Chapter 7 Where It Got Tricky
WHERE IT GOT TRICKY
“Mom, I think I’m nuts. I have to be. I mean certifiably crazy.”
She did not just get a job with the man she had a one-night stand with.
Who offered her more than double the salary of her last job.
Yes, she knew she’d make more being in a bigger city, even with the responsibility of the position. But over double?! Then with quarterly bonuses tacked on.
She had to be dreaming.
“Take a deep breath and tell me what is going on,” her mother said.
“You know I had an interview scheduled yesterday,” she said. “Well, after it was done, I went to see Dad.”
“Did he give you a hard time about it?”
“We’ll get to that in a minute. But I got to his office, he’s in a meeting and I gave him ten minutes. Right when I was standing to leave, he came out and brought several people with him to introduce me.”
“Wow. He’s never done that before. That’s nice, in his way.”
Just her mother reminding her that her father never thought she was good enough to introduce to any of his friends or coworkers, let alone bosses.
She’d never been smart enough, pretty enough, friendly enough.
Guess all he cared about was her appearance.
“If you say so. Of course Dad had to comment on me looking for a job and Mitchell Bond asked what I did or was looking for. Next thing I know, they say Ethan Bond needs an assistant.”
“That’s wonderful... or isn’t it?”
And this was where it got tricky.
She could be honest with her mother. The one who encouraged her through her transformation.
Had been in her corner rooting her on rather than guilting her.
Rather than telling her she was a failure when she got tired of counting calories or getting up at the crack of dawn to go for a walk.
Because she had to walk before she could run.
Nope, her mother gently told her that everyone needs a break, then a reset. That was the communication and support she’d needed in her life. Telling her it was okay to make a mistake and just try again.
Not beating her over the head with every little failure. Every little misstep or decision that didn’t agree with someone else.
“There are a couple of reasons it’s not so wonderful. First, Ethan is kind of Dad’s boss though Dad won’t admit it.”
“He never would or could. It’d drive him nuts that someone who could be his child’s age was now telling him what to do.”
“He needs to get over that. He’s probably going to retire in a few years, at least I think so. Most are younger than him.”
“You wouldn’t have any exposure to your father, right? Working for him or taking orders? Nothing like that, because if that was the case, I’d definitely tell you to not take it. You’re there to work on your relationship, not set it up for more strife.”
“Exactly. And no, I wouldn’t have anything to do with Dad. Would I have to talk to his assistant now and again? Sure, that could come up. Is everyone going to know I’m Norris Jones’s daughter? It will make the rounds at some point even with the common last name.”
“And that is bothering you I’m sure. I’m willing to lay money down that your father isn’t so well liked.”
She snorted. “I doubt he is. And will people think the same of me? Will they gossip about him to me? I don’t want any of that. I just want to be treated as a new employee with no ties to someone else.”
“Make that clear. It might be hard for you. I understand that more than most.”
“I can do it,” she said firmly. “I’ve done it before at my other jobs. I’m very skilled at telling people I’m there for a job and nothing else. After a few times they walk away.”
She might get a reputation of being a bitch or uptight, but she’d learned to ignore that.
“I’m glad you’ve got a thick skin there. It will come in handy.”
“I wish I had been born with a thick skin. Then I wouldn’t have been bothered so much when I was younger. But learning later is better than never.”
Her mother sighed. “I’m sorry you have to deal with it at all. I should have protected you more.”
“Mom, you did everything you could. You left him, I can’t.”
Which didn’t explain why she had come here.
Because her father had never taken a step like this with her in the past.
He never reached out to see how she was doing. To ask if she was lonely. To offer a chance for them to reconnect on another level.
She felt it was sincere and what was holding her in Vermont? A job she didn’t like? Close friends that had moved on with their lives? A boyfriend that didn’t exist and there were slim pickings around?
Yeah, this was just another step in recreating Nora Jones in her mind.
“You can,” her mother said. “Or you can limit your interactions, but I know deep down there is a part of you that wished things had been different.”
“Who wouldn’t think that with their parents? It’s not as if he was absent completely. We might not have seen each other in years, but we texted or talked a few times a month.”
