The following day, Vanessa did not spot anyone in the house. Neither in the kitchen nor the living room.
She drank her coffee alone and headed for the office after that.
She heard shouts as she stepped out of the elevator on the twelfth floor. In front of the secretary's office, she saw one of the girls she had interviewed, Naomi Harper, gesturing with her hands and saying something to Cole, who was standing with his back to the hallway.
Vanessa approached.
"I'm telling you! Your assistant was very rude! She cut the interview before it ends."
Vanessa crossed her hands angrily, hearing the girl's words.
But obviously, Cole also was no less angry. "Look, miss,"—he spoke in a controlled manner, but his seriousness could not be disputed—"my assistant is the one who determines how long the interviews should last. Once she decided that yours was over, then so has been it. Now, please don't waste my time anymore and leave. Otherwise, I will call security to accompany you."
Without saying anything more, Cole entered his office.
The girl, visibly furious that she had not achieved what she had planned, walked to the elevator.
Just a few steps down, Vanessa blocked her way. "Pray yourself that our paths do not cross again!" was all Vanessa told her. But that was enough. She winked at her and went straight to Cole's office.
"Good morning, Cole. I didn't see you at the house earlier in the morning..."
"Vanessa. I won't be in the office today, so—"
"Again?"
Cole got up from his chair and walked over to her. "Do I have to explain myself to you?"
"Of course not. But I was planning to invite the approved girl to meet you."
"No need. You can proceed with her appointment documents if you have approved her."
He left his office without giving Vanessa a chance to say anything more.
What is your problem, Willker? Vanessa thought, turning to the door. But after a step, she stopped.
The time was right to search his office. She sat behind his desk and began to open the drawers. But there was nothing there. It was unlikely anything suspicious to be found in his office, but Vanessa still had to take the chance. She spent another two hours examining the piles of documents on the shelves.
Nothing again. No clue about anything illegal. Neither about the company nor personally for Cole. Nothing suspicious at all.
***
Hours passed slower than usual. Although after finishing searching Cole's office, Vanessa had a lot of work to do by the end of the day. She called Emma Reed to let her know that she had been approved for the position of secretary at Willker Enterprise, and after the details were agreed upon, Vanessa finally got home. She went straight to Rebecca's room to see how she was.
Rebecca stood cross-legged, one under the other, on her bed with her laptop open.
"Hey, Becks. How are you?"
"Nessa, come in. I feel great!"
And that's what she looked like. Vanessa was a little surprised. She didn't expect to see Rebecca in a good mood so soon. She sat on the edge of the bed. "I am delighted to hear that, Becks."
"I spent a lot of time, you know, crying, being scared, feeling sorry for myself. But I also had time to think. And you know? Something happened. It's like I got enlightened. I woke up this morning like a new person. I'm good. I thought evil of no one all my life. I just wanted to love. I had dreams. And hell, I worked hard to make them come true. I'm on the final straight. I'm going to Italy, and when I come back, I'll return to work. And I'll make my dream come true. I have my family. I have you. And I won't let anyone ruin my life."
Vanessa smiled, admiring the strength Rebecca was showing at that moment. "That's my girl."
Rebecca closed her laptop, looking even more excited. "And speaking of which. Take a day off on Wednesday, Nessa. We have work to do!"
"Work?"
"Yeah. I'm going to Italy. And you're going to the ball. We have some serious shopping ahead of us!"
"Becks, you realize you're going to the mecca of fashion, where you can buy all the clothes in the world, don't you?"
"Exactly! But I need new clothes to get to where I'm going to buy other new ones."
Vanessa giggled. "You're incorrigible."
"I know! Don't try to fix me." Rebecca brushed her hair back.
"Okay, but I can't take a day off to shop. Can I?"
"Of course, you can. Well, you will save some details from Cole. Just tell him you need a day off for personal reasons."
Vanessa looked out the window and smiled again.
***
Wednesday
Three hours. One mall down. More to come.
An absolute pleasure for Rebecca. Real torture for Vanessa.
"Remind me why the hell did I agree to that?"
"Oh, come on, Nessa! Don't tell me you're not having fun!"
"No, Becks, I don't. Believe me."
"Well, it would have been more fun if you had tried on at least one dress!"
"Well, you tried about a thousand, so you made up for me."
The two were already walking down the corridors in the second mall.
"Coffee." Vanessa stopped suddenly.
"What, Nessa?"
"I need coffee. Neither a step more before I drink coffee."
Rebecca looked at her watch. "Okay, we have two more malls to go around. We could take ten minutes for coffee."
"Ten? Really, Becks?"
"Tick-tock, Nessa."
The girls sat in the first cafe they saw. Vanessa sipped her coffee and sighed, "Now, this is a pleasure."
Rebecca smiled while looking at the shopping bags she had left on the other chair.
"Well, tell me about Mike," Vanessa asked out of nowhere.
