The Staircase of Dragon Jerico
Chapter Twenty-Six
PRESTON AIR-BALLED his shot and Gene grabbed it on the bounce.
“What happened to you, sharpshooter?”
“I didn’t get much sleep last night,” Preston laughed.
“Up late planning a new magnificent project?” Gene asked.
“Bowling.”
“Wait. What? You were bowling?”
“There aren’t too many people at the bowling alley at one in the morning.”
“I don’t remember you ever bowling before.”
“It was my first time since high school. Remember when I took Sue Williams out? Not only did she cream me at the alley, she humiliated me at school by telling everyone how bad I was.”
“I think you’re the only person in Jerico City who remembers that. How did you do last night?”
“Better than you can ever imagine.”
“What was your score?” Gene asked.
“I have no idea.”
“Preston, what the hell are you talking about?”
“Maizie… Erin was there. We sort of had an impromptu date.”
“You dog! You didn’t leave her in bed to come and play basketball, did you?”
“Oh, geez no! We didn’t… We each went to our own homes after the bowling alley. We just talked,” Preston said.
“I hope you were more erudite than you’re being with me.”
“We really had a great conversation. I went bowling so I could decide if I could ask her on a date to bowl. I wasn’t expecting to see her there. She ended up on the lane next to mine and started with a strike. Then we realized we were next to each other and got to talking. We bowled some, too. It just wasn’t as important as talking.”
“She goes bowling at one o’clock in the morning?”
“Not usually. She said she was there to work out her frustrations by throwing a heavy ball at inanimate objects.”
“Frustration?”
“That’s what we talked about. It was all kind of cool. She talked about liking a guy who she thought liked her but she didn’t know what to do about it,” Preston said. He grabbed the ball from Gene and tossed it at the rim. Swish!
“And she was talking about you?”
“I didn’t realize it at first and thought I’d blown my chances with her. But as we talked, it became more and more obvious we were talking about each other. We went through a long list of things we could do together and set up some ground rules about dating,” Preston said.
“So, what are the rules?”
“Take it slow and easy, first. But we agreed we wouldn’t be secretive about dating. We wouldn’t make any display of it in the office, but if we saw someone we knew while we were out, we wouldn’t try to hide that we were with each other. It makes a lot of sense.”
“That’s incredible! What did your family say?”
“God, Gene! I haven’t told them yet!”
“Wait. What about this not being secretive?”
“It’s not about keeping a secret, but trying to manage my mother. If I told her I was dating Erin, Mother would want to invite her over for dinner and immediately show her the wedding step. She’d assume we were getting married tomorrow.”
“That does sound like your mother.”
“G-Pop would draft a prenup before we saw each other this afternoon.”
“You’re seeing each other this afternoon?” Gene asked.
“Just going for a walk along the river to look at the leaves.”
“Hmm. Right.”
“I know she has a standing Sunday evening get-together with her former boss,” Preston said. “It’s the same thing as me coming to play basketball and have Sunday dinner with my family.”
“I’ve got to tell you, pal, I’m really happy for you. You know she’s been vetted and approved. We wouldn’t have nominated her to run the company otherwise. I don’t think even Jerico will have a background check run. Your mother did that before she was first hired.”
“Just be cool, okay?” Preston said. “Remember, I said our first rule was to take it slow and easy. Don’t go getting us married before we decide if we like each other.”
“Yeah. I’ll do my part. Sometime, though, we’ll need to double date so we all get to know each other better. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
“Guess who I ran into in town this week!” Jacqueline said at the Sunday dinner table. “Jordan Malone. I know you liked her in high school. The first thing out of her mouth was to ask how you were doing. She’s still just as sweet as she was when you were kids. It’s sad that life dealt her a bad hand. You know she married Ron Taft and he planned a career in the military. He was killed in Afghanistan or Iran or somewhere in the desert and left her with two little ones. So sad. She’s just moved back to town so the children are closer to their grandparents. I suggested that you should get together next weekend and she said she’d love to.”
