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“He’s sleeping,” I told Warren as he came into the doorway, then swayed faster, hiding any movement on Judah’s part.
“You need to stop holding him all the time,” Warren chided me.
“He’s a baby,” I insisted. “Babies need to be held. It’s important for emotional regulation,” I told him, speaking out of my ass, because I had no idea if that was true or not.
One small perk to Warren was he never seemed to actually think about Judah unless he was actually looking at him. It also meant he never thought to research the things I told him about babies and development.
“He won’t be a baby much longer,” Warren said, shooting the maid a look that made my skin crawl, then walking out, closing the door behind him.
“I’m so sorry!” the maid said in a hushed whisper. “I tried so hard.”
“I know,” I said, nodding, and releasing Judah to shower his face with kisses. “He can get inconsolable when I’m not here.” Then, because there was a chance she would be forced to watch him again in the future, and we might not luck out with me getting in the room ahead of Warren, I added, “When all else fails, ice cream makes him happy.”
And, sure, I hated the idea of my child being plied with sugar endlessly when I was away, and I despised the idea of the staff being beaten for his unhappiness more. Or, in this young, pretty blonde maid’s case, maybe worse than a beating.
Lord knows, I was horribly aware of how sadistic Warren could be. Especially with women.
“Okay. I won’t let it happen again,” she assured me.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Sadie,” she told me, lower lip quivering, like she might think I was still considering tattling on her to Warren.
“Sadie, how long have you been working here?”
“Just two days,” she admitted.
What awful twist of fate had her coming to work for such a twisted dickhead of an employer?
“Can I give you a small piece of advice?” I asked, but it was really more of a warning.
“Of course.”
“After nine at night, make sure you are busy with a task that keeps you out of any of the main areas of the house. Especially Warren’s wing.”
The stricken look on her face let me know that she immediately knew what I was warning her away from.
“For example, mine or Judah’s bathrooms might require cleaning,” I added, knowing that in a twisted sort of way, our rooms were the safest place in the entire mansion for her. And I was always in Judah’s room. I could insist Warren leave so he doesn’t wake up his son. Before he could even realize Sadie was there.
“Thank you,” she said.
“But if I were you, I’d find a new job and never look back. I wish I’d had someone to tell me to run before it was too late,” I added, looking down at Judah who was toying with the cross around my neck.
Sadie gave me a frantic nod.
And two days later, she was suddenly gone from the house.
One less person for me to worry about.
It was on the third day that Warren brought the older maid back in, taking my son from my arms, and making my stomach twist.
Another outing.
But this time… at night. When I was supposed to be putting Judah to bed. And he was fussy and whiny when he was tired, but also in that phase where he was fighting sleep tooth and nail.
There was no way he wouldn’t be screaming his head off while we were gone.
My heart ached as I followed Warren toward the SUV.
