Page 12 of His Secret Virgin
“My girls can pull her out of her shell. They’ve got lots of friends. I’ll ask them to take her around and introduce her to everyone.” I hoped my girls would be nice to his daughter and take her under their wings.
“That won’t be necessary, Christopher,” he said, sounding a little grumpy. “We’re pretty strict with her, so she doesn’t go out much. No makeup, no boys, no parties while she’s under my roof. But it’s nice of you to offer.”
A twenty year old who hasn’t gone on a date?
I felt sorry for her already. Hopefully she was having at least a little fun behind her father’s back—what he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. “Well, maybe things will be different up here. Manchester isn’t a dangerous place. And my girls have never gotten into any trouble. I’m sure your daughter could use a friend or two here while you all settle in. I would hate for her to be unhappy living in Manchester.”
Hesitantly, he said, “We’ll see. I’m looking forward to hearing from your company tomorrow, Christopher. I really appreciate this, you know. Now I get to tell the wife and kid the great news.”
“I’m glad I could help, Sebastien. And I’m glad you’ll be around. It’s been a long time since I’ve spent time with friends; I’m really looking forward to you moving here and working at my company.” I really was, too. For the first time in a long time, I was looking forward to something.
“I’m looking forward to it as well.” He waited a second then went on, “I don’t suppose you would have anything for my daughter to do at the company, too, would you?”
With no idea of what the girl was like or what she could do, I wasn’t sure about her. “Does she have a job now?”
“She works in a boutique, selling clothes, makeup, stuff like that,” he told me.
“Well, we don’t have a need for anyone to do that kind of work here.” I thought about it for a moment then added, “But I’m sure we can find something for her to do here. What are her career goals?”
“She’s a kid, Christopher; she has no career goals yet,” he said with a laugh.
He left me with little to work with. “I suppose you should bring her in with you when you come to fill out all the paperwork. I’ll feel her out and see where she might work out, and where she’d be happy working.” I hated to put people in positions they didn’t like.
With her background in retail and customer service, I might even be able to put her into the sales department, but I wouldn’t know until I met her. It sounded like my friend kept her on a very short leash. I wondered how much he would even allow her to do.
“Well, maybe she’ll develop some goals by working here,” I added. I had hopes that we could help the young woman blossom.
I knew I hadn’t been able to do that with my girls, as I’d let their mother do the raising of them. Thanks to her, I hadn’t been allowed much influence there.
According to Lisa, my only role as father was to provide, and I did that very well. Maybe my friend’s daughter would allow me to help her find something that would fulfill her. It would be nice to mentor a young person since I couldn’t do that for my own daughters.
“Emma will do fine, I’m sure,” Sebastien said. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Have a great night and thank you so much. Goodbye.”
Stepping out of the car that the driver had parked in the garage, I went in through the side door to the kitchen. The cook had left out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for me, just as I’d asked her to.
Feeling happy about what the future might hold for me, I picked up the food and took a bite. A glass of milk would go perfectly with it, so I went to pour myself some.
I took my food and drink to the table and sat down. I’d never paid attention to how empty the house felt. The staff had all gone home for the night. Sitting in my empty house, I felt alone for the first time in a very long time.
It would be nice to have a friend again. Someone to invite over for barbeques and other fun stuff—that would certainly be a change for me.
A very good change.
