Delia’s breath caught in her throat as she turned and saw Ivan standing there all duded up in his western best. All he was missing was a cowboy hat. Something about him just turned her insides to jelly, and that wasn’t a very good thing when she was working. So she had to kick it into professional mode and ask him what he was interested in.
Since she had just fixed the new display of turtlenecks, she used them as an opener. It probably sounded really lame, asking a man decked out in western wear if he wants a turtleneck, but it was the first thing that came to mind. Well, not the first thing, but the first thing that she dared say out loud. It wouldn’t have been appropriate to say, oh my word, you are so drop-dead gorgeous. She nearly giggled at the thought, but checked herself just in time.
Delia led Ivan over to a display unit where there were a couple of dozen Henley shirts folded and laid out.
“Do you have a color preference?” she asked.
“Well, I guess I’ll take this dark blue one here, and maybe this green one,” Ivan said, trying to focus on the task at hand.
He was feeling as if he’d been dealt a double whammy in losing Jeanne, not only as a friend, but also as a valued employee. And he was in the presence of the first woman who had moved him in more than fourteen years. That alone made him a little off-kilter.
“That maroon shirt you’re wearing looks really good on you,” Delia said as casually as she could. “How about a maroon one, too?”
“Sure, okay,” he agreed.
This was not going as well as he’d planned. He was not in full control of himself.
“Listen, I’m just going to look around a little, but I don’t want to keep you,” Ivan said. “If I need you again, I’ll find you.”
“That’s fine, Mr. —?”
“Ivan. Just Ivan,” he said.
“Okay, Ivan, I’ll not be far away if you need anything else,” she said, trying not to look as disappointed as she was feeling.
Ivan walked around through the racks of shirts, looking at one here and there. He browsed through the packaged t-shirts and underwear, all the while trying to get ahold of his senses so he could be articulate and persuasive when he asked her to have lunch with him.
It took him a full five minutes to pull himself together. By that time, she was busy with another customer, so he had to wait. He tried to busy himself looking at clothes so that it didn’t appear that he was waiting for her. But, as he was a typical man, it was hard for him to browse in a clothing store. He then decided to focus on what brands were being carried in his store and where the clothing was being manufactured.
His father and grandfather before him had been adamant about buying American-made merchandise. He hadn’t changed anything, so assumed that his buyers were still on top of things. Indeed, most everything he checked was made in the USA. However he did find one table of “bargain” wallets that were made in China. He pulled out his smartphone and made a note to himself to look into this. He also picked up one to buy, so he could have a sample of the evidence.
It was close to eleven-thirty when Delia was finally free. Ivan hoped that it was nearing her lunch break time. She saw that he was still there and walked over to him.
“How are you doing over here?” she asked.
“Okay, I guess,” Ivan said. “I didn’t find anything else except this wallet. Cheap enough price on it.”
“Yes, we just got those in a couple of days ago. Christmas is coming, you know.”
“It will be here before we know it,” Ivan said.
“Say, would you go have lunch with me?” he finally managed.
His delivery wasn’t nearly as suave as he’d hoped it would be. He was really out of practice in asking out girls. Delia looked up at him, surprise written on her face.
“I-I guess so,” she stammered. “Sure, I’d like that very much.
Ivan relaxed and said, “Great! When do you get off for lunch?”
“I can go pretty much anytime I want to,” she told him. “When do you want to go?”
“How about now? Does that work for you?”
“Now is fine,” Delia said. “In fact, it’s probably the best time, because the others don’t start the lunch rotations until twelve-thirty. Just let me go and clock out and I’ll meet you back here in a few.”
“Fine,” he answered.
Delia returned shortly, all smiles.
“You look especially happy,” Ivan commented as she walked up to him.
“My supervisor saw you and told me to take an hour if I wanted,” she giggled.
“She did, did she?” Ivan said with raised brow. “Does she tell you that every time you go to lunch with a guy?”
“I’ve never been to lunch with a guy before,” Delia confessed. “I think that’s why she was so surprised.”
“A beautiful woman like you should be taken to lunch every day, and dinner, too,” Ivan said, regaining some of his confidence.
“Oh, silly,” Delia giggled. “But thank you!”
“Where would you like to go to eat?” he asked. “Somewhere here in the mall, or would you like to get out of here for a while?”
“Let’s get out of here, if it’s okay with you,” she said.
