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.