Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31449 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31449 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
“Never.” I took another bite before continuing. “I have a grill on the roof and only use it when I have to.”
“But you have such a beautiful kitchen. It took me five minutes just to find the refrigerator, and Emme laughed when she opened the doors to three of them. I’ve never known anyone who had three refrigerators side by side.”
“And they go to waste. I stock one with protein smoothies for after my morning workout, but before Emme came into my life a few weeks ago, I was rarely home before eleven at night. Dinners at the office are my norm.”
Sarena pressed her lips together, fiddling with her fingers in silence as I ate. I watched her openly, curious about her quiet but confident personality. She pressed her lips together and looked around the kitchen as if searching for something to keep her hands busy. Or her mind.
“Did anything else happen today?”
Sarena shook her head, her mouth still locked tight.
I arched an eyebrow, my senses on high alert with this woman. “Any trouble with the sitter when you picked up Emme?”
“Nope. Mrs. Kolker was very nice. They’d moved on to Leave it to Beaver by the time I arrived.”
I laughed. “I think they’ve seen all the seasons of I Love Lucy.”
Sarena nodded, her eyes still tracking everywhere but on me. “We watched a nature documentary before her afternoon nap.”
“Did it have penguins? She’s obsessed with penguins.”
“Yeah, I noticed. I hope this isn’t too forward of me, but how did Emme’s parents pass away? Call me crazy, but her reaction when the penguins came on screen was tough—”
“Tough?” I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“She had a meltdown. She was perfectly fine before, and then the penguins flashed on, and she threw every toy within reach at the screen and hit the floor in tears.”
“Oh.” Shock pulsed through me. “Jesus, I should have realized. I haven’t—I haven’t been with her very much since she came to live with me.” I set my fork down and leveled my eyes on Sarena. “Emme’s parents died in a car accident on the Brooklyn Bridge.”
“Where was Emme?”
“Emme was with her nanny at the Central Park Zoo that day.”
“Oh…” A puff of air left her lips.
“At a special kids’ show in the penguin exhibit.”
“Oh, my God.” Sarena covered her mouth as emotion clouded her eyes. “No wonder she hates penguins.”
“What do you mean?” I swiped two macarons and popped them both into my mouth.
“She must associate penguins with the day she lost her parents. Kids are so perceptive and complex. Is Emme seeing a child therapist?”
My hand stilled. “Why does she need a therapist? She’s three. She’ll move on.”
Sarena’s eyes held mine as her lips parted softly. “Aren’t you concerned about Emme’s reaction? This could snowball into something if you don’t get in front of it.”
“You’re a babysitter, Sarena. Perhaps a glorified one, but that’s all you are. You don’t need to concern yourself with how I raise my charge. Emme is very privileged. I initially didn't want to hire you because you’re young. What are you, nineteen?”
“Twenty,” she mumbled under her breath, her sweet demeanor cast out in favor of the fire burning in her eyes.
“Twenty for a sheltered girl like you is the equivalent of me when I was nine. Emme has it a hell of a lot better than my sister and I did. I don’t need you coming in here and trying to fix something that isn’t broken. Life is hard. Shit happens. Vaughns don’t cry about things we don’t have control over. We fuckin’ move on.”
“She’s a child. She shouldn’t have to move on from losing her parents like it’s the loss of a broken toy.”
“It could be worse. She could’ve lost her parents and been forced to live in the nightmare of foster care.”
Sarena tilted her head. “Adults don’t give children the respect they deserve. Children are as important as you and me. They deserve the same level of respect.”
“Who says I don’t respect her? She’s my niece. I love her.”
“I didn’t say you don’t love her. I said you don’t respect her. Emme is a human being with struggles, emotions, and thoughts. She’s learning and growing, and she just lost her parents on top of the struggles of being a child. The two people she depended on no matter what. That loss is massive. She needs her feelings to be validated and help navigating her emotions.”
Her tone irritated me. Her words pissed me off. “I know how massive her loss is. You don’t know anything about me, Sarena.”
Sarena bit her bottom lip and looked at the floor. I hated the hurt expression on her face. I didn’t regret my words because they were true, but I did regret my harsh tone.
Sarena only saw the cultivated image bought by money—the Manhattan penthouse, expensive cars, and designer suits. She didn’t know shit about me or my past. She knew nothing about the street kid who dug through the trenches to get those things. Unlike those who ran in my circles, I bled for everything I had. Busted my ass and got it against all odds. It wasn’t handed to me by generations of money-hungry pieces of shit.