Stuck at the office

Chapter 4

I walked up the steps to his massive house. It suddenly dawned on me that I didn't have a dish to contribute towards dinner. I don't recall him asking me to bring anything, but at the same time, I was quite distracted while he was talking to me. I blushed remembering his bulge. I walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. A woman I have never seen before answered the door. She was very tall and skinny. She looked like she's never eaten a decent meal all of her life. The lipstick on her lips was bright red and it worked well with her dark hair.  

She gave me a warm smile. "Well hello there darling. It's nice to meet you. You must be Tyler..." She trailed off. 

"Anderson. It's nice to meet you too Mrs..." Now it was my turn to trail off. 

"Baker. You work for my husband." Clarity set in as I realized the woman in Mr. Baker's office this morning, was not his wife.  

I struggled to paint a smile onto my face. "It's wonderful to meet you Mrs. Baker. Your husband is a great boss." I said awkwardly.  

"Indeed he is. Let's not stand outside. The temperature is dropping more and more by the minute." I nodded and followed her into the house. I was completely shocked to see such a big house. The foyer was as huge as a master bedroom. There were marble vases and a pillar against the wall. I followed her into what I assumed was the family room. "Jared, Mr. Anderson has arrived." 

He was sitting in a large red love seat. He stood when I entered and came over and shook my hand. "It's good to see you Tyler." He paused. "Is it okay if, since we're outside of the office, we address each other by our names? Causality is key in my home." I nodded and he motioned to a chair across from him. "This is my wife, Samantha." He motioned towards her. I gave her a smile and turned my attention back towards Mr. Baker. 

"So what did you want to discuss with me, Mr. -- I mean Jared?" I started playing with my fingers again. 

Jared looked at me, and then looked at his wife, and then at me. He stood up. "Samantha, is dinner ready?" 

She looked up at him a shook her head. "No it isn't." 

Jared's eyes were locked on mine. "How much longer?" 

"About a half hour I think. I still need to prepare the salad and frost the cake." 

He finally broke our gaze and looked down at her. "Well get to it. I'm going to take Tyler on a tour of the house." He motioned for me to stand. "Just call us down when it's ready." She nodded and Jared started walking, motioning me to follow him. I glanced at Samantha as I stood and gave her a weak smile. Then I turned and went in the direction Jared had went.  

I saw him standing at the bottom of a spiral staircase. He was looking down at his phone and his head snapped up when he heard my footsteps. He shoved the phone in is pocket and said, "There you are. Now tell me, Tyler, how long have you wanted to be a journalist?" He said while walking up the stairs. His legs were really long so I had to struggle to keep up.  

"Since about grade school, sir." He turned around. "I mean, Jared." He smiled and kept walking. When we reached the top of the stairs, he turned to the left and opened a door.