Was she the one who reached out first? Mostly.
Did her father frustrate her with at least half the calls? A big old yes there too.
But he was her father, and the call he’d made months ago when her mother had moved out of the blue affected her. His voice wasn’t as strong. It wasn’t as authoritative.
No, it was riding the edge of nurturing. Definitely something she’d never heard before.
She felt he cared. That he was concerned for her. Maybe he wasn’t going to be the person she always dreamed of, but if he was going to try, then so could she.
“As long as you went in with your eyes open.”
“If they opened any more they’d cover half my face.”
“Then if that is the biggest problem with this job, it seems to me you could handle it. Or don’t you want to do it? Being the assistant to someone like Ethan Bond isn’t like being a secretary, right?”
“No. It’s really more like a personal project manager,” she said, laughing. “At least from the way things were described. The job itself sounds extremely challenging, but exciting at the same time. I know I can do it. I need something to dig into also.”
“Because you get bored easily. I know that. Your father thought you were a quitter, or that you lost focus. He didn’t understand that your brain needed to expand. That you wanted to continue to learn and have a career, not a job.”
Her mother always understood her best.
“Yes. I can see all of that here.”
“I’m assuming the pay has to be good.”
She snorted. “More than double my last job plus bonuses. No complaints there.”
“It will be a lot of work and time. But you’ve never shied away from that.”
“I had that conversation with him. I’m good with it.”
“Then what is the problem?” her mother asked. “Or did you just need to get it off your chest and bounce your doubts to me?”
Nora inhaled as much of the air in the room as she could, then blurted out, “I slept with Ethan a few weeks ago.”
“What? Let me clean my ears. I think you just said you slept with Ethan? Ethan Bond, your new boss? Who obviously was aware you had sex and now just hired you?”
She burst out laughing. She didn’t know why that was so funny. “Oh, he was aware that night. Me too. He struck up a conversation with me in the casino's bar. I went there the night before I saw Dad. I recognized him.”
“Did he know who you were?” her mother asked slowly, as if it was all processing in her mind.
“I thought he recognized me, but that was silly. Why would he? So no. I gave my first name only... then I snuck out on him before he woke up.”
“Nora!”
“I know. You’re ashamed. I get it. I didn’t want to admit this to anyone. And if he didn’t just hire me, then I never would have.”
“Now I need to back up. When you went to see your father, he knew then who you were, correct?”
“He did. He played it off well as if we were just meeting again from her childhood. I would have gone on my way, but his assistant, who is moving, pulled me in for an interview before I could get my feet under me to say no. It’s not like I could give a reason not to, not with Dad there.
I just thought, even if it goes well, Ethan will put a stop to it and we’ll move on. ”
“But that didn’t happen?”
“Obviously not,” she mumbled.
“You met with him?”
“Today. I didn’t expect he’d want to interview me, but when I had lunch with Dad yesterday, I got the call. I thought for sure it had more to do with me disappearing than the job.”
“I’m proud of you for going, thinking that. Dealing with it head on.”
“I knew I couldn’t live with knowing I had done that. First slept with him, but I got lost in the moment. Are you disappointed in me?”
“Absolutely not, Nora. You’re an adult capable of making your own decisions and living with the consequences. I know you’ve had a few hard years with men. Maybe you just wanted to be someone else for a night, but your reasons are yours.”
“Thanks, Mom. I mean that. It was really that more than anything. I got caught up in someone like him hitting on me. We were chatting and it was so fun and natural. He joked about going to his room and when I went to say no, yes slipped out.”
Her mother laughed. “I won’t say good for you, because that might make me a terrible mom.”
“Or a good supportive one. You know it’s not me.”
“It’s not. Moving on. I’m assuming everything worked out since he offered you the job, and now it all makes sense why you think you’re nuts. How are you going to navigate all of that?”
“We agreed to put it behind us. I believe him when he says he’s moving on and will be respectful to me about it. The job is too good of an opportunity to pass up.”
If she told herself that enough, she’d believe it.
That maybe there wasn’t a tiny part of her that still couldn’t believe a man like him wanted someone like her.
Even if for one night.
But that was all it could ever be.