by Mia Ford
"Thank you, thank you! I cooked it in a crock pot for twelve hours," he told her. At this, my mom looked genuinely impressed.
"And what was the occasion?" She asked.
"Your arrival of course!" He exclaimed. My mom laughed. I was grinning from ear to ear. We were off to a great start. Marquise's dinner was a success. But if I knew my mother, and I did, this was just the beginning. My mom was not easily distracted or impressed and I was sure there would be an interrogation. My mom took another bite of her food. Then washed it down with a glass of white wine.
"So, Marquise, what is your relationship to my daughter?" She asked. And it began.
"I'm her boyfriend," he answered. My mom watched him over her wine glass as she took another sip,
"You're a little old to be a BOYfriend, don't you think? And how old are you?" She asked. My face went hot as I blushed. My mom didn't hold any punches.
"I'm thirty-five," he answered. My moms eyes widened.
"Thirty-five. So, you're thirteen years older than my daughter. And what are your intentions?" She asked.
"I intend to marry her."
"Did you give her this ring?" She asked motioning at my hand.
"Yes."
"So why not an engagement ring instead if you intend to marry her?" She asked. I felt like I was watching a tennis match, I kept looking back and forth from Marquise to my mother.
"I didn't want to propose to your daughter before meeting you. Especially since I am sure that she would like you to be there for such an important moment," Marquise answered. I felt like he was handling himself quite well in front of my mother.
"Do you have kids? Have you ever been married before?"
"I do not have kids and I am divorced." My mom nodded and took another bite of her food. Marquise and I did the same.
"Well, I'm sure that Dahlia has already told you that her father is no longer with us. Dahlia is all I have and I am very protective of her. I need to be sure that she is in good hands at all times. Are you living here?" She asked.
"Yes I am."
"Do you work? What do you do?"
"Yes, I am a professor here at the university."
"Ah," my mom smiled and nodded. "So, that's how you two met! Do you usually date your students?"
"No, this was the first time," he assured her. There was an awkward silence. I stole a glance at my mom. She was finishing up the last of her food. When Marquise clapped his hands together, it made me jump.
"So, who's ready for dessert?" He asked enthusiastically. My mom looked up in surprise. I guess she hadn't been expecting dessert.
"Did you make it?" She asked him.
"Yes, I did," he answered as he cleared the table. He served us each a plate of sweet potato pie with whip cream. "The whip cream is also homemade." He sat back down. Again, we waited for my mom too take the first bite. When she began chewing she closed her eyes and moaned.
"This is delicious! Where'd you learn how to cook like this?" She asked.
"I was also raised in a single parent household and my mom taught me everything she knew," he said.
"So, mom, are you spending the night?" I asked her. This was the first time I'd spoken since we sat down. She shook her head and finished chewing.
"No, I was. But now that I've met Marquise, I feel reassured that you are well taken care of," she said with a smile. I was so relieved that I started crying. The tone was much lighter after dinner. Our belly’s were full and our spirits were high. I was feeling good about my mom’s visit when I walked her to her car.
"So, what do you think of Marquise?" I asked her once we were alone.
"I like him. He's a little old, but your father was fifteen years older than me when we got married," she said with a smile. I smiled back.
"I'm glad because he loves me mom and I love him," I told her.
"Well he better because I love you and if he hurts you, I'll kill him." We laughed, hugged and kissed goodbye and then my mom watched me go inside before driving off. When I got inside, Marquise was washing the dishes. I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head against his back.
"Thank you," I murmured.
Graduation
I was finally graduating! It had been a long four years and a lot had happened but now I was at the conclusion and it felt so damn good! When I got my diploma, my mom and Marquise were there cheering me on and taking pictures. Afterward, Marquise treated us to dinner at an upscale restaurant on the pier. I was wearing a beautiful gold dress that hugged my curves and my hair was curled into spirals. As graduation presents, my mom had got me a new car and Marquise had got me a puppy named Delilah. I couldn't have been happier. After dinner, the four of us, Marquise, my mom, Delilah and I, went for a walk along the pier. The night sky was clear and the stars winked down at us. We walked along happily looking at the water. Marquise held my hand while my mom walked Delilah. We let them walk ahead of us a bit so that we could have a moment to ourselves.
"I am so proud of you Dahlia. You deserve all of this and then some," Marquise said, holding my hands in his. "A while ago, I made you a promise and I've been waiting for the right moment to fulfill that promise. So, I figured, what better time than the present? Your mom’s here, this band is here," he said and out of nowhere, a small band started making music behind us. It caught me off guard and made me laugh. My mom was standing near the band, holding Delilah and smiling at us. "I know that we haven't known each other that long and in the short time that we have been together, it's been a rollercoaster, but you make me feel alive! Your love sets me free and I want to grow older with you," we all laughed at that. "I want to be there when you accomplish all of your goals and when you become the woman that you envision yourself being. I want to make you my wife, build a home with you and fill it with kids that look like you. I want to be your last." Marquise dropped down on one knee and my jaw dropped. I had to remind myself to keep breathing. Marquise held my left hand as he reached inside his suit jacket with his other hand. Out came a little black ring box. Involuntarily, tears filled my eyes. I had to blink them back to keep them from ruining my makeup.
