Keepin' The Faith Page 7

  “So, what do you want to do? Should we re-advertise and see if we get anyone new to apply?”

  I was half paying attention as I fumbled through the envelopes. Junk. Bills. More junk. Then right there in front of my face, there it was, a flyer from one of the local churches with the words: GIVE FAITH A CHANCE as plain as day. “What the fuck?” I whispered. I was never one to believe in signs, but even I had to admit this was a little freaky.

  “Yo, Gabe, what’d you say?”

  “W-what? Oh nothing. What about that Faith girl?” I blurted out as if some unforeseen force was controlling my words.

  He guffawed. “You mean the cute brunette with the nice ass and tits to match?”

  Yes, that would be her. “I didn’t notice.”

  “Dude, come on! Unless you are legally blind, which I happen to know you are not…how could you not have noticed? She may be great to stare at all day, but that doesn’t get much accomplished. She didn’t have any of the qualifications you need.”

  “Yeah, well, I can train her.”

  “What? And when are you going to do that? You should have a clone of yourself now to accomplish everything you do.”

  I went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. I wasn’t going to argue this point with him or even try to justify my reasoning. This was my company, and I wanted to give this girl a shot. It wasn’t his place to question it. “Call her and offer her the position.”

  “You’re crazy, man. You and I both know that you don’t have the patience to train her or the tolerance for mistakes. I guarantee she won’t last a week, and then we’ll be turning around and doing this all over again.”

  “And if we are, so what? You’ll still be collecting a salary, won’t you?”

  He let out a defeated breath. “Okay, if this is what you want to do, but I say we offer her ten thousand less than what we were planning on offering the others.”

  “And I say we offer her ten thousand more.”

  “What? Gabe, that means she’ll be making the same salary as some of the girls who’ve been there for a while and who are actually qualified to do their job. That’s not going to sit well with a lot of them.”

  Now he was pissing me off. Chad and I were great friends. There was no one I trusted more with being my second-in-command, but every now and then he needed to be reeled in and reminded who the boss was. “How are they going to find out, unless you go around giving out confidential information? Which I know you would never do…right?”

  “No, I wouldn’t do that, but you know, women like to talk and it might slip out someday.”

  “If it does and they get pissed, then they’re free to leave. Just give her a call and make her an offer. I’ll see you tomorrow morning at seven for the meeting with Demographics.”

  “Okay…you must really have a hard-on for this chick,” he mumbled before hanging up the phone.

  I plopped down on the couch and threw my head back. Chad was wrong. It had nothing to do with the fact she was definitely nice to look at. There was just something inside of me that made me feel compelled to help her out. When the hell did I grow a heart when it came to business? Up until the other day, I would never dream of hiring someone who wasn’t qualified for a position. Chad was right. I didn’t have the time, and I really didn’t have the patience to train someone. I wasn’t sure if it was my grandmother’s persistence or the fact that she was pretty cute that made me gravitate toward wanting to hire her, but there was definitely something. I never really got to know any of my employees on a personal level. I tried to keep personal and business lives separate. But in a weird, way after the chance meeting in the food store with her and her daughter, and hearing my grandmother tell me a little about her, I felt like I did know her somewhat. Chances were, this would probably end in disaster, but I was gonna try and do exactly what the flyer from the church told me to do. Give Faith a chance.

  Chapter 8

  Faith

  I still hadn’t broken the news of my new living arrangements to my parents or Natalia. I wasn’t in the mood to be lectured over how stupid I was for allowing this to happen. None of them knew how I was feeling about Cole or that he actually seemed to be growing up and ready to take responsibility.

  But as I walked into the kitchen of my parents’ house to pick Joey up, I had a strange feeling that the jig was up. “Hey, Dad, the car is running great!” I figured I would start off on a positive note, since he had fronted me the money to get the transmission replaced.

  “That’s good to hear,” he mumbled as he worked diligently on his crossword puzzle.

  “Where’s Joey?” I asked.

  “She’s in the family room, watching television,” my mother replied while tending to something on the stove. “Faith!” She beckoned just as I almost made it out of the kitchen without being interrogated.

  “Yeah?” I answered rather meekly, turning around to face her.

  “Joelle told us that Cole is moving in with you guys. Please tell me this is her overactive imagination again.”

  I couldn’t continue to keep this from them. I was an adult, and I didn’t need their approval for the choices I made in life. “No, she’s right.”

  My mother placed her hand on her heart in the same overdramatic way she always would when she received news she didn’t want to hear. “What is wrong with you?” she demanded.

  I creased my eyebrows in confusion. I hated that she still treated me like I was five years old. “Um…nothing!” I raised my voice.

  “Faith, he’s no good for you. He barely takes responsibility for Joelle. He doesn’t even have a job! Why would you allow this to happen?”

  “He’s graduating in the spring and he’s already got some prospective jobs lined up.”

  “You’re constantly making excuses for him! Are you pregnant again?”

  “What? No!”

  “Then why, Faith? Why would you be doing this now all of a sudden? Why didn’t you do this the right way when Joelle was born and marry him then, instead of living in sin now?”

