by Lacy Kinsley
“Are you upset because I slept next to you?” He asked.
“Did you?” She asked. She knew the answer to that. Veronica vaguely remembered feeling him let go of her. But it wasn’t until that moment she realized. “I wouldn’t say it bothers me.”
“What would you say?” He asked.
“It’s a little awkward considering I kissed you the other night. I have no idea what you think about me. And please don’t tell me!” She reached for his door handle. She laughed to mask her emotions. “I wish you would have woken me up to tell me to go home, even if it was this morning.”
“I don’t see how that would have made you feel any better. Besides I don’t want you to go home.” He said. “I want you to have breakfast or coffee, and then I was thinking we could go ride bikes.”
“That would be fun.” She admitted. She took a deep breath, and forced herself to slow down. “I’m not handling this well, am I? I’m being a bit of a jerk. I’m embarrassed, that’s all. I don’t know why I keep humiliating myself in front of you.” She laughed. “But I do want to go home and call Andrea and tell her I’m giving my two weeks’ notice and want to start this store with her. And then I need to write up my resignation. So, I’ll see you next weekend.” She added, “Please don’t think I’m mad. Let me get over crashing at your place for the second time now. Honestly, I’m never like this.”
He smiled and nodded. “How are you getting home? I can drive you.” He said.
“I brought my car.” She said.
“I forget you have one.” William said.
She laughed. “Yes, in New York only the uber–rich have cars.” She continued, “But I have a lot of supplies I need for work in my trunk that I can’t pack around easily in a bag. I had to get vehicle. Plus I have a change of clothes, and you of all people know it’s important to always look your best at work in the fashion world.”
He nodded. She opened the door. “Can I walk you down?” He asked.
“Don’t be silly. You’re cooking. I’ll talk to you later.” She smiled.
“I’ll call you Monday or Tuesday.” He said.
“If you want.” She said. He held open the door and when she started to walk to the elevator he followed her. He pressed the button for her.
“Of course I want to.” He insisted. “We’re friends, Veronica. So you need to get out of your shell around me.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Veronica was choking back tears. What a horrible ending to her career at Saxton Hip. But at least she now knew she was doing the right thing. She would have never believed Marcus capable of yelling at her like he did when she handed in her resignation. At first he wouldn’t accept it, but once he saw she was genuinely thrilled about it, and he read her reasons, he went ballistic. He called her all sorts of names saying she was ungrateful, and predicted she would be a miserable failure and when she flopped she was not to come back to him for a job. Even thinking about it now, as she packed up her few belongings his words still hurt her. Veronica couldn’t stop crying. However, she tried her best not to think about it, because she only had twenty minutes to get out of the building.
Her hands were shaking as she packed anything and everything. She kept dropping things because she was shaking, and everything was blurry because of her tears. At least she kept it together while in his office. She hadn’t allowed herself to cry until she was safely alone in her closed room.
“Veronica!” Kimmy exclaimed, running into her office. “It’s true, isn’t it?” She added, “You quit! Lester told me he heard you two fighting! Is that true? Did he yell at you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Veronica whimpered and wiped away tears from her cheeks.
“What a jerk!” Kimmy cursed. “Well, I’ll quit with you. There is no way I could work for someone who would make you cry. Why are you packing, is he kicking you out? What a schmuck!”
“Close the door, and please lower your voice. I’m trying to go quietly. And you can’t quit; it will stress me out that you won’t have an income, especially on my behalf.” Veronica begged.
“I’ll start looking on line for a new job, and I’ll bet I could find one by next week. And then I’ll quit!” Kimmy asserted. “I never liked it here, anyway. I’m stuck on the floor and I know he’ll never hire me to design like he did you. I don’t want to work here forever.”
“Please, be quiet. Someone might hear you.” Veronica pointed to a book of fabric next to Kimmy and asked her to throw it in the box. “You should go, too. I don’t think you should be caught here talking to me.”
