Chapter 7 #2
“Jordan owns Holmes Construction and Architecture, and he thinks I should go for an engineering or architectural degree,” she said at the teacher’s confused expression. “I currently am the office manager.”
“Office savior is more like it,” he countered. “Before Mel started working for me the place was in chaos. Now I don’t have time to blink before finding the right file and she has a knack for getting the perfect ad out to draw in more customers.”
“So your work study is with Jordan? Mel that could be considered a breach of the program.”
“Because you believe I would fluff the reports? We’d be willing to have someone come sit with us for a day or two and you can see that my statements of her are nowhere near exaggerations,” Jordan said calmly.
“That might be best, then no one, such as Miss Augustan, can argue when you pull out the top spot,” Ms. Simmons stated.
“Of course, you all have the address and I’m there every afternoon and on Saturdays,” she said knowing when to pick her battles. “I’ll see you Monday.”
“Enjoy your weekend Melinda; it was nice to meet you Mister…”
“Turner, Jordan Turner,” he replied. “I use Holmes for business purposes.”
“So are you going by Taube still or should we be changing the records?” Ms. Simmons inquired.
“The official record will show Turner, I’m using Holmes for the office since Jordan is and as far as everyone here’s concerned it’s Taube. I guess you could say I have as many aliases as I do secrets,” she stated with a small laugh.
“It appears you do,” she agreed as they left.
“Sorry, I know you wanted to keep things quiet,” Jordan said after they’d gotten home.
“I don’t care if she knows and it’s better that it comes out now to the faculty and they head off the complaints of unfairness before they form. I think it’ll just be interesting to see one of my teachers in the office.”
“And if the others ask about me? Why I laid down a thousand dollars on a single shot?”
“I’ll just tell them my boyfriend is my biggest fan,” she answered grinning up at him as they unlocked the door.
“But I’m not your boyfriend Mel.”
“I know but I think I’ll keep the husband card in my back pocket for a bit still. After all, it could come in quite handy,” she teased kissing his cheek. “So what do you want for dinner? We could cook the steaks we picked up.”
“Or we could go out, here in town since everyone’s seen us together. Unless you want to hide me away,” he said coming up behind her as she looked in the fridge. He pulled her into his arms and her heart fluttered as she tried to control her feelings.
She desperately wanted to turn around and wrap her arms around his neck, but he’d said they’d keep things friendly and the way she wanted to kiss him was anything but friendly. “I think that would be the other way around Jordan. Shouldn’t you be the one trying to hide me away?”
“Never…why hide something as beautiful as you,” he questioned turning her around to face him. “Mel…”
“What are we doing?” she asked as he stared at her.
“I don’t know,” he took a step back and let out a sigh. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have teased you about it. What do you say we head over to that Mexican place you like?”
“Sure,” she agreed grabbing her bag as they headed to the car. “Jordan…”
“What Mel?” he asked taking her hand.
“Nothing…just thanks for today,” she told him.
What was the point in admitting what she was feeling?
He liked joking around with her, but he didn’t want her the way she wanted him to, and he was never going to love her.
She was simply someone he wanted to help and in return she helped him.
That was it, nothing else, and that made her feel like crying.
∞∞∞
“Melinda, could I speak to you after class for a moment?” Ms. Simmons asked Thursday.
“Sure,” she said hanging back shooing Tate away. “Everything okay?”
“Yes, I just wanted to let you know that Mr. Grasse will be stopping in next Thursday and I will be in to observe on Friday if that won’t disturb you.”
“It’s fine but Friday’s payday and right now I go to the sites to drop off the physical checks for the ones that prefer that versus direct deposit. It usually takes about an hour or so to get around to the different ones and well…”
“What is it Melinda?”
“You’re welcome to come along with me, I just think I should warn you that the guys can be a bit…
vocal. They’re great workers and really they’re pretty good guys but they like to joke around a bit.
They’ve calmed down since I’ve been there for almost a year and especially since Jordan and I got married but… ”
“They’re still men? I understand,” she said before adding, “Can I ask you a personal question?”
“About Jordan?” she guessed seeing her teacher’s expression and the questions in her eyes.
“Yes, I get young love I see it all day long around here, but most don’t go so far as to get married.”
“So why did Jordan and I? The truth is I was pretending to be older when I first started my internship work-study program, and I met Jordan at a meeting. He offered me a job and a date in the same breath. I took him up on the job aware that the age difference could be a bit much if it came out but it seemed it didn’t matter.
When we’re together it’s not about how old we are or young we are.
He’s become my other best friend, and he knows me as well as Tate.
He didn’t find out the truth until he asked me to marry him that I was only seventeen. ”
“Why lie?” Ms. Simmons asked.
