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“Payment?” I say, holding my hand out.
Harrison sighs and runs a hand through his hair. He turns to Jaxon, bending down in front of him. “Jaxon, champ, can you go get your pj’s on? I’m going to be right up to help you get ready for bed.”
“But I thought you said we can play more!” Jaxon starts whining.
“We can, but only if you’re in your pjs.”
Jaxon’s eyes light up, and he rushes toward the stairs, dropping his dinosaur to the floor as he does.
Harrison and I are left alone for a moment, but I know we won’t have long. Jaxon has a good memory, and he’ll be back soon expecting Harrison to pay up on his promises.
Harrison looks at me, and I get a whiff of the musky whisky. I imagine him at a bar, his hand creeping its way up some woman’s leg just to prove that he can.
It makes me feel sick. I stare back at Harrison.
“Well?” I finally prompt. “Jaxon isn’t going to be busy forever.”
“To my office,” Harrison finally says.
I don’t know why he has an office since it’s not like he can work from home. But I follow Harrison to the impressive room filled with wall-to-wall wooden bookshelves. Harrison sits behind the desk. He clicks on a few things on his computer, then begins writing out a check.
I wish he would hand over cash, but I understand that’s not how people are paid.
He pauses in the middle of writing his check, and I can hear Jaxon’s feet pounding back and forth across the floor of his room which is right above the office. Harrison looks up at the ceiling as the chandelier shakes. “That room may not have been the best choice for him,” Harrison says.
I see him trying to smile, but that’s when I realize there’s something behind the smile, something that he’s trying to hide. I haven’t been able to see it until now because I’ve been so annoyed by the fact that he came late.
Something happened at his work today. Fear grabs my shoulders and squeezes, and I feel icy tendrils of worry curling through me. What if Harrison was fired?
That would mean I wouldn’t have a job. He clearly has money, which means that he probably has savings, but what if… what if he doesn’t need me to take care of Jaxon anymore?
Harrison turns his gaze to me. “I know I’m not working tomorrow, but I need some time by myself. Can you come over around eight and feed Jaxon breakfast, play with him some in the morning?”
I swallow. I don’t have any plans. Of course, I don’t. I don’t have money to make plans with, and plans without money are staying at home and binging a TV show.
“Yeah, I can be here.” I want to ask him if he’s okay, if something is bothering him, but that feels like I’m crossing the line somehow.
Harrison’s eyes linger on me for a moment, then he finishes writing the check.
I’ve gone over the hours in my head multiple times, because I want to make sure he’s paying me the right amount, especially since he was two hours late today.
When Harrison hands the check over, I grab it and scan the number. It’s $50 higher than I was expecting, and my surprise must show.
“A little tip,” Harrison says.
Then, he rises from his desk and steps out of his office. As though he could sense Jaxon’s timing, that’s just when Jaxon steps off the last stair and comes barreling toward Harrison.
Harrison scoops him up and talks about how they’re going to play dinosaurs in Jaxon’s bedroom for ten minutes before bed.
I stand there for a moment, watching the two.
“Good night!” I call, heading to the mud room beside the side door for my shoes, which are definitely not allowed in the house.
As I head back to my house, curiosity sets in. What could have happened to have made Harrison have that look in his eyes? Was it something at work or something at the bar where he was getting the whisky I smelled on his breath?
He seems untouchable, and yet, he was bothered by something. I make it my mission to unravel the mystery and find out what’s going on with Harrison.
Chapter sixteen
