by Fiona Murphy
They do not seem like bad kids, simply spoiled and unaware of what it takes to give them what they have. By hiding how hard you have to work to keep them in the things they want, not simply what they need, they are unaware of the sacrifices and what it has taken from you. I can see now pressing charges is not the right decision. They will work off their debt for the summer. It will give them something to do instead of being bored and show them what earning a living means. I will pick them up tomorrow and take them to the work site. Make sure they wear clothes they won’t have a problem getting dirty and sweating in.
Are you working tomorrow?”
“No, if they would have needed me, the company would have called. There’s always a slim chance I’ll get called early in the morning but it’s not likely.”
“Okay, I’ll be here to pick them up at seven tomorrow.”
“Seven? That’s early for them, I like that.”
“A smile, I like that. I’m going to go talk to them now. You rest, have an early night. Remember, they’re going to be unhappy however it’s better than the alternative.” He couldn’t stop himself from touching her, one last time before he left her. Caressing her cheek, he tucked the hair that had slipped loose from her knot behind her ear. She exhaled a shaky breath at his touch and it tugged at him deep inside. Blindly, he stood to get the hell away from her before he did something neither of them were ready for.
His cell phone rang as he closed the door. Seeing it was Benito he sent the call to voicemail. He called for a car to pick him and gave the address. Running a hand through his hair, he worked to get his body under control. Opening the door to the bedroom he had seen them disappear into, he saw the boys huddled on the edge of the bed whispering to each other. The moment he stepped inside they went silent looking up at him with fear. At least they were smart enough to be afraid.
“I have spoken with your sister. She’s changed her mind about me pressing charges. While I am still not sure if it’s the best course of action, I am willing to consider another. You will come to work for me at the worksite you destroyed for the summer. You will both be there every Monday through Friday from seven in the morning until four, with one half hour lunch break and two fifteen breaks, the same as the other workers on the site but you will not be paid for it. Your pay will go toward the damages, even though it would take you half a lifetime to pay it back at your current delinquent path. As long as you work every day of the work week, until a week before school starts, I will consider the debt wiped clean.”
They weren’t identical twins, the one he remembered as Elliot spoke first. “Mister that’s crazy, aren’t there child labor laws or something? Can’t we do something else?”
The other one hit Eliot, “He just means, we don’t know anything about construction or anything and the worksite seemed kind of dangerous. We didn’t mean to wreck the CAT we were trying to drive it and didn’t see the big hole before we went into it.”
Nodding, Rafael seemed to consider their argument. “A construction site can be dangerous. However no one will be trusting you with anything that you could not handle. You two did not seem concerned about danger when you broke in and spent a good amount of time trashing it.
There is of course something else you two can do, I’ll press charges and you can go into juvenile detention. I find it interesting you choose to hide behind child labor laws when you broke the law and are having to deal with the consequences. I have the right to see to it you both held responsible by having you serve a sentence for breaking and entering and vandalism. I am not going to make the decision for you two, it’s yours to make. Something to know as you consider your answer, if you say no your sister won’t be backing you on it. What is it going to be?”
They looked at each without saying a word then back at him and nodded.
“Good, be ready at seven. I’ll pick you up the first day and take you to the site and explain what will be happing with the foreman. From then on it will be up to you to get to work on time.”
As he left the room he could hear them fighting in hushed tones and smiled. They didn’t like it but they had folded more easily than he thought they would. Walking outside he paced as he waited for his driver. Even though it was a hot day, he didn’t want to wait inside. He didn’t trust himself to remain inside so close to Carrie. He wondered how easily she would fold to his plans for her.
