The Inheritance (Forever Bound #1)

by Bree Callahan

  “About?” she asked.

  He tilted his head. “It wasn’t long ago that you told me you needed the hours, and now you’re giving up half your shift?” He frowned. “Must be pretty important.”

  She stood there, feeling like a punished child, and she wasn’t even being scolded. “It is,” was the only thing she could say.

  “Fine.” He went back to his work, not questioning it anymore.

  “Thank you, Bill.” Her words nearly came out in a whisper. She hated not being forward with him, especially when at any moment Derek could call her employer and ask for a reference. It would be easiest to tell him before he found out from someone else.

  She left his office, feeling a bit of sickness wash over her. It could’ve been because she hated interviews, or it could be because she just withheld the truth from her boss. It was a mixture of both. She walked out of the backroom and spotted Jamie busily working on a couple of tables. She immediately started taking orders at her tables and tried to push the interview out of her mind. She had a couple hours before she could go home and get ready for it and she didn’t want to have a heart attack worrying about it.

  ***

  Derek greeted her at the door. Even though he tried to ignore his instinct, he momentarily drifted his eyes over her outfit. It was conservative, yet stylish…professional, yet fun. He took his eyes back up to her and greeted her with a handshake and smile. “Thank you for coming in today, Ms. Parker.”

  A touch of redness brushed against her cheeks. He found it endearing but surprising to her normal strong-willed demeanor that he noticed out of her. “Please…call me, Charity,” she replied, taking the seat that he motioned for her. “I’m grateful that you’re taking the time out of your schedule, Mayor Worthington.”

  He smiled, taking the seat in behind his desk. “Enough of the formalities. Let’s make this interview as comfortable as we can. “You may still call me Derek.” He looked down at the resume in front of him, then picked up the list of questions he’d asked pretty much every candidate thus far. He sighed, staring down the list. He wanted to believe this could be his last interview, but he couldn’t get his hopes up. He looked back up at her. The once confident woman he met at the restaurant and the funny and charismatic woman he got to know at Jesse’s house, now looked a mess. Her face was tense, and her eyes were jetting back and forth between him and the piece of paper. She was nervous, and he didn’t blame her. “I don’t really like this list of questions anyway,” he said, pushing it away from him. Her eyes widened, and he was surprised, as well. For the first time, he was going away from the set interview and winging it. “Tell me about yourself!”

  It didn’t take long for her to dive on into her answer. “I am a dedicated worker that never gives up on the task at hand. I strive to make and achieve goals on a daily basis, as I have done working at Bill’s Diner. There was a time where we have found falling numbers, and I headed up and orchestrated activities to help out so we could improve sales. Just last year we had the car wash that you attended.” She paused, and he nodded slightly. Her shyness seemed to slowly fade away as she continued. “It worked, and I’m happy to say that Bill’s Diner has increased in total sales by 75% over the past two years. I enjoy working with people, but can also function on my own. The past several years of working at Bill’s Diner has helped me to manage my time, because people don’t like cold food, and it’s important to exceed their expectations at all times.” She stopped and smiled, almost heaving a sigh that she got her first question answered.

  He noticed her bubbly personality that she possessed when he first got to know her, but the thing that stuck out the most was the fact that she was the only person to not answer the question about the life they live outside of work. “So you’d say time management is one of your strengths?”

  She smiled and nodded. “Absolutely, Sir.” He nearly choked when she called him sir. Mayor Worthington was bad enough, but sir was absolutely horrendous to take in. He considered saying something about it but pushed it out of his mind. “As a young adult going into working at Bill’s Diner you would have to assume time management wouldn’t be a strong suit.” She laughed slightly, and he snickered in response. “However, being able to get the customers in and out of the diner in a time-efficient manner is what matters, and you can’t dawdle if you expect them to continue coming back.”

  He would’ve expected her to say that ‘you can’t dawdle if you expect a good tip,” but she didn’t even mention the money. “What makes you feel like you’d be a good candidate for this job?”

  She scrunched up her nose, and he had to look away from her expression. It was genuine and yet there was something so attractive about her at that moment. It confused him all the more. “Besides the fact that I already know how you take your coffee…” She laughed, which caused him to look up at her. Their eyes met, and he couldn’t fight the chuckle inside. She smiled to prove she was teasing, but it was the most relaxing response he’d received from any candidate. “I’m organized, and I know how busy you are, Mayor…” she hesitated, blushing slightly, “Derek, and I could keep you on track.”

  It was a good answer…great, in fact. “What would you say your worst attribute is?” he asked.

  She didn’t even hesitate when she answered. “I tend to get a little anxious about getting a job done.”

  “Anxious?” he asked.

  “I can be a little anal when I have a job that needs to be done…and done now. I hate failure and having to do things more than once doesn’t sit well with me. I have worked on not being so angry with myself if I have to ask for help, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t work all hours of the night if need be.”

