Chapter 7
Kimberley
When the elevator doors slide open, the first thing I see is Rosie’s face lighting up.
“Hey, I’m back. Just like I promised.”
“Kim!” She lets go of Gabriel and comes running. I kneel down, grinning, and she throws herself into my arms immediately.
“You really kept your promise!”
That means so much to her…
“Of course. Cross my heart.” I’m still hugging her as I glance up at Gabriel. I smile at him, and he actually manages a quick one back.
“Take your time. Have fun,” he says, stepping back. I stand, offer Rosie my hand, and she grabs it with excitement. I wave to Gabriel, and Rosie copies me with a big wave of her own.
“See you later,” I tell him.
“Bye-bye!” Rosie calls out as the doors close, and we head down.
The grocery store isn’t far, so we walk. Rosie chats the whole way, telling me about the other girls in her daycare, her favorite show Prismabella—all about princesses and unicorns—and then, just as we reach the store, she drops something new on me:
“Gabriel gave me money.”
“Really? I was planning to treat you, but if he’s footing the bill, even better.” No complaints here.
“He said we should buy all the ingredients. And then, with whatever’s left, you’re supposed to buy yourself flowers. To say thanks for watching me.”
That actually catches me off guard.
“Flowers?”
She nods.
“From the leftover money?” Another nod, and she fishes a fifty-pound note out of her pocket.
“That’s a lot of money. The ingredients won’t cost more than…
” I trail off, doing the math. If we grab good cocoa and a nice sweetener, maybe fifteen or twenty pounds, tops.
Still, it feels a little strange buying myself flowers with the extra.
Sweet of him, sure, but I’d rather spend it on something nice for the kid—or even on Gabriel.
Maybe that would loosen him up a little.
“Probably not that much,” Rosie says as she snags a kid-sized cart. We start with oat milk, then the cocoa, then a sweetener. Total comes to ￡17.25. Not bad—I called that pretty close.
We wander past the plant section and spot these adorable, colorful bouquets. That sparks an idea.
“You know what? I think we both deserve flowers.” They’re ￡15 each, so we grab two and still have some coins left.
“We could also bring something back for Gabriel. What do you think?”
“Yes, something that makes him less stressed!”
If such a miracle product existed, it’d be flying off shelves.
“What does he like to eat?” I ask. I wouldn’t mind chipping in a bit if he’s already covering my flowers.
“Oh, he’s super picky.”
Figures. He is the boss at EDL.
“Hm.” Maybe a card? My eyes land on one with an avocado on it. The caption reads: Soft shell, hard core. That’s fit him, doesn’t it?
“Oh yes, that’s cool!” Rosie is instantly sold.
Near the card stands are a few pens, so I grab one to write something inside: If you crack the pit and water it, a beautiful plant can grow. You just need a little patience.
I add a smiley face and let Rosie sign her name too. She can already do that, and her handwriting is really cute. She dots her i's with hearts. I used to do that too in grade school.
After Rosie gets to pay at checkout, we head back to the building, hand in hand. She’s practically glowing, a little shy but happy.
“Gabriel said you work for him. But not really for him. For someone else. But that person works for him. So, you do work for my uncle, right?”
“Well…” I want to be straight with her. “I turned down his job offer today. I’ll be looking for something else.”
When she hears that, her face falls immediately, eyes dropping to the sidewalk.
“Oh. I see.”
“Yeah, grown-up life really sucks sometimes.”
“Did my uncle say you can’t work for him? I’ll talk to him again. Then he’ll definitely hire you!”
“I don’t want to work for him. It was my decision.”
“But why not? Because he annoyed you?”
Well, yes. But I can’t put it that bluntly to her.
“The kind of work I’d have to do at your uncle’s company just doesn’t appeal to me.”
“I have to do stuff I don’t like all the time. But my uncle always says you have to do it anyway. Like cleaning up. Or brushing your teeth.” She sighs.
“Or filing taxes,” I mutter under my breath. Then, a little louder: “He’ll find an assistant who’ll make cocoa with you, don’t worry.”
"Gabriel’s had a lot of girlfriends. Like, a lot. But they were all really dumb. And they weren’t nice to me. But you’re really sweet. And you’re pretty." She looks up at me with those big round eyes. "He really needs a nice and pretty girlfriend."