Chapter Three
The next morning was as bad as she feared it would be. Poor Nelly was surprised to wake up in Elliot’s room without any memory of falling asleep. The woman laughed it off, obviously embarrassed and Carrie was too ashamed to correct her. Then after Nelly left she got angrier at herself and the twins. She forced them to go explain to Nelly what they did and apologize. Standing behind them, shame burned bright inside at Nelly’s shock. Nelly was a kind soul, she said she accepted their apology but it was clear it would be the last time Nelly would ever agree to watch them. Her disappointment was palpable and she shook her head as she closed the door on the twins. The twins were stunned by the reaction. Nelly had been a kindly grandmother figure for the last six months and to have the door closed on them had them quiet.
“You two drugged her, I don’t care if it was over the counter medicine. You violated her trust, I’m pretty sure you’ll never get it back. That’s the result of your actions, yes you can do what you want but there are consequences.
Now go take your showers and brush your teeth, Rafael will be here soon. I’ll pack a lunch for you both for today. Tomorrow you’ll pack your own lunches.”
Carrie was in the kitchen cleaning up when the knock came and her heart started pounding fast. Stop it, she was delusional to even hope for anything from Rafael. He was so far out of her league she had no chance with him so she needed to get herself under control. When she checked her hair before she opened the door she wanted to kick herself. Be cool, be cool she told herself as she opened the door.
Opening the door Rafael was on the doorstep. Even though she was a step taller she barely met his eyes. How the hell was he so gorgeous? The suit he was wearing fit him lovingly and his chest seemed even wider and stronger than it did yesterday. “Hi, they should be ready. Do you want to come in?”
“I don’t have time, I’m running behind schedule because of traffic.”
“Oh, okay,” Turning she yelled for them and they came running. “I made you lunches on the counter. You both have two bottles of Gatorade, drink them. It will be hot and you’ll be sweating a lot out there. Do what you’re told, if you fuck up again I’m done.”
They nodded, following Rafael to the black Mercedes sedan parked in front of the duplex. Before she made a bigger fool of herself, she closed the door. Cursing, she leaned against the door. What had she been expecting when she was wearing jeans and sloppy tee shirt? The only thing she had done was brush out her long hair, there was no making up for how shabby she looked. Putting her hair in a ponytail she sighed. Knock it off, never going to happen. With that thought, she turned on some music and set to cleaning the kitchen.
An hour later she was in the living room, running the vacuum when there was a knock at the door. Checking the peephole she was surprised to see Rafael waiting. Without hesitation she opened the door.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes, everything is fine. The twins are in good hands and probably cursing the both of us as we speak. Now I wanted to talk about you. Have a seat.” He waited until she sunk down onto the couch first, confused. “Yesterday I found out the manager I have in place for my building has been taking advantage of her position. The building is a condo building, all have owners. However, many are owned and leased out, some of the owners are hands on but most prefer leaving it to us to lease and handle landlord duties. Her actions were so egregious, I have had her arrested. Now I need someone to take over for her immediately. While handling the leasing is one aspect there are many others that have to be taken care of, it is not unlike the running of an apartment complex. With your experi
ence, I would like that person to be you.
I will not hide the fact I have had you investigated and a thorough check done. It is standard for a position such as this, to make sure you could handle the responsibility and you came through as a top candidate. I feel the need to share something that came to light. I admit I was bothered by the fact it had taken you so long to find other employment. If you were as good as several years in your position and you believed yourself to be then you should have been able to find employment was my thought. During the investigation it became clear why you have not found another job, your former manager has not been giving you a good recommendation. My investigator was surprised by how badly she spoke about you so he dug deeper and spoke with one of the leasing agents you worked with and a maintenance man. Both of them gave you a glowing reference explaining the manager spoke badly of you because she feared others would find out how much you did and how little she did.”
“That bitch.” Carrie bit back another curse as what he was saying began to penetrate. “Wait, are you offering me a job? Really?”
“Yes, I want to make it clear there will be a trial period of three months. The building is very upscale and the owners demanding. You might not want to stay after three months and I will understand. The pay will be ninety thousand a year, there will also be a year-end bonus based on performance. You will be on call and required to live on-site. There is a three bedroom condo on the first floor for your use included as part of your compensation. Something to consider, it is downtown so you’ll have to get the boys to the worksite in the morning and be back into the city pretty early over the summer. Also the schools in the downtown area are not much better than the ones in this area.”