  “So, working overtime and weekends wouldn’t be an issue with you?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “I’m already working weekends and nights so that definitely doesn’t bother me at all.”

  Some of her answers seemed spot on, but he couldn’t give up the notion that she was just saying the things he wanted to hear. Sample interview questions were all over the internet, and it was fair to say that she studied and studied hard. He absentmindedly tapped the head of his pen on the desk, as he tried to figure out the best way to ask her the question. When he couldn’t find the perfect words, he chose to use the only words he had. “I’ll be honest with you, Charity. Your resume isn’t the ideal resume for someone that is applying for a position like this.” Her face clouded over, and he quickly continued so he didn’t completely scare her off. “What would you say to someone that would question you should look for employment elsewhere?”

  “Um…I…I guess, I…” she stammered, causing him to feel uncomfortable. However, she did finally get out her answer. “I’ll admit I worked extra hard on this resume, Derek. I wanted to make it impressive, and I wanted you to be impressed, but there was only so much I could do, and I understand that I may not have the background or the education that you desire in a potential employee, but I do have the willpower to succeed. I’m a quick learner, and I would tell someone that would happen to question why I was here, that the right employee doesn’t have to have every skill and doesn’t have to be perfect on paper, as long as they’re ready to work hard and get the job done. I’m that person, Derek, and I wouldn’t let you down.”

  He was blown away by her direct answer and for a moment he did question why he had this sudden attitude that his next employee had to be highly qualified to do the job. He wasn’t hiring a brain surgeon. “When could you start if you were to get the job?” he asked.

  “Immediately,” she quickly responded. She was fast to answer the question that was on the tip of his tongue. “Bill doesn’t require a two weeks notice. People are usually scrambling for hours there and I’m sure he could feel my shifts in no time.”

  He wrote that down on her resume. It was a huge deal that she could start immediately because he wanted someone to train while Lily was still there. “Would it be hard leaving Bill’s Diner?” he asked. It was a qu
estion he never asked anyone else. He didn’t even feel it was his business as to how they felt about leaving their previous employer.

  She frowned. “It would be tough as I think it would be for anyone to leave a place they’ve worked at for a while, but change happens, and we just need to flow with it. Right?” He was constantly being reminded how he doesn’t like change, so he wasn’t the best person to answer that question. He just shrugged. “I enjoy what I do, and I enjoy the people I work with, but I’m excited about a new experience.”

  Again, he was impressed by her honest answer. He glanced down at the list of questions, even though he stayed away from them the entire interview. When he didn’t see a glaring question he wanted to ask her, he went with the obvious question to end an interview. “Do you have any questions for me?” he asked.

  She didn’t leave any silence between his question and her answer. “Do you know when you’re going to hire someone?” she asked.

  “Honestly, I’ve had several interviews but haven’t had much luck in that department. I would like to have an offer out to someone by Friday. So, I expect that to be the date. I know Lily is anxious to get someone trained.” He smiled and looked down at her resume, along with the questions that he was going to ask her. He didn’t really have anything else, besides that. He looked back up and saw her uncertainty on her face. He stood up from his desk, hating to dismiss her when he wished he could’ve given her something to remain positive over, but he had nothing. “It was really nice talking with you, Charity.” He reached into his desk drawer and withdrew a business card. “If you have any questions, feel free to call me.” She took his card, and he held out his hand, and she slowly stood to her feet.

  “Likewise.” She smiled, but there was more hidden behind her eyes that shared she wasn’t too confident. She shook his hand, and he walked her to the door, and she looked back at him. “Have a great rest of your day!”

  He nodded. “You too!” He watched her leave his office and head to the elevator. When she got on the elevator, she looked down, and the door closed her in. He walked back to his desk and picked up her resume. She wasn’t the ideal candidate, but she also was by far the most genuine and the one he could picture himself working with the best. He slid the resume into the drawer, where only one remained. The rest he had Amanda call and give them the news that he wasn’t able to extend a job offer. He wanted to make a decision soon, but he had a few more people to try out and then he would have no choice but choose one of them.

  ***

  Charity didn’t feel too confident about her interview. She left his office and could feel herself weakening and tears forming at the back of her eyes. She pushed them away and forced herself to move on with the rest of her day. As nighttime came and went, she could only think about her answers to his questions. Did I appear confident or cocky? Did I answer his questions in the way that I should have? Am I just fooling myself? Wednesday wasn’t much better. She didn’t have to work, so it gave her plenty of time to dwell on her responses and wish she could do them over.

  When Wednesday afternoon arrived, and she hadn’t heard anything one way or another, she didn’t worry about it, because it’d only been twenty-four hours. However, she did want to do something that would set her apart from maybe the average interviewer. She pulled his business card from her purse and located his email. She sat down at her computer and opted to write him a heartfelt letter. Then she found herself questioning whether that was a good idea. Is it pathetic? Am I too eager? She groaned and proceeded to type in his email address.

