by Ashlee Price
So driving up I was nervous, and I didn’t get out of my car until I had made sure that my hair was smoothed down. The natural waves had taken over and it was full. I put a little lipstick on and got the thermos bags out to take up to the top floor. At least the place had an elevator, I thought to myself as I pushed the button for the sixth floor.
My hands were trembling as I made my way down to the same conference room. Most of the people in it were different from the day before, but the handsome man with the slate eyes was there. Even knowing that I shouldn’t look, I did, and again I felt the beckoning that his body was calling to me. Did he know what he was doing?
“It’s good to see you again, Nicola.”
I was a little surprised to hear my name, but then I remembered that I was wearing a name tag. “Good to see you too, sir. I hope that everything is to your liking.”
Again, I felt like I just had to get out of there. He was giving me too much attention, and it was hard to ignore the look. His hand came out and stopped me. “You look like you’re having a tough day. Why don’t you sit down for a minute and try the food that you brought to me?”
I shook my head, even though I could have used a moment of rest. The funny thing about delivering lunches to everyone else all day was that I didn’t have time to eat until I got off. I was starving and the food did look good, but I was sure that eating it was against a rule of some sort and I didn’t want to ruin the job.
“I really should be going, sir. There are lots of people that are hungry.”
It sounded better in my head, but I got an eye flare and a release of my arm. He was not the type of man who was used to being told no, and I could see that he didn’t quite like it.
“My name is Jerold.”
“Have a good day, Jerold.”
He nodded at me, and I grabbed up the empty containers and left while I could. Being around him was like being around a lion. He was pure predator, and I didn’t know what he was going to do. What I did know was that I wasn’t ready to be consumed.
Getting back in the car, I was breathing a little heavier. It almost felt like I had run a mile or something. It wasn’t easy to come to grips with how turned on I was or what in the world was going on in my mind. Jerold was too old for me, and too rich. I wasn’t even on the same level as him, so there was no point in fantasizing about something that I would surely never have.
The thought put me in a sour mood, and then a phone call from my sister put me in a worse mood. There was a meeting over at the house, and I knew that a meeting with my family was never good. Someone had some news. I had to wonder what it would be.
I stopped off at the apartment, stripped out of my greasy clothes and then jumped in the shower to rinse off before going down to my parents’ house for the announcement. I was a little nervous about it. I hoped that it wasn’t something that I wasn’t going to like. Karen had sounded a little strange on the phone, so I was worried about what she was going to say.
When I got there, the house was full and it took me several minutes to say hi to everyone. Mom was sitting at the table with Karen. It was the first time I had seen so many people in the house and she wasn’t in the kitchen cooking. Everything felt off, and I was getting more leery by the moment.
“Sit down, Nicola. Why don’t we have a chat?”
I sat down slowly. There was something in the air, and then I realized that most of the people in the room were looking at me. I didn’t know why this was, but I knew then that I wasn’t going to like it. The bad feeling in my stomach had taken over my body and I swallowed hard.
“So what’s going on? What’s the big news?”
Mom couldn’t keep the smile off her face. She was practically beaming. Why was her happiness making me so uneasy? It shouldn’t, right?
“We have a surprise for you, Nicola, and I know that you are going to like it.”
When she put it like that, I knew I wasn’t going to like it at all. I waited for her to tell me what it was, or give it to me, but it was not something that could fit in a box. It was a person that I hadn’t seen in almost a year – and hadn’t wanted to see. It was Jamie, and it made me wonder why he was there. Why were they all there? Was this why mom had brought him up the night before?
Jamie came towards me and pulled me into his embrace. I was stiff in his arms, and I was still confused on what was going on around me. Why was he here? Why was he holding me like this, and why did he have that look on his face like he did when we were together? I waited for someone to say something, for someone to put me out of my misery.
“Nicola, I’ve missed you so much. Your mother called me the other day to see how I was, and I knew that I had to see you again. All of the old memories came back, and I knew then that it was you that I had been missing. I’m no good without you, Nicola. So I flew here to see you and see if you would come back with me. You are about to graduate, and now that you have that little thing out of the way, we can get married like we talked about before. Now we can start our lives, Nicola, together, as it should have been in the first place.”
He stopped and I waited. Was this his idea of a proposal? Was that why everyone was there, to see the moment? If that was the case, I doubted that I was the only one who was feeling a little disappointed. I was feeling shell-shocked, trying to figure out what the heck was happening. I looked to my mom and then to my sister. They both looked at me encouragingly from their place at the table.
I had never been on the spot like this before. It was not something I had been expecting. What was I supposed to say? Was that supposed to be him popping the question? Was this really happening?
“Um, I don’t know what to say to you, Jamie. I haven’t seen you in a long time, we haven’t been together in a long time, and I don’t know what this is all about.”
Mom piped up with her plan. “This is your engagement party, dear.”