At the salary he quoted she wanted to scream for joy yet something held her back. This was a dream job, free rent and a huge salary. It was too good to be true. She understood there would be times she wished she didn’t live on site but still, after so long of searching for something half this good she couldn’t believe it was simply being handed to her. “Why me? Why are you offering the job to me?”
“Because I need someone now and you need a job now. Do not over think this, if your reports had come back telling me you weren’t good enough I wouldn’t be here. It’s why I didn’t mention it to you, I wanted to know for sure you could handle it. The property you managed was bigger in units but these owners will be more demanding. This will be a stressful and demanding position, hence the high salary.”
After a night of putting herself back together she was feeling stronger, until she had seen Rafael and it ticked her off. “Answer me this, if I hadn’t cried and lost my shit in front of you, would you have offered me the job?”
He laughed, the sound shot right to her stomach and it flipped a dozen times until he stopped. She was smiling, now too. Why, she didn’t know.
“Carrie, don’t you know for most prospective employers crying would take you out of the running for a job? Of course the answer is no because it was not until I was an asshole that you broke down and told me everything about yourself. What you had gone through, done, and were willing to do. Those are characteristics I respect and admire in an employee who will have the kind of access that will come with this position. Driving you home, you spoke of the kind of experience and long term employment and willingness to go above and beyond the basic requirements of your position, qualities I want in any employee. This isn’t a job given out of pity, this is business.”
His sincerity was clear, “Okay, then I accept.”
“Good, you have a half hour to get dressed. I’ll take you into the office and get you going with the new hire paperwork. The paperwork and basic training will take all morning, then I’ll take you to the building and you can start today. You’re going to hit the ground running.
Tonight you and the twins pack, tomorrow I’ll have movers come and collect your things to move you in. The cost of it will be considered a part of your compensation, I am willing to pay to put you in place as soon as possible.” His cell phone rang and he hesitated for only a moment before he answered.
Still slightly stunned at how quickly he had laid out how her life would change Carrie practically ran to her room to get dressed. Her hands were shaking as she flicked through her meagre selection on the rail. Damn it, she hadn’t been this size since she was in high school. The only clothes she had that fit were all from the thrift store and looked it. She had only one suit, purchased for interviews while she was in Austin, now it practically hung off of her. The property she had managed had a uniform so she didn’t have to dress up for it. Away from work she had never been into clothes preferring jeans and tee shirts or light long skirts and peasant tops. Deciding the suit was better than nothing, she frowned at how much give there was in the slacks. At least her camisole hugged her, the material designed to cling. Slipping on the jacket she groaned, she looked like a kid playing dress up. Buttoning the jacket, she sighed and went into the bathroom to freshen up and turned on her flat iron.
After washing her face she applied a light moisturizer then foundation, eyeliner and a light subtle lipstick. If the building was going to be high-class the makeup needed to be minimal, she had learned it the hard way. In Austin she hadn’t worn makeup in years, except for a lipstick or gloss but Dallas held a high standard on a person’s appearance. A spray to protect her hair from the heat of the iron and five minutes later her slight waves disappeared. Indecision hit her when it came to her perfume, she liked changing her perfume to match her mood or the day. Her vanity was cluttered with over a dozen different bottles. Then she saw it, Joy, it seemed fitting for the mood she was in now. It was the job, not Rafael that had her in that state. Who the fuck was she kidding? Mouthing the word liar as she sprayed it her wrists and behind each ear. Checking her purse, she made sure she had everything to fill out paperwork for today.
