So I guess we have reached the “rough patch” in our fake relationship.
“Oh. I guess I’ll see you there.”
“No,” he replied, fixing me with a flat gray stare.
I bristled. Was he firing me?
“I need you to stay home with the girls. You can work remotely.”
“Is this a forever thing?” I asked, annoyed I wasn’t going to see Maeve. I needed some girl gossip time.
“We need to make some changes.” My boss sipped his tea. “Annie and Enola can’t keep running around the office. I need to discuss with my brothers the best course of action. Since school isn’t working out for any of them, we’re going to have to pivot. Maybe we’ll have to look at boarding school.”
“Great, because that’s a wonderful idea and really takes into consideration what I said yesterday,” I said, practically slamming a container of orange juice on the counter.
Beck didn’t acknowledge my annoyance. He didn’t even say goodbye; he just left.
I scraped the hash browns into a serving bowl and checked the bacon.
“Where’s Beck?” Enola asked, sliding into her chair.
“Went to work.”
“Without us?”
“We’re going to stay here.”
“But I want to go work at the café!” Annie said.
“Maybe you could read a book or make art or come up with a different fun project to do.”
The girls were sullen during breakfast, and they ran to their rooms after helping me clean up.
Tess:I feel like I was not this obnoxious when I was their age.
Maeve:They’re tween girls. Compared to other ones, they’re pretty great.
Holly:I’m going to miss my little helpers today!
Maeve:When you said you were staying home, I thought you meant you and Beck.
Holly:He seriously hasn’t made any moves on you?
Tess:You mean besides the move of being a know-it-all asshole? Nope.
Holly:The man is wound super tight. It has to be killing him to have you right across the hall!
Tess:I don’t think we’re like that.
Maeve:I thought he was staring at your tits?
Tess:I don’t like guys who talk down to you and don’t take any responsibility.
Tess:My first impressions of him were in fact correct. He’s entitled and probably has some sort of mental disorder.
Maeve:It’s that cult upbringing.
Holly:He’s dangerous and unstable.
