A Perfect Match Ch. 04

Part Eight: Sunday

Meryn woke up about ten o'clock the next morning, took a leisurely shower, got dressed, and made herself some bacon and eggs for breakfast. She did not make her bed or clean up the kitchen after herself. Might as well take some advantage of the situation for the short time it would last. She was not at all surprised when at exactly 12 noon her doorbell rang. What did catch her unawares however, as she opened the door to let Jeremy in, was that he was holding two large bags of groceries.

"Jeremy, what's all this?"

"I thought I'd get things for dinner ahead of time this morning, Miss Meryn, so I wouldn't have to rush out later."

She really hadn't thought about him making dinner again for her tonight, but last night's had been so delicious she couldn't put up much of an argument. Still...

"Jeremy, I can't really let you be buying my groceries for me." He looked crestfallen. "I want you to figure out exactly how much you spent last night and today and we'll split it fifty-fifty. No arguments. Okay?"

"Whatever you say Miss Meryn."

"What are you making?" Something fattening she hoped. "No, don't tell me. Last night was so good. I think I'd like to be surprised again tonight."

She then told him that she was going to her office for the afternoon to finish preparing for a very important project presentation she was making the next day at work. She would be home around five.

"And Jeremy, here is the key to the basement for the washer and dryer." She said handing it to him. "The cleaning materials are on the shelves to the left." She added this time.

"Great. Thank you Miss Meryn."

With that she was off to the office. She had done most of the research for the project, and she would be the one doing most of the actual presentation of the data. Her co-worker, Michael, who had been assigned as team leader, would be making the introductions for each section, and providing concluding analysis, but it would be mostly from work she had done. Michael had joined the company after her, but was clearly more adept at working the system than she, and was recognized to be someone on the fast track within the company. If the presentation went well and the project was given the go-ahead as she felt it would be, all of the members of the team would benefit and be rewarded, but Michael more than others, certainly more than her. Well, she took great satisfaction in realizing that her work was good, but at times she wished that she would get more personal recognition for it. She just wasn't very good at promoting herself.

Although she worked hard throughout the afternoon, her thoughts occasionally wandered to wondering what Jeremy was accomplishing in her apartment. On the way home she hesitated, then stopped to purchase an item she didn't think she would need that night, but decided to get it just in case.

Upon arriving home at about ten to five she was met with a different, but equally delectable aroma. This time Jeremy greeted her at the door with his smile, informed her that dinner would be ready in about ten minutes, and asked if she would like him to bring her something to drink. She told him to save it for dinner, that she had a few things that she needed to do, and to let her know when dinner was ready.

Dying to discover what all Jeremy had been able to do that afternoon, she entered her bedroom. The first thing she noticed was a large collection of her delicates and undergarments neatly folded and stacked on her long cedar chest at the foot of her bed. She briefly wondered why he hadn't put them away, but curiosity got the better of her as she marched over to her closet. Had he found the three full bags of laundry she had stuffed inside? Pulling open the folding double doors, she was taken quite aback. The laundry bags were gone. Her hanging clothes, which had been shoved haphazardly and in disarray along the rack, were now hung neatly, including a large number of those just laundered. And all of those that had needed it had apparently been ironed. The shelf above that had been a morass of scarves, hats, sweaters and sweatshirts all mixed together, was now organized with all the contents separated and folded.

What was most amazing to her however, was her shoes on the floor. If Meryn had one clothing vice, it was shoes. She owned over thirty pairs, and although she had several shoe racks on the floor of her closet, most of the shoes were strewn in a jumble, so that even she at times had trouble finding the right two together. Now they were all neatly assembled on the racks, in categories, starting with her high boots on one end, followed by low-cut boots, a number of pairs of high heels, a larger number of pumps, then her many flats, and finally a couple of pairs of running shoes and slippers at the other end. Looking closer, she realized that except for the running shoes and slippers, all of the shoes had obviously been shined. How had he done that? She didn't have any shoe polish. He must have brought it with him, in several different colors.

She was brought out of her reverie when Jeremy came to her bedroom door to announce that dinner was ready. She noticed that, as had been the case the day before, he did not enter her bedroom uninvited when she was in it.

"I'm sorry I didn't put those away for you, Miss Meryn." He said to her indicating the clothes on her cedar chest. "I didn't think you would like me going into your dresser without permission."

