When Lucy opened her eyes in the morning, the first thing she saw were the boxes from her father's office that she had left sitting on the desk across the room. She groaned and quickly closed her eyes again. She didn't want to think about it, especially first thing in the morning, but she couldn't seem to get the news out of her mind.
She wished she had never found out her father's secret. The more she thought about it, the worse it seemed. How much of her home and her belongings had been paid for with stolen money? How many other things had he kept from her? And what was she going to do about it know that she knew?
The thoughts going around her head were starting to make her crazy, so Lucy decided to get out of bed and look for something to keep her mind off of it.
Lucy wandered around the house, looking for something to do and instead ended up hanging around Jordan as he worked.
"Is there something on your mind, Miss Stuart," Jordan asked casually.
Lucy sighed and admitted there was. "Jordan, you've worked for a lot of wealthy people. I'm sure you must have seen or overheard lots of things that were meant to be secret."
"Yes, I have," Jordan admitted. "But I wouldn't be at liberty to discuss such matters."
"Of course not. That isn't what I meant," Lucy said. "I'm not asking for gossip. I was just thinking in general. If I ever ran across a problem, you might be able to help me solve it, based on what you've observed from your past employers."
Jordan looked in the eye and promised her, "I would certainly do my best, ma'am."
Lucy smiled. "Thank you. It's good to know that I have you to count on."
Lucy decided to get ready for work and leave Jordan to his. When she walked out of the dining room she nearly ran into Craig, who was on the other side of the door. "Good morning," she greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.
Craig returned the greeting and followed Lucy as she went upstairs.
"So I guess having a butler is working out," he asked.
"Yes. It's working out better than I imagined. I don't know what I would do if Jordan wasn't here to help out."
"Are you sure you really need him?"
"Of course," Lucy said, surprised that Craig would even ask that. "You were right when you said that I needed someone to help. I would never be able to get everything done on my own. So, thank you, Craig. I would be a mess right now if you hadn't come into my life," Lucy said, giving Craig a hug.
Craig hugged her back and decided to let the subject of Jordan drop. "I know things have been tough for you lately. This weekend, let's go out for a romantic evening. How does that sound?"
"Wonderful," Lucy replied, giving Craig a kiss, before getting changed for work.
After Lucy had left, Craig went into the dining room to have a few words with the butler. "Listen, Jordan. I don't think I've said this before, but I've got to thank you for all the help you've been around here. It really means a lot to Lucy and me."
"You're welcome, Mr. Sexton. It's my job."
"Yeah, well," Craig said and cleared his throat. "I just wanted to let you know that we appreciate everything, but I don't think you'll be needed around here much longer. I just thought you should know."
Jordan eyed Craig skeptically. He could see right through the man's act, but he was too professional to let him know that. "I appreciate your consideration," he said, carefully masking his sarcasm. "But I work for Miss Stuart and when there is to be a change in my employment I'm sure she will give me adequate notice. If you'll excuse me," Jordan said as he turned to return to his work.
"Did you have a parent conference this afternoon?" Bernice asked Alma as they stood outside after school, watching their students as they started home.
"No, why?" Alma asked. Bernice motioned towards the street. When Alma turned she saw Dr. Wilton walking towards her. "Oh."
"Hello," Edward greeted Alma when he got closer. "I hope I'm not bothering you. But I was taking a walk and wondered if you would like to join me if you weren't busy."
"Well," Alma hesitated.
"Oh, go ahead," Bernice insisted. "I'll make sure the kids get on their buses safely."
Edward and Alma walked in silence until they were away from the busy schoolyard. "Did you get the flowers I sent? I hope they were alright."
"They were very nice. Thank you," Alma replied politely. "But I'm not sure why you sent them."
Edward stopped walking and turned to face Alma. "Alma, I think you're a lovely woman and I would like the chance to get to know you better." He paused, waiting for Alma's response, but she didn't know what to say. "It's been a long time since I've asked anyone on a date. I just haven't met anyone that I was interested in, but I think you're a very special woman, Alma. And if it would be alright, I would like to give you a call this weekend and ask you out for dinner. You can think it over and let me know your answer then. What do you think?"
For a moment, Alma was almost too stunned to speak, finally she managed to reply. "Fine."
"Good," Edward smiled. "I'll give you a call."
Eileen had some free time in the afternoon between classes, so she decided to stop by her father's office to see Lawrence.
She had been surprised by Lawrence when he invited her out for coffee after their night classes. She agreed to go and was glad that she did. That evening he had seemed less aloof than he had when she had talked to him before, though he was still more reserved than any of the guys she knew. The guys she hung out with tended to be funny and flirty, while Lawrence was serious and intellectual, but surprisingly interesting as well.
Over coffee they had talked about classes and school. Eileen mentioned her struggling grades and when she jokingly suggested that Lawrence should be her tutor, he said that he would. Now they just had to set up a time.
"Hey," Eileen greeted Lawrence as she walked up to his desk.
Lawrence rose from his seat to return the greeting, pleasantly surprised to see her. "Hi."
"I just wanted to thank you for the coffee the other night and for offering to be my tutor. Unless you've changed your mind about that," Eileen said with a grin.
"No, I'd be glad to do it," Lawrence assured her.
"Good. Because I just had my social science class and I'm going to need all the help I can get."
"Sure. Just let me know when you want to do it."
"How about Friday night?" Eileen suggested. "Are you free then?"
"Friday will be fine."
"What's this about Friday night?" Hector asked, as he walked over to the pair.
When Eileen didn't speak up right away, Lawrence answered, "I'm going to tutor Eileen, help her with her classes."
"That's great," Hector replied. He nudged Lawrence and added with a laugh, "I was starting to worry that you were trying to steal my girl." He didn't seem to notice that neither Lawrence and Eileen appreciated the remark. He continued, "Can I talk to you for a minute, Eileen? Unless you'd really rather chat with old Laurie here than me," he said with a smile.
"I guess I can give you a minute," Eileen said coolly, but with a teasing glint in her eye. Before she walked off with Hector, she thanked Lawrence again for his help. "I'll see you the library on Friday around seven?"
"I'll see you then."
"I don't have a lot of time to chat right now, Hector," Eileen said apologetically. "I really should get some studying in before my next class."
"I know," Hector said with a smile. He didn't believe that she would really spend that time studying, even if she meant to. "I was just wondering if you've made up your mind yet." When Eileen looked hesitant and didn't answer right away, he assumed the answer was no. "I know it's a big decision, but you've got to give me something soon. Don't keep me waiting."
Eileen studied Hector critically, trying to decide if there was something sinister behind his last remark or if it was just her imagination.
Before she could decide, Hector said brightly, "This weekend, when you're not busy with a tutoring session, we should go out. Give me a chance to win you over. What do you say?"
"Ok," Eileen agreed. "If I'm not too busy studying."
Hector grinned, "Of course."
No comments:
Post a Comment