Yeah, I can believe that, but there’s no way this kid is setting me up with her uncle.
"What matters is that people get along. Looks aren’t everything."
"Hmm…" She thinks about it. "If I ask him, he’ll definitely go out with you again."
"Yeah, well… I don’t know." How do I get out of this one? "Honestly, it wasn’t so great last time. But your uncle is a really nice guy. I just don’t fit with him at all."
"He needs to change. That’s obvious." She says it with total confidence.
"He could be nicer, that’s true," I agree.
"And then will you go out with him again?"
"Uh…" Now what? "Probably not. Sometimes things just don’t work out. And that’s okay. You can still be nice to each other. That’s what adults do."
"My mom always says if you think someone’s stupid, you’re allowed to treat them badly. But Gabriel says you shouldn’t do that." She looks at me for an answer.
"Your uncle’s right. Even if someone acts dumb, you should still be kind. Maybe they’ll realize what they did wrong, regret it, and apologize. Next time, they might be nicer — and learn something from it."
"You think Gabriel will learn from his mistakes?"
"Which ones are you talking about?"
"He wasn’t very nice to you when you came over to our place. You weren’t even allowed to shower."
She actually remembered that?
"Yeah, that was really dumb of him."
"If you come over again, I’ll make sure you’re allowed to shower." She’s dead serious. I can’t help but giggle.
"Okay. If I ever come over again, I’ll need your help."
She grins, and I hope that’ll keep her quiet for now. Once I drop her off and head home, she’ll probably forget me in a few days. Which is a shame. She’s pure sugar. Maybe someday I’ll have a little girl like her. That would be amazing.
When we get back upstairs to Gabriel’s, I’m holding both bouquets in my hands. They’re small but colorful, wrapped in cute paper. Rosie immediately runs to Sally and starts unpacking everything so she can make the cocoa.
Gabriel must hear the commotion, because he comes out of his office. He looks at Rosie, then at me.
"That was quick." He sounds a little surprised — and maybe disappointed. He probably wanted more kid-free time. But Rosie is already rushing with Sally into the kitchen, eager to whip up cocoa for us.
"Kim? Come on! We need to make cocoa!" Rosie calls with excitement while I’m still standing by Gabriel.
"Thanks for the flowers," I tell him, then explain, "I bought some for Rosie too, since she thought they were so pretty."
"You could’ve gotten yourself a bigger bouquet," Gabriel says.
"Oh, this is fine. By the way, we bought all the ingredients. Just keep an eye on her meter with the sweetener, but it should be fine."
"I will."
"You should try some too. I bet you’ll like it." I set both bouquets on Sally’s desk and then head with Gabriel into the kitchen, where Sally is mixing everything into four mugs and popping them into the microwave.
Rosie stands close by, hands on the counter, watching the cups spin around.
Gabriel and I stand off to the side. He lowers his voice so only I can hear, while Sally and Rosie stay distracted. "Why did you turn Steven down?"
I don't really want to answer that.
"Because of me?"
I stay quiet and keep my eyes on Rosie. Okay, I glance at him once, then quickly drop my gaze to the floor, embarrassed.
"The pay’s damn good, and you’d have way less to do than with me."
"Working at EDL — especially with you — was always my dream. But that’s just not possible anymore."
"It was just bad luck we met at that bar. If that hadn’t happened—"
I cut him off with a whisper: "And if you hadn’t treated me so badly—"
"We just got off on the wrong foot."
"That’s why I have to go. I’ll drink some cocoa, then I’m heading home."
"And where are you going to work?"
"Somewhere else. Don’t forget, I’ve got great qualifications. I’ll find something."
"Hmm." Gabriel thinks it over but doesn’t push further. My happiness is right in front of me, but not if he’s my boss. That would just be asking for drama.
The smell of cocoa fills the kitchen, and the four of us enjoy a sweet, delicious drink. Rosie is over the moon; Sally loves it too. And judging by Gabriel’s face, he’ll be using alternatives like this often to make his niece happy.
It’s so unfair that a little girl has to be careful about everything she eats and drinks. I went through the same thing as a kid. I used to be so angry that this was my fate, but in the end, I managed fine — and life is still wonderful, even with those limits. Rosie will learn that too…
“I want to drink this every morning now!” Rosie blurts out excitedly.
