Fern is driving into town. She showered this morning, applied her skincare, combed her hair meticulously, and applied perfume and makeup. She ironed her nicest dress, and is ready to make the best first impression possible.
She called the number on the business card last week and was greeted by Dominic Daniels' secretary. She set up an appointment, and left Freeman Market to be 5 minutes early.
The drive is half an hour long, so Fern spends it thinking about the possibilities of this appointment. Maybe he's nice. Maybe he's mean. Maybe he's old and fat. Maybe he has a daughter and will take pity on her. She can only guess about his looks and character, since Mr. McAllister never even saw him in person, he only dealt with subordinates.
Fern pulls into the parking lot of a small, very nice office building with stonework on the front of it. She shuts off the car and takes a deep breath before opening the car and heading in.
She is met with a blast of cold air conditioning and immediately shivers. Apparently Mr. Daniels likes his office cold.
Fern greets the receptionist at the front desk and is told to have a seat and wait.
While she's waiting, Fern looks around at the walls of the office. There are no pictures on the walls except nature landscapes, but she sees a part of the wall that has a bunch of framed licenses and diplomas.
Apparently, Dominic Daniels graduated from Harvard.
Finally, at the exact time of her appointment, the receptionist tells Fern to head into Mr. Daniels' office.
Fern takes a deep breath and enters, and is immediately shocked.
The man sitting at the desk before her is nobody's dad. He has tan skin and smooth muscles. His head is crowned in dark curls, and she briefly thinks about running her hands through them, before blinking and shaking her head to focus back on the task at hand.
Fern puts on a warm, polite smile and strides toward the desk. Luckily, Mr. Daniels hadn't caught her staring because his eyes had been looking down at some papers on his desk. As she steps toward him his sharp blue eyes look up and catch hers. She is disarmed again, but brushes it off and sticks out her hand.
"Hi, my name is Fern Freeman. I own Freeman Market, and I'm leasing the empty lot next to it from you," she states.
He stares at her for a second before standing up and taking her hand to shake it.
She realizes how tall he is, and his grip is firm and warm as his gaze holds hers. She clears her throat and looks away awkwardly.
"Yes, I know who you are," he replies simply.
Fern blinks, caught off guard, before continuing.
"Well, Mr. Daniels, Freeman Market was robbed a couple of days ago." His eyebrows raise slightly at this statement as he sits back down and motions for her to sit in one of the chair across from his desk. Fern sits before continuing.
"They took my safe, which held almost all of my money, including the rent money and the money I was saving up to buy the lot from you when my lease is up," she finishes, pausing before getting to the main point of her appointment.
"Mr. Daniels, I was wondering if you could possibly extend-"
He hold up a hand for her to stop talking. Fern clamps her mouth shut, slightly offended.
"Miss Freeman, do you think I got to where I am by pandering to every sweet little girl that owes me money?"
Fern stares at him, shocked at what he just said. She opens her mouth to retort, but he cuts her off.
"I am leaving for Florida for a week. If you don't have the money when I'm back, you will be in breach of contract and will be evicted from the property," he states calmly.
"But, Mr. Daniels-"
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a plane to catch."
With that, Dominic Daniels stands up and walks around the desk, heading for the door.
Fern catches his arm and stops him, her fury plain in her eyes. Dominic looks at her with faint surprise and plants his feet, signaling her to get her rant over with.
"I. Am. NOT just a sweet little girl. I am a businesswoman. I don't need anyone to pander to me. I will get the money by the end of the week, just you wait, Dominic Daniels."
And with that, she flounces last him and strides out the office door with all the grace and poise of a noblewoman. Dominic's eyes linger on the door she just went out of, remembering her hair swishing between her hips as she strode with angry purpose.
In her car, Fern rests her hands on the steering wheel and leans forward to let her forehead smack it. She smacks her head against the steering wheel a couple more times before taking a deep breath and looking at herself in the rear view mirror.
"HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO COME UP WITH $10,000 BY THE END OF THE WEEK?!", she yells to the empty car. She then calms herself, starts the car, and pulls out of the parking lot.
Dominic watches the whole thing through the blinds of his office window and chuckles to himself at the silly, ridiculously confident girl that had marched into his office like she was ready to take over the world.