THREE.
A month later.
It had been a month since Rose started working for the Hockleys and her tryout period was finishing today. Later that afternoon, she would be informed if she kept her job or not. If she was being honest, she thought she was doing a good job and even the rest of the help said so. In the end, it would remain Eleanor Hockley's decision. Hopefully, her husband could speak to her in Rose's favor. After all, he was being nice to her and always insisted that she was the one assigned to him. She was his favorite, he told her so.
Almost every night, after her dinner chores were done, he would invite her in his study and teach her to play poker. He had mentioned it once and she was intrigued. Since then, it was common occurrence that they spent an hour or two in the room. He would often flirt with her and sometimes, Rose flirted back. He was always a gentleman though and never made unwanted remarks or touched her in a way he wasn't supposed to. It was not because he wasn't dying to but because he would do this the right way.
He drove her home every night, refusing to let her walk home at such a tardive hour. If he could not be there for dinner, he made sure somebody brought her back to her apartment safely.
"Mr. Hockley would like to see you in his study, Miss Rose," Agnes told her as she entered the kitchen where Rose was cleaning the dishes. "I will finish the dishes. It is important that you go straight away."
"Oh. Okay," Rose said with a small frown before going to the room where she spent more time than she was supposed to.
She knocked on the door and his voice invited her in. Her hand rested on the doorknob as she tried to calm her racing heartbeat. Just the sound of his voice sent butterflies to her stomach. It was overbearing but also warm at the same time. At least that's what he sounded like when other people could hear. With her, he sounded nothing but sweet. With her, he took his shell off every time.
When she walked in, she saw that Mrs. Hockley was seated in the room as well. Rose lost her smile at the sight of her but she hoped it was not that obvious. She didn't like Eleanor Hockley at all. She didn't like how she treated her. She was fake and cold and yet she was the one who had the one thing she wanted the most. The more she realized she couldn't have Caledon Hockley, the more she wanted him. It was something she was not controlling, just like the dreams she had about him once in a while.
"Take a seat," Eleanor told her when she simply stood there, waiting.
Rose did as she was told and sat across the desk, next to Mrs. Hockley, while Caledon was on the other side. He smiled at her while his wife was looking down at some papers and Rose smiled back, her heart starting to pound in her chest again. He looked down at her lips, making her blush.
"After gathering comments from the rest of the staff and keeping an eye on you these past few weeks, we decided that you could keep working here. If this is what you want, of course," the blonde said, her face announcing a different story.
If Rose didn't like Mrs. Hockley, the feeling was mutual. First of all, she thought her husband was too soft with her. She felt threatened by the young lady for the simple reason that she was younger than her. Her body was still firm and pure and soft.
"I would be delighted to," Rose answered, accepting the offer. "Thank you ever so much."
"You may go now," she simply said, her voice filled with disdain and impatience.
Rose stood up and threw a last glance at Cal before walking out of the room, closing the door behind her. She exhaled, realizing she had held her breath the whole time. She still had a job. She had passed the test. A second later, the door opened and Eleanor walked past her without a glance. She turned around, hoping to see Caledon one last time before leaving in a taxi. He was right there and she bumped into him, the smell of his aftershave filling her nose and making her weak in the knees.
"If you are ready to go, I can drive you tonight," he whispered in the dim light of the hallway.
"I will get my things and meet you outside?" she said, her voice betraying how nervous she was that he stood so close to her.
In the car, there was a tension that had never been there before. Before they joined her neighborhood, her mind had been racing about how she felt in that moment and what it meant. It was all about a mutual attraction, she realized. She looked at his hands on the steering wheel and imagined how it would feel to have them all over her. Touching her. She blushed profusely, her cheeks warm.
"I wanted you to know," he began as he stopped in front of her building. "I am leaving tomorrow. I have to go to Philadelphia for business purposes. I arranged for my driver to take you home every night while I am away."
"Oh. Okay," she said with a nod, disappointment audible in her voice.
"I shall miss you while I'm there," he confessed with a nervous chuckle. "But I will be back in a week and we can continue the poker lessons then."
By this time, they both knew their evening meetings were much more than just for poker. Rose felt good when she was with him and she quickly became addicted to that feeling. She wanted to be with him all the time. Cal was a bit confused when he realized what was going on inside of him every time he was in her company.
Caledon looked around and saw an empty street. Rose wished him safe travels and Cal leaned forward slowly before taking her lips with his. She closed her eyes, a small frown on her face, and a whimper escaped her mouth as she started to kiss him back. At first, he thought she would push him away but the sound she made turned out to be her way of saying that she had been waiting for this for a long time and that she was relieved it was finally happening. Cal put his hand on her waist, his thumb caressing her stomach over her dress. Her breaths were ragged and they both could feel the sexual tension continue to rise. He pulled away and looked at her, trying to control his urge. Her eyes were still closed and her mouth slightly opened, her face pleading for him to kiss her again. Instead, he pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and smiled softly when she opened her eyes.
"Goodnight, sweet Rose," he whispered, his lips resting on her forehead.
She got out of the car without saying anything and climbed the steps to her building without looking back at him. Once she was safely inside, Cal closed his eyes and cursed to himself.
Her eyes were filled with tears once she reached the top of the stairs leading to the apartment she shared with Jack. She sniffled and swallowed her tears. She exhaled loudly then walked inside.
"Jack?" she asked when she didn't see him in the kitchen but only silence came back. "Jack?" she tried again, walking to the living room.
He wasn't here. She ran to the window and looked down at the street. Caledon's car was just leaving and she spotted a silhouette on the sidewalk. It was Jack. She could recognize him even in the dark. She wondered if he had been there long enough to see them kissing or if he had talked to him after she was gone. She truly hoped he didn't because it would be really embarrassing if he dared treat her like a child in front of a man. A man she liked, most importantly. Cal was fourteen years her senior and she liked that because it meant he had more wisdom and experience than she did.
She heard footsteps in the hall and Jack walked in the apartment. He was still wearing his work clothes. If he had seen anything outside, he did not mention it.
"How was your day?" he asked. "Do you still have your position?"
"Yes," she replied with a small nod before turning to go to the bathroom.
"Rose?"
"What?" she said, looking at him.
"Be careful," he told her. "I know that no matter what I say, you will do as you please but just be careful because you're playing a very dangerous game," he continued, confirming her doubts that he had seen her and Cal kiss in the car.
"I'm old enough to know what I'm doing," she told him. "I'm a big girl, Jack. I don't need you to look after me."
"If you say so," he said softly.
He looked at her walk away and lock herself in the bathroom. He sighed, hoping he could take her away from the grip of this man. This Hockley man, as rich as he may be, didn't deserve a wonderful girl - woman - like Rose. Jack would not stand there and watch as he made her fall in love with him then throw her away as soon as he'd gotten what he wanted. Rose was a gorgeous and intelligent young woman but she was also naive which made her an easy target. If he had to send her back to Wisconsin for her to understand, he would do it.
