AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know it does,” Maggie teased.
As Bridget set about making herself breakfast and coffee, Maggie wolfed down her food. By the time that Bridget finished cooking, Maggie had already finished and was getting herself ready for school.
Bridget sat in front of the TV, figuring that she would have a laid back and relaxed morning. With the dread ahead facing her like a looming beast, she wanted to enjoy her free time while she could. Maggie finished readying herself nearly half an hour later, and sprang out into the living room. After a quick nod of approval from Bridget, Maggie left to go to her classes.
Bridget was left alone to dread and ponder the night that she was going to be experiencing all too soon. If she had the power, she would have put it off a few more hours.
Chapter Six
For the first half of her day, Bridget lounged on the couch and watched bad reruns of bad TV shows. She had seen half of them already, but she had to hand it to them. They were excellent distractions from the horrible stress that she was undergoing. She could only imagine that absolutely everything was going to go wrong. Jack wouldn’t like her, Angel wouldn’t like her, or maybe she wouldn’t like them.
Bridget knew that she was overreacting, but the fear in her chest was starting to consume each of her thoughts. She was normally a very confident person, and this sudden change in heart was making it hard for her to cope with doing anything that a normal person would do.
After starting the dishwasher three separate times with the same load of dishes in it each time, she finally gave up on trying to do that. At about two thirty in the afternoon she began to get ready for the evening ahead of her. She wouldn’t dress up as much as she had the night before, but she certainly wouldn’t allow herself to slip and fall just because it was her first day. In fact, she couldn’t let her standards slip because it was her first day.
Jack was the kind of man who looked for perfection, and Bridget would make sure that he got it from her. Even if it meant abusing her hair with straightening irons and putting on just a little too much makeup, she would power through it.
At four o’clock sharp, Bridget tapped on the Gordons’ door. That time, she was allowed right through the lobby of the building without question and sent herself up to the top floor without hesitation. It was exhilarating, knowing that she was important enough and already so well known after one visit that she could get away with walking through the lobby as though she were hot shit.
Angel was the one to answer the door, clad in a cute hoodie decorated with bunnies and pajama pants that were far too big for her. She was smiling this time, and Bridget admired the way that the happy expression looked on her. Angel was far too young to be as serious as she had been just the day before.
“Hi, Angel,” Bridget greeted, smiling back just as wide at Angel.
“Hello, Bridget. Do you want me to get my dad?” she asked, looking Bridget up and down, as if analyzing each of her features.
Even though she knew that Angel was a child, Bridget felt herself squirming under the girl’s scrutinizing glare. Her expression was unreadable, despite the fact that she was still beaming from ear to ear at Bridget.
“I think you can come inside this time,” she said, stepping aside and inviting Bridget in.
Bridget, with Angel’s permission, stepped into the giant penthouse. Honestly, there was no other way for Bridget to explain it. With the way that Jack lived in such opulence, she wouldn’t past him to call it his personal penthouse.
“Your home is beautiful,” Bridget murmured, looking around the front hallway.
The interior of the penthouse was just as amazing as the hallway that led up to the front door. Deep mahogany flooring with stark white walls, dotted with the occasional painting or photograph. To the left, the hallway branched off into another hallway. To the right, the hallway branched into the kitchen, dining room, and living room. A huge TV was plastered to the wall, and the kitchen was twice the size of her and Maggie’s apartment.
“This is amazing,” Bridget gawked, spinning around in circle after circle as she took in the place and all of its glory.
“Stay here,” Angel ordered, going down the hallway to the left.
Bridget was tempted to follow her, but she stayed put where she was. The last thing she wanted was to set off some futuristic security system, or break something that would cost double than she could ever afford in her entire life. So, despite her mounting curiosity and her need to explore the hallway to the left, Bridget stayed put and fidgeted in place until Angel appeared around the corner again.
“Dad’s working,” she said. “He’ll visit us later for dinner.”
“Okay,” Bridget murmured. What exactly was she supposed to do?
As if Angel had read her mind, the young girl continued to speak, hardly missing a beat. “He wants you to make dinner and make sure that I do my homework. No dessert until after eight o’clock. Bedtime is at nine o’clock, but I always stay up later than that. Who goes to bed at nine o’clock?” she scoffed. Before Bridget could interrupt, Angel continued. “After I go to bed, he wants you to stay around. I think he wants to talk to you.”
Bridget gulped hard around the lump in her throat. Whatever could Jack want to talk to her about? Her first thought was that she had already done something wrong. With a man like Jack employing her, she knew that there was no room for mistakes. He wouldn’t stand for it to happen within his company, and Bridget knew that he wouldn’t stand for it to happen in his home, either. After her moment of panic, though, Bridget forced herself to calm down. Jack would probably want to talk to her about Angel and about how the day had gone. That wasn’t anything that Bridget couldn’t handle.
“Okay,” Bridget agreed, a smile coming back to her features. “What would you like to eat for dinner, Angel?” she asked. “I’m sure Jack wants you to eat something healthy.”
“Normally we just have pizza,” Angel said, crossing her arms over her chest. “We don’t ever eat things that are really healthy unless we go out somewhere. Usually if we go out somewhere, we’re with the people who have him in trouble.”
“In trouble?” Bridget parroted, furrowing her eyebrows at Angel. “Why would Jack be in trouble?” she asked.
“I think it’s my fault,” Angel said, her voice nearly a whisper.
Chapter Seven
