TWO.

Rose's first day at the Hockleys' was stressful. The head maid, Agnes, had walked her through the house and listed all the tasks she had to complete. If she broke or ruined something, it would come out of her salary. She had to wear the unflattering uniform during her working hours. She was mostly assigned cleaning duties and was under the direct orders of the master of the house. She had not even met him yet and she was working for him. The way the rest of the staff spoke of him, she was terrified at the idea of meeting him. He sounded rude, bitter and unpleasant, the kind of man that could never be satisfied no matter what you did. Rose worked with Agnes, following her around the mansion and as she instructed each and every task, sometimes scolding her apprentice if she did something wrong. Rose was nervous and it showed. Her hands were shaking every time Agnes spoke firmly to her and she knew she'd have to toughen up if she wanted to survive the job. What would happen if Mr. or Mrs. Hockley got angry with her?

"Most important of all, Miss Rose, you must never talk back," Agnes said. "Understood?"

Rose nodded nervously and looked down. At five, she heard the front door being slammed shut and she jumped at the sound, trying to concentrate on her task of setting the table for dinner. From the corner of her eye, she saw a dark-haired man walk past the room and then another door was closed. It came from the direction of the room where she's had her interview the week before and she figured it was Mr. Hockley coming home from work. He had to be in a bad mood to slam the doors this way. She glanced at Dorothy and she shook her head, trying to reassure her that it was a common thing and that she shouldn't let herself be upset over it. The head maid appeared in the doorway a few minutes later and announced Rose that Mr. Hockley wished to see her in his office. Rose swallowed nervously but followed the woman anyway. She knocked softly on the door and a deep voice barked at her to come in. She slowly pushed the door open and walked inside. She looked at him but he was looking down at some papers on his desk.

"So I heard you're the new girl?" he asked, his eyes glancing up before going back to his papers.

"Yes, sir," Rose replied and his eyes shot up at the sweet sound of her voice.

He was staring. Never before had he laid eyes on such a beautiful creature. Red fiery hair, rebel curls coming out of her messy burn, eyes that made emeralds look bland and fair porcelain skin. While most women had decided to wear their hair short, she had chosen to keep them long. He noticed she had beautiful hands and he could tell her figure would be flattering in different clothing. The girl looked down at his stare, feeling uncomfortable. The man was attractive but he also had that smug allure she had always despised so much. He got up and walked in her direction, sending her heart beating extremely fast inside her chest. She was terrified but she also felt something else. A feeling she couldn't identify at that precise moment. He smiled at her, his arrogance going away to show a kind face, and she surprised herself when she smiled back.

"I'm Caledon Hockley," he said. "And you are?"

"Rose Dewitt Bukater," she stammered.

"Such a pretty name," he said, a side smile appearing on his face as he stared down at her. "I like to drink a glass of whiskey when I come home from work," he added after a minute.

"Yes absolutely. It shall be ready in a moment, Sir," Rose said as she walked to the bar.

Cal stared at her backside while she filled a glass with whiskey and ice, her hands shaking discretely. He could imagine the curve at the small of her back, how her skin would be pale and soft, and the delicate hollow between her shoulder blades when her arms moved. He had always thought the back of a woman was the most erotic part of her body. Suddenly, he was taken away from his thoughts when she turned around, a smile on her face, and brought him his drink of choice. He grazed her hand on purpose as he took the glass from her and she blushed, looking away.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Rose asked.

Plenty, Cal thought but instead he said: "No, this will be all."

After cleaning up the kitchen when the Hockleys were done, Rose got ready to leave. Most of the staff lived in a separate building on the estate but Rose insisted that she kept living in her apartment downtown. She was walking down the driveway when a black car stopped next to her. The window rolled down and she saw Mr. Hockley looking at her. She was surprised to see him there. When she left a couple of minutes ago, he had shut himself into his den again and she did not have time to wish him a good evening before she departed.

"Are you going to walk all the way to your place?" he asked. "It's dark outside," he stated the obvious.

"Well, yes," Rose answered.

"Jump in, I'll give you a ride."

"Oh no," she said quickly. "You don't have to do that, I can walk."

"Nonsense," he chuckled. "I have to go out anyway, I forgot something at the office."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Besides, I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving you outside on such a dark night."

She climbed in the passenger seat and Cal drove away, asking where he should drop her off. They talked the entire drive and Rose felt at ease. She couldn't understand what the staff had meant when they said he wasn't nice or polite. He was a perfect gentleman to her. He asked questions about her life and listened intently to her answers, something she had rarely seen from men except from Jack.

