5. Chapter 3
FRANKIE
F rankie knew he was going to ask that question, yet she wasn’t prepared at all to answer.
She wanted this job because she needed the money for her medication.
It helped with her tremors, and she was about to run out.
That was the real reason for needing the job.
That and she needed rent money and food.
“Frankie?” Noah called out her name. “Are you all right?”
“Sorry!” she raised her voice and flinched. “I was just thinking. Umm, well, to be honest, I need the money for rent and food.” She spoke in a quieter tone this time and left out her needing it for money.
Noah would definitely ask her what was wrong if she said she needed it for medication. She wasn’t going to do that when they could fire her. Well, she wouldn’t get fired since she didn’t have the job.
“And?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. “Just rent and food?”
Did he know about her real reason? How could he when she hadn’t said anything?
“And other expenses.” She smiled. “I have some allergies, so I need medicine for that. Check-ups at the doctor’s, which cost money.”
Doctor’s appointments cost too much money. She needed to go more than she could, but she didn’t want to be in even more debt than she already was. Any more, and she would still be paying after she died.
Noah stared at Frankie, and she started to fidget, not liking it. Had she said something wrong? Frankie wasn’t telling the whole truth, but he didn’t know that.
“How did you hear about the job?” Noah asked, moving on.
Her shoulders dropped, and she relaxed into the chair. That question was done and over with. Hopefully, he didn’t ask anything else related to money or health.
“Did that question make you nervous? Are you forgetting to tell me something?” His eyes narrowed on her.
Frankie sucked in a breath and shook her head. “No, that is all. I don’t think I have anything else. I just need money to live.”
“Why did you get let go from your other job?”
She was hoping he wouldn’t ask that question. “I broke a couple of cups, and they didn’t like it,” she quietly explained.
It was more than a couple of cups and plates. She had felt bad when she broke so many, but she couldn’t help it. No matter how hard she gripped them, some slipped out of her hands.
Frankie shouldn’t have been working as a dishwasher for the restaurant when she knew her tremors were unpredictable, but she needed the job and nowhere else was hiring. She had told them about her tremors, and they said it was fine because they needed someone to help out when they got busy.
“Okay,” he replied.
Just okay? He wasn’t mad or wasn’t going to ask any other questions? It was unusual. Every other employer had always asked further questions and wanted to know why she had left or been fired. It wasn’t her fault she couldn’t hold a job down. She tried really hard.
“I have to ask, I see that you have worked a lot of jobs in the past couple of years. Are you going to leave after a couple of months? If you are, then I’m not going to hire you.” Noah laid it all out in front of her.
“I don’t want to. I never wanted to leave my other jobs.
But they just didn’t like how I did things.
I tried my hardest, but I just think they wanted to get rid of me.
I kept to myself, and maybe that was my problem.
I did break a couple of things, but I told them I would pay for it out of my paycheck,” she quickly said, trying to talk herself into the job at the club.
Frankie didn’t want Noah to think she was getting hired and leaving a couple of months later. It wasn’t like that at all, and she hated that it was the case. If she could stay at one job and only work there for the rest of her life, she would have been so happy.
“So you won’t leave in a couple of months?” he asked.
“Not unless you fire me, and I really hope that you won’t.” She smiled at the end.
She could surely clean the club and not break anything, right?
She knew she would have to clean the glasses and plates they used behind the bar, but other than that, she was going to have to clean the rooms, From the little she had seen, there weren’t a lot of things to break.
So, how hard could it be to keep this job?
“Good. I want to let you know that the insurance won’t activate until a month into the role. Once it does, you have full coverage, and anything that happens at the club will be covered in full. You won’t have to pay a dime,” he added. “Is that okay?”
Will he know if she went to the doctor and needed to get medicine?
“Frankie,” he gently said. “Is that okay? What’s on your mind?”
“I’ve never really had insurance through work. When I go to the doctor, will you be able to see everything?” she asked.
“No, I will not. That is for your eyes only. I won’t have access to any of that,” he replied.
She let out a breath. That was amazing news.
She didn’t want him to figure out what she was trying to hide from him.
Did she feel bad? Absolutely, but it was for a good cause.
She needed this job, and her tremors didn’t affect her that much.
As long as she stayed away from anything breakable when she was shaking badly, everything was going to be okay.
“Do you have any questions for me?” he asked.
Frankie opened and closed her mouth before shaking her head. She wanted to ask when she would start, but she didn’t want to just assume she’d got it. She didn’t want to set a bad taste in his mouth and that be the reason she didn’t get the job.
“Well, if you do, you can always ask me. I’m here every day and will be available to answer any questions,” Noah said. “You can start tomorrow if you would like. Eight in the morning until four in the afternoon with a lunch break and a snack break in there.”