"What about him?" Rebecca looked at her in surprise.
"You two have a story together."
"Why do you think so?"
"Because I can read people," Vanessa simply replied.
Rebecca bit her lower lip and smiled, going back in time. "Okay. It's true. We do have a history together. He was my first—"
"Don't say your first love."
"Um, I would say my first... you know."
"Your first sex partner? You know you can say it out loud, right?"
"Yes, that's what I meant. But not only that. Yeah, he was also my first love."
"What happened?"
"I don't know. We were very young. As much as we loved each other, many things separated us. Or so it seemed. He was older than me. I was still in high school. He went to college. We barely found time to see each other. And it just happened. We decided it was better for everyone to go their own way and be friends."
"But you still love him."
Rebecca didn't answer.
Maybe because she wasn't fully aware of her own feelings or perhaps because deep down, she knew she had never stopped loving Mike. "Change of subject." She leaned on the table and rested her chin on her hand. "Now, it's my turn to ask you a question."
"It's fair," Vanessa replied.
"But don't answer me if you don't want to."
"Talk straight, Becks!"
"Do you know who your real parents are?"
Vanessa didn't hesitate to answer, "No. And I don't care."
"And you've never wondered who they are? You've never wanted to see them?"
"No. They've abandoned me. They haven't care about me. I don't see a reason why I should care about them. Besides, I had parents. As I already told you, they might not be my biological parents, and I was not a dreamy daughter, but they were nice to me. They loved me. They were the ones who deserved me to care about them. I should... I should take care better for them..."
There was sadness in Vanessa's eyes, which Rebecca accepted as a profound revelation, as she already knew that Vanessa didn't talk easily about her feelings.
"Thanks for sharing with me, Nessa. You can always count on me if you need to talk to someone about it."
"Thank you."
"Well..." Rebecca looked at her watch again. "I'm afraid we're a little overdue. I'm leaving tomorrow, so today, I have to make sure you're ready for the ball! You drank your coffee, so no more excuses!"
Rebecca took Vanessa's hand to get her out of the chair, and they continued their shopping tour.
"I found the perfect dress, Nessa!" Rebecca said excitedly, holding a beautiful pink satin dress. It was tightly covered with glittering gems at the top that thinned down its length. A princess-like dress.
Vanessa looked at it and shook her head negatively.
But behind Rebecca, on a mannequin, a long, black silk dress caught Vanessa's eye. She approached and touched the garment.
Rebecca stood beside her. "I can give at least a hundred reasons why pink is better than black, but I think you would look amazing in this dress, Nessa."
Rebecca nodded at the saleswoman, and she handed the dress to Vanessa.
"What do you say?" Vanessa asked Rebecca as she left the fitting room.
"As I knew, you look fabulous, Nessa!"
Vanessa looked in the mirror. She had to wear many different clothes all the time. She even had to wear those uncomfortable dresses to work almost every day. But this one... It was something different. She had never worn such a garment. It was as if it had been sewn for her. It fitted every curve of her body. The silk caressed it. The neckline was deep and V-shaped, which seductively accentuated her breasts. There was a broad belt from the same fabric under the bust, and from it, the dress fell freely down, with a deep slit revealing Vanessa's leg from time to time.
"Vera Wang," Vanessa said, looking at the label. "$6900. Two salaries. I don't think so."
Not that money was a problem for Vanessa in general. She had a considerable amount of savings from her work. The other one—her real job. She earned from a single assignment much more than a couple of average assistant salaries. But she had never thought of giving so much money for a dress.
"It's worth every penny. Believe me, Nessa! You'll be the most beautiful girl at the ball!" Rebecca handed her credit card to the saleswoman and then turned back to Vanessa. "Accept it as a gift from me. No discussions."
***
After tiring shopping and two more tiring work days, Saturday came.
Rebecca was already in Italy. Vanessa hadn't seen Cole in the last few days, but she'd spent evenings in Jackson's company. Their conversations were always casual and pleasant.
And now it was time. She had to meet Jackson in the living room at 8 p.m., so she had half an hour to prepare.
Vanessa braided her hair into a thick braid on one side of her head, put on her dress, and looked in the mirror. Although she was still a little angry with Rebecca for not allowing her to pay for it herself, other emotions took over her mind. She felt nervous about the event, though she didn't know why.
Stupid! Vanessa thought, shooking her head.
She put on her shoes, took her purse, and headed to the stairs.
As much as Vanessa was nervous, she was simultaneously feeling amazing—like a princess. She never thought that she would feel that way someday. So banal. But she didn't care. She was feeling good.
But walking down the stairs, Vanessa's heart suddenly jumped in her chest.
He was there.
Not Jackson.
Cole.
He was there. Downstairs.
He stood waiting. He was waiting for her.
His expression was severe, but something in his eyes was different.
Passion.
She saw a passion in his eyes.