Safe Word: Rosé

Chapter 4

Narrator- 

Cara stared blankly at the person who knocked on her door. Jason looked back with a similar, uninterested gaze. His hands were in his pockets. He wore a simple dress shirt and jeans. His dark hair was gelled and yet fell into it's natural curls and part that hung over his right eyebrow. 

"Good afternoon." Jason greeted casually. 

Cara didn't respond. She didn't waste time in figuring out how he knew her home address, he himself said he came by yesterday after her father was taken to the hospital. 

"Can I come in?" Jason asked, then he reached to his back pocket and pulled out a folded packet of four stapled papers. 

He waved the folded packet next to his head and added, "I'd like to get down to business as soon as possible." 

"I just buried my father." Cara said with a croaked tone, though she couldn't ignore the disbelief that exploded in her chest. 

"And my deepest condolences." Jason replied, placing a hand on his chest. 

Cara kept her face void of any emotion. If Jason was truly sorry, then he wouldn't be standing at her door asking to get down to business. And yet here he was. Cara almost wanted to blame Jason for her father passing away. His visit to the hospital room upset her father, and she could only imagine that this was the stressor which led to his final and deadly stroke. But nonetheless, Cara wasn't one to point fingers. She simply wanted to lay her father to rest, in peace, but apparently Jason had different plans. 

When Jason noticed that that Cara was indifferent to his performance, he continued, "Shall we get down to business then?"

Jason didn't wait for Cara to step aside or invite him in. He entered on his own will, forcing Cara to step back in order to keep the distance between them. Jason walked into the small corridor and made his way to the living area, as if he owned the place. And in a way, he did. Jason took a seat on the beige loveseat facing the TV stand across the room. In between the two pieces of furniture was a glass table. Next to the Loveseat was an imprint on the carpet which marked where Joe's armchair once sat. 

Cara closed the door mutely. She followed Jason's path but walked directly to the small guest bathroom a few paces down the hall. In there, Cara proceeded to wash and dry her face, and removing the contacts she had worn for the funeral. After doing so, Cara went to her room and retrieved a her thick red-rimmed square glasses. Her hair was still in the do she wore for the funeral, and she planned to keep it tamed for as long as possible. 

Feeling slightly more comfortable now that she hid behind her glasses, Cara returned to the living room, where she found Jason holding a picture frame which held one of the few memories of Joe that Cara decided to keep openly displayed around the house. Jason placed the picture frame down as Cara saw to removing a chair from the dining room table, just to avoid sitting close to the heartless man on the sofa. 

Cara placed the chair in the exact spot where her father last sat. She sunk onto the wooden furniture, her palms laying flat on her lap. Her large round eyes looked at Jason, and she waited for him to speak.

Jason, noticing this nodded his head, and spoke up, "I really am sorry to have to bring this up now, but I think it's in both our interests if we get this moving along as soon as possible." 

Cara didn't say a word. 

Jason nodded his head in understanding, "With that being said, because you won't be a regular employee, I have highlighted the parts of this application that you need to fill out. Anything that is not highlighted is not your concern. Understood?"