Taken (Dark Desires 1)

“Well wait hold on,” Calvin sounded suddenly concerned. “You said he offered you the job?”

“Yes,” Veronica confirmed.

“Well did you take it?” he asked, his voice insistent.

“Not yet,” Veronica answered.

“What?” Calvin exclaimed. “Why not?”

“Well, he gave me a bunch of paperwork to go through,” Veronica explained. “He said to look it over, and that I could make my decision from there.”

“Well, have you looked at it?” Calvin asked her, and she could hear the irritation creeping into his voice.

“Not yet,” Veronica said none too snappily. “I thought it would be best if we looked through it together. I don’t want to make any decisions without your input.”

“Oh…” Calvin said, and she could hear his tone become gentler. “I guess that’s very thoughtful of you.”

“Yeah,” Veronica sighed into the phone, shaking her head. “I was thinking we could go over it tonight after dinner, since Mr. Davenport wants my answer by tomorrow.”

“Wow,” Calvin said, his voice surprised. “That seems a little soon.”

“Well, there?

?s not much paperwork,” Veronica shrugged.

“Well, I mean it’s a good job,” Calvin mused. “I hope you’re considering saying yes.”

“Oh, I am,” Veronica nodded, though she felt a little guilty for her own reasons for wanting to accept the job, an image of Davenport floating around in her mind. “I think it should be a really good job.”

Veronica heard Calvin release a sigh over the phone.

“I’m so glad to hear you say that,” Calvin laughed lightly. “I was afraid you wouldn’t want to take the job even if he offered it.”

“Well we can look through the paperwork together tonight, and we will make a decision together,” Veronica said, knowing those were the words that would make him the happiest.

“Wow, I honesty just can’t believe you’re being so open,” Calvin said. “I know we still have to go through the paperwork and everything, but I just want to say again that I’m already so happy with your giving all this a go in the first place.”

“Well whatever it takes to make you happy,” Veronica said, and she hoped he didn’t hear the hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“Well I really appreciate that,” Calvin said, and Veronica felt a little guilty again.

“Alright, well you get back to work,” Veronica said. “I’m going to start getting ready for work.”

“Okay babe,” Calvin said nicely. “I’ll see you when I get home tonight.”

“See you,” Veronica said monotonously. “Bye.”

Veronica set the phone back on the coffee table with a sigh. She knew she couldn’t ever tell Calvin about how attracted she was to Davenport, but a part of her felt like concealing that fact was deceptive. At the end of the day, she was only concealing it to spare his feelings, and that would have to be enough.

Besides, it wasn’t as if anything would ever come of her attraction to Frank Davenport. He was likely the object of attraction for many women, and surely nothing ever came of it. After all, he was hiring her as his babysitter, so there was likely already another woman in his life.

Veronica shook her head and decided to focus on the job she had at hand. This was a particularly good group of kids, and all she would have to do was watch them for a couple of hours before their parents got home from work.

Veronica changed into a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt, then gathered up her purse and left the house, being sure to bring her wallet and phone charger with her just in case.

It didn’t take her long to arrive at the house, just before the kids got there. She liked working with them. The oldest, a girl, liked to sit and read, and the younger one liked to talk to her about whatever had happened throughout his day. The hours passed quickly, and before long their parents were home.

By the time she returned home, it was about six thirty at night. She was already mentally preparing herself for the dinner she would have to cook, and to read over the paperwork Davenport had given her. She turned her key in the lock and stepped into the house, only to be taken completely by surprise.