Jack had been her confident for everything since forever. He knew everything about her and she didn't have any secrets he didn't know. He had told her about the girls he liked all through high school and even though she never had crush on boys, he heard about every girl's drama she had gone through. Boys at school had asked her out on dates but she never went. She wanted the real thing. She wanted love at first sight and so far, no one had made her feel like that. Not until tonight, at least. In contrast to her best friend, she had never lain with anybody and the only kiss she's had was with Jack, when she was thirteen years old, because she asked him to show her how. It had been gross and she didn't like it at all but it was only because it came from Jack, which she considered a brother more than anything else.

"Thank you, Mr. Hockley," Rose said when he stopped in front of her building.

"Oh please, you can call me Cal when you're not working. That's what all my friends call me," he said with a smile.

"Okay," she whispered. "I'll see you tomorrow then?" she continued, getting out of the car.

"Of course. Goodnight," he said as she climbed the steps to the front door.

He waited until she was safely inside the building and drove away. In front of the apartment door, she stood there in silence, not ready to go inside just yet. She put her hand down on her chest and could feel her heart pounding. She felt all tingly inside, something still unknown to her and it was strange. Not unpleasant though. She could feel herself smiling and she sighed almost dreamily. She came out of it when the door flew open and Jack peeked out.

"What are you doing all alone out there in the dark?" he asked with a laugh.

"You scared me!" she said, her hand slapping his shoulder.

"Sorry," he apologized before wrapping his arms around her shoulders and bringing her inside. "How was your first day?"

"Good, I think. Overwhelming," she replied.

"I made some sandwiches if you're hungry."

"Starving," she said, suddenly remembering she had not eaten since breakfast. "Thanks."

"So? Tell me everything!"

Rose told him about the rest of the staff and how much work it was to keep that immense home clean and in order. She told him that Mrs. Hockley was a cold woman even though she was pretty and how she was a bit scared of her. She didn't mention her husband by fear of turning bright red in front of Jack. When he asked about him, she simply said that he was nice and that he even drove her home afterwards.

"Is that why you were daydreaming in the hallway?" he asked her.

"He's charming, that's all."

"He's married, too."

"What are you insinuating exactly?"

"Men like him like to lure pretty girls like you in their bed, that's all I'm saying."

"Do you think I'd let him do that? You think I'm easy like that?" she accused him, offended by his assumptions.

"I just don't want you to get hurt, Rose," he said. "I promised your mother I'd take care of you, remember?"

"Well I'm not five anymore, Jack!"

"I know that! Why are you being so defensive?"

"I'm tired of being treated like a child. By you or anyone else!"

She was angry with him and he wasn't sure if he understood what was going on. Did something happen to her over there today? Maybe she didn't want him to know but as far as he could remember, Rose had never kept anything from him, no matter how bad it was. It was the first time in his life that he felt clueless about his best friend.

"I'm sorry for saying that, okay? I just... I know how this thing – you know, love, intimacy – is important to you and I don't want you to make a mistake."

"I'm not going to sleep with my employer if that's what you're so worried about."

"But you fancy him, I can tell," Jack said, trying to hide his blossoming feelings about her. "Be careful, okay?" he warned her, his tone soft.

"I will. Can we please talk about something else now?" she asked, still pissed off at his remarks.

Jack hugged her and she didn't push him away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his middle, sending a bunch of butterflies flying around in his stomach. He'd never felt like that when she hugged him before. Everything he was experiencing right now had begun when they moved to another state together. Maybe it was the California air but Rose was prettier than she'd ever been. She was a woman now, not just the awkward and plain Wisconsin girl he grew up with. She may have worked all day but she still smelled of vanilla and peaches. That new soap fragrance of hers rapidly became his favorite and the smell would lull him into sleep every night as she slept close enough for him to catch drifts of it in the ambient air of the room.

Rose pulled away from their embrace and suggested they played cards for the rest of the night. Jack agreed, abandoning the sketch he had started working on shortly before she arrived. She won every single game, oblivious to the fact that Jack was letting her win. They went to bed around ten o'clock, Rose fell asleep in a matter of seconds while Jack simply stared at her backside from the couch where he was lying down. He could feel – he knew – that Rose didn't share the same feelings for him as he did for her and he wondered if the two of them together could happen someday. He was too scared to share his feelings to her yet and maybe he never would, especially if she was to react the same way she did earlier. He didn't want to lose her. If he couldn't have her romantically, he still wanted to keep her as a friend because the truth was that he couldn't live without her. Not after all this time.

Jack knew Rose long enough to say that what she tried to dodge during their fight was more than she cared to admit, even to herself. After all, he was doing the same exact thing with her. What he also knew though, was that this man wouldn't share her feelings and that she'd probably end up heartbroken and that he'd be the one to pick up the pieces. He couldn't just stand there doing nothing and watch it happen. Rich business men didn't fall in love with young country girls like Rose. Rich business men slept with young country girls and threw them out like trash afterwards. Once he'd get what he wanted, Rose would be discarded and most likely without a job.

R&R please, I'd like to know what you think of this story and if I should keep writing it. N.