“Would like. It’s would like,” Gabriel corrects her.
“I would like, please, absolutely, for us to drink this every morning now.” She grins so widely it makes me giggle.
“It really is good,” Gabriel says to me, then adds, “A great tip. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. So… I should get going.
” I set my cup on the counter and crouch down to Rosie’s level.
“It was a real pleasure. You’ll put the flowers in water, right?
When I get home, I’ll put mine in water too.
Every day, Gabriel or Sally will trim the stems and change the water.
That way, they’ll last a few days longer. ”
“Okay, I’ll remember that.” She nods excitedly.
“Great.”
As I start to stand, the little one darts toward me and hugs me tight. What a sweetie.
“Have a wonderful day. And no more running off, okay?”
“I promise,” she murmurs, slowly letting go.
I straighten up and give Sally a quick nod, then turn to Gabriel. I actually wanted to say something else, but he speaks first.
“I’ll walk you to the elevator.” He looks at Rosie. “You can go to my office and keep working on that picture, okay?”
“Okay.” Rosie slips past us, hurries into his office, then peeks out the door. She waves at me, and I wave back as Gabriel, and I walk past.
“She’s so incredibly sweet, that little one.” How could anyone not like her?
“Yes, she is.”
“It can’t be easy to work and take care of her, can it?” I ask.
“No. Not really.” Gabriel exhales and hits the elevator button. “In the future, Rosie might be with me more often, but I need to focus on work. So, I still need a personal assistant. And a babysitter.” His eyes meet mine. I swallow hard.
“Then I hope you find someone good soon.”
“Rosie likes you.”
“I like her too.” Could this elevator please get here faster so I can get in and escape?
“I’m going to make you an offer. You can think about it and let me know your decision later."
“Okay?” A weird feeling creeps over me.
“I’d like to have you for both positions. The pay would be off the charts.”
“I’m supposed to do two jobs at once?” At least the pay part sounds interesting.
“Not just that. But I can go over the details when you’re not about to step into an elevator.”
Which is arriving right now. The doors slide open, but I stay where I am.
“You need money. I have money. I want to adopt my niece. And for that, I need someone to look after her, since my time’s so limited.”
This has to be a bad joke, right?
I laugh nervously, not sure how to respond.
“Rosie needs a stable environment. And I need a woman who, professionally, wants what’s best for her.”
“What exactly do you mean?” Some details would be helpful here.
“Think it over again, whether you might want to work for me after all.”
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea…” Even though I really like the little girl.
“It’s just a job. That pays very well.” Gabriel’s face is dead serious—serious enough to convince me he’s not joking. “It’s just an idea.” He clears his throat. “I’ll contact you next week. Think about it.”
“About what exactly?” I ask.
He steps closer, and I back into the elevator. Gabriel hits the button for the ground floor.
“Whether you’d want to be both my personal assistant and my nanny. You’d move in with me and we’d work together. It’s easier to adopt Rosie if I have a woman by my side who can take care of her.”
I let out a desperate little laugh at that, but Gabriel only smiles. The elevator doors close and suddenly I’m alone. Alone with myself. My thoughts. This crazy offer and a thousand questions spinning in my head.
When I get home, I pace back and forth like a tiger in a cage. Was he serious? Or is this some weird trick to confuse me and make me look like a fool again?
So, would the pay be really good? I clasp my hands. That would be too good to be true. And crazy. Even if it were ￡100,000 a year, that’d be a solid ￡1 million in ten years. And all this just to improve his chances of being allowed to adopt his niece?
If I’m already his personal assistant, a sky-high salary would at least be explainable. In the end it probably wouldn’t be ￡1 million a year, but maybe… let’s say instead of ￡100,000, it might be ￡200,000 or ￡250,000. And if I move in with him to care for Rosie, all my living expenses disappear.
My parents’ business could be paid off in a year or two, and they could start over. Everything I earn after that I could save and be financially secure for the rest of my life.
But for how many years could I really do this? Two, five, even ten? Ten whole years? By then I’d be thirty-six…
These are the best years of my life, but they’d be well paid. And for a good cause. That is, if Gabriel’s serious. And if the sums in my head are even close to what he’s offering…