“I think you made all your feelings pretty clear,” she said. Frank smiled and pulled her closer.
“I’m a pretty open guy,” Frank smiled. “For a really long time I thought that holding in my emotions was going to make me stronger but… it really only made me hurt.”
Veronica looked up at him and gave him a soft smile and a kiss.
“I’m glad you figured it out,” she said to him.
“I went through a lot of therapy as soon as I had the money,” Frank said with a hint of humor, but Veronica knew he was likely not joking.
Veronica gave him a somewhat sad smile. Frank leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, and Veronica kissed him back tenderly. Her hands pressed against his chest, and her body arched into him a little. She had never felt so physically connected to someone in her life. And in spite of how much she regretted cheating on Calvin, and her uncertainty of where this relationship with Frank would lead, in this very moment, she was happy.
They broke off from their kiss, and each of them gave the other a smile.
“We’d better get to sleep,” Veronica said softly. “We both have jobs to attend to.”
Frank chuckled and pulled her closer.
“You’re right, of course,” he murmured as he nuzzled into her hair. “I guess it’s goodnight then.”
“Goodnight then,” Veronica murmured back. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I’ll see you now,” Frank purred, and placed a kiss on her neck.
Veronica laughed. As she faded away into sleep, she basked in the feelings of contentedness that she was feeling after having gone so long without them.
For the next several weeks, Veronica’s life at Franks estate went much like the first several days. In the morning, the each worked out and then met for a rendezvous in the kitchen before the girls arose, and then they went their separate ways, Frank to his office and Veronica remaining at home to take care of the girls.
For her part, Veronica grew to feel like this was the home, and practically the family she had always wanted. When she was a little girl, she had always imagined what her life would be like as an adult, and this was very close if you subtracted the mansion-like home.
Every now and then, of course, she had her moments of doubt. She remembered that she was no more than an employee here, and in spite of Frank’s assurances that he had feelings for her and that his intentions were to win her over, the cynical part of her mind insisted that she was just a way for him to pass the time until the next nanny got there.
It was in these moments that Veronica felt exceedingly guilty for ever even entertaining the thought of cheating on Calvin. In spite of the fact that their relationship was less than thri
lling, there had been nothing truly wrong with it. And up until recently, they had both been faithful to one another.
It certainly didn’t help that while she was delving into a potential relationship with Frank, Calvin was still trying hard to save theirs. It seemed that he had actually listened when she voiced her complaints about their relationship, and was actively seeking to build her up more. Unfortunately, he was only serving to fuel her guilt for being constantly unfaithful to him.
They spoke on the phone every day, though, and one day, Calvin suggested that she take an afternoon off and go see him. Veronica had no idea what to say.
“Just one afternoon,” Calvin pressed, his tone hopeful. “It doesn’t go against the terms of your contract. Davenport should be home at that time, right?”
“Yes, of course,” Veronica said. She didn’t know how to tell him how much the terms of their contract had changed in the time she had been there.
“Great!” Calvin said. “So that’s a yes?”
Veronica sighed, and ran her hand over her face.
“I can’t say,” Veronica said. “Davenport is my boss; I have to run it by him.”
“But I mean it shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Calvin said easily. “I mean he said he would allow you time off.”
“Yeah, of course, you’re right,” Veronica said a little snappishly, her emotional turmoil starting to rise to the surface.
“I mean, if it’s too much trouble for you, you can just forget about it,” Calvin said kindly, but Veronica could hear the disappointment in his voice.
“No, no,” veronica insisted. “Of course I want to go, baby. I just have to ask first, okay?”
“Okay,” Calvin answered, and his voice was filled with relief.