Comprehension dawning, she gratefully acknowledged it. "That was very considerate of you Jeremy. I'll put them away myself later. And take care of some things so that there won't be a problem in the future." What was she saying, she wondered. Oh well, she had given him a week after all, so the opportunity just may present itself in that time for him to straighten up her soon-to-be safe dresser drawers.

Meryn then allowed Jeremy to escort her to the diningroom, where she was pleased to note that the table had two place settings. After pulling her chair for her as she sat, she asked.

"What delicious surprise have you prepared for us tonight?"

"Well, I realized that I hadn't asked what type of foods you like, Miss Meryn," he started, "but I saw several fish cookbooks in your cabinet, so I made you a brook trout almondine. And a ratatouille for a vegetable."

Very impressed, she allowed him to serve her a healthy portion of each, and after finishing that she allowed him to give her a generous second helping of both. She noticed that he only took a small piece of fish, and one spoonful of ratatouille, and no second portions at all. Maybe he was going to make a serious attempt at this, she thought. Not that it mattered, as she felt that there was no way he could continue this for an entire week. And she was going to be the final judge anyway. Still, she couldn't help but be pleasantly touched that he was going to try.

During dinner, he asked her about her project and the presentation that she was giving the next day. She explained that it was an investment proposal and prospectus that she and her team had developed for long term implementation by the company. They were presenting it tomorrow to the CEO, the President of the company, and key members of the Board of Directors. If they were pleased with it and gave the go-ahead, which she thought they should, it would be a lucrative new venture for the company, and her team would be a major part of the development.

When Jeremy expressed further interest she began to outline the project to him in very general terms, but as he continued to ask very perceptive questions, she began to go into depth, and became excited and animated as she explained more and more of the minutiae.

Rather than starting to seem bored, as she would have anticipated of someone not familiar with her field, he apologized several times for asking her to explain things that he didn't quite understand. She then came to the sudden realization that when her team practiced dry runs of presenting the proposal among themselves, they did so in the data speak that they were all well versed in. Although the people they would be speaking to tomorrow, her bosses, were more familiar with this type of information than Jeremy, they were still likely to often be confused by the technical jargon that filled the report. She then made a special effort to answer Jeremy's questions in more plain English terms, and was pleased when he clearly seemed to understand. This had definitely been her most illuminating practice run. She would have to make sure to brief Michael about this tomorrow before they started, so that they would do the same with the bosses.

As the discussion had gone on quite a while, she allowed Jeremy to help her to a third serving of trout, he again not taking any himself. When she had finished, he told her that he had made her a special dessert. Although already very full, she didn't have the heart to refuse him, and he brought out a home made strawberry-rhubarb tart. When she commented that there was only one, he replied that that was all he had time to make. She let this go at that, although she knew the real reason. She sampled the tart, and soon devoured it all, telling him truthfully that it put Grandma's pie to shame.

After he had finished clearing the table and cleaning the dishes, Jeremy joined Meryn in the livingroom, where she had been sitting doing some very heavy thinking. He asked her if there was anything more she needed him to do. She paused for several seconds before answering, and then decided. She asked him what time he usually got off from work every day. He told her about four-thirty. She then took out the item she had purchased on her way home earlier and gave it to him.

"This is a key to my apartment Jeremy. If all goes well, I'll probably be going out with the team for a few drinks to celebrate tomorrow evening, so I don't think I'll be home until about seven."

Jeremy's face beamed. "I'll have dinner waiting for you Miss Meryn."

"I was hoping you'd say that. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Whatever you say Miss Meryn."

Part Nine: Monday

As she was driving home from work the next day, Meryn admitted to herself how tired she was. And frustrated and upset. The presentation had gone very well. As planned, Meryn had been the primary presenter, standing in her high heels at the podium for over three hours. What bothered her was that except for asking her for an occasional clarification of her data, all of the questions from the Board were directed to Michael, who had brilliantly utilized her advice to simplify his answers for them so that they clearly seemed to understand. At he end the proposal had been approved, and the project given the green light to proceed. While everyone on the team had been congratulated by the bosses, the most effusive praise had been directed to Michael. It really upset her that he appeared to be getting most of the credit for the research and analysis that had primarily been done by her. She had little doubt that after today Michael would be named project manager. While she would clearly be included as a valuable contributor, it depressed her that she seemed to be becoming viewed as little more than a data wonk, and not as leadership material.

Feigning a headache, she begged off from joining her team members for celebratory drinks after work. As she arrived home, she lamented the fact that she had had Jeremy return that evening. Oh well, she thought, at least she wouldn't have to worry about making dinner, although she really wasn't very hungry. She decided she would eat quickly, and then send Jeremy home.

