Sophie bafflement was heard in her tone. "So Ms Silva is really going to give me a job? A job, when I haven't worked before?"
Caleb said. "She knows that."
"Why would she do that?"
"Ask her!" Caleb quirked a brow at Jena, "I am sure she will explain why she is offering you a job, despite your recent tantrum."
"If you can cook, ice or be front of house, yes, I'd employ you. Those are the skills I need in my business."
"I don't cook. I definitely cannot icing anything! Unless you want a Picasso thing! Why would you want me? I can't bake. No skills at all"
"You have skills." Paused. "You can manned the front of the house."
"Front of house.
"Yes. Answer the phones, talk to customers, filing, help when necessary, the odd jobs that do not fall under the front of house job specs. You have the skills to make them feel great about their transactions and chat with my company. We offer a level of care with no stress. No pressure. The first impression is important. We want them to form a good impression about my company from the first exchange and you can do that. My company is small. But we have worked hard to have a good reputation and a great customer service. And given you have researched my company, you bring relevant information to the job!"
Seconds passed. Neither Caleb nor Jena said anything as they waited for Sophie's reply.
Caleb was impressed by the fact that Jena was taking her time to explain things and was phrasing things to allow Sophie some pride. Not for the first time, Caleb wished he had taken the time when they first met.
"Are you sure?" Jena could hear the excitement and concerns in Sophie's voice.
"Yes." Jena replied. "See you at the office at 10 tomorrow." Caleb watched her, and could hear the tone in her voice, and he was impressed. No begging, no white-washing the situation. She looked at him, her eyebrows rose, "I have told your brother to have a word with you," and she waited for Caleb to confirm if he wanted to speak to her sister. "I am sure he will explain what I expect from you." She glanced over at Caleb with a speaking look when he didn't give her any indication. "Just in case your brother forgets to tell you," Jena gave Caleb another speaking look, he quirked a brow, but could not stop his smirk. Jena rolled her eyes, and then kept her eyes on Caleb and she said bluntly, "if your diva appears tomorrow or anytime, you will be turfed out with no references! Ok?" His eyes sparkled with humour as he recognised Jena's strategy.
It again confirmed why he was interested in this woman. Feisty. Loyal. Kind.
"I understand. No diva antics!" Sophie said quietly.
"Soph, where are you?" Caleb asked, wondered if she was with Isaac or at home.
"At home with mum and dad."
"Ok, will stop on my way to my house." He smiled at Jena. "As Jena said, I can go over the job, and as Jena said, I will explain what I, and she, expects from you." He quirked a brow at Jena and said, "Ok?" And he knew Jena would understand that his question and would recognise that it was meant for Jena.
Jena rolled her eyes and turned around. The problem with dealing with Sophie meant having to deal with her brother. And Sophie's brother ruffled Jena's feathers. She knew from their previous engagements, Jena knew that when he put his mind to something, there was no way to stop him. And she was pretty sure that at this current moment, she was on his radar and he considered her a challenge. Nothing more. Just someone who failed to fall for him automatically was like waving a red flag at a bull.
"Ok." Sophie replied, as she assumed her brother was asking her to confirm her attitude.
Caleb watched Jena's back, could see the tension in her shoulder, but her tone did not reveal that when she said, "See you tomorrow, Sophie. 10am," Jena just hoped she had not traded one problem for another. "Bye." While she had a worker to replace Andrew for the immediate time, she engaged someone with no experience, someone used to having her family doing everything for her, and dealing with Caleb.
"Bye." Sophie said. "See you later, Caleb."
"Bye."
Jena turned around but did not look at Caleb, and just disconnected the call.
Twenty -five minutes later, her front bell signalled their dinner. He went to the door while Jena retrieved two plates and cutlery. She weighed up the options, either have dinner here or in the dining room. She opted for here. She placed them on the breakfast counter top.
When he returned to the kitchen, she blinked. "I thought you said you ordered for two. But clearly you have ordered for an army." She said seen the number of insulated bags.
He smiled. "Ok if I unpack?"
"Yes." She retracted a stool and watched him as he unpacked their delivery. "This is pretty fancy given my normal take-away."
"Ah, definitely not anyone average take-away." The package showed care and when he removed the lids the waft of spice, immediately had her taste buds salivating. "They are my favourite Thai restaurant in town, and as you can see, they are definitely different to the others."
"Smells fab." She inhaled.
"I can guarantee it will taste fab too!"
She got off her stool and collected more cutlery for the various containers.
An hour later, she rubbed her tummy, "You are right. That was delicious."
"Better than muesli."
"Definitely. Thank you." She smiled. The last hour was amazing. Apart from the food, the conversation was wonderful. Different topics. Conversation, with laughing threads ensured the topics were amicable. Peppered with yum while she ate. They did not return to the previous topics, either Sophie's job or Jena being on Caleb's radar. But they talked, as if they were long term friends. Good friends. "I must keep the address." She had the package details. She could see there the restaurant was generous in their servings. "I am full."
"Me too."
She surveyed the containers. "Do you want a doggy-bag?"
He shook his head. "By the way, it stores well in the fridge. And," he pointed at three containers, "these three can be frozen."
"Perfect it will be useful for emergencies!" She picked up the empty plates.
"Can I help?"
"If you wouldn't mind, can you resealed those and" she pointed at the freezer " put them in the freezer." It was only after she instructed, she wondered when he moved from a guest to a friend.
She rinsed the plates and cutlery and added them to the load in the dishwasher. By that time, he had finished resealing the containers. And he gave the containers that were practically empty to Jena, she rinsed them and put them in the recycle bin.
He stood beside her, shoulder to shoulder. He said softly, "I really enjoyed my time with you tonight, Jena."
She hesitated, wondered whether she should tell him that she enjoyed tonight. She did not want to encourage him. So she opted for a nod and said, "Well, at least there were no awkward silences."
"True. But it was more than that." He nudged her shoulder, "Admit it, we have chemistry! I enjoyed your company."
Jena knew it would be churlish if she did not tell him she enjoyed his company. "I enjoyed your company too.'
He grinned. "Good. Because we aren't done."
"If you say so!" She said with sarcasm.
Caleb chuckled, "And pretending ignorance is a poor strategy, Jena."
Probably best to attack, she thought and best to deflect his tactics. "To have a strategy, that means I have something that I want, and need a plan!" She huffed. "I agreed to take on your sister, as a worker, and certainly not all of his family. Or in particular, you! We agreed to this dinner, because we were both hungry and would take too much effort to deflect you! I enjoyed your company, but don't read too much into my statement. As I said, I am temporary on your radar."
He chuckled again. "Never pegged you as coward."
She said blithely, "You can pegged me as anything."
"Even a kiss?"
Shock. Panic. Excitement. Merged. "A kiss?" Warning bells in her head were ignored by her heart. That is the problem when long held opinions about falling in love are discarded because they do apply to her.