known Veronica their entire lives. They got along immediately, and Veronica seamlessly integrated herself into their play and activities. She was so engrossed with them, in fact, that she hardly noticed when Mr. Davenport made it home for the afternoon.

  When she finally noticed, him standing in the doorframe of Kaitlyn’s room, she felt her stomach do a flip. He was still dressed in a dark blue suit and a white shirt. His tie, a paisley affair, had been loosened, and it hung around his neck. He had a familiar twinkle in his eyes and a small smile as he watched them play. Veronica could have sworn, though, that they flashed with something darker as he looked at her.

  “Don’t mind me,” he said in his smooth, deep voice, a smile warming his features. “I’m glad to see the three of you getting along.”

  “Daddy!” the two girls cried excitedly, and rushed toward the man.

  Veronica watched as he dropped down and scooped the girls up in his arms and gathered them to his chest, kissing them both on the top of their heads. Her heart melted a little to see how well he interacted with the girls.

  She tried not to eavesdrop as they spilled the entire contents of their day to him as he patiently held them. When they had settled a little bit, he put them back down on the ground.

  “Well I don’t know about you guys,” Davenport said to his daughters. “But I’m getting hungry. How does spaghetti sound?”