CHAPTER ONE #2
The ride to the Goldman Mansion took a little over twenty minutes.
They made small talk. Rick asked her about her parents, and Penny answered politely, intentionally omitting to mention how over the moon they were with her getting the job.
Even though they’d been friends since forever, it was no secret that the Waltons had always thought of themselves as inferior to the Goldmans and spent all their life sucking up to Richard and his family.
Penny loved her folks, but sometimes she hated the situation they had put themselves in.
In truth, she had applied for the job for their sake.
She didn’t mind the salary, nor the rather privileged position.
At twenty-five, she was young. Who knew?
In a couple of years, maybe she’d prove her worth and climb up the ladder.
The mansion seemed empty. It wasn’t, obviously, since the house staff was always busy cooking, cleaning, and gardening, but Marcia Goldman wasn’t at home, and neither were Rick’s four children.
The girls, Carmine and Opal, were probably at college, or wanted everyone to think they were at college and not in some bar, drinking and smoking their life away.
Zane was traveling, – his greatest hobby, – and Killian was at Goldman Corp, doing his best to follow in his father’s footsteps – no pressure.
“We’ll have something to drink later,” Goldman said, as if to excuse his manners. “We’re going to the third floor.”
“Oh.”
Penny followed him up the stairs. She knew this house like the back of her hand, every nook and corner.
When she was little, she had mostly played with Killian and Zane, because the girls were too young to be fun.
Now, the boys were too busy to give her the time of day.
She understood them, though. Being Goldmans and the successors of such a fortune and investment business was nothing to be taken lightly.
The third floor held bedrooms and an art room where Marcia, Rick’s wife, liked to isolate herself once a week to paint.
Penny was beyond surprised when her boss opened the door to a huge bedroom that looked more like an apartment, held it so she could go in first, then called two names she had never heard before:
“Juniper, Thorn! A nice lady is here to see you. She can’t wait to make friends with you.”
She blinked in confusion. Two children, aged around nine, peeked out from behind the heavy curtains on the other side of the room.
“What are you doing there?” Richard walked briskly to the tall windows, grabbed them by the hands, and pulled them out.
“Why are you hiding?” He looked up at the dark red curtains and sighed.
“Now I have to call a maid to draw these open again. I’ll never understand why the two of you like to turn this room into a cave. ”
Penelope almost snickered. She covered her mouth with her hand. The last thing she needed was to hint to Rick how ridiculous he was for having someone else draw some curtains open, as if it was the lowest and filthiest task in the world.
“I got this,” she said, and crossed the room.
The click-clack of her high heels captured the kids’ attention. Both the girl and the boy were mesmerized by her black pumps, as if they hadn’t seen anything like it before.
“Thank you, Penelope. It really wasn’t necessary. Anyway, this is Juniper, and this is Thorn. They’re twins.”
Penny bent over, placing her palms on her knees so she’d be more on their level.
“Hi there! I’m Penny. It’s such a pleasure to meet you, guys!”
When they didn’t say anything, nor reacted with a nod or a smile, Penny looked up at her boss, a dozen questions swimming in her blue eyes.
“They’re a little shy,” Rick apologized.
He pulled them toward the bed and sat them down on the edge.
Gently, he pushed Juniper’s blonde bangs away from her forehead.
“They don’t speak English, to tell you the truth, and that’s why I need you to make a priority of finding a good English teacher who also speaks Bulgarian. ”
“Bulgarian?! Rick, what is this?”
Screw politeness and professionalism. This was not what Penny had expected from her first day at her new job.
Goldman stood up and crossed his hands behind his back, like he always did when he was thinking of some complex strategy.
“About a year ago, Marcia and I decided to adopt. Since our children grew up, the house has been so empty and devoid of… you know, play and good, positive energy. Carmine and Opal are always busy with their new friends, Zane is always traveling and taking all the weird courses and workshops he can find, and Killian has days when he prefers to sleep at the office. That’s how swamped he is.
” He raised his hands in front of him, as if to defend himself.
“None of it is my doing, mind you. I told him to take it easy, but you know how he is. He never listens.”