  “Really, Mom? Is that what it’s all about? Are you afraid of how this is going to look to your friends at church or the nuns at Joey’s school?” I shouted.

  “No, that’s not it at all. Am I not allowed to be worried about my daughter and granddaughter?” she shouted even louder.

  “Theresa, keep it down. You don’t want Joey to hear this,” my father interjected.

  “Well, Sal, someone has to tell her she’s being stupid!”

  I felt my blood pressure rising. “I’m being stupid? I’m being stupid?” The Italian temper didn’t come out in me often, but when it did it was a force to be reckoned with.

  “Yeah, you are! He’s using you and not only are you going to pay the price, but my granddaughter is as well. Why don’t you try and think of how this is going to affect your daughter, Faith?”

  I shook my head and bit my lip. Don’t curse at her. Don’t curse at her. “I am thinking of Joey. She loves Cole, and he loves her. Things are different this time. Whether you want to believe it or not, they are. I’m an adult, Mom, and I don’t need your approval for the choices I make in life.”

  My mother’s eyes widened as she looked past me and into the doorway of the kitchen. “Mommy, why are you and Nona yelling?” Joey asked, staring up at me with sadness in her eyes.

  I shook my head, feeling like I was on the verge of tears, but I wouldn’t allow Joey to know that. How I wished my parents could be a little supportive with my choices and stop seeing the negative in everything. “It’s okay, sweetie. Go get your shoes on and all of your stuff together.”

  “Okay,” she whispered as she scurried back off to the family room.

  “You’re leaving?” Mother asked in surprise. “At least let Joey eat some dinner.”

  “I’m quite capable of making my daughter dinner myself,” I snapped. “Or am I failure when it comes to cooking too?”

  “I never said you were a failure, Faith.” Her voice sho
ok.

  “Faith, that’s enough!” my father scolded.

  “Yup, it is,” I agreed. “And that’s why I’m out of here.”

  I grabbed Joey’s hand and made a beeline for the door. After buckling her into her seat, I stood outside of the car, taking in a few deep breaths of fresh air. She wasn’t going to do this to me. She wasn’t going to guilt me into seeing things her way, the same way she had done my entire life. I was a grown woman with a child now, and I was making the best decisions I could for my daughter. For once, she was going to see that she was wrong. Things were going to work out between Cole and me, and then she would be apologizing to me for being so quick to judge.

  I got in the car and turned around, giving Joey a quick smile before starting it up.

  “Mommy, why does Nona hate Daddy?”

  My heart thudded just hearing those words coming out of her mouth. “She doesn’t hate him, honey. She just gets angry with him sometimes. Kinda like the same way you get angry with Sister Catherine for things she does.”

  She stared straight ahead, looking deep in thought. “But what does he do to make her angry?”

  “I don’t know, Joey. Just things.”

  “Well, I love my daddy. He’s the best daddy ever!”

  I looked in the rearview mirror and gave her a big smile, happy to hear her perking up once again. I pulled out onto the road and didn’t even make it to the end of my parents’ street before my phone began to ring. My mother, no doubt, was calling for me to bring Joey back to eat.

  “Mommy, you need to pull over if you’re going to answer that,” my conscience reminded me from the back seat.

  Wanting to set a good example, I did as she said before removing my phone from my purse, not recognizing the number on my caller ID. “Hello?” I answered, sounding a little unsure of myself.

  “Hi, is this Faith?” a man’s voice asked on the other end.

  “Yes, this is she.”

  “Oh, hey, Faith, this is Chad Youmans from GS Software.”

  My stomach dropped. What in the hell? There was no possible way that he was calling me for what I thought. “Oh, hi!” My tone perked up.

  “Faith, I wanted to offer you the administrative assistant position that you interviewed for the other day.”

  Stunned. Flabbergasted. Feeling the need to pinch myself. Those were just a few of the things going through my mind at that moment as I sat on the side of the road, speechless.

  “Did I lose you?” he asked.

  “Oh, no…I’m still here. Are you sure you called the right person?”

  He let out a chuckle. “You are Faith DiNatale, are you not?”

  “Yeah…I am. But just to be certain, I was the eleven o’clock appointment on Monday. The girl who tripped over the computer monitor and spilled her purse all over the place.”

  He let out an even louder laugh. “Yup, you’re the right Faith.”

  “Well…I...I don’t know what to say.”

  He began to go over some things, and I had to ask him to repeat himself when he told me the salary. It was ten thousand dollars more than the position was advertised at. “Umm…wait. Did I hear you right about the salary?” I asked.

  “Yeah, you did.”

  “But, I thought—”

  “What can I say? I guess the boss man really liked you.”

  Really liked me? I was one step away from hot mess on the day of that interview.

  “So, what do you say? Would you like to be a part of our team?”

  I could hardly speak through the smile that was molding on my face. “I-I’d love to!”

  “Okay, when can you start?”

  “How about Monday?”

  “That sounds perfect! Welcome aboard,” he said just before hanging up.

  I threw my phone in my purse and let out a shrill scream of joy.

  “Ouch, Mommy!”

  I turned around to the back seat. Joey was holding her hands over her ears.

