What Veronica did not expect, though, was for a part of their arrangement to be that she take up residence in his home. There would be a private room and bathroom expressly for her, and she would have complete access to the kitchen. The purpose of this was that he often had to be away on business, and he needed someone whose presence his children could become accustomed to.
In addition to watching his children, she was expected to take care of a few of various household tasks. While there was a housekeeping staff, there were a few things that required a more personal touch, such as cleaning bedrooms and doing laundry. This took Veronica a little off guard, but it was nothing too different than what she did at the houses she already worked for.
She would not be expected to remain at the house at absolutely all times, and she would be allowed to take time for herself if it was needed. Any time he was at the home in the afternoons and evenings, she would not be required to be there, but she was to be in the house by ten o’clock each night, unless she had requested off. Which, if he was at work in the day, meant she essentially had a full-time job.
Incidentally, that also meant that she had a full-time salary. He was offering her a hundred thousand dollars to do all this, as well as bonuses and tips whenever he saw fit. She would also get bonuses for going on vacation with him and his family, which seemed to her like a two-fold benefit.
Altogether, this whole deal seemed like an absolute dream come true. The pay would be more than enough to satisfy Calvin, and that was what he had seemed most concerned about. In addition, he would be saving money that he could have been spending on food. He could probably also move into a smaller apartment by himself, since she would be living at Davenport’s home.
Secretly, Veronica was grateful for the opportunity to move away from Calvin and spend her time elsewhere. Living together had, in her opinion, not really served to benefit their relationship. Spending so much time together, in her opinion, seemed to subtract from their intimacy, and caused them to fall into a pattern. To Veronica, it seemed like the separation would, in fact, be a good thing.
Veronica determined that she did, in fact, want to take the job. The money alone was too good to pass up, and all the other factors only served to make her more determined to go through with it. She would listen to what Calvin had to say about it, and truly listen to what he had to say, but ultimately the decision was hers, and she had all but made it.
“So,” Veronica spoke as she gathered up all the papers into one pile. “What do you think?
Calvin seemed deep in thought, his eyebrows meeting in a frown in the center of his head. His fingers stroked over his chin as he thought, and Veronica fought the temptation to roll her eyes.
“Well I think the pay is a great deal,” Calvin offered, though his tone did not seem very thrilled. “And the duties outline in the subscription don’t seem too far out of the norm of what you do at anyone else’s house for a lot less money than what he’s offering you.”
Veronica nodded silently. She could already tell that there was a ‘but’ coming up, and she was already preparing her rebuttal.
“I have to be honest with you though,” Calvin said, and ran a hand over his face. “I don’t really like the idea of you taking up residence over there. It just seems like a little bit too much to ask, in my opinion.”
“Well,” Veronica said slowly, folding her hands in her lap. “He did explain that the reason he wants me there as a permanent resident is just to take care of the kids. He probably just doesn’t want to deal with wet beds and kids coming up to him to talk about bad dreams. He probably just wants to be able to come home and have a good night’s rest.”
Calvin blinked, and frowned.
“I don’t know,” Calvin shook his head. “I just really don’t think it’s the most… appropriate thing for you to live there.”
Veronica fe
lt the first sparks of irritation.
“The contract explained that several of his household staff reside there,” Veronica explained as calmly as possible. “And my situation would be no different.”
Veronica watched as Calvin seemed to undergo some kind of internal struggle. She knew that he wanted to say something, but was obviously reluctant to do so.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked him as gently as she could.
Calvin looked over at her and released a sigh.
“I mean it’s just,” Calvin said softly, and gestured to the room around him. “We have this great setup here. We moved in together, we’re in a serious relationship. I think we’ve got a great thing going here. And to just lose all that for the sake of a job? I don’t know. The job is supposed to help supplement all this, not lose it altogether.”
Veronica listened, and she supposed he was making good sense. Still, as much sense as he was making, she couldn’t really bring herself to completely agree.
“Well you make a good point,” Veronica said, speaking as slowly and gently as she could. “But honestly, what we have here together… is it really that great?”
CHAPTER 7
Calvin’s face fell, and then contorted into an expression of confusion. Veronica nearly groaned, knowing that their conversation was now going to take a much different turn.
“What do you mean?” Calvin asked, shifting on the couch to face her more head on.
“I think…” Veronica paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. “I think that maybe the situation we’ve created for ourselves is not the situation that’s for the best in the long run.”
An expression of hurt passed over Calvin’s face, and he said nothing. Veronica felt a twinge of guilt, but she knew that she had opened the door, and that she couldn’t very well close it now.
“All we’ve managed to do by living together,” Veronica explained slowly. “Is fall into a routine, and lose all the variety in our life. There’s no spontaneity. There’s no romance. We have a set schedule. We barely go out because you’re so disappointed by the way I conduct my work and you’re worried we’ll go broke.”