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“Trust me, Ella,” she says with a grin. “It’s going to go perfectly.”
I should have known then that everything was going to go the opposite of perfectly.
12
Two boring days later, I find myself at the ice cream store buying two pints of ice cream. Whenever I feel anxious or nervous, I always resort to ice cream. And while I love Häagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s, Sweet Sprinkles has the best ice cream in New York City. And now that I have a job that is paying me well, I want to treat myself. I know that Isabel’s idea isn’t the best, but I am one of those people who always seems to get suckered into bad ideas.
The point of the matter is that Colton really hurt and embarrassed me when he fired me so many years ago. And even though I enjoyed hooking up with him, I hate him thinking that he can have me whenever he wants. I hate him knowing just how much I enjoyed the night with him. It was hot, and he was hot, and in any other circumstance, I wouldn’t feel bad about hooking up with a virtual stranger. I’m not a prude, though it isn’t like I go around having one-night stands. I am annoyed with myself because I still continued to sleep with Colton once I figured it out. Because no part of me has ever been able to turn away at that moment. I want to show him that even though he thinks he is the bee’s knees, I can still do better, get better, and not have to put up with him. I don’t really want to go through a bunch of old rich men to make a point, but it is what it is.
I look at the text messages on my phone. Colton has messaged me asking me to come to his office. He wants to go over a schedule for the next week. I haven’t responded yet because I am annoyed and frankly slightly nervous about what it will mean to actually work with him in an office again. I nearly had sex with him in a dirty bathroom. Will I be able to resist him in an office?
“Oh my gosh. It’s Ella.” I hear Frannie’s voice, and I turn around in surprise. Frannie and Danny are walking into the ice cream store.
“Hey,” I say, waving.
“Daddy asked me if I wanted to get ice cream,” she says. “And you’re here.” She grabs my hand. “I’m so happy to see you, Ella.”
“I’m always happy to see you, Frannie,” I say. I look over at Danny, and he’s grinning at me. “Hey,” I say. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“I know,” he says. “We must stop meeting like this.” He gives me a small smile. “How did the dating stuff go?”
“You know, It didn’t go very well. What about for you?”
“Well,” he says, “there was one lady I had my eye on, but I’m not sure if she’s interested.” He shrugs. “But you never know.”
“Oh?” I say. “Did you mark her name off?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “I was pretty sure she wasn’t going to mark my name off.”
“Oh no. Why is that?”
“I think she thinks it would be too complicated to date me.”
“Oh?” My heart starts pounding then because I’m slightly nervous that he’s talking about me. But he can’t be talking about me, can he? I am his much younger babysitter. And sure, lots of younger women hit it off with older men, and he isn’t that much older, but I thought I made it pretty clear I am not interested in him.
“So, what are you up to this evening?” he asks as I stare at him awkwardly.
“Oh, I think I’m just going to watch some TV and…”
“Do you think I could ask you a huge favor?”
“Sure. What is it?” I ask him.
“I have to do some work this evening, and I really need someone to look after Frannie.”
“Oh,” I say, wishing I didn’t say that I don’t have much going on. “Are you working at home or…”
“No, I’ll be out of the house.” He sighs. “I know this is really late notice, and I hate to do this to you, but do you think you could possibly look after Frannie? I’ll pay you double time.”
“Oh,” I say. “I mean, you don’t have to do that. That’s a really generous offer, but I did get a new job and…”
“And what?” he asks.
“I’m supposed to go into the office tomorrow for a meeting with my new boss, but…”
“But what?” he says.
“I mean, I guess I can do this for you. I really appreciate you giving me work,” I say, looking down at Frannie, not knowing how I can say no to her.
