6 Days

Chapter 2

The air was cool as the car parked in the large driveway and John tossed his cigarette out the car window. He stepped out and took a couple of steps towards the house and stopped to look at his watch. It was nine o'clock, way past the time he had promised that he would be home. The contemplation of starting up another cigarette crossed his mind and since Jen didn't like him smoking in the house he might as well take advantage.

He pulled out the pack and tapped it against his hand, making sure it wasn't empty. It sounded full. Good, he thought to himself and lit one up. As he puffed on the smoke, he looked up at the sky. The moon was full, and the hot heat had died down as a cool breeze had begun flowing through the air and he could feel it coursing through his suit. Sensing the urge to finish quickly, he took more drags and tossed the smoke to the ground. He then used the heel of his shoe to kick it into the garden and cover it with some sand as Jen hated finding cigarette butts on the floor.

As he approached his new home John recollected on his current situation. Being half the owner of shipping and receiving company that he and his wife had inherited from her father, he had become a very rich person in his home city of Summerside. But what he was proud of was the fact that he and Jennifer had taken her dad's company and in ten years, made it into a multimillion-dollar empire. Not bad John thought, considering Walter had brought them on board as president and vice president originally. Since John had worked for years for Walter and gained his trust, his position in the company was simple. He got forty nine percent controlling power over the company while Jen powered the remaining fifty one percent. Walter acted as chairman and oversaw all operations until he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Just before he died he transferred full power to John and his daughter so they could completely control the company. However, Jen kept one promise to her father: no mergers. Doing so would take away power from the company, which was the last thing she wanted. To her, the company meant more than just money and wealth. It was a sacrifice her family had made to ensure a better life for her and her family. So, for the last ten years or so under her control, the company stayed private despite many attempts at mergers and buyouts.

It was a good life John thought as he rang the door bell, only to realize that he already had keys in his hand. What the hell was I thinking? he muttered to himself and he put his briefcase down. He fumbled around with the keys trying to find the right one but it was too late as the door had already been opened for him.

"Forget your keys?" Jennifer said with a smile. She stood there with her keys on her fingers, mockingly spinning them around and teasing John. Her tall tanned legs looked nice in the shorts she was wearing with the white top.

"Maybe, or maybe I enjoy seeing you open the door," John said sarcastically as he placed the keys in his pocket and grabbed his suitcase.

Jen started laughing as she closed the door behind him and walked into the house. "If that's your sense of chivalry, you just failed big time," she said to him. "Anyways it's getting cold out there so I thought it was the humane thing to do and open the door for you" she told him.

"Ha ha, you're so kind" he said as he followed her in and walked towards the living room. Placing his pack of smokes and his keys on the table, he felt the urge for a can of soda. The house was clean and spotless as usual as he opened the fridge door. This of course was a credit to Beverly, their housekeeper, who had been with them for well over five years.

Beverly originally hailed from England where she was a nanny for many years. When she came to the states, she saw an ad John had posted in the paper for a housekeeper. Jen interviewed her and practically fell in love with her right on the spot. She could tell that Beverly had character and most importantly, involved herself with the family she worked with to build a sense of relationship. So they hired her immediately and gave her residence in their house as well.