“Fine with me. Do you like Chinese or Italian?”
“Yes.”
Ivan looked down at the merriment dancing in her dark eyes. He had a live one this time, he knew.
“Me, too. Shall I choose or do you want to?”
“Let’s flip a coin,” she suggested. “Heads it’s Chinese, tails it’s Italian.”
“Works for me,” Ivan said, digging in his jeans’ pocket for a coin.
He brought out a dime and flipped it into the air, neatly catching it and slapping in down on the back of his other hand. He pulled his covering hand away to reveal the coin had landed face down.
“Italian it is,” he declared, holding out his hand for Delia’s inspection.
“Yummy,” was all she said.
They walked to Ivan’s car—he’d driven his new Thunderbird today— and opened the passenger’s side door for Delia to get in.
“Nice wheels,” she said, admiring the candy-apple red paint job.
“Thanks. She gets me from point A to point B,” Ivan said modestly.
“Yeah, I guess she does,” Delia said in a “wow” voice.
Over lunch, they exchanged get-acquainted talk. Delia related her college life and Ivan told her vaguely that he owned a spread out of town and was into real estate. Then he told her of Jeanne’s tragic death the day before.
“My secretary was killed in a car accident yesterday,” he began.
“Oh, no! I’m so sorry,” Delia said, eyes full of sympathy.
“Now I need to hire someone new, and I was wondering,” he paused and looked into Delia’s eyes, “I was wondering if you would be interested in coming to work for me.”
He didn’t bother to tell her that she was already working for him. He wanted an honest answer first, not one that she felt obligated to give.
“Oh, wow,” Delia said, furrowing her brow. “I don’t know much about real estate.”
“You just told me you’ve taken a couple of years of business courses, so that’s a big asset. What you’ll be doing is primarily glorified secretarial work—paying bills, doing basic bookkeeping and payroll, keeping the records on my properties updated—just basic stuff. And sometimes you’ll run errands for me. Let me tell you what I’m offering before you decide one way or the other.”
“Okay,” she said, leaning forward.
“I live on a thousand acres and I have three couples who live on the premises who help out with housekeeping, cooking, and grounds maintenance. There is one more cottage on the premises that could be yours, including utilities and your own private pool. This is in addition to two grand a month salary, and use of the tennis courts and horseback riding. If you choose not to live on site, as my former secretary did, your salary would be three grand. But I figure you probably can’t rent, pay utilities, and drive out to my place for that extra grand a month.”
“That’s a very generous offer, Ivan,” Delia said.
He could see the wheels turning in her mind.
“Oh, and I forgot to mention it’s just five days a week, Monday through Friday, eight hours a day, and you’ll get two weeks’ paid vacation the first couple of years, and then more after that, if you stay with me. When you’re running errands for me, I pay extra for your gas.”
“It is a very tempting offer,” Delia said. “But I would like a day or so to think about it, unless you’re desperate for someone today.”
“Certainly, you may have time to think about it,” Ivan said. “I would expect you to give proper notice to your present employer as well. I can get by for a couple of weeks on my own.”
“Yes, I wouldn’t just quit on them,” Delia agreed. “I enjoy working there and I think I’m good at my job. But I have to admit that I’m not making that kind of money there, even though I’ve been working there for several years now. Well, that’s not entirely true. I make about that much money, but half of it goes out in rent, so if I were to take you up on your offer of living on site, I would be netting a lot more.”
“That you would,” Ivan said, nodding.
Delia looked at her watch.
“Oh, dear, my time is up,” she said woefully. “You’re going to have to speed to get me back to the store on time.”
“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to the time,” Ivan said, getting up from the table.
He laid two twenty-dollar bills in the check folder on the table along with the check, pulled her chair out for her, and they hurried out to his car.
“Put my cell number into your phone,” Ivan instructed her as they drove back to the mall, “and then call me when you’ve made up your mind. Okay?”
“Sure,” she said, pulling her phone out of her purse. “Okay, go.”
“555-0105,” he said.
“Got it.”
Ivan pulled up to the store’s door. Before he completely stopped rolling, she had the door open and was getting out.
“Thanks so much for lunch and for the offer,” she said, leaning back in the car. “I’ll call you soon with my decision.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
He watched her run towards the store, and then pause to hold the door open for an elderly lady who got there at the same time she did. What a woman! he thought to himself. I sure hope she says yes.