“No,” Preston said.
“Preston, you liked Jordan. And she was never mean or rude to you.”
“No, Mother. You’ll have to call and explain to her that I can’t see her next weekend.”
“Why ever not?”
Preston took a deep breath. This was exactly what he was afraid of, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
“I’m seeing someone.”
There was silence at the table. Lawrence and Jacqueline sat open-mouthed. Gina grinned.
“That’s wonderful news, Preston. I know your mother and grandfather are thrilled. They are just too surprised to speak,” Gina said.
“Yes. That’s right. Who?” demanded Jacqueline.
“Just don’t make a big deal about it, okay?”
“About what?” Lawrence asked.
“We just decided it would be okay to see each other last night. Kind of in the middle of the night.”
“You slept with her before you decided it was okay to see each other?” Jacqueline asked. She was more than a little dumbfounded.
“Mother, we aren’t sleeping together. In fact, we want to take it slow and easy so we can see how things work out. There’s no rush. We just want to see each other.”
“Who?” Lawrence asked.
“Ms. Scott,” Preston said.
This time Gina spit tea out her nose. Jacqueline made an audible gasp and Lawrence started to laugh.
“What is the problem?” Preston asked. “I know you two like her and she’s been vetted six ways till Sunday. You should have no objections to my seeing her socially.”
“None at all,” Lawrence said. “Absolutely none at all.”
“What about all your protesting about dating an employee?” Jacqueline said. “I’d given up on her as a possibility.”
“We had a little encounter after the shareholders’ meeting Friday. It got us both thinking and we ended up both going bowling at one this morning. We didn’t intend to meet, but once we were both there we got to talking. We set up some ground rules that would enable us to date. And one of them is that I shouldn’t be late to pick her up. We’re going for a walk this afternoon. Please excuse me from cleanup today. I’ll make it up next time.”
With that, Preston pushed away from the table and left his flabbergasted family sitting in silence.
“I don’t like this! I don’t like it at all!” Jacqueline said as she stared at her father and his girlfriend.
“And why is that, dear daughter? Are you shocked that Preston managed to do for himself what you’ve been frustrated in for so long?” Lawrence asked. “She’s perfect for him.”
“Too perfect! I should have seen it from the start. A perfect assistant in the office. Dutifully taking care of the menial tasks. Resetting his Rubik’s Cubes. Able to make a presentation on the spur of the moment. A perfect candidate for CEO. There must be something wrong with her. She’s competent, beautiful, creative, smart. What does she see in Preston? Is she just after the business after all?”
“My how the leopard has changed her spots,” Gina chuckled.
“You stay out of this. Whatever she takes is something you won’t have access to,” Jacqueline barked.
“I already have all I want, Jackie,” she answered. “What is it that you want? If he’d taken your hints to date Erin when you made them, would that have made it better?”
“He did it without me!” Jacqueline sobbed. “Oh, I’m a stupid mother. I only ever wanted him to be happy, but I always thought I’d have to provide that happiness for him—even if it was in the form of another woman. My baby is all grown up!”
“He didn’t stutter or stumble once when he was telling us about her,” Lawrence said. “We might be seeing a whole new Preston emerging.”
“We held hands,” Erin said to Dolores. “That can’t be considered too much for what has to be really our first date, can it?”
She sat with her friend Sunday evening, having rushed there after her date with Jerry to walk by the river. When they were together or she was talking about her date, they were still Jerry and Maizie. It was what had enabled them to communicate so easily early Sunday morning.
“I think after nearly a year, you know each other well enough to hold hands on a first official date,” Dolores laughed. “I’m so happy for you!”
“I am, too. I think. What if this is a big mistake and I’m messing up my whole career at JeriCorp. Or his. What if his mother and grandfather don’t like me? His family is so close. And I don’t have any!”
“You’ve had family you were close to,” Dolores soothed her younger friend. “I know you still think of them.”