A smile blossomed on her face. “I got the job?”
“You did. I’ll need you to fill out some paperwork, but you should be good to go.”
It took everything in her not to wiggle in her seat with excitement. She was going to try her hardest not to lose this job. Frankie felt it in her bones that this was going to be the best job yet. She was going to keep it, no matter what she had to do… within reason.
“While those are printing, I have one more question,” he said.
Frankie let out a calming breath. If she answered this question wrong, would she not get the job anymore? She didn’t even know what question he was going to ask.
“Do you have any health concerns we should know about before you start?” Noah asked.
Frankie kept her face neutral, trying not to give away that she did, in fact, have a health condition that they should know about.
But what if he didn’t hire her once he knew about it?
It wasn’t anything contagious, but sometimes her shaking got so bad that she could drop whatever she was holding.
What if it was super expensive and she broke it? Frankie wouldn’t be able to pay for it.
“Frankie?” Noah called out her name, pulling her from her spiraling thoughts.
How was she going to answer that? There was no way she could tell him and risk losing her job. She desperately needed this.
“You can answer honestly. You having a medical condition won’t take away the job,” Noah told her. “I promise. No matter what you tell me, you will have a job here.”
That didn’t make her feel better. If she told him about her condition, would he keep an eye on her at all times or tell her not to do things? No. Frankie didn’t want that. She wanted to do her job to the fullest, and him knowing would only hinder that.
“No, there aren’t any health concerns you should know about,” Frankie lied.
“If that changes, let me know. We take care of our employees here.” Noah gave her a suspicious look.
He knew she was lying. Frankie could feel it in her bones, but he wasn’t saying anything. Why wasn’t he saying anything and getting on her case for lying? It didn’t make any sense.
Noah snapped his fingers. “I just remembered. Do you have reliable transportation?”
She nodded, lying once again. Frankie was going to feel so much guilt later, but that was for Future Frankie to deal with. Right now, she just needed to make sure she landed the job and could start working as soon as possible.
“So you being late like today isn’t going to be a problem?” he asked. “I don’t see any car keys. Did you take public transportation?”
Her eyes widened. How did he know that without her saying anything? Frankie didn’t know what to say to him.
“Frankie, I do not like lying,” he sternly informed her.
“I took public transportation today,” she whispered. “That was why I was late. It was such short notice and the bus arrived a little later than I thought it was going to be,” she rushed to explain.
“You should have told me. I would have come picked you up or had someone else do it,” he lectured her.
“Next time we have a meeting and you don’t have your car, let me know and I will come get you.
You will not be taking public transportation.
It’s unsafe for you to take the bus by yourself, so you will not take it unless you have someone else with you or a group of people.
Better yet, do not take the bus, unless you have a big group of people with you. Understand?”
Frankie’s mouth fell open as she looked at him. Who did he think he was telling her what to do? That was how she got around, and she wasn’t about to not take public transportation because he thought it wasn’t safe. She had been taking it her whole life, and nothing had ever happened to her.
She had seen plenty of people who maybe weren’t so lucky.
Like a lady who got mugged since she had a big purse that looked really valuable.
Or the man who wanted to get on the bus, but one guy looked at him, punched him in the face, and the bus took off.
So bad things did happen, but nothing had happened to her. She was always safe.
The first couple of times she’d tried to intervene and help the people who were getting hurt, but that didn’t end so well on her part.
Bruised knees and arms were not good for her.
It made her more stressed, which made her tremors even worse her sleep got worse.
Now, she tried to make some commotion to alert other people, but that usually didn’t do much.
“Frankie? I’ve lost you again. We’ll need to do something about that. I like your attention on me,” Noah said, pulling her out of her thoughts.
“What?” She looked at him, confused.
He liked having her attention on him? What was he saying, and who was he?
No man had ever said something like that to her, and she didn’t know how to feel exactly.
She was turned on, and she wanted to go right over to him and kiss him, but he was now her boss.
There were unspoken rules that the boss and employees couldn’t get together.
What a shame.
If she didn’t need this job so much, she would quit and ask to go out with him. Sadly, though, she desperately needed this job and couldn’t afford to quit.
Bummer.
Frankie would have loved to have been with Noah. He just oozed everything she wanted in a man, even though she didn’t even know him that well. But the way he acted, looking out for her, that was what she wanted in a man, and more. He was also a Daddy Dom, which was a huge plus.
Her dream man, and she couldn’t have him. He probably wouldn’t want her anyway.
Shit.
Life was never easy for her, and it didn’t look like it would get any easier either. Why couldn’t it go her way for once in her life and she end up happy?
“Frankie,” Noah gently said, kneeling right in front of her.