“Because I was protecting myself; he didn’t know I was in high school and I couldn’t let anyone find out the truth.”
“What truth Melinda?”
“That my mom ran out on me the night before I turned fifteen,” she said looking up at the woman who was staring at her in shock.
“Who have you been living with?”
“Myself…I convinced Tate to not say anything because I wouldn’t have made it in the system. You’ve seen how the guys around here treat me, about eight months before she left I was waiting for the bus and a junior grabbed me, if Tate hadn’t come by and hit him with his hockey stick…”
“Why didn’t you say anything Melinda?” her teacher questioned, reaching out to rest a hand on her arm.
“I’ve always had to rely on myself. The only person I could trust was Tate and his dad but if we told him he would have said something trying to help but, in the meantime…”
“You would have potentially been put into foster care, and you were already much older looking than you really are.”
“Yeah, I kept the apartment pretending that she was at work or in the next room. I relied on Tate and his dad to fix things because he would without asking where my mom was. If she wasn’t around for a couple days, it wasn’t anything new, so I just pretended she was still there.
At first Tate and I would go around the bars in the city hustling to make enough money for rent, electricity, or food, and then we fooled the wrong person and they were furious. ”
Ms. Simmons nodded giving her a smile, “And you stopped and applied for the internship program?”
“Yeah, I already had a job working for Henry Tracks and I discovered I was good at what I did, enough to fool people into thinking I was almost twenty even though I was still fifteen. I started two days after my freshman year was over and was there up until my birthday last year. That’s when I met Jordan. ”
“And he thought you were twenty?”
“Twenty-one, when I told him the truth he was taken aback didn’t speak to me or come into the office while I was there for a week,” she said using part of the truth, so it’d be more reasonable. “He told me it didn’t matter he still felt the same way and that he still wanted to marry me.”
“But how? If your mom left you couldn’t get married without parental consent.”
“Jordan found her, convinced her that the best thing she could do was let me decide and I love him. I know people might question that, but I do,” she said, smiling at being able to admit it to someone that wouldn’t use the knowledge against her or tease her about it as Tate would.
“I may only be seventeen but I’m so much older than that in my head and in my heart. ”
“I can see that. Melinda what you’ve accomplished…
no one your age should have to face that alone and the way you’ve handled it, though deceitful, you never gave up, never sunk to taking the easy way out,” her teacher said comforting her.
“The times Stephanie has gone after you…I wouldn’t have been able to hold it in. ”
“I probably wouldn’t have if I didn’t have Tate and now Jordan and his family.
They know the truth, and they welcomed me with open arms. His father asked if he was trying to follow in his footsteps without realizing it.
Ford married Gabrielle when she was seventeen and he created his company with her by his side. ”
“Ford and Gabrielle…Turner,” Ms. Simmons said as recognition and surprise spread across her face. “Turner Incorporated and Turner Media CEO, Ford Turner?”
“Yeah I know. I went from barely keeping my head above water to falling in love with the son of the biggest business mogul in the country, but I didn’t know it. Holmes is Gabrielle’s maiden name.”
“And he uses it for business because he wants to succeed on his own. Well, it seems you’ve landed quite well, and I’ve noticed a huge change in you this year.
I thought at first it was because you were finally a senior, but I can see now that it’s Jordan.
I’ll let Mr. Grasse know about Thursday and don’t worry Melinda, I’ll keep your confidences safe.
No one will find out about your mother or Jordan from me. ”
“Thanks Ms. Simmons, I should get to class.”
“Yes, here’s a note to excuse your tardiness and Melinda, if you ever need someone to talk to my door’s always open.”
“Thanks Ms. Simmons, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said opening the door.
She couldn’t believe how much better she felt having told someone else about it and not having to fear their reactions would endanger her possibilities.
She slid into the classroom handing her teacher the note ignoring Tate’s curious glances her way.
“Alright what was that all about?” Tate asked when they hit the hallway afterwards.
“Ms. Simmons wanted to let me know when she and Mr. Grasse were going to be doing their evaluations.”
“So they both know about you and Jordan?”
“Yes, they know; in fact, I told Ms. Simmons the truth about my mother.”
“Does this mean you’re going to stop hiding that rockin’ ring?” he asked nodding towards her bag.
“No, I don’t want it getting lost or worse, now come on let’s get to gym before we’re forced to run laps,” she suggested pulling him towards the locker rooms.
“Why are we forced to take this class again?” Tate asked as she put her bag on the bleachers and slid the wedding band off putting it in with her other.
“Because they’re cruel and evil and we forgot to include it before now,” she grinned at him as she put the ring box in her bag and zipped it.
“It’s torture for sure,” he agreed.