“That’s my decision, not yours. I’m pissed. Don’t cry, Veronica. It always makes me so sad, because I know you’re a rock and it takes a lot to make you cry. What a doofus! What did he say?” Kimmy asked.
“I’m not going to talk about it here. I have ten minutes to leave now. Call me tonight. But I have to hurry.” Veronica said.
She jumped when the phone rang. Veronica’s stomach turned. She looked at the phone with dread. The last thing she thought she could handle was Marcus calling her up to yell at her once again if he wanted to say more snide remarks. She considered not answering it. “No!” She hissed when Kimmy picked up the phone and greeted the caller in a sweet voice laced with loathing.
“William!” Kimmy said in surprise, as she held out the phone for Veronica.
“What?” Veronica asked. Instantly, she relaxed. “Please go. Don’t hang out here anymore.” She waited for Kimmy to leave before she spoke into the phone. “William?”
“Hi. Yeah, it’s me.” He added, “I got an interesting phone call from Marcus a moment ago. Can I pick you up outside the building, in like five or ten minutes?”
“He called you?” She asked.
“I’m on my way. Meet me outside.” He requested.
Veronica hung up and finished collecting her belongings out of the drawers. She filled a second box and she struggled to pick both up at the same time. Lester popped into her office when she was trying to stack the boxes on her desk for leverage. “Veronica,” he cooed. “Can I help you? I have a few minutes to spare, and I wouldn’t mind helping you if you needed it. Not that I’m trying to make you hurry. I want to help you.”
“Thanks, Lester. Maybe you could take one of these for me.” She said.
“Which is heavier? I can carry that one.” Lester suggested. She pointed to the fullest box, but they were both heavy. He took it and waited for her to collect the other box. It wasn’t until they were out of the building that he spoke to her. “If it’s any consolation, Veronica, I’m proud of you for stepping out. Sorry, but I overheard of what Marcus said, and I want to say you’re going to be great on your own. You’re brilliant! If you ever need an assistant . . .” He smiled.
“Thanks Lester, it’s nice to know I have two friends at Saxton Hip.” She gave him a weak smile. He asked her where her car was to put the boxes in. They had to walk a block away before they got to it. He put her boxes in her trunk, and then before he left he wished her farewell and shook her hand. “Thank you, Lester. It was sweet of you to carry that out for me. I’ll never forget it.”
He smiled. “You would have done the same for me.”
She smiled but felt guilty. She hoped that she would have been equally nice to him, but she wasn’t even a friend enough to correct Marcus when he got his name wrong.
Veronica leaned against her car and waited for William. She kept checking her watch. He was late, by almost fifteen minutes, but it was New York and sometimes it was hard to get a few blocks. She decided she would give him ten more minutes. She didn’t want to stick around much longer than that in case a former colleague came out on a break and saw her.
“Veronica.” William said. He came up to her holding a bouquet of flowers. “I didn’t know I was going to take so long, sorry!”
“Are those for me?” She asked pointing to the flowers.
“I thought you could use some cheering up.” He gave them to her, and smiled. Veronic
a smiled. The sound of his voice was comforting, and he’d never felt like more of a friend.
“I love lilies.” Veronica confessed. “Thank you!”
“Yeah, I grabbed the biggest thing they had, hence the red roses with the lilies.” He said.
“Oh, I didn’t think you were dropping hints with red roses. I don’t think you can help but be nice, and I know that is what you were doing.” She smiled. “Thank you for coming over here to give them to me.”
“I didn’t come over here just to give you flowers. I came here to cheer you up.” He paused, “And to ask you if you still have that $50,000 dollar check.”
“My bonus?” She asked, and looked at him curiously.
“Yeah.” He said.
“I do, but it’s at home in my jar above the fridge. So, it’s not on me. But I was going to cash it. Why?” She asked.
“It’s something Marcus said to me.” He smiled. “Can I have it? I’ll have Andrea cut you a check for that amount. I don’t want you to cash it.” He added, “Did you sign a contract or anything?”