Marquise opened the box revealing a diamond ring that looked like a twinkling star in the moonlight. There were diamonds arranged like a rose with diamond petals. Around the platinum band were smaller diamonds. Marquise removed the ring from its box. He held my left hand as he slid the ring onto my ring finger. The diamonds sparkled in the light.
"Dahlia Winters," he began. "Will you do me the honor of being my wife?"
I nodded causing the tears to sprinkle out my eyes.
"Yes..yes!" I said as cameras flashed. There was a photographer too! The band started playing another song as Marquise and I kissed and embraced. A part of our journey had recently ended but we were ready to embark on the next chapter together, for better or for worse. Till death do us part.
THE BILLIONAIRE’S NANNY BOOK 1
THE BILLIONAIRE’S NANNY (BOOK 1)
Blurb
Veronica Lawrence is a simple babysitter, who is content with her life with her boyfriend, Calvin. She has everything she could ever dream of and more- or so she thought. Without her knowledge Calvin sets her up with an interview for a job with the richest lawyer in the city, Frank Davenport, who Veronica discovers is incredibly attractive and alluring, almost to the point of distraction. She surprises both Calvin and herself by actually landing the job. There is a catch, though. If she wants to take the job, she must agree to move onto his large estate.
While Calvin is reluctant, Veronica decides to take the job, and she finds herself surrounded by opulence and riches. Little did she know, though, that her employer would be quite so impossible to resist.
Ch. 1
Veronica heaved a sigh, readjusting the strap of her purse as she walked down the sidewalk. She had just finished up a babysitting job for one of the neighbors in her community. She had started doing as a quick way to make money in high school, and she had loved it so much
then that she decided that was what she wanted to do for a living. Even as she earned her business degree, she had used babysitting as a way to get her through school.
Even after she graduated, she had very little interest in picking up a job in the realm of business. Now that she was no longer in school, she had more time to devote to taking care of kids. In fact, in a way, that was sort of like a business in and of itself, and she ran it very efficiently. It didn’t bring in as much money as it could have, because often times the people she babysat for couldn’t pay as much as they had originally thought.
While Veronica, too, needed the money, she couldn’t bring herself to demand money from people when she could clearly see they were just trying to get by and support their children. Veronica cut a lot people slack, and as a result she often had to live a lean life, but she didn’t mind it.
That is, until she met her boyfriend, Calvin.
Calvin was a young social climber, fresh out of law school. He frequented the same coffee shop that Veronica went to, and had taken a liking to her. Veronica had been interested in him as well, on account of his ambition and the fact that he was more than a little attractive. She could hardly resist flirting when he approached to talk with her one afternoon.
It didn’t take long for them to start dating, and for a while Veronica was fairly happy with their relationship. They made plans for their future together, and Veronica could easily picture herself spending the rest of her life at his side, maybe even having some kids and buying a house. It only seemed natural when Calvin suggested that they get an apartment together and start making a life with each other.
Veronica’s parents couldn’t; have been more thrilled for her. They loved Calvin, as he was a respectable young man who was steadily moving up in his career, and they knew he would provide stability in Veronica’s life. Veronica was glad they were both so supportive of her relationship with him, and she was eager to see where the future would take them.
At some point though, after they had spent about a year and a half together in, Calvin began to voice his true opinions about her line of work. Even now, as she headed home to their apartment, she felt a tension creep into her shoulders as she wondered what he would say when she told him she was short on money again.
Calvin had a good job at a law firm, so money wasn’t an issue for him. Even so, she could tell it bothered him that she didn’t have what he considered a “real job”. He often tried to pressure her into looking for a job somewhere at an office, or at least to collect the correct amount of money for her services.
Veronica could only prepare her usual list of responses and pick the most appropriate one for whatever argument he chose to employ.
Veronica finally made it to their apartment building, and she rode the elevator up to her floor. She then made her way to the door of her apartment and unlocked it. She stepped inside silently, looking around and carefully listening to see if Calvin was home.
Veronica didn’t see or hear anything, so she heaved a small sigh of relief, turning to shut the door behind her. She placed her small bag on the hall tree just beside the door, and moved into the kitchen, taking a glass from out of the cabinet and filling it up with water from the sink.
Calvin hated when she did this, as he said the water from the fridge was more filtered. Veronica had been drinking water from the time she could even drink water at all, and it was a force of habit that compelled her to do so even in adulthood. She sipped at it slowly, letting it refresh her.
When she had consumed all the liquid, she washed the glass and put it back in the cabinet. Another thing that Calvin hated was leaving unwashed dishes in the sink, so she didn’t want to give him any more of an excuse to be irritated when he got home.