Entering the apartment at 5:45, more than an hour before she was expected, she muttered a barely audible response to Jeremy's greeting, and hurried directly to her bedroom. She couldn't wait to change her clothes, and particularly take off the high heels that had been pinching her the entire day that she had been standing in them. She put on a tee shirt, a pair of cutoffs, and her slippers, and went back out to the livingroom and collapsed into her sofa, staring into space.

After a couple of minutes, Jeremy came in and offered her a cold glass of lemonade, which she silently accepted, barely acknowledging him. As he remained standing there by the sofa, she finally looked up at him.

"What Jeremy?" She said somewhat more sharply than she had intended. It was not his fault she felt as lousy as she did.

"I was just wondering Miss Meryn how your presentation went today."

"Fine, I guess." She answered in a resigned voice. When he continued standing there without speaking, she added. "Is there anything else?"

"Well, it just seems that you're very tense and upset."

"I'm just exhausted Jeremy. It was a very long day, and my feet are killing me from standing in those high heels all day."

"If you'll excuse me from offering Miss Meryn, but I think I might be able to do something that might help with both of those problems."

"And what might that be?"

"Dinner is simmering and about thirty minutes from being done, so in the meantime I'd be very honored to give you a nice foot massage."

A foot massageཀ She had never had a foot massage before. No one had ever offered to give her one. Her first inclination was to graciously refuse, but she was intrigued. And her feet really did ache.

"Um...okay Jeremy. That does sound interesting."

Jeremy smiled his smile and quickly disappeared into her bedroom, returning seconds later with a bottle of her scented body lotion. He knelt down in front of her, took off her slippers, poured a generous amount of lotion onto his hands rubbing them together to warm it up, and then carefully picked up her right foot and began slowly and gently kneading it. He continued like this for several minutes, silently, before putting her first foot down, applying more lotion to his hands, rubbing them, and then picking up her left foot to begin the process anew.

Meryn did feel some tension begin to lessen as her feet began to feel much better. It was at this point that Jeremy broke the silence.

"So how did the presentation really go Miss Meryn?"

Why was he breaking the mood, she thought. She was just beginning to relax. Still, she realized, she did want to talk about it with somebody, and it was probably better to do so with someone who was not involved. As he continued massaging her feet, she began to tell him about the meeting, how well it went on the surface, but how she was bothered by how her role had been marginalized. Instead of offering a bland commiseration, Jeremy surprised her by asking questions about each of the team members, particularly Michael, and about each of the bosses, particularly the President, Mr Martin. She found herself going into great details about each of them, what she felt were their strengths and weaknesses, and her likes and dislikes about each of them.

After she had finished, Jeremy observed that it might be important for someone to ask Mr. Martin if he still had any questions and some of the ramifications of the data, that some of it might be confusing, particularly as much of the analysis how been presented through the biased filter of Michael, who was not as completely familiar with the material as she. Meryn sat back and considered this. She had noticed that Michael had glossed over several somewhat important issues during the meeting, and had even gotten several minor points wrong. At the time she didn't think it was a major problem, but maybe Jeremy was right. It was crucially important that the Board, particularly Mr. Martin, had a full and complete understanding of the project for it to succeed. She decided that she would try to find a way tomorrow to speak to him, to make sure that all of his questions were answered.

Thinking that this whole conversation had only taken about five minutes, she was surprised to realize that it had been over a half an hour. Jeremy had continued alternately massaging her feet throughout, and they now felt wonderful. She, herself, felt completely relaxed, and suddenly very hungry. She mentioned the latter fact to him, and he grinned, put her slippers back on, and rushed to get dinner on the table.

After seating her at her place, and serving her a large portion of beef bourguignonne over wild rice, taking a very small amount for himself, they continued their conversation. Meryn now went into what she liked about her job, how excited she was about the project, and things she hoped she could accomplish in the future. Once again, Jeremy's questions and observations helped her to look at things in different ways than she had before, and as she retired into the livingroom again, sipping her tea while he cleaned, she reflected how well and optimistic she now felt as compared to when she arrived home.

When Jeremy was finished in the kitchen, he came in to ask if there was anything more she needed him to do before he left. She answered no, but then added as he was leaving.

"You were right about your foot massage Jeremy. It was really very nice. I think I would really like it if I could have another one tomorrow night."

"Absolutely Miss Meryn." He beamed as he left. "Whatever you wish."