AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I left the bathroom, taking the tumbler of whiskey with me.
Chapter Twelve
Ashlyn
I had stayed on fairly good terms with Amelia, my boss for the day shift, mostly by not sneaking Katie in and catching naps in the staff room. It was really only fair that I lost my job at the Adam’s building, but I was determined to stay on with Madison. An ambition helped by the fact that things had gone exceptionally well the next day.
Not only did I save the money on daycare with Chase watching Katie, but I had also actually gotten to the bus stop on time. I practically danced as I dusted the computer screens. Before long, my first break was coming up. I figured it couldn’t hurt just to call and check in on Katie.
“Hello?” Chase said, picking up. “Hiya,” I said brightly. “Seriously, Ashlyn?” Chase asked, his tone edging on annoyance. “What?” I asked innocently. “This is the third time you’ve called, and it isn’t even lunch!” “Oh,” I said, fleeing myself blush. “I appreciate your concern but get back to work or I will turn off my phone,” he said, not unkindly. “Righto,” I said. “See you at lunch,” he said, hanging up.
Finishing off my coffee, I did as Chase ordered and got back to work, the minutes ticking by to hours, inching toward noon. It was a weird trick of time, but it always seemed to take longer to get home than it did to go to work. The bus rolled up the same streets, passing the same buildings, though they never seemed to pass as fast as they did on the way down. Eventually, the bus arrived on the right street and I pulled the cord, nearly jumping down the back stairs to the sidewalk. I watched carefully as I approached the building. Just in case the landlord was around and noticed I wasn’t with Chase. I put up the hood on my sweatshirt just in case. “Mommy!” Katie cried, toddling up to me once I got in the door, nearly falling down in her fervor.
“Hey, sweetie,” I said. Out of nowhere, Katie wrapped herself around my leg, almost knocking me off balance with her enthusiasm. Taking her by the hips, I hoisted her up and held her tight.
“Hey,” Chase said, coming over from his desk, which was set up near the patio door to take in the view. “Hey,” I said. He kissed me on the cheek, which I wasn’t sure what to do with. I certainly didn’t mind. Every time I thought of him, my pussy got tight. Particularly after what had happened in the bath the night previous. The man was definitely gifted with his hands. No one had ever made me feel that good before. There came a knock on the door. Chase went off to answer it without another word. At least not in English. I could have sworn I heard him talking to the delivery girl in Chinese. He must have given her a big tip, considering her joviality before he closed the door.
“You speak Chinese?” I asked when he came back in, setting the bags on the coffee table in front of the couch. “Only Cantonese,” he said, sitting on the couch, “Mandarin is beyond me though I’m pretty good at standard Arabic. I was a translator during the war.” “Iraq?” I asked. “Afghanistan,” he said, taking out the tiny, white take-out boxes, arranging them according to size. “I think I heard about that,” I said, sitting down on the couch. I had of course. I was ten when things started to simmer down, though I wasn’t really paying much attention to the news at the time. Far more intrigued by Facebook and the beginnings of YouTube. “Not the half of it,” he said, snapping his chopsticks with emphasis. “Isn’t that always just the way?” I said, trying to empathize. “Tell me about it,” Chase said, bitterly. “What did we get?” I asked trying to change the subject. “A little bit of everything,” he said, giving me a fork. “I got a separate order of dumplings for Katie.” “She’s never had dumplings,” I said. “That’s what I figured. She’ll love them,” he said confidently. Sure enough, he was right. Katie ate the entire order of dumplings and asked for more. So, I gave her some of the pork from the pork fried rice which she also loved. “Soy sauce?” Chase asked as I started on my main course. “No thanks, any sweet and sour?” I asked. “Certainly.” “How was your morning?” I asked when we were well into it. “Really good honestly,” Chase said. “Was she any trouble?” I asked. “Oh, no, she was really good,” he said, gently stroking Katie’s hair. “It was a bit of a struggle to get her dressed, mostly because she objected to the ensemble I tried to put her in. Eventually, I figured it out, after that she was fine. We both had a breakfast smoothie and then she mostly just sat on the floor in front of the desk and played with her toys. We had a few episodes of wandering but she’s not very fast.”
