Ava Gray
The moment I cracked my eyes open, I knew it was going to be a good day.
I fooled my damn self into thinking that was the truth.
As soon as my feet hit the floor, I’d been dealing with chaos.
My level of frustration was at its highest peak because I was feeling so overwhelmed.
Rob was home getting on my damn nerves and Savannah was having a melt down.
I had somewhere important to be and once again, I was running behind which caused me to rush around my house to get ready.
In the midst of rushing, I had to stop to fix breakfast for Savannah.
Sometimes she got into her little moods when I had to leave the house without her.
She had eaten her food, but now she wouldn’t sit still and watch the cartoons I turned on because she wanted to follow me around while crying. Rob was no help at all.
“I can’t ever seem to get anything done when you’re always working against me!” I fussed under my breath.
The nigga acted as if I was the only parent living in the house with parental responsibilities.
In my room, I took a step back from the mirror to inspect my face from a slight distance.
Savannah clung to my legs, whining uncontrollably.
I wanted to pick her up, but I had no time to coddle her.
I rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a juice box from the fridge, but she didn’t want it.
For the most part, my baby was a good child, but she was extremely clingy.
“Yo! Shut her the fuck up!” Rob yelled.
The growl of his voice caused me to jump.
“I’m trying to get ready for this interview. You’re just sitting there. How about you help me calm her down so she’ll stop.”
“Man, hurry the fuck up and leave. It's always something with y'all. I can’t ever sit around this muthafucka and have peace and quiet,” he complained. “I’ve been working and handling business all damn week, and when I decide to stay home to chill, you want me to babysit while your ass is out making moves.”
He picked Savannah up, but her screaming had only gotten worse. She began kicking and swinging because she wanted to be put down.
“First of all, it’s not considered babysitting when you have your own child. Second, these moves I’m making are because you’ve been complaining about me not doing enough around here. Make up your mind, Robert. You either want me to work or you don’t.”
“Bitch, I never said anything about you not working. When did I tell you to go get a job? Hmm? How the hell are you gonna do that and you have to look after her.” He nodded to Savannah.
“I’m not about to argue with you.” I turned to walk away.
Listening to Rob rant and rave, I rolled my eyes and silently continued getting myself together.
Hell, I’d do anything to get away from this man and have some peace, which was exactly why I was trying to hurry up and make it to this open interview I desperately looked forward to.
I started packing a few things for my baby because I wasn’t about to leave her behind.
“How long is this shit gonna take?” he asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“Not long, hopefully. The sooner I get there, the quicker I’ll get through it and leave.” I checked myself over in the mirror one last time.
“While you’re out, stop at the grocery store and get some stuff to make parmesan chicken and asparagus. I told you to make that the other day, but I guess it was fuck a nigga, huh?”
It’s not like you’re ever home to eat the food you request anyway, I thought.
“Okay.” I left it at that.
The nigga was worried about food but still hadn’t bothered to apologize for bruising my face.
He better be lucky I didn’t want to risk going to prison for poisoning his ass.
Once I grabbed all our belongings, I quickly headed out to my car to strap Savannah into her booster seat.
As soon as I backed out of my driveway, I called my sister, Aja.
I prayed she was able to keep my baby while I handled business.
“Hey sissy!” she answered.
As always, my sister had a chipper attitude, and I could sense her glowing smile.
Hell, when it came to both Aja and Ace, we could always sense each other’s emotions because we were triplets.
We were all born a minute apart from each other.
Ace being the oldest, Aja followed, then me.
We were literally three peas in a damn pod, but we each lived totally different lifestyles.
“Hey! I know it’s last minute, and I’m sorry, but can you please keep Savannah while I go to this interview. As soon as I finish, I’ll be back to pick her up.”
“Yea, come on.”
“Thank you.” I sighed.
“You’re welcome, but that nigga about to start coming outta pocket for childcare. I love my niecy Pooh, and I don’t mind keeping her, but Rob knows damn well he a sorry ass nigga for doing the shit he do.”