“Yes, and I think they would have been so disappointed in my first choice for a husband,” Erin sighed. “Back then, I was still trying to replace them. Do you think I’m trying to replace my family with Jerry? Or that I’m trying to make up for the mess of my first marriage? I never intended to get married again, but I can’t stop thinking of the possibility when I’m with Jerry.”
“Well, you agreed to take it slow and easy, right?”
“Yes. In fact, that was his first suggestion. It was so sweet, Dolores. He knew I bowled with the ladies’ league, so he decided to go out in the middle of the night to practice bowling so he could ask me out for something I liked to do.”
“That’s a keeper, in my book. You know how many guys I hear about who wanted to treat the girl to an elaborate meal at a fancy restaurant? It always ends the same. He figures if he spends a lot of money on her, she’ll be obligated to pay him back with her body. The girls on the breakfast shift are most susceptible. Most of their customers are singles.”
“He captured me on the lunch shift,” Erin said. “As soon as he walked through the door, I just wanted to take care of him.”
“And you still are, aren’t you?”
“Sort of. I’ve got Cheryl trained to put away the laundry and wipe things down. I still make coffee in the morning. But I have to start working as soon as I get in. I can’t do the domestic housework every day. He often offers to cook breakfast for me, but I make a point to eat something substantial before I come to work. We have coffee together while we plan out our day.”
“I can’t give you any sage advice. You’ll just have to take it easy and see where it all leads. Trust your heart.”
“If I did that, I’d have moved in with him Friday. I think I should listen to my heart, but trust my head.”
Erin had more fun on their dates than she’d had since high school—or college at least. Back then, she didn’t feel obligated to put out for whoever was taking her out. She realized how that had changed with her later college years and through her twenties. Every date then had felt like the expectation was to sleep together—at least by the third date, if not the first.
When she kissed Jerry after they went for a walk, out to dinner, to a concert, or to a museum, she could definitely feel the pressure building for more. She kept asking herself why she hadn’t just gone upstairs to his bedroom and called for him to join her. But she was enjoying the building pressure of dating so much, she didn’t want it to end. And the kisses were becoming more intense with each date. He’d brushed against her breast during their kiss the week before Thanksgiving. She’d gone to bed with that feeling tingling through her body and reliving his touch as she touched herself.
“I have an official invitation for you,” Mr. Carver said in the office Monday morning.
“Official?”
“Yes. I couldn’t keep Mother from issuing it. I was going to invite you out on Thanksgiving, but Mother believes we’ve been seeing each other long enough that you should join the family for Thanksgiving dinner,” Carver said.
“Oh my. That is an official invitation, isn’t it? You have to tell me what you want me to do. Is it too much, too soon for me to join a family celebration? I thought I could make a simple Thanksgiving dinner for the two of us if you’d prefer that,” Miss Scott said.
“Do you remember meeting Ellen Barrett and her husband last week when we went to the basketball game at the high school? I really had no idea her son was playing.”
“I remember. I thought we did quite well. When she asked if we were seeing each other, we just said ‘Yes.’ We didn’t try to explain anything. And she accepted that without further questions.”
“I’m sure it has gone through the office. She’s close friends with Shannon Duval and once Shannon knows something, the office knows.”
“Yes, but it was our first real test of being public about being a couple. We passed.”
“Well, I think we can pass the family test, too,” he answered. “Mother’s invitation aside, Erin Scott, it would be a privilege if you consented to join me with my family at our holiday gathering Thursday.”
“Preston Carver, it would be my pleasure to join you.”
She’d said it so convincingly, but Thursday morning, she was a nervous wreck. She’d seen both Jacqueline and Lawrence at Board meetings and once or twice in the office since she started dating Preston, but going to their home—basically throwing the relationship in their faces—was a new level of intimacy.
Do they think I’m sleeping with him? What has he told them?
She dressed three times, trying to make sure she had the right balance of holiday festive and family informal. She finally chose a casual skirt and blouse, deciding that was as good as it was going to get. She’d offered to simply drive to Jerico House herself, but Preston said he was driving from the penthouse and would like to pick her up.