I don’t know what my face looked like, but I knew what I felt like in that moment, and it was nothing close to the merriment that I saw on the faces surrounding me.
My engagement party? Did they really expect me to say yes?
Chapter 4-Nicola
I was still trying to get the night before out of my mind. It was hard to not think of all of the family and friends around me when I had told Jamie that I couldn’t marry him. It was not something that should have been done in that way. I had tried to pull him off to the side, but they wouldn’t let that happen. By the end of it, I was sure he wished that he had gone with me. I was just so upset with my mother for meddling and at Jamie for going along with the crazy scheme. We had broken up for a reason, and I knew that the reason had not changed.
So when I went back to delivering for Jesse the next morning, my mind was more occupied with the night before than the job that I had to do. The only good thing about today was that the seemingly never ending deliveries were a little bit of a distraction from last night’s debacle.
I was becoming familiar with the building I was pulling up to now. It was becoming a tradition. I had assumed that Jerold was always a regular customer, but Jesse told me that it was usually only once a week or so. Now he was ordering every day. I liked to think that it had something to do with me, but I knew it was most likely coincidence.
Either way, I just wanted to see him again. I looked at my reflection in the rearview mirror and was happy that I had taken the time to put a little makeup on and do something with my hair. I was looking forward to seeing Jerold. Even with the green polo shirt on, I felt beautiful when he looked at me.
When I got out of the elevator, the assistant told me to go to the same conference room that I had been in before. I was a little disappointed when I didn’t see Jerold in the meeting room, but I knew that I still had a job to do, even if I did want to leave when I didn’t see him there. He was supposed to be there. He certainly was in my dreams, but that didn’t seem to matter now.
I was about to go when I caught Jerold’s eyes through the glass wall of the room. I sm
iled at him, because I couldn’t help myself, and I really liked the relaxed smile that I got in return. He was looking very well today. His suit seemed to fit him just perfectly. His bald head was shiny under the lights, and I wondered for a minute how it would feel to rub it. I had to pull my hand closer to my body to fight the urge to touch him. I knew that it wasn’t professional, but it was what I wanted to do more than anything else in the world. What was wrong with me?
“How are you today, Nicola?”
I kind of shrugged, not really sure if my voice would work anyways. “I have been okay,” I said, even though I knew I looked tired.
“So how do you like your new job?”
I smiled and tried to think of the words to make it sound better than it was. “It has been an interesting few days.”
“Why are you a delivery driver when you should be cooking?”
Cooking? How does he know that about me? Who told him?
“Well, that is of course what I want to be doing, but sometimes you just have to make do with what you get.” I pulled down the hat that I had finally remembered to wear and tried not to look so unhappy. I kept telling myself to be grateful that at least I had a job in my field, but at moments like this the lie was harder to tell myself.
“If that is what you want, you should have it. I have a good feeling about you.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but I discovered that it was easy to talk to him. Before I had been scared of being around him, but now I was at least able to breathe. There was no surprise to that. Jerold made me feel things that were hard to handle, and after the upset with Jamie the night before, I was ready to get out of there quickly. My luck with men lately had not been the best.
“Well, I don’t mind working my way up from the bottom.”
He frowned at me, not liking my answer. “You should never settle, Nicola. My company was just about to transition into having an in-house chef for meetings and some breakfasts. Would you be interested in applying for that kind of a position?”
Had I just heard him right? I didn’t think I had. I actually knew that I hadn’t heard him right, but at the same time, I wasn’t brave enough to ask him to repeat himself.
“Who would I send my resume to?” I felt a little bad about doing a negotiation while I was working for another company. It felt strangely like I was betraying the people at Jesse’s, but I couldn’t not jump at the chance to get right into cooking. I mean, how hard could it be?
“There’s no need for a resume, Nicola. I’ve already seen all of that information, and I can tell that you’re exactly what I need around here.”
I caught the way he said it, but I didn’t think much of it. I liked the idea of him needing me, though I knew it was more than likely just a slip of the tongue. My eyes centered on his full lips for a moment, and I only looked away when I realized that I was staring. I wasn’t supposed to be looking at him in such a way. He had asked me about a job, and I was thinking naughty thoughts before I even said yes.
“I would love to fill the position. When would you like me to start?”
He seemed to contemplate it for a moment, but the answer was not far away. “Why don’t you come in around nine and you will be off around two or three, unless there is a late meeting that will need to be catered.”
I nodded my head. I loved the way it sounded, but I had to wonder what was going to become of me. And where was all this cooking going to take place?
“So would I be cooking off-site and bringing it in as needed?” I felt like I was starting to babble up into the grey eyes that wouldn’t let go of me.
“No, I have had one of our office kitchens changed up a little bit for you. I think it will be perfect.”
I was urged to follow him. He was going to show me right then. I was nervous and just followed behind blindly. We went back to the elevator and went down a level. The place was very similar on this floor, but I could tell quickly that the atmosphere was different. A few people stopped to talk to Jerold, something that he took in stride; it seemed to be a normal occurrence.
