Chapter 5

• Ava "s POV
• I walked into the room, trying to keep my breathing under control.
• All of the girls who had entered had left. "This is a legitimate interview," I told myself as I sat in the chair across from the older lady who was seated in a large chair behind a desk.
• She was tall and thin, and she carried herself very high. She was dressed conservatively in a pencil skirt and a suit jacket. She had lovely light brown hair that was tucked behind her head and secured with a diamond clip.
• She had a few wrinkles around her eyes, her eyes were a beautiful blue, and she looked very familiar, but I couldn't place where or when I had come into contact with such a woman.
• "Ava," she said, softly smiling.
• "Yes, Ms. Jayson," I said, returning the smile and handing her my resume from my purse, which contained all of my information.
• "Oh, I like you; you can call me Veronica" she said as she took the file from me and began reading it.
• I was already feeling good about this interview because she said she liked me and said I could call her by her first name.
• "Ava I'll be honest with you: you were the only woman who showed up with a resume and a proper attire "She said this while looking at me up and down.
• I was dressed in black slacks with a white blouse.
• "I know your resume says you have no experience with children, but I believe this is a good opportunity for you to gain some," she said as she closed my file and looked up at me.
• "And I'm sure you're nervous because you know who you are, but I swear to you, no harm will come to you," she said as she stood up to shake my hand.
• "I apologize; I don't want to appear rude, but "I'm not familiar with your family. I saw your advertisement for the interview and came here today because of it "I said this as I stood up and shook her hand.
• She looked at me with a shocked expression written all over her.
• "You have no idea what our family does... you have no idea about the Jayson's-." She began
• "Oh, well, this makes everything better." As she walks out of the room, she tells the other girls to go home.
• I remained perplexed in my seat. I had never heard of the Jayson family before, and I was curious as to what she meant by "no harm will come to me" and "what her family does, "Before I could finish thinking about it, she walks in front of me and leads me out of the room and into another.
• The room we enter is enormous; it is the size of my apartment. The room has two couches on each side of the room, one in the middle, and a large flat screen television. The walls are light grey, the couches are all white , and a glass coffee table sits in the center of the room. I find it strange that they have white couches with a three-year-old, but given the size of this room, I am sure they can buy new couches every day if necessary.
• "All right, Ava, let's talk about everything," Veronica says, motioning me to sit on the couch.
• The couch is much softer than I expected, with two pillows on either side, and I almost sank into it when I sat down.
• "First and foremost, you will be paid weekly, and there is a house outside if you want to stay with us instead of commuting from your current residence."
• I nod
• I don"t know if I want to stay here, it is gorgeous but I have my own place where I can feel safe and my own space. Living here would make more sense in the end, but I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my apartment just yet.
• "If you choose to live here, we will feed you and deduct no money from your salary; if you choose not to live here, you will only receive your salary. Whether you decide to live here or not, you must be awake and ready for the day at 8 am
• I nod once more. I reason to myself that not only would I receive the same amount of money, but I would also be fed, allowing me to save even more money and attend school.