"Good morning," Audrey greeted her brother as he walked into the kitchen on Saturday morning.
"Good morning," Jordan replied, pleasantly surprised to discover that Audrey had gotten up early and made breakfast.
When Jordan commented on it Audrey replied, "It's the least I can do, considering you let me stay here and I don't earn any money to help out."
"Thank you. It looks delicious," Jordan said as he fixed a plate and took a seat at the kitchen table. He didn't question Audrey's motives, it was just like her to do something nice unexpectedly.
"So how are things going at work?" Audrey asked.
"Fine," Justin replied, hiding his reservations. "Everything is going very well."
"So I guess you're still getting along well with your boss?"
"Yes," Jordan replied, with a curious look. "Why do you ask?"
Audrey shrugged as she rose from the table. "I'm just taking an interest." Realizing that she wasn't going to get any useful information out of Justin, and feeling guilty for trying, she decided to give up and check out the want ads instead. As she flipped through the newspaper, she paused at the society section. In the center of the page was a picture taken by the paparazzi, of Lucy and Craig kissing outside of a restaurant. The article said the couple was rumored to be engaged.
"Did you see this?" Audrey asked, showing Justin the picture. "Looks like your boss is going to get married."
Jordan stared at the picture for a moment, before looking away and slowly raising from his chair. "No, I didn't see that. Thanks for the breakfast. I should be going."
Audrey watched as he left the room, curious about his reaction.
At the May house, the preparations for Mona's funeral were being made, primarily by Amanda.
Amanda had hoped that she would have some help making the arrangements, but whenever she tried to discuss the details Andrew claimed that he didn't know what to do and Alma showed no interest in dealing with it whatsoever. Amanda was so frustrated that she could cry.
When the phone rang, she went to answer it, hoping it was a call back from the funeral home. Instead, the call was for Andrew.
"He's out at the moment. This is his wife speaking, can I take a message?"
"Yes, Mrs. Martin. This is Felix from Bay Pointe Community College. I spoke to your husband recently about a job vacancy and if he's still interested in the position, I would like to offer him the job."
Amanda was so relieved to hear some good news for once. "That's great! Does he need to come in for an interview?"
"No, that's already been taken care of. Just have him give me a call."
Amanda jotted down the number and thanked Felix. Just as she hung up the phone Andrew walked into the house.
"Oh, honey. You just missed it. You've been offered a job," she said with a bright smile as she passed the phone message on to her husband. "And he didn't even want an interview."
"I already interviewed with him."
"And you didn't tell me?" Amanda asked with surprise.
"I was going to, but then when I got home, your mother . . ."
"Wait," Amanda interrupted. "You left mother home by herself?"
"I thought she would be alright," Andrew offered as an excuse, but the look of shock and disgust that crossed Amanda's face filled him with regret. "I'm sorry. I never thought-"
When Andrew stepped forward to comfort her, Amanda jerked away from him. "I can't believe it. How could you?" she exclaimed. Without waiting for an answer, she stormed out of the house.
When Lucy woke up in the morning, the previous night had seemed like a dream. It took her a few minutes to realize that she and Craig were really engaged. They were going to get married and she had so many plans to make.
She was so excited that she wasn't aware of the tension around her.
Jordan had arrived to work in a foul mood and was unusually irritable, although he tried to remain professional, as always. He genuinely disliked Craig, and the smug looks that his employer's fiance gave him weren't doing anything to improve the situation.
He decided that as soon as he found a moment alone with Lucy, when Craig wasn't hovering around, he needed to have a serious discussion with her.
"Miss Stuart, may I have a word with you?"
"Of course, Jordan. What is it?" Lucy asked.
Jordan sighed and took a moment to compose his thoughts. "This is very difficult for me, but I've made a decision."
"About what?" Lucy asked curiously.
"I've decided to offer my resignation."
"What?" Lucy asked in disbelief. This was the last thing she had been expecting. "You're quitting? But why?"
"I just feel that this arrangement isn't for the best."
"Why not?" Lucy insisted. This wasn't making any sense to her. "I thought everything has been going so well." When Jordan didn't respond, Lucy took a guess, "It has to do with Craig, doesn't it?"
Jordan was surprised by the question, but he hesitantly admitted the truth. "Yes, it does."
"But my engagement to Craig isn't going to change anything. We'll still need you around after we're married. Craig will be able to go back to his music again soon and he'll be busy with that. And I'm going to have so much to do with the wedding and social arrangements. I was counting on having your help." She paused, then added sadly, "I thought we worked together so well."
Jordan hesitated. Staying in this position went against all of his professional instincts. He knew nothing good could come from this situation if he kept this job. But then there was Lucy and he couldn't leave her when she needed him. "I'll stay on until the wedding," he offered as a compromise.
Lucy nodded and left it that, hoping he would change his mind.
When the front doorbell rang, Eileen jumped. Tonight was her date with Hector and she had to give him her answer to his proposal. She knew what her answer had to be, but she wasn't sure how Hector was going to take it. She took a deep breath before opening the door.
Hector greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and remarked on how nice she looked, but he didn't mention the proposal at all. When he didn't bring up the subject by the time they walked out to the car and it became clear that he wasn't going to, Eileen did it herself. She thought it would be better to get it out in the open, and hoped that would put an end to the issue once for all.
"I have my answer to your question."
"You do?" Hector said. He had been eager for her answer, but now he was almost certain that it would be no. "Wait, don't tell me," he said before she could speak again. "Look, I realize I was wrong for springing this on you so suddenly and pressuring you to give me an answer. So let's not worry about it tonight, ok?"
"Ok," Eileen said. She knew she should just tell him anyway and not lead him on, but the sudden change in Hector threw her off guard. "But can I ask, what brought this on?"
"I've just been thinking a lot about regrets. And that maybe I haven't always been the best person . . . but I'm trying to be better. It's just when I want something, I don't want to let anything get in my way. I've made some mistakes, but I don't want to do that with you. So the offer's still open. If you ever want to accept it, just let me know, ok? Until then I'll just assume the answer's no."
Eileen was amazed at Hector's sincerity. It was a side of him she had never seen before.
"So do you still want to go out tonight?" Hector asked.
Since the pressure of rejecting his proposal was off, Eileen felt more at ease and she agreed to go.
By the time they got to the restaurant, Eileen noticed that Hector had also returned to his usual confident, flirtatious self. As they enjoyed their dinner, Eileen was thinking over the situation and trying to make sense of it. She liked Hector. He was funny, he was romantic and affectionate, and so much fun to be with. But at the same time there was something about him that troubled her. She started to wonder why she didn't want to marry him. And what were these regrets and mistakes Hector had mentioned earlier?
Instead of trying to find out, Eileen decided to put her concerns aside and just enjoy the evening.
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