“No.” She said.
“Come on. My car is a few blocks away. I didn’t score rock star parking like you managed. I’ll have your car towed to your apartment.” He quickly texted his assistant Veronica’s license plate number and her address. “There. It should arrive by the time we get back.”
“Where are we going?” She asked.
“Right now, your apartment so we can tear up that check.” He said. He took her by the arm. She hugged the flowers to her chest with her free hand.
“Why are we tearing up the check? What do you mean by asking me if I signed a contract?” She asked.
“When Marcus called me, he was furious. He threatened to sue me (and you) because I was interfering in the contract between you two. I told him you didn’t have one with him, because I was sure you would have mentioned it. So when I tactfully called him a liar, he said cashing that check is proof of the binding contract. I don’t think he knows that you didn’t cash it.” He smiled at her. “Because what person holds onto a $50,000 check because they feel guilty they’re thinking of quitting.” He laughed, “You’re the most scrupulous person I have ever met, Veronica!”
“I can’t . . . I can’t believe he would do that to me.” She stopped and hugged her flowers with both arms.
“Veronica.” He said as he stopped and watched her. She looked down into her flowers because she didn’t want to face him. “I’m sorry.” She felt more betrayed than ever, and she was trying not to cry. “Veronica, it’s okay. It will be okay. You’ll see.” He added, “You didn’t cash it. That’s the best news. He can’t take you to court. It’s a happy ending, and new beginning. You’ll see.”
She shrugged. “I wasted four years of my life there.” She supposed with a shaky voice.
“Come here.” He said and drew her into a hug. He took a deep breath. He took her flowers from her so they weren’t between them. “He’s a jerk, Veronica. And anyone who isn’t happy for you to step out on your own isn’t good for you. But you didn’t waste four years. I would have never seen your talent if you weren’t selling shoes there. He saw your talent, and you moved up at an early age. You’ll have a great career. So forget him. He was a stepping stone.”
“I did meet Kimmy, there.” She added.
He let go of her, “Come on. We’ll stop by your place to get the check. I’m curious about what your place looks like, anyway. Then you can change into some shorts because we’re going to have fun today.” He took her to his car. He put her address in his GPS and they drove straight to her apartment.
Veronica let him into her place. He hovered in the hallway as she slipped off her shoes and hung her keys on a hook. “So, this is it.” She said and walked deeper inside.
“It’s nice.” He said as he looked around.
“No, it’s not.” She laughed. “Nothing in Queens is nice!”
“Okay, well, you have nice things in it.” He said with a smile. She laughed harder.
“I love anything to do with home improvement. If I didn’t love shoes so much I would have been an interior designer. You can’t tell thought, because I’m petrified to paint because all my furniture is oak. So, I don’t paint or decorate too much.” She said. He thumbed though a sketchbook on her table, as she took her check from the jar above the counter and tore it into tiny pieces. “So what are we going to do? I need to know what to change into.”
“Shorts and a t–shirt are fine.” He said. “I’ll go get my golf clothes from my car. Can I walk in when I get back?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. Don’t knock.” She said.
“Can I change in your bathroom?” He asked.
“Yeah.” She said. She quickly pointed out the guest restroom.
“You’re a good artist, Veronica.” He continued flipping through the sketches. “Do you oil paint? I bet you would be good.”
“I’m okay. I have a landscape in my room.” She said. “Do you want to see it?”
“I do.” He said. She waved for him to follow her and they went past a living room and turned left behind the thin wall. Her bedroom was a mess, with clothes spilling out of her closet, and she still had three outfits lying on her bed, that she left out when trying to decide what she was going to wear. He pretended not to notice, and looked at the painting for a few seconds before he moved closer to it.
“It’s a blue winter scene.” She said pointing out the obvious. “They are my favorite.”
“You’re very good, and the lighting is perfect. I also like that you used a lot of paint.” He observed, turned to her, and then smiled, “Is there anything you’re not good at besides fishing and pool?”
