AllFreeNovel
Share Us
If you are under 18 years old, or are not comfortable with adult content, please close this book now.
Chapter One
“Wait—you’re not serious are you?” Bridget asked her friend, Maggie. “He actually wants a babysitter?”
The two of them were enjoying their meager lunch break between their classes. Bridget had only fifteen minutes between physics and college math, so she tended to scarf down her food. Maggie, on the other hand, had an hour between her Spanish 202 and her Natural Disasters classes. Bridget envied Maggie’s easy schedule. She would kill for an hour break between any of her classes.
“Yes I’m serious,” Maggie said. “Why would I lie about something like this?” she asked, one eyebrow raised.
“It just seems too good to be true,” Bridget argued. “Your dad, the richest, most powerful man in America, needs a babysitter? I didn’t even know that you had a little sister!”
“She’s only my half-sister,” Maggie said. “She happened because of a one-night stand, and the lady didn’t want to keep her, so my dad took her,” she explained.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this before?” Bridget asked, furrowing he eyebrows at Maggie. The two of them had been friends since elementary school and they never lied to each other. “How old is she?” she muttered. “And how long have you been keeping this from me?”
“She’s eight, turning nine in a month,” Maggie said. “I had to keep her from you. Not even the media knows that Angel exists. She’s practically a ghost. The only people who know about her are the family doctors, the social services, and you. It’s huge and it can’t get out. Ever.”
“Okay,” Bridget agreed, though she was still feeling hurt. It left an empty pit in her stomach, thinking that Maggie had kept something so monumental from her for so long. “And why does he need a babysitter?” she asked.
“Because I don’t live at home, I have class all day, and he has work all day,” Maggie said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“As if I don’t have class all day?” Bridget scoffed.
“Well you do, but you also have the weekends off. I know that you don’t have a job, whereas I do. That, and my dad works weekends, too. He never stops working, and that’s why he needs someone to look after Angel while he’s gone,” she said.
“Who has he been using as a babysitter for nine years?” Bridget asked.
“Me, but obviously that can’t happen anymore. With my schedule and my classes and my job, there’s no way that I could ever take care of her for more than a few hours a day,” Maggie said. “Besides, my dad asked me to ask around, and you’re the only person that I would trust with information like this.”
“About Angel, you mean?” Bridget asked.
“Yes, about Angel. Anyone else would be shouting about her to social media right now, and I’d be a dead woman walking,” Maggie grumbled. “He’s very protective of her, and he doesn’t want his reputation tarnished. Divorcing my mom was the worst PR that he’s ever gotten, and he doesn’t need anymore. Having a one-night stand and getting a kid out of that one night stand? That’s got bad juju written all over it,” Maggie said.
Bridget sighed, but nodded. How was she supposed to say no? The man needed help, and she couldn’t have denied him. “Alright,” she said. “I’ll do it. How much is pay?”
Maggie laughed, the kind that had her head thrown back and tears at the corners of her eyes. “You think he’s just gonna give you the job on the spot? Do you know how protective he is of Angel? Just my word alone isn’t going to get you the job. You need to meet with him and meet Angel, and then he’ll decide.”
“Well when can that happen?” Bridget asked. She was getting sick of all of these hoops that she was having to jump through. It was just a babysitting job. She was a college girl looking to pay her rent now that her loan money had gotten close to running out. It wasn’t as though she were going to kill Angel or leak her to the media.
“As soon as possible,” Maggie said, whipping her phone out of her pocket. She dialed a few short numbers, and then held it up to her ear. A few moments later, and, “Hi, Daddy!” she squealed.
From the other side, Bridget could hear Maggie’s father’s usual reply of “Hey, princess.”
“I think I found a babysitter for Angel,” Maggie said. “She’s super chill, available week days after her classes and weekends all day long,” she said. Bridget tried to interject—she really wasn’t that available—but Maggie rolled on. “And she’s the one I’ve known for forever, Daddy. I know you’ve never met her, but you know about her and it’s probably good enough to qualify as knowing her by this point.”
Bridget sat as still as a deer when Maggie finished talking and waited for her father’s reply. He had always been a solemn man, but even more so when it concerned Angel. Bridget almost felt bad for him, having a girl that he couldn’t be there for. She had yet to hear a reply from him, and it was as though Maggie could sense the hesitation as well.
“She won’t say anything, Daddy. No one would believe her anyways about Angel. And I know that she won’t tell. Bridget isn’t like that,” Maggie pressed, trying her hardest to convince her father. Whenever he was faced with something that he didn’t like, it was always hard for him to try and see another viewpoint.
Bridget gestured at Maggie, wondering if perhaps her dad had just been speaking incredibly quietly. Maggie held up a finger, and dismissed Bridget. She couldn’t tell what her father was thinking, but she could tell that it wasn’t exactly good.
“I promise, Daddy. She’s nice, and she’s smart, and she’s good with kids.”
Bridget laughed at that. She was the worst with kids; she had never been good with kids in the first place. Having a kid in her life would no doubt make everything so much more stressful than it already was. The last thing she wanted was a series of “why, why, why” from some little brat.
From the other end of the line, Bridget heard a heavy sigh heaved.
“Come on, Daddy, she’s a good girl. Aren’t you Bridget?” she asked. Bridget nodded. “You couldn’t see it, but she’s a good girl, Daddy. I promise that she won’t tell about Angel. You can trust her.”
