Ford Escort

4 - Friends and Benefits

Mr. Ford held the contract in his hand, glancing over it, his eyes lingering on my scrawled signature. As he placed it back in his drawer, he cleared his throat and presented me with me a charming smile.

"Veronica Wynne," My name sounded more sophisticated coming from his mouth, "What a beautiful name."

"Thank you, it was my grandmother's name."

"Lovely. Would you prefer I call you Veronica, or Miss Wynne?"

I considered it, I had never had anyone call me Miss Wynne, in fact almost nobody called me Veronica. Everyone I knew called me Roni, but I wasn't about to have him call me that.

"Veronica is fine."

"Alright, Veronica, let's discuss the terms of your employment then, shall we?" He pulled another document from his desk, this time it was only a single page. "How many days a week are you looking for?"

"I'm not sure," I replied, a sheepish heat creeping up my neck, "I guess if the pay was good enough I could quit my other job... then I could be available as often as I'm needed."

"Well, let's assume that the pay will be high enough." He reasoned, "In that case, would you be available part-time, six days a week? Let's say about 5 hours a day? Either all at once in the afternoon, or half in the morning, half in the evening. Then the rest of your day would be free."

"That sounds... reasonable. What day would I have off?"

"That's entirely up to you."

"Oh. Well then I'd prefer to have Sundays off."

"Wonderful, Sundays it is." He jotted the specifics down on the form in front of him, looking back up at me once he'd finished, "Now for the matter of compensation. How does $200 a day sound?"

I felt my heart flutter in my chest. $200 for five hours of work? That was $40 an hour.

"That's a lot." Was all I could manage, my mouth had gone dry, my tongue sticking to my teeth.

"As I told you, I pride myself on being a generous employer."

"What's the catch?" I asked sternly, confident I could sense when an offer was too good to be true.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"There's generous, and then there's unrealistic. $40 an hour for a job that requires no real skill or qualifications isn't realistic."

"So, you're saying you would prefer to be paid less?" I could tell from his tone that he was being coy.

"I'm saying this whole thing is just... weird. There's something up, and unless you tell me what it is, I can't accept your offer. I'm sorry for wasting your time, but I'd like to go now." I stood and squared my shoulders, looking down at him as he continued to watch me, a soft smile still on his face.

"Veronica, please. Let's not rush to a decision," I couldn't help but notice that his eyes quickly wandered down my body before meeting mine again, "I like to compensate my employees competitively, because I can afford to, and I see no reason to be stingy when I know the money could make all the difference to them."

I remained standing, unconvinced. His playful smile began to fade as he leaned back in his chair, sizing me up through narrowed eyes, deciding whether or not I was bluffing. I managed to keep a straight face, waiting for him to stand and escort me out, or fess up to whatever game he was playing.

"Alright." He finally conceded, "You got me, I'll explain everything. Please."

He indicated to the chair, insisting I sit back down. Curious again against my best judgment, I complied.

"I meant what I said before. This job offer is authentic, and there is no catch." He started, continuing in a rush as I went to stand up again, "However. There may be an... additional opportunity to consider as well. But it's just that - an opportunity - not a requirement, nor a stipulation of any kind. Definitely not a catch."

I remained seated, my damned curiosity the only thing keeping me from insisting he drive me back into town. Even though I felt increasingly sure this "opportunity" was going to be anything but enticing.

"The $40 hourly wage is contingent on you walking, feeding and caring for my dogs. Nothing more, I swear. And as my official employee, you will be compensated for this and nothing more. However, if our relationship were to become something... greater, then there's always the possibility of some added benefits to you."

The cogs in my brain churned, reading between the lines to discern his meaning. My brows furrowed as he continued.

"You see, Veronica, I tend to be even more generous when it comes to personal friends. Of course, I would never pay people to be my friends, that would be unsavory. However, I have been known to buy my friends gifts, or even help them achieve their goals and aspirations."

I felt my stomach lurch, the heat rising to my cheeks and a strong sense of panic setting in. My worst fears were true, his intentions with me were far from wholesome. I cleared my throat, which was now as dry as my mouth, and glared at him as I replied.

"Are you trying to bribe me to have sex with you, Mr. Ford?" I didn't mince words the way he had, I knew exactly what he was trying to do.

"Of course not, I never said-"

"You didn't have to." I interrupted what I was sure would be an articulate excuse and quickly stood. Making my way over to the door before he could pull me back in with his soothing voice, "I'd like to leave now."

"Alright." He remained calm as he stood, straightening his suit jacket, "I'll drive you back."

"I'd rather you didn't."

He had started to make his way around the desk towards me, but the sharpness in my words stopped him in his tracks.

"Okay, I won't join you." He reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone, quickly typing out a message while I inched closer to the door, "My driver will drop you where we picked you up. It's miles away, you can't possibly walk."

"I'll call an Uber." I turned the knob, feeling a small sense of relief when the door clicked open easily.

"Veronica." His voice stalled me one last time as I stepped into the hallway, the door hanging open behind me, "Please remember, you're not at liberty to share the terms that were discussed today. And just know, if you change your mind, the job is still on the table. No strings attached."

I didn't turn around, but I remained frozen in the doorway as he spoke. My sudden presence in the hall gained a few glances from intrigued onlookers.

"Don't hold your breath." I muttered under my breath, heading briskly towards the front door.

"It was lovely to meet you, Veronica!" His voice echoed down the hall after me, earning everyone's intrigued stares once again as I burst out the front door.