“Yeah! Mechanics, figuring out electronics, geography, history, and I’m hopeless at learning foreign languages.” She said right away. She started to take out shorts from her dresser, “There’s a long list. Actually, the few things I do well are limited to art and dancing.” She pulled out a pale purple and blue stripped t-shirt and khaki shorts. “So, is this okay or should I wear designer clothes, because usually I only wear them at work or going out. I’d rather be overdressed, than underdressed.” She held up the clothes for him to inspect.
“Yeah, that’s fine.” He smiled.
“Alright, I’ll put them on.” She said.
“Oh, right! I’ll leave.” He grinned. “I’ll be right back.”
He left, and Veronica changed. The last thing she put on was a pair of tennis shoes. After that she removed all the pins from her curly brown hair and let it fall. By the time she was changed, William walked into her apartment and then went into her bathroom. He came out a few minutes later in shorts and an un–tucked polo shirt, while carrying his suit and spare shoes. “Do you ever have guys in your apartment?” He asked her when he came out.
“No. You’re the first.” She admitted and then asked, “Why?”
“Oh, because you have five bras hanging in your bathroom.” He said with a laugh. She blushed pink. “I don’t think you should trust a guy not to look.”
“Oh, my gosh, you looked?” She asked turning beet–red.
“Well, yeah! Of course I did! I’m a guy.” He laughed.
“William!” She pushed him in the chest with one hand and said, “You’re not supposed to look. I didn’t know you were coming over or I would have picked up.”
“I like the black one.” He added with a mischievous smile.
“You’re embarrassing me—yet again!” She laughed nervously, and tried to change the subject. “Did you want to go? Or do you want some water first, or what? I’m tagging along doing whatever you want.”
He looked at his watch, “We should get going.”
“And where are we going?” She asked him.
“You’d told me you’ve always wanted to go hot air balloon riding, so we’re going.” He said.
She studied his face. It wasn’t until that moment that she realized exactly how much she liked him. She was falling in love wi
th him, and he didn’t even know it. Strange it took her so long to see how great he was. She knew he was nice, funny, good looking, and a great kisser, but this was beyond nice. If she needed any kind of proof at all that it was safe to fall in love with him, or needed reassurance he was nice enough to never break her heart, he had given it to her now. It was the sweetest thing for him to remember she had mentioned it, and to have thought of it when she was upset. She bit a smile knowing she was beginning to fall in love with him—hard. “That’s really sweet William.” She said with a nod.
“I thought it would get your mind off everything. So, let’s go.” He said. He started walking to the door.
Veronica was having a hard time finding her feet. She watched him walk, and with each step he took away from her, she wished it were a step closer to her. She wanted to kiss him again.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Kimmy hadn’t spoken to Travis for two weeks. Their whirlwind romance fizzled as quickly as it started. Since their break–up, Kimmy had quit Saxton Hip and started working at Poker Face Rags, at a cut in pay, but she said it was worth it.
A lot had changed for Veronica in the last month since she was fired. The first lucky happenstance, Andrea did pay her back the bonus Marcus had given her, but when she handed her the check she said, “I heard you wanted to get out of Queens.” Andrea had doubled her money, which was more than enough for Veronica to finally move to Manhattan. She found a condominium the first time she went out with a real estate agent. She put half her money down on the two–bedroom townhouse that overlooked the New York Harbor, and planned to use the rest to pay her bills until her store opened and she started getting steady income.
The other lucky break was that her shoemaker she’d been working with for the last year was willing to keep making her shoes under her new line of Veronica Mitchell shoes. It was a relief because Veronica knew she would be getting the same pristine quality. It was also a comfort to learn that Andrea was not as intense as she’d originally thought. Andrea was happy with several shoes she’d come up within the last month, and they agreed to making sixteen of the twenty–three Veronica had designed. The other seven shoes, Andrea thought would be a good idea for Veronica to personally make and have them displayed as an option to buy as custom orders at a must steeper price.