Penny crossed her arms over her generous chest and nodded. She was listening to Richard, but her eyes were on the two adopted kids. They didn’t seem very comfortable.
“Juniper and Thorn have only been with us for three months. Marcia and I decided it was better to give them plenty of time to get used to us and their new home. However, it’s time to introduce them to the outside world, so to speak, and the first step is for them to learn English.
A bit of Math’s, too, a bit of Science… nothing too complicated.
I’ll let you decide on the curriculum. Find the right teachers, consult them, and come up with a schedule that works for everyone and provides Juniper and Thorn with the skills they need at their age. How does that sound? Can you do it?”
Penny puffed her cheeks, then shrugged.
“Sure, no problem. I’m sorry, I probably seem shocked… I had no idea Marcia and you wanted to adopt.”
He smiled. Too bad Penny wasn’t looking at him, otherwise she would have noticed how forced his smile was.
“I don’t have much time, so let’s just go downstairs, grab a quick drink, and I’ll give you their files. Their history is pretty thin. They were born in Bulgaria, in a small, poor town in the north-west. Their mother died at birth, and they ended up in an orphanage…”
Penny shot him a murderous look. “Downstairs.”
“Of course. After you.”
He seemed oblivious to why she had reacted so strongly, and that blew her away.
Another thing she found suspicious was how he walked out of the room without a single good-bye to the kids.
She did her best to compensate for his cold behavior, but it wasn’t easy when neither Juniper, nor Thorn seemed to understand her or want her in their personal space.
She would have hugged them, but her feminine instinct kicked in, telling her they would have probably hidden behind the bed this time.
It was weird… Three months in the Goldman household and they were so scared? Something wasn’t right here…
Back in the living room, Richard poured them both two fingers of whiskey, and handed her the children’s personal files. He waited for her to scan them, then glanced at his watch impatiently.
“Very little information,” she muttered.
“Yes, well… it’s all the Bulgarian government has given us. You’ll have to work with it.”
“Sure. Why Bulgaria, though?”
She had so many questions! Goldman didn’t seem very interested in having this conversation, so Penny made a note to talk to Marcia the first chance she got.
“You know what? Let’s get into that later tonight. We’re holding a cocktail party and inviting some very close friends to celebrate the adoption. You should come. Now that you’re directly responsible for their education, you should be here as much as possible.”
“Directly responsible? Here, not at the office?”
“No. I need you here more than I need you at Goldman Corp.”
Penelope couldn’t believe her ears. This was not happening.
Not in a million years! She had nothing against the poor, scared children upstairs, but she had thought she had applied for a personal assistant job, not a nanny position.
She was pretty sure the Goldmans could afford a real nanny who actually had the right experience and knew what she was doing.
She swallowed hard. “I’m not sure I understand…”
Richard set his empty glass on a random table, cleared his throat, and placed a warm, heavy hand on her shoulder. He smiled tensely.
“This is very important to me, Penny darling. I could never trust anyone more than I trust you, and you’re perfect for the job. Truly. You have no idea what a huge favor you’re doing me and my wife. And, don’t worry, your pay will reflect that. I need to know now: can you handle it?”
She dragged in a breath. He was staring right into her eyes, as if he wanted to get a glimpse of her very soul. She held his gaze and nodded.
“You can count on me.”
“Good. Now, go home and get ready for tonight. It’s going to be special.
” He turned away, then stopped as if he’d just gotten an idea.
“Oh, and please don’t take this the wrong way…
I would really appreciate it if you didn’t mention any of this to Jacob and Linda.
I know you’re very close to your parents, but this is very personal.
Marcia and I will tell them in our own time. ”
Penny felt like someone had just stabbed her in the heart. Or the stomach. She couldn’t tell which hurt most.
“So, they’re not invited tonight?”
“No, not this time.”
He never turned to look at her when he said the words.
Silence fell between them, and after a minute, Penny took the hint that she was free to go.
As she walked out of the house and got into the car that had been provided for her, she couldn’t quite identify why she was suddenly feeling so disappointed and humiliated.