She could still hardly believe it, an amazing job and she was working for Rafael. Stop it, stop thinking of him like that. Don’t mess this day up, it was likely the last time she would see him for a while. He was putting her in a nice building to manage and he’d probably forget about her quickly because she wasn’t going to fuck this up. Maybe she’d see him a few times a year after she was settled in. Rubbing her stomach from the ache the thought caused she took a last glance in the mirror and opened the door of her bedroom.
Chapter Four
Rafael paced as he waited, not able to settle. Already she was getting back to fighting shape. When she’d asked him if he would have given her the job if she hadn’t cried he couldn’t believe it. He’d expected her to take the job without a murmur of anything but thanks. Not Carrie, she had questioned him and his motives. A smile came back at her refusal to accept the job without explanation, no one questioned him. Her question hadn’t annoyed him, instead laughter had escaped him. The laughter had surprised him, it was a rarity for him and only his family had the ability to make him laugh so freely. She wasn’t like any woman he’d encountered and it was appealing and downright scary if he allowed himself to think about it for too long. It had been agony to not accept her offer to come in when he had picked up the boys. Her face had fallen and he’d longed to pull her into his arms again. After having her in his arms just twice his body was hungry for more. Running a hand through his hair he shook his head, he needed to stop this. Last night had been too damn long, he had gotten only a few hours of sleep last night and those few hours had been filled with Carrie. In desperation, he’d rolled out of bed before the sun came up and worked out until he thought he would fall down.
His cell phone rang, damn it. “Benito, we are done discussing this shit.”
“Rafe there was no discussion, you just fucking came in and took over. I was handling it.”
“A week Benny, a fucking week you knew and left her in place to continue with what she was doing. I don’t give a shit you were trying to have her reports rerun and audited. You knew she had done something wrong. Fire her ass and then dig deeper before she has a
chance to bury it, the evidence of her crime was so blatant it’s a fucking embarrassment. That’s why all the buildings we own are now undergoing audits.
You were trying to cover up your fuck up, the same way you tried to cover up your decision to skimp on the drywall in the building last year which ended up costing the company more in a lawsuit. Do not make me do this over the phone. I told you I would be in later and we would discuss it.”
“This is a family company. Grandpa put me in the company and promoted me, he told you, he wanted me be involved.” Once again Benny was trying to hide behind their grandfather. Every time he fucked up he did it.
“Benny, Grandpa wants family in the company but the last fucking thing we need is another fuck up like my dad and your dad all over again. The last three years you have been given more responsibilities, with each one you have cost the company. I am done, I talked to Grandpa last night. You are out, completely out. I’m calling security as soon as we hang up and they will walk you out. Grandpa agreed to pay out three months as severance. It will be paid out tomorrow and that’s it.” Ending the call, he called his security and told them what needed to be done.
Rolling his neck he was angry, this was not how it was supposed to go. Damn Benny and his bullshit. His grandfather wasn’t going to like how he ended it but Benny wouldn’t stop pushing.
The door to her bedroom opened and he turned. Once again he was struck by how beautiful she was. Her hair so lightly blonde it was almost white, yesterday it had been curly and floated around her face, he had liked it and thought it fit her. Now it was straight and although he preferred the light curls, there was a glossy sheen to it that gave her the professional look expected from her position. She had an oval face with a wide brow, he hated it was already becoming lined with worry. Her nose was long and thin with the slightest tilt at the end. Her wide mouth was expressive and looked achingly soft. All of those things combined were appealing but it was her eyes that got to him. They were big and round and the most captivating blue he had ever seen. Her eyes were almost startling expressive, lightening and darkening with her mood and sometimes they sparkled like diamonds. The need to know how they would look at the moment when she came in his arms taunted him. Then there was her body, her body was pure sin. She was small and she had the kind of curves of an old-fashioned pop bottle. It angered him that she thought badly of herself. Her body was softly welcoming and led to fantasies of sinking into her for hours. Holding her had been as soothing to him as he knew it had been to her, for the first time he could see the appeal of simply holding a woman.