  “I’m sorry, baby, Mommy is just super happy right now!”

  “Why?”

  “Because I got a job!”

  “But you already have a job, silly!”

  Oh shit. My customers. I had a full cleaning schedule next week. How the hell was I going to do this? I would just have to see if they’d allow me to come over after work. I had no other choice. I couldn’t turn down that job. I was going to be getting a real paycheck every week. No more guessing how much I’d be making or hoping that someone didn’t cancel on me so I could afford to make the rent. Nope, not anymore. I would have enough to pay my rent and then some, and with Cole contributing now it would be even better. Things were definitely starting to look up.

  ***

  Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who was surprised by my employment offer. Natalia and Darius were equally as shocked when I called and gave them the news. After the job talk wore off, I managed to escape the lecture I knew was coming from Natalia by telling her Joey needed me for something. My life was finally going forward for a change, and I didn’t need her or my mother bringing me down with their negativity. I had just gotten Joey off to bed when Cole walked in with a box full of items.

  “This is it, I promise. I’m putting the rest of my things at my parents’ house until we can get a bigger place.” Just hearing him say those words and knowing he was planning for our future made me happy.

  “I’ve got some really good news that may just help us get a bigger place sooner than later.”

  “What’s that?” he asked, placing the box down on the floor.

  “Remember that job interview I went to in the beginning of the week?”

  He nodded.

  “I got it!” I exclaimed.

  He ran his hand down the side of his face like he was deep in thought. “Wow…that’s great, but I thought you said you bombed the interview.”

  “Yeah, I thought I did, but obviously not!”

  “But, didn’t Darius say the guy you’d be working for is a dick?”

  “Yeah, he did, but he didn’t seem that way at all to me…and get this, I’m getting ten thousand dollars more than what the job was advertised for! I think I can put up with a dickhead boss for that!”

  “Oh…umm, well, congratulations.” His tone was anything but excited for me.

  “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy.”

  “I am, but what are you gonna do about Joey?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Who’s gonna take her and pick her up from school? You’re able to make your work schedule around her now. You won’t be able to do that with this job.”

  “I’m sure that between you and my parents we can work something out.”

  “I’m gonna have a heavy course load starting in January. It’s really gonna be hard for me to commit to that.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “To that? You mean, your daughter?”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. I’m just stressed with school. You know I’ll be happy to help out in any way I can.” He moved closer and pulled me into a hug. “Congratulations, Deenie, I’m happy for you.”

  I hugged him back and tried to reassure myself that he was being sincere, but the words he’d spoken just moments ago were still speaking louder than his actions at the moment. Words that would’ve thrown my mother and Natalia into an “I told you so” rant.

  “I’m so proud of you,” he whispered as his hands moved under my shirt and unhooked my bra. When his lips glided down my neck those words he had just spoken moments ago were suddenly erased from my mind and all I could concentrate on were his actions.

  Chapter 9

  Faith

  “I’m so sorry. I had to bring my little helper along. I totally forgot that she had a half day of school today,” I said to Sylvia as I dragged my cleaning supplies into her house.

  “Oh don’t be silly! I love having little ones around. Do you want to help me make some cookies, Joey?”

  She nodded and a
huge grin spread across her face.

  “Go wash your hands and we’ll get started.”

  “Thank you for being so understanding. I just wish the rest of my clients could be like you. I just got yelled at by Mrs. Downs.”

  “Why? Because you brought your little cutie pie with you?” She shook her head and pursed her lips. “She’s a dreadful woman anyway.”

  “No, actually—” I paused for a moment, knowing I was going to have to break the same news to Sylvia. “I had to tell her I wasn’t going to be able to do Thursday mornings for cleaning anymore and asked her if I could switch to nights or weekends.”

  “And why is that?” Sylvia inquired.

  “Well, remember the job interview I went to earlier in the week?”

  She furrowed her brow. “Yeah….”

  “I got it.”

  She sat there silently for a moment with her mouth agape.

  “Yeah, that was the general reaction from everyone after my disastrous interview. I don’t even get it myself. And I’m going to be making more money than what the job was advertised at.”

  “Really?” A slow grin lifted the corners of her mouth.

  “Yup! My best friend’s boyfriend, who works for the company, told me the owner, whom I’ll be working for, is a real…how can I put this nicely? Asshole.”

  “Hmm…is that so?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t know. I just don’t see it. Joey and I actually ran into him in the food store a few nights before the interview. I was short on money when it was time to check out and he covered me. I mean, that was really nice for a total stranger to do, right?”

  “Oh yeah, sure! He was probably raised the right way.” She nodded.

  “He’s actually….”

  “Actually what?” She cocked her eyebrow, waiting for me to elaborate.

  “Oh, nothing.” I wasn’t going to admit to anyone that I thought he was absolutely gorgeous with his dirty-blond hair, mysterious hazel eyes, and underneath that shirt and tie I knew there was a gorgeous body. I was pretty impressed with my ability to assess him in just the short time I’d been in his company. I knew I had no business checking him out. He was my boss and I was in a relationship with the father of my child…or at least I thought I was.