  Dear Mayor Worthington-

  She stopped and stared at the salutation. At times like this, she needed to be formal.

  I wanted to write to you and let you know how much I appreciated being offered a job interview on Tuesday. I believe that I would be a good fit for your assistant job, and I look forward to hearing back from you at your earliest convenience. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule.

  Sincerely,

  Charity Parker

  It was short and sweet. Without giving it a second thought, she hit send and sat back in her chair. It was too late to change her mind even if she wanted to; so she had to accept it. She closed her laptop and got up from the table, doing everything she could think of to get through the rest of the day.

  On Thursday, she hadn’t received a call or an email response from him, and she started to go crazy. Again, she had another day that she didn’t have to go to work, so there was a very little to take her mind off of things. It was payday, so she sat down at the kitchen table to work on bills. She started with determining how much to pay on rent. It wasn’t the full amount, but she wrote out the check, then subtracted the money from her paycheck. Richard wasn’t going to be pleased, but she hoped that giving him half would at least hold him off a little while longer. She then went through the rest of her bills and subtracted the amount, until she left barely enough to get by with gas and food until next payday.

  She grabbed her apartment key and the check and left her kitchen, then exited through the front door, went down the stairs, and headed across the parking lot to the office where Richard spent a good chunk of his day. She entered the office, and he sat at the desk. He looked up and glared at her, or at least that’s how it appeared. “Came to pay up finally?” he asked. He stood up from his desk.

  “Not exactly!” she admitted. She handed the check out to him, and he looked down at it, once it was in his hands.

  He laughed. “Is this a joke? You’re now a month and a half behind your rent.”

  She fidgeted in place. She didn’t want to be there, but she had to face up to facts. She could only pay what she could and eventually she would make it up to him. “I’m good for the rest of the money. I’m getting another job.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Second job?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “No…just a better paying one.”

  He chuckled. “I see. Doing what? Stripping?”

  She fought back the urge to slap him. “No, I’m working for the Mayor,” she lied.

  He snickered, crossing his arms and staring at her, making her highly uncomfortable. “Wow. You would choose to work for that jerk, instead of providing me a little attention?”

  “He’s not a jerk!” she snapped, avoiding the obvious reference to his previous request.

  He rolled his eyes. “Whatever! I’ve heard stories. Besides, he’s a Republican.” He said Republican like it was a dirty word. He turned around and went back to his desk. “Time is of the essence, and I will give you two weeks from tomorrow. If you don’t have last month’s rent and the rest of this month’s rent, then I will be forced to evict you, and I will use force, if necessary. Do I make myself perfectly clear?” She opened her mouth to argue, but she couldn’t find the words. There was no way she could pay him that kind of money in two weeks. She would have to get hired immediately and paid shortly right after that. The most she could pay him would be the rest of the one month’s rent. He looked up from his desk. “I’m sorry, I thought we were finished. Do you have something else to say?”

  You’re a jerk. You’re an ass. You should take a jump off a bridge. She shook her head. She turned around and left the office. She felt dejected, heading back to her apartment. Now, she was at the point where she needed to also start looking for another place to stay, but the problem with that was she would need money to move into a new place. She opened up her apartment door and sunk down onto her couch. “God I need something…anything to get me through this.” She closed her eyes and her cell phone dinged signaling a text message.

  She grabbed it from her pocket and spotted a message from Damian.

  Damian: So, just getting your insight…duck or goose?

  Charity frowned, before typing in her response.

  Charity: Duck or goose?

  Damian: LOL…which would you prefer to eat?

  Charity: ??? Never had either. So, I was expecting hamburger or steak.

&nbs
p; Damian: Please!! Someone as special as you can’t have something as simple as hamburger.

  Charity sat there and read the text message, finally typing in her reply.

  Charity: Special?

  Damian: Oops did I really type that? I meant someone as different…er…sweet…um…nice? Lol

  Charity smiled. He made it difficult to remember why she wanted to keep their relationship to friendship only. She felt warmed by his words. She didn’t immediately type in another message until he took another lead.

  Damian: I’m only teasing. Unless you were turned on by my words.

  She chuckled.

  Charity: You’re full of yourself, you know that?

  Damian: It’s all in good fun!

  Charity: Sure…that’s what they all say!

  Their easy banter went on for a couple of hours and could’ve gone on even longer if he didn’t have to stop it to go to his next job.

  Damian: I meant it before…what would you prefer as your first gourmet cuisine. Duck or Goose?

  I do make the best roasted duck on this side of America?

  Charity: And modest, too! Roasted duck would be fine. Does it taste like chicken?

  Damian: LOL…even better. See you tomorrow night.