Chapter 1
No way.
No way.
I read the email for the fourth time and my breath hitched as I scanned over the appointment time. I had zero experience and they were offering me an immediate job interview? For tomorrow?
When I had applied for the nanny position I found posted online only yesterday, it was on a whim. I had zero experience caring for children. I hadn’t had younger siblings growing up – thank fuck. But even so, I loved being around kids, making them smile, making them laugh. At the time, when I had hit ‘submit’, I figured the worst that could happen was them never responding.
Now I was staring at an interview time and address.
“Hey there, Delilah,” an off-key voice crooned behind me.
And there was the reason I was looking for any way out of this hellhole they called ‘Burger Paradise’.
I gritted my teeth, tossing my phone back in my locker and slamming it shut. “What do you want, Josh?”
The son of Burger Paradise’s owner, Joshua Collins, was a Grade A asshole, sexist, and walked the edge of sexual harassment daily. Who was I kidding? He didn’t walk the edge – he humped it. It didn’t help that Daddy Dearest had given his son full managerial rights, and did nothing to dissuade him from bothering the women who worked here.
“Come on,” he laughed. “You know you like it when I sing your song.”
I hated that fucking song.
“Go away, Josh.”
“Oh, baby. Say name again.” He smirked at my glare.
I shoved past him, returning from my break ten minutes early just to escape him. If I thought I could slip into the crowd of other ugly yellow-striped uniform wearing coworkers to do so, I was wrong. Everyone skirted around me as he followed, knowing just as well as I did that getting in Josh’s way was a surefire way to own a crisp pink slip.
“Delilah, just go out with me once,” Josh said, leaning a hip against the counter next to me, watching me bag a burger. “I promise you won’t regret it.”
“No,” I sighed, refusing him not for the first time.
He stepped in my way as I moved to deliver the bag in my hand to Carla at the drive thru window. With a roll of my eyes, I tossed the bag and she caught it without missing a beat, a practiced move between her and me. I jerked back when Josh’s fingers snaked a piece of my hair that had come undone from the messy bun on my head and pushed it back behind my ear.
“Hands off,” I growled in frustration. “Josh, you have to stop. I’m not interested.”
He glanced around at the others, who pretended to ignored us. “You haven’t given me a chance,” he hissed, an edge of embarrassment in his eyes.
Of course I hadn’t. It’s not that Josh was ugly – in fact, he had that all-American football star look about him with his dark hair, dark eyes, ripped physique… I mean, he should. He was the star high school quarterback until he graduated last May. Didn’t matter; besides the fact that he was the slimiest dude that ‘worked’ here and was eight years my junior, I wasn’t interested in dating. Not anyone. Not in the slightest.
“I’m not interested,” I emphasized, spinning on my heel. When I turned back around with another bag for Carla, he was gone.
“God, he’s such a douche,” Carla muttered.
I hummed my agreement. “I got an interview tomorrow,” I whispered.
“That’s awesome, Lily!” she exclaimed, then glanced around. “I mean,” she said quieter, “I hope it goes well.”
“Me too,” I said with no small amount of longing.
I was working a double, so by the time I had gathered my things out of my locker, nighttime had fallen, and the restaurant had slowed in it’s traffic. A few late-night eaters sat in the dining room for now, but in a few hours when the bars closed, it’d be busy again. I headed for the door, slinging my backpack onto my shoulder.
“Delilah.”
A frustrated sigh tore from my throat as I stopped and faced Josh, standing in the door to his office. “What?” I asked, voice flat.
“Can I speak to you, please?”
I narrowed my eyes at his business-like tone. “I’m listening.”
“In here.” He shoved the door open fully. “It’ll only take a second.”
I hesitated but shrugged it off, throwing my shoulders back as I marched in. I heard the door close behind me and a trickle of apprehension tickled my spine, but I stayed steady, my eyes fixed on his desk. “What is it, Josh? I worked a double today. I’m tired.”
I fidgeted when he didn’t speak, the only tell of my anxiety. He rounded the desk and sat in his chair, still silent, before looking me up and down with a smirk on his lips. I angled my head, jaw clenched, when he finally looked me in the eye.
“Do you want to keep your job?”
I stared. “Are you blackmailing me to date you?”
“Don’t consider it blackmailing,” he said, shrugging. “Consider a reward system for being a good girl.”
I bit back bile. “I’m not dating you.”
“Fine,” he answered, patting his thigh. “I don’t need to date you. Come sit.”
I took a step back, my subconscious blaring like an alarm in my head. “No,” I snarled.
“Come sit.” Josh grinned. “Or you lose your job.”
I laughed, the sound void of all humor. “You’re pathetic.”
He was almost up and out of his chair before I could react, my head slamming against the door as I stepped back to avoid his lunge. “You’re stupid,” he snipped as I glared. He boxed me in with his arms. “I swear I’ll fire you if you don’t get on those knees and blow me. Right here. Right now.”
“How many others have you sexually assaulted?” I asked, my voice frigid. I focused on keeping my expression unfazed, my heart racing.
“Get on your kn – ”
I didn’t give him time to finish his order, bringing one of those knees he was so fixated on up as hard as I could and connecting with his groin. He shrieked as he stumbled back, bracing one hand on the desk and covering his crotch with the other.
“You stupid bitch!”
“Let me save you the trouble, you lowlife,” I said, curling my lip. “I. Fucking. Quit.”
I tore the nametag off my chest and chucked it at him, the plastic slamming into the side of his head. I ripped the door open, but stopped in the hallway, turning back.
“And, by the way, Joshua,” I said, sneering his name. “Your lack of a sufficient sized dick isn’t a good enough reason to sexually harass anything that moves.”
“You’re gonna regret this,” he bellowed as I stepped out into the thick summer air.
Not likely, I thought and waited until I was home to cry.
My phone lit up with a notification that my ride had arrived as I swiped on a final layer of lip gloss. I did a quick look over of myself in the mirror, smoothing a ripple on the crown of my head that hadn’t laid flat when I gathered my pin straight strawberry blonde hair into a ponytail. Even put up, the tips of my hair dragged my lower back. I had decided on keeping my makeup minimal, going for conservative and responsible.
With one last look at the simple black slacks and peach-colored lace swing blouse, I grabbed my backpack and hurried for the parking lot. The driver only nodded when I greeted him, pulling away from the curb before I’d buckled up, leaving me to worry over my interview in silence.
I needed this job now. Sure, I could find another greasy, lame fast food job to make ends meet, but I was tired of it. I had worked the last two years covered in burger grease and the thought of not having to wash the stench of French fries off of myself every night was glorious.
Maybe I didn’t need it – maybe I just wanted it.
The driver navigated out of the city limits Towering apartment buildings and business offices turned to green hills and swaying trees. Crowded streets and cramped houses had transitioned to sprawling family homes and manors. By the time the cab pulled off the road, a violent storm of nerves was brewing inside of me.
I tapped at my phone, leaving a decent tip for the driver, hoping it would boost some good karma. He drove away as I took in the house before me.
House probably wasn’t accurate. The structure before me was massive, with its stonework walls and high-pitched roofs. Surrounded by trees and flowing plants, it looked like something out of a fairytale and not a possible future place of employment.
With a steadying breath, I stepped up to the door. I already felt like I had lost. I was nowhere near the level someone who lived here would want caring for their kids.
Maybe I would get lucky and they were just hiring the first person who showed up.
But, as I rang the doorbell, I was disappointed to remember that there was no such thing as luck.