She’d grown rather fond of his older Continental, and had driven it to business meetings in St. Louis on a couple of occasions. She would just as soon ride in the truck that Preston and his grandfather shared. The three of them had driven down to Cloudhaven to review progress the first of November. It was good. It was also good to be sandwiched in the front seat between Preston and Lawrence. They’d held pinky fingers on the trip, much to Lawrence’s amusement.
Preston was a bit of a traditionalist and came to her apartment door rather than texting his arrival to her and waiting for her to come down. It was almost as if he expected to be interrogated by a parent or big brother. Erin thought perhaps she should have Dolores over to meet him when he came up one day. That might shake him up too much, though.
She held his hand on the way to the car and he opened the door for her. The male influence in his life had skipped a generation between Lawrence and Preston. She felt he was constantly mirroring his grandfather’s formality in dealing with other people. Perhaps he had found that was an easier way for him to interact with others. She found it a delightful difference between him and most men of their generation.
She waited for him to come around the car and open her door before she got out and took his hand, as they walked up the steps to the massive doors. The last time Erin had been here had been to get the family’s proxies so she could save Preston’s job. Or take it. She found the entrance of the old mansion just as imposing as she had on that first visit.
“Welcome!” Jacqueline said when they entered the house. Lawrence and Gina were just a few steps behind her. “Happy Thanksgiving!”
“Thank you! Happy Thanksgiving to you, Mrs. Carver.” Erin handed Jacqueline a bottle of wine.
“None of that, Erin. This isn’t the office. I’m guessing you call Preston something other than Mr. Carver when you are on a date. You must call me Jackie.”
“Thank you, Jackie.”
Lawrence stepped up and gave her a bear hug.
“And I’m Lawrence. This is my special friend Gina Gabriola.”
“Thank you, Lawrence. I seem to recall you have a fondness for Wild Turkey. I hope you’ll share this.” She handed him a bottle of the bourbon and greeted Gina. “I’m Erin. It’s nice to meet you, Gina.”
Preston stepped past his grandfather and swept another woman up in a hug to spin her around.
“And this is the wonder woman who is responsible for the survival of this old monstrosity, Matilda,” Preston said, setting the housekeeper cook down in front of Erin.
“I’ve heard so much about you, Matilda,” Erin said. “It seems the Jerico family would cease to be if it weren’t for you.”
“I’d like to say you’re exaggerating, but you’re probably right,” Matilda said. “Mr. Lawrence, why don’t you open that bottle you are cradling so protectively and pour cocktails for everyone. The bird just came out of the oven and needs to rest a bit before a carver gets to it.” She looked meaningfully at Preston.
Lawrence poured Wild Turkey on the rocks for everyone and they toasted the holiday and each other. Preston did carve the turkey into professional-looking slices of both light and dark meat. They all exclaimed over how tasty the food was. It was a sign of the family’s acceptance of all people that Matilda joined them at the table as part of the family.
The food and the company were excellent. Of course, Erin was asked questions she’d already answered for Preston about her home life and departed parents, but it was all a part of getting to know each other outside the office and business. She found herself enjoying the company and the holiday.
Preston, of course, walked her to her door rather than just dropping her off at the curb. She kept hold of his hand as she opened the door and pulled him inside. She made tea and they sat in her living room together to sip the hot beverage. It was not long, though, before they lost interest in the tea in favor of each other. It was the first time they’d truly made out. Their hands stayed above the waist, but as their lips joined, the passion heated up.
“We could easily get carried away,” she gasped. “A part of me is more than willing.”
“I don’t want a part of you,” he said. “I want all of you. So, I think I should head home now before we do get carried away.”
They both moved reluctantly to the door where they kissed again and narrowly avoided returning to the sofa.
“I’m not running away,” he said. “I just want to know we’re both ready.”
“I won’t run away from you, Jerry,” she said. “Goodnight, love.”
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