Chapter 18

I HAVE NO REASON to be nervous, Erin lectured herself as she dressed for work Thursday morning. She was no longer a waitress getting ready to work a double shift. She was a professional who worked for a respected senior executive. She only needed to dress accordingly. Jerry would be happy to see her looking successful.

Still, she chose the new suit she’d purchased for the board meeting. It looked very good with the mauve silk blouse she wore. Her hair ... She just brushed it out. Jerry had never seen it to compare to, since she’d always worn it up under her waitress cap. He wouldn’t notice it had grown an inch since she last saw him.

She spent just a little extra time with her makeup and then scrubbed it off her face and redid it as she normally wore it. It was always possible Mr. Carver would be in the office today. She wouldn’t want him thinking she had a reason to get fancy.

Not that she needed to justify herself to her boss. If she wanted to meet a nice guy for lunch, it was strictly her business. But she was aware that it did make a difference to her. She didn’t want her boss to disapprove of anything she did—even if it was none of his business. It wasn’t like she was going to date him. She admired and respected Mr. Carver, but she certainly wasn’t infatuated with him. She didn’t think.

She was almost late getting to the office, hanging her jacket, and quickly checking the penthouse to be sure everything was in order and Mr. Carver was still out of the office. She made herself a cup of coffee and made a list on her tablet of the things she needed to accomplish that day. Having calmed herself, she went about the morning’s work and was pleased with the amount she’d gotten done by the time she put her jacket on to go to lunch.

As a last thought, she sent a note to Mr. Carver to tell him she might be a little late getting back from lunch that day. It was just a courtesy.

When Erin entered the diner, Dolores smiled at her and nodded toward the back booth where Jerry was already waiting. Erin took a deep breath and squared her shoulders to go meet her lunch date.

“Jerry. It’s so good to see you. I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” she said, offering her hand. He took it with a slight squeeze.

He was wearing the same thing he always did when he came to the diner: a college sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, sunglasses and a mask.

“Um ... Maizie. I...” He was barely whispering and she leaned forward to hear better. “P-p-please, don’t ... It is you. I m-m-mean, I knew ... Not-not for long. I just ... I figured it out...”

“What are you talking about, Jerry? You can relax with me. Take your time,” she said.

He didn’t continue. Instead, he shifted the hood back and took off his sunglasses. Then as Erin watched open-mouthed, he removed his mask.

“M-Mr. Carver!” she gasped. “I ... You ... I mean ... Are you?”

“Yes. I’m sorry. I d-d-didn’t mean ... to d-d-dec ... lie to you.”

“You hired me! You didn’t need to do that! I’m not a charity case!” Erin practically shouted.

“N-n-no! I didn’t know! I only found out you were Maizie two weeks ago. I-I-I didn’t know what to do.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t ... Well, I didn’t really know you that well in the diner. I mean, I would never have applied...”

“Please don’t say you quit!” Jerry gasped. “Please.”

“I don’t know what to do. What do you expect of me, Mr. Carver?”

“When we are just being casual and chatting, can you call me Jerry and let me call you Maizie. W-w-we can leave Miss Scott and Mr. Carver at the office,” he said.

“That might work for today. How did you come up with Jerry?”

“Preston Jerico Carver. My middle name.”

“Well, can I get you kids your lunch?” Dolores asked, setting water and coffee on the table.

“Two specials, please,” Erin answered automatically. “Oh! Er ... Is that...”

Jerry just nodded at her. Dolores chuckled as she went to get the orders in.

“I didn’t mean to act like I knew just what you wanted,” she said.

“But you do,” he answered. “You always have. It’s how I finally recognized you. You brought specials from the diner for our lunch with Mr. Jerico. You arranged them on the plate just like at the diner and set them down the same way. I didn’t know what to do. I was ... scared.”

“Why would you be scared of me?” she asked.

“I ... um ... always have a bad time with women. It seems that when they know who I am and that I’m the head of JeriCorp and, well, rich, everything changes. I was afraid you’d figured out who I was and were stalking me.”

Erin looked at him with wide eyes and then spluttered in laughter. He was baffled.

“You, rich? That’s not really ... um ... I mean, you aren’t poor. You have enough, but no woman in her right mind would pursue you for your wealth. And I wasn’t pursuing you. I didn’t know who you were until a few minutes ago. I mean, I knew Preston Carver, but I didn’t know you were Jerry.”

“I’m kind of rich,” Jerry said indignantly.

“Not really,” Erin said. “You forget I check all your ... I check all Mr. Carver’s accounts daily to be sure there is no unexpected activity. I flag anything I see for him.”

“I ap ... He appreciates that.”

“Well, you don’t have all that much money. I mean, you’re comfortable and don’t have to worry too much about what you spend—even though you do. Worry, I mean. You ... Um ... This is difficult. Ms. Scott knows Mr. Carver could move out of the penthouse the company pays for and move back to Jerico House. Either way, it’s rent free. But that isn’t money.”

“I ... Mr. Carver owns stock. A significant portion of JeriCorp. He’s a shareholder in Interlake Land Holdings. He has other stock in his portfolio,” Jerry explained.

“Ms. Scott used to own a Rembrandt,” Maizie said. It was becoming easier to refer to their office personae in the third person.

“What?”

“When she was single and well-employed, she invested in art. A Rembrandt etching was acquired for $3,500. When Ms. Scott married Mr. Silvers—a day she rues—she liquidated her investments to put the money into a house. The Rembrandt went for $1,500. Investments are where we put our hopes for a better tomorrow. They aren’t real money.”

“You have an interesting take on wealth,” Jerry laughed.

“Who needs more than enough? Ms. Scott left a lucrative career in exchange for what she thought would be eternal bliss. Now she works for a living.”

“M-M-Maizie, when I last saw you at the diner, I’d just decided I would ... I would ... you know ... I would ask you out. Then you weren’t here the next week.”

“Oh, my! That’s why Mr. Carver returned to the office so surly! Ms. Scott began to wonder if she’d made a wise choice to work for him.”

“I am sorry. I was ... He was ... really upset. You know how he is about his routine.”

“I do.”

Dolores arrived with plates of food.

“Here’s your lunch. Pulled pork with macaroni and cheese. Peach cobbler for dessert, on the house,” Dolores said, setting their plates down. “Don’t feel that you need to rush. I’ve set this table aside for the whole day if you need it.”

“Thank you, Dolores,” Maizie said. “I still have to get back to my job at a reasonable time.”

Dolores left and Jerry smiled.

“You don’t have to rush back. When I was coming here for lunch once a week, Mr. Carver always gave his assistant a long lunch break on those days.”

“I don’t like to seem like I’m taking unfair advantage of him.”

“I don’t think you ... she ever has,” Jerry said, taking a bite of macaroni and cheese. “Mmm. I haven’t made mac and cheese in ages. What does she do to this? It’s different.”

“You have such joy for the food. I’m not sure Dolores knows what Jim does in the kitchen. He is a wizard.”

“I want to meet him. Um ... I mean ... Do you think...? I can’t just...”

“If you’d like, I’ll introduce you and run interference if you need it. He’s pretty easygoing, though. I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Maizie said.

“Food. Yes, I like to eat and try new things. But I like to cook. I experiment. I try something different every week. Sometimes I cook it for Mother and G-Pop. Sometimes, just for myself.”

“How did your Italian roulade turn out? The recipe looked delicious!”

“Rrr. It was a bad day.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Perhaps you could try it again.”