With that done, Veronica decided to go ahead and start dinner. She knew Calvin would be wanting to eat at around seven, and she knew it would take a couple of hours to get it all ready. So, Veronica changed into a set of comfortable yoga pants and a tank top and began the process of making their dinner.
As she expected, Calvin came home around six. The door unlocked, and Veronica looked up as he stepped through the frame and shut the door behind him, offering him a smile.
“Hey,” Calvin greeted her, moving over to place a soft kiss on her cheek.
“Hey,” she replied as he set his things down by the hall tree. “How was your day?”
“Pretty good,” he answered. “Same story different day, as usual.”
Veronica nodded, looking down into the food she was cooking.
“What about you?” Calvin asked, moving to lean against the counter beside the stove and cross his arms over his chest.
“It was good,” she answered simply.
“Who were the kids today?” he asked, and Veronica tensed, knowing that he was setting her up for another set of inquiries.
“Toby and Alec,” she answered calmly, though she saw Calvin shake his head a little, pinching the bridge of his nose between this thumb and forefinger.
“Should I even ask?” he bit out, and Veronica let out a sigh, shaking her head and turning to face him.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” Veronica answered calmly. “Every time you ask, the answer is the same.”
Calvin clenched his jaw and shook his head.
“That’s exactly what I thought you were going to say,” he sighed.
“Then why are we even having this conversation?” Veronica shook her head and returned her attention to the food on the stove.
“Look,” Calvin sighed, his voice calmer. Veronica felt him place a hand on her shoulder, and she turned once more to look at him.
“There’s something I want to talk to you about, but I need to get showered and changed first,” he said slowly. “Can we talk about it over dinner?”
Veronica felt a twist of anxiety in her stomach, and she wondered how on earth this conversation was going to go. Still, she knew they would have to talk about whatever it was at some point, and she may as well get it out of the way as soon as possible.
“Okay, sure,” Veronica nodded.
“Okay,” Calvin said. “I’ll be out in a little while.”
Veronica watched out of the corner of her eye as he left the room, and she let out a puff of air once he was out of the room. She shook her head as she continued to cook. There was no point in worrying herself over whatever it was he had to say to her. All she could do was make dinner and be prepared to listen with an open mind.
Ch. 2
Within the next hour, Calvin had gotten out of the shower and dressed in a pair of athletic pants and a white t-shirt. He sat down at the table, and Veronica put down his plate in front of him, then assumed her usual place at their small table.
Calvin picked up a fork, and Veronica followed suit. She had made them a meal of baked chicken and vegetables over a bed of rice. It was one of Calvin’s favorite meals, and she enjoyed as well. For a while, they ate, both of them appreciating the silence that spread between them.
It couldn’t last, though, and at length, Calvin set down his fork and looked across the table at her. Veronica let out a soft sigh and put down her fork as well.
“I know that you love what you do,” Calvin said. “I appreciate that you’re able to make any money at all with what you do.”
Veronica listened silently, giving him a short nod at the conclusion of his statement.
“But you have to admit that the way you do business is not a reliable way to make money,” he continued. “You can’t constantly be cutting people breaks, because then at the end of the day you suffer. I know at the end of the day, between the two of us, we have enough money to get by, and even to do well. But what if something ever happens to me? What would you do then?”
Veronica worked very hard to keep from rolling her eyes.
“We’ve been through all this Calvin,” Veronica said, keeping her tone level. “I’m not going to demand a full amount of money when I know good and well they can’t afford it. They
’re barely staying on top of things as it is, and if I rake them over the coals too, their kids are going to suffer. If I lose a couple of bucks, I’ll be okay. Some people don’t have that luxury.”
Veronica felt like this was an elementary concept, and she got annoyed every time she had to explain it to him. However, she could hardly blame him. He had grown up in a moderately well off middle class family, and he had really never wanted for much at any point in his life.
Veronica, however, had not always been so lucky. Growing up, her family often had to go without food, or heat or water for extended periods of time. Veronica knew the true worth of money, and all material possessions. She was grateful for everything she had, and she knew better than to let things go to waste.
She knew that the families she gave a break to really did need it, and that they were in situations just like the one she had been in. For her it was the least she could do, but for them, it definitely made a huge difference.
It seemed that no matter how many times she tried to explain that, though, Calvin just couldn’t wrap his head around the concept.
“Okay,” Calvin said, a look of surrender on his face. “I totally get your need to help people out, okay? I do. I just think that maybe you need to be thinking about yourself a little more.”
Veronica wanted to protest, but she knew it was pointless.
“Whatever you say,” she sighed, just wanting the conversation to end at this point. She picked up her fork and took another few bites of her food.
“Veronica,” Calvin said, and Veronica set down her fork again and looked back up at him.
“Yes?” she replied, her voice sharp and quick.
“I think I have a solution for you,” he said, and Veronica blinked in surprise.
“A solution?” Veronica leaned forward a little, resting her forearms on the table. Calvin hated when she did that, too, but she was honestly at the point where she didn’t care.