Soon he was introducing me to the many other people who worked there, and I was trying my best to remember the whirlwind of people that I was meeting. Then he walked me down one of the hallways. I was getting anxious as we reached the door.
“I have a good feeling that you are going to like this, Nicola.”
I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it or not, but I knew that the idea of a new job was lending an unaccustomed lightness to my step. I didn’t want to have to deliver anymore, and if Jerold was going to give me an out, it would be crazy to turn him down.
The kitchen was not something I would have expected in an office building. It was stocked full and the equipment looked brand new.
“How long has this been here?” I was confused why they were ordering food from Jesse’s if there’d been a whole kitchen here all the time.
“I just finished it yesterday. Do you like it?”
I looked over at him and hoped that my mouth wasn’t agape. I couldn’t speak, so I just nodded my head that I did love it. It was perfect.
Chapter 5 - Jerold
I smiled when I thought of Nicola’s face as she saw the kitchen. It was worth the cost to stock it and it was well worth the questioning looks that I was getting from some of my staff. It was clear that no one else could see why I was doing it. I wasn’t sure either, but Nicola had agreed to come and work for me and that was enough.
She couldn’t start right away, which left me having to wait the weekend out. I’d planned to go to Vegas and play. At the beginning of the week I had been feeling restless to go, to fulfill my needs, but now I knew that if I didn’t have Nicola, there would be no satisfaction. She was the one, and I was more than willing to roll with that.
Connie was questioning my idea that we could save money for the company if we just paid a chef and didn’t order out anymore. She brought me the figures from accounting and then smirked at me when they showed clearly that the salary I had agreed to pay Nicola was going eat up every penny of the savings. I tried to sell her on the convenience, but she still looked skeptical. Then I remembered that I was the boss, and told her that. She just kind of chuckled at me.
So she wasn’t happy, but the idea of having Nicola under my roof was enough for me to not care. Connie had been with me for years and she had learned to give her opinion but not push it too much. So my assistant let the subject go, even though the look on her face told me plainly that she still didn’t agree.
When Sunday rolled around, I was becoming apprehensive about what was going to come next. I wasn’t worried about what would happen, just how Nicola would respond to me. I liked to think about it while I lay in bed at night, but there really was no telling. She might not be into the things that I was into, but that didn’t matter. Nicola had an endearing innocence to her, and a slight underlying submissive trait that I hoped I could help flourish. She was made for me and she didn’t even know it yet. Nicola didn’t even know what she was made for.
“Good morning.”
I looked up and was surprised to see Nicola at the door. I had spent so much time thinking about her that I’d failed to notice her arrival. Standing up, I told her good morning, my eyes taking in the curves that were visible under her clothes. She was dressed up more for an office than a kitchen, and I had to admit I loved the change. The pencil skirt was tight on her derriere and I wanted nothing more than to touch her. But I knew I couldn’t yet. I had to get myself together before I did something that I would regret later.
“It is good to see you, Nicola.”
“I don’t know what I am supposed to be doing.”
“You could make me some breakfast if you want.”
She nodded and then moved away from the door. Her quick smile made me give her one back. I wanted her to stay, but I knew that I was going to have to let her go. We both had work to do. When she came back some time later, there were several plates in her hands. She set them down
on a side table next to my desk. “I should have asked first, so I just brought you a sampling. Is there anything else that I can do for you, sir?”
“Just call me Jerold. We’re not so formal around here.”
She repeated my name and I watched her leave again. I was going to have to figure out a way to keep her around, as well as get what I wanted. I had a feeling that she would be receptive to my advances, but I wanted to make sure before I did anything. Because if not, there was a chance that she would get upset and leave. I couldn’t let that happen: She was meant to be mine.
***
The week went by quickly and I was finding it hard to make my move. It was not something that I was used to, indecision. It was why I was the way I was. I had the confidence, but this time, there was the small shred of doubt in the back of my mind that told me that I was wrong. If I was wrong, I was going to be really wrong.
I heard the knock. It was always the same, soft and three short raps. I looked up and smiled at her. Since she started working here, I had instituted an open-door policy in my office. Some other people took advantage of it, but it was those special moments with Nicola that I looked forward to most. She was always quick to leave, and she was skittish sometimes, like I was a wolf and her a lamb, but there was always something new to be learned, and so far I had liked everything. It was part of the reason that I was so slow to move. I had built it up in my head so much that it was hard to live up to, and I knew I would be crushed like I was fourteen if she didn’t respond well.
“How are you doing, Jerold?”
“Good now. I’ve been eating so well since you started working here that I may have to add an extra gym day to my schedule.”
She smiled at the compliment and told me that it was unnecessary. I caught her eyes looking me over several times, and in that moment I knew that I was going to have to move forward. As far as I was concerned, she was begging for it. It was enough for me to make a decision. I was going to have her now. I would just have to move slowly.