The Inheritance by Jacqueline Seewald

Author:Jacqueline Seewald
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Intrigue Publishing LLC
Published: 2016-08-14T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty

Maryann had been working at her laptop for several hours when she became aware of loud sounds coming from somewhere downstairs. Alarmed, she called to Jen but got no answer. Then she remembered Jen mentioned something about going marketing and taking Aaron with her. Maryann had been too absorbed in her job searches at the time to pay much attention.

She heard the noises again. Who or what was making them? She’d been barefoot but now put on her bedroom slippers and hurried down the hall and the stairs. She could now discern that the sounds were coming from the basement. With some caution and trepidation, Maryann took the creaking stairs down.

“Who’s there?”

“Just me.” Rob’s voice floated up to her.

She breathed a sigh of relief. “You scared me.”

“Sorry about that. I had some more work to do down here.”

She nearly tripped on the last step. Strong arms reached up to catch her.

“Careful there. Those slippers are mighty flimsy. No traction on them either.”

“Thank you. You can let go of me now.” But he didn’t. Rob continued to hold her close.

“Why don’t I walk you back upstairs?”

“Really, I’m fine.” She pulled away from him, not feeling fine at all. Being close to Rob disturbed her.

“I could use a cold drink about now. What about you?”

“We have fruit juice, iced tea.”

“Just water. Join me?”

They went to the kitchen where the late morning sun beautified the room. A nice breeze blew through the sky blue curtains. Rob helped her set up several glasses of water with ice. Then they sat down together at the hardwood table and chairs.

“I suppose I needed a break as well.” She took a few sips. The water cooled her inner thermostat.

Rob held the glass against his forehead. “Feels good. Gotta keep hydrated in this hot weather. So what have you been doing?”

“Same old. I’ve been checking postings for job opportunities that are appropriate for me.”

“And I suppose these job opportunities are all in New York City?” His tone had a casual ring but his eyes searched hers like torches.

She looked away. “Of course, that’s where I’m looking. There are several good possibilities. I just have to push for interviews.”

He took her hand and held it in his firm grasp. “From what you’ve told me, these companies treat employees rotten. There’s no loyalty. They use you, chew you up, then spit you out when it suits them.”

“The corporate world is ruthless, but the companies do pay well.”

Rob shook his head. “There ought to be a better way to operate.”

“Everybody looks to their bottom line. It’s nothing personal. Just business.”

Rob shrugged. “It’s personal when you’re the one getting fired.”

Maryann withdrew her hand from his. “It’s called downsizing or reorganizing.”

“I know a euphemism when I hear one.”

She raised an eyebrow.

He gave her a knowing look. “You didn’t think I knew what a word like euphemism meant, did you?”

“We hardly know each other.” She squirmed in her chair.

“Maryann, I’m not educated the way you are. I attended vo-tech in high school and

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.