Chapter 49
Anna’s POV
I was in my pj’s and ready to crawl into bed when Jenna knocked on my bedroom door, opened
it, and walked right in. We didn’t stand on ceremony, expected to wait to be granted
admittance. No, we walked in, sat down and put our feet up. In this case, showed up with wine
and glasses.
“Hey, Anna. Today has been a real sh*tshow. What say we let our hair down, have some more
wine, and talk about our men?” The grin on her face, coupled with her wiggling her eyebrows
made me laugh.
“Our men? As in me and Bradley, you and Victor?” I remembered we hadn’t had our tell–all girl
talk yet. We settled in for what my grandmother referred to as a ‘good old chin–wag‘. “So, you
and Victor, eh? Do you like him?”
Jenna started to gush, something she never did about any of the guys she had dated in the
past. Her face lit up as she talked about him. “Anna, he is the nicest man I have ever met. We
clicked, ya know? He’s smart, loyal, humorous as all get out. He can hold a conversation! Do
you know how many men out there don’t know how to do that?”
“That’s a start,” I commented, watching her face which was still glowing. “Are you going to be
okay with staying at his place in Toronto, or would you prefer a guest room in the main house
with me?” As if I hadn’t already guessed which she would choose.
She blushed. “I’m quite sure I’ll be very comfortable in the guest house with Victor.” Her voice
was so low I could hardly hear her.
“Jenna, Jenna, Jenna,” I teased. “Are you a bit smitten with Victor? I mean, I certainly can see
why. He’s a sweetheart. I know you two just met last evening, but it’s easy to see he is
completely taken with you.”
“Do you think so? I hope so, because I have to admit, I really, really, really like him. A lot.” she
paused to take a drink of her wine, briefly lost in her thoughts. “He is so gentle and
understanding, too. Last night, well, we shared a bed. We snuggled, that was all. But it felt so
nice.” she sighed with the memory.
“Snuggled?” I questioned. Now that’s a man with restraint.
“Well, we had a bit of a make out session, but I wasn’t prepared to go all the way. So, we
snuggled.” She sounded a bit disappointed as she said this.
“Wow, that must have been hard,” I stated, imagining how awkward it would be at first.
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“You’re not wrong. It was very hard.” The slyness in her voice let me know she was aluding to
something other than how difficult it would be, laying in bed with someone you were extremely
attracted to and not doing anything about it. “Victor spent a long time in the shower this
morning.” Now she burst out into giggles.
“Oh my god, Jenna. That poor man. Morning wood and no one ready to light the fire.” I giggled right along with her.
“I didn’t say we didn’t light the fire. I decided to save water and shower with a friend.” Her eyes wide, she let that sink in. “Though I must say, I don’t think we saved any water by the time we
got clean.”
My mouth formed an ‘O‘ in surprise. “Jenna, you’re as bad as me! I couldn’t resist Bradley, either. And let me tell you, I am so very glad I couldn’t. He was worth the wait!”
The two of us drank and gossiped for the next little while, just enjoying relaxing after such a
stressful day. “It sounds like you and Victor won’t mind sharing the suite on the cruise ship
then.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure we shall enjoy every single minute of it. Do you have the info on the
cruise? I’d love to take a look at the website. We should be able to see the layout of the ship,
where our suites are located, and where all the public spaces are in relationship to our suites.”
Jenna’s excitement was contagious.
I grabbed my phone and opened the booking confirmation, which had a link to take me to the cruise line’s website. Pretty soon we were immersed in learning everything we could about the
ship, the ports of call, available tours, and ships entertainment. We also looked at the layout
of our suites, excited for our upcoming adventure.
That is until Jenna spotted something I had overlooked. “Anna, the cruise is actually a thirty–five day cruise, not a thirty day one. That’s going to be a problem for me.”
“Dear heavens, you’re right. Why did I have a thirty day cruise in my mind? Why is it a problem?” I was upset with myself for the error I had made.
“I’m supposed to start my new job the day the cruise ship returns to San Diego. Crap. I was
also supposed to meet with the HR department to sign my employment contract. Crap, crap,
crap.”
“Do you think they would be willing to delay your start date for a week?” I asked, knowing that
when I had wanted a talented designer at Fredericks Design Co, I had did just that when there
was a scheduling conflict.
“No, I had already talked to them about that very thing as I had originally thought I would do a
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cross–Canada trip before I settled into my new job. They’re not very flexible at all. I’ve been
questioning my decision about taking the job because the HR manager is not very
accommodating even though I’ve been with the company and have proven myself. Since I
accepted the job, I’ve heard through the company grapevine the reason the salary and benefits
offer to me is so good is because the direct supervisor is a tyrant.”
“Well, that sucks. Maybe you should look for a different job.” I suggested, and idea forming in
my mind. “With your education, your work experience, and work ethic, you shouldn’t have a problem working for another company.”
“I’ve been looking, but none of them match the salary and benefits offer I’ve already received.
I’d be working in top level management and those jobs don’t come up very often. Especially for
someone my age.”
“What if someone who owns a conglomerate, who needs a PA, offered to match the salary and
benefits offer? You would get to travel with that person, all over the world, I know someone
who is just recently looking for a PA.” I tried to stay cool as I mentioned this to Jenna.
“Really? Do you think they would be willing to interview me? I wonder if they would be flexible
with the start date? Is the person easy to work with? Would you recommend me?” The
excitement sparkled in her eyes at the thought of this job. “Where would it be located though?
That could prove to be an issue.”
“Jenna, I am positive they would interview you, as well as be flexible on the start date. I know
the person really well, and I think they are great to work with. The position is in Toronto, so
that would work for you, right? Now, to be on the safe side, I reached for the notepad and pen
on the end table beside the loveseat, “can you write down the salary you’ve been offered, as
well as the benefits? I want to make sure it’s within the salary range being considered by the company I’m talking about.”
I passed the notepad and pen to Jenna, then excused myself to the bathroom, I had to pee so
bad my back teeth were floating and using my tongue as a diving board. Relief at emptying
the pool had never felt so good!
I dawdled a bit, giving Jenna enough time to write everything down. I knew her current offer
had to be extremely generous considering she didn’t walk away once she heard the rumors.
She wasn’t one that would willingly work in a toxic workplace environment.
Once seated again, I picked up the note pad that now bore the details of the employment
compensation offfer from her current compay. I was right, it was an amazing offer. However,
the company, nay, the CEO/owner to the company I’m referring to has unlimited funds. Deep pockets on someone willing to pay a person what they are worth is a rareity. But this person
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was more than happy to pay well.
“Give me a couple of minutes, I’m going to email right now. I know this person will still be up, probably visiting with friends.” My fingers flew across the keyboard on my phone’s email app. When I was satisfied with what I had to say, I hit send. I smiled to myself as I imagined the receipent’s reaction to the email.
I waited for a response, and it was a sight to behold.