“I know.”
“You need to divorce his ass, Ava. You do everything on your own anyway. What the fuck you need him for? Not a damn thing!” she fussed.
“I’m about to pull up.”
I didn’t want to get into that conversation.
Neither Aja nor Ace cared for Rob, my parents either.
The feelings were mutual on Rob’s end. There had been a few times that he bumped heads with my dad and my brother over how he treated me.
Aja was the only one who knew about him putting his hands on me.
Actually, that information I kept to a limit as well for various reasons.
As soon as I pulled into her driveway she came outside.
Savannah screamed in excitement as soon as she laid eyes on her auntie.
Aja went straight to the back passenger door to take my baby out.
They danced around to the opposite side, stopping at my window.
“Give mommy kisses.” I puckered up for some love.
The love I received from my baby girl was the purest love I’d ever experienced in my life.
“Oh, hell no!” Aja raised her voice and pulled Savannah back.
“Seriously, Ava? Again?” Her eyes bore into mine.
There was no need to play dumb because I knew exactly what she was talking about. If Savannah wasn’t in our presence Aja would’ve said a mouthful.
“I have to go.” I put my car in reverse.
“Go ahead, but we gon talk about this shit as soon as you get back.” She pointed a finger at me.
I blew a few air kisses as I departed. Talking about the physical abuse that I had been dealing with was the last thing I wanted to discuss. All I knew was I needed this job, and my fingers were crossed tight.
“Excuse me…I’m so sorry. Excuse me.”
I rushed through the building, trying my best to reach my destination. I was already fifteen minutes late, and I knew that would make me look bad. Regardless, I hustled my way inside, praying that I land this secretary position.
“Hi, I’m Ava Gray. I’m here for an interview with Julia.” I spoke, trying not to make it noticeable that I was damn near out of breath.
“Julia will be out of the office until further notice. If you take the elevator to the third floor, go down the hall and enter the first office on the left, Stephanie will be waiting for you.” The blond haired woman directed me before focusing back on her work.
On the elevator, I made sure my clothes were fixed properly and my hair was still smooth in place. I said a silent prayer right before I got to the door and knocked.
“Come in!”
Slowly, I entered the office. The warm smell of vanilla bean filled the space, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten anything prior to showing up.
“Ms. Gray, you’re late.”
“I know, and I do apologize. I had an unexpected delay.” I told her.
“It’s okay.” She smiled. “Have a seat. My name is Stephanie, and I’ll be conducting your interview today in place of Julia. If you haven’t heard, her father passed away two days ago. He’s the owner of this company, so this was a terrible loss for all of us here at Whitmore Financial Banking.”
“Wow, that’s unfortunate. My condolences.”
“Oh please, no need. Blake Whitmore was a complete asshole, but what’s unfortunate is the fact that his son, Trenton, will be taking over, and he’s even worse of a dick.
” She rolled her eyes. “That stays between the two of us. Julia is like my best friend, so I’ve been around this family since grade school. Do you have a resume?” she asked.
“Uh, yes, I do.” I passed her my folder.
Quietly, she skimmed over my work history before closing it then passing it back to me.
“Honestly, you don’t qualify for this job.
But there’s something about you, and I like it.
I think it’s your hair. I love the natural look.
Plus, we need more color in here to spice up the place.
” She beamed. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a racist or prejudiced.
However, you should know that there are people in here that are quick to turn their noses up at people of color.
But we need more diversity within this company, and I know for a fact Julia would agree with me. So, when can you start?”
“Um, as soon as you’re ready.” I gave a nervous smile.
“Okay, how about this? Since Julia will be out probably for the next three to four days, you can come in, so I can show you around and train you on the position. The Whitmores are fairly easy to get along with, except Trenton, but don’t let him get under your skin, or he’ll feed off of that.
He’s like a freaking vampire. Anyways, your job as an assistant is simple. ”
“Assistant? I thought I was being interviewed for a secretary position. You know, like working at the front desk.”