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I visibly shudder at his confession.
"Aunty Zara, I want cake," Luke says, running up to me, and I've never been more grateful that he's a brat than at that moment. Frankie looks down at him and rolls his eyes.
"Aren't those kids supposed to be in school?"
"Not right now. They have the week off," I say. "And I'm actually looking for better-paying jobs right now. So if you could leave, maybe I can get back to it."
He shrugs. "You do what you have to do, but just know unless I get the two grand you owe me within the next week, you're out."
"I hear you," I say, nodding slowly.
"Unless you want to please me." He moves his hips back and forth and flicks his tongue against his teeth.
I look away and wait for him to leave. As soon as he walks back into the hallway, I close the door. I lean back against it and rub my fingers across my forehead. I can feel my headache is starting to come back.
"Are you okay, Aunty Zara?" Luke looks up at me with big, wide eyes. He's young and oblivious, but he can still sense that something's wrong.
"Everything's fine, Luke," I say, bending down and a kissing him on the cheek. I don't want him or Charlotte to worry; I don't want them to have any sense that something's wrong. I want them to have as great a childhood as they can have in this situation. Their mom is all over the place, and their dad's not in the picture. I hate that both of their parents suck. Their dad is a deadbeat, and if I could get my hands on him… I stop the thoughts from running through my mind. There is no point in me thinking about Shane, their dad; it’s probably better that he’s not in their lives corrupting them. "Do you guys want to do a puzzle?" I say, thinking of something to occupy their mind while I return to searching on my computer. "And I am just going to look for jobs so that I can make money and get us ice cream."
"I want ice cream," Charlotte says, "Vanilla and strawberry and chocolate." She jumps up and down, and I groan. Why had I brought up ice cream? I’m not a rookie. I know better than that.
"Well, we're not going to get it today, but maybe soon. Okay?" I grab one of the Disney puzzles from the bookshelf and put it on the ground. “You guys play right there.” I motion to the ground, then I have a seat back on the couch, grab my laptop, and start to scroll through job websites again. My eyes immediately flicker to a new listing that's only been up for a couple of minutes. I scan the synopsis.
Fortune 500 company seeking executive assistant for CFO. Must have experience, must have patience, very competitive salary, starting at 150K. Apply now for interviews this week.
"Wow, six figures," I mumble to myself, feeling excited. I’ve only ever dreamed of making six figures, and I didn't even realize executive assistants could make six figures. I quickly hit apply, but then I see there's a phone number to call. I take a deep breath, grab my phone, and call the number.
"Thank you for calling Rosser International. This is Kim speaking. How may I help you?"
"Hi, Kim. I'm calling about the ad listed online for the executive assistant position."
"Oh, yes. Yes. We just put that up. Do you have experience working with… as an executive assistant?”
"Well, I've been an assistant for many years and?—"
"And you know how to deal with demanding executives?" she cuts me off. I look over at Luke and Charlotte and think about Frankie and everyone else I've ever had to deal with in my life.
"Yeah, I know how to deal with difficult people."
"And you’re proficient in Excel and Word?"
"Yep, I know both of them and PowerPoint."
"What about QuickBooks?"
"QuickBooks?"
"Well, that one's not a must-have; you can always learn it."
"Sure, I don't mind learning it."
"Great. Can you come in for an interview tomorrow morning?"
"Tomorrow morning? Sure. What time?"
"Nine a.m."
"Of course."
