Page 4 of His Good Girl
I don’t stop for conversation. I have no interest in his wife and children and where he went on vacation.
Ascending to the top floor of this mid-level building, amongst a dozen others in this sector of the city, I breathe in deeply and step off at my floor. Reception is closed at this hour, so I walk past without the further need for conversation.
Allison is in; I can see her from here. She is the office manager and runs this ship like Nelson.
I give her a half-wave, which she returns and goes back to her work. I don’t expect her to be here at 6 AM. No one should be. Except me.
Pausing at Dolores’s desk, I reach over and flick the computer on. I use her log-in, which is updated at regular intervals, and where the IT guy, also a member of Solitaire due to his hacking skills, keeps me in the loop. You never know. And look, today, I need to know.
Glancing up at Allison, she can’t see Dolores’s station from where she is sitting.
I leave the computer to whirr into action and then walk past to my office. It’s gross misconduct to leave your computer unlocked and unattended. Due to the privacy issues that surround the law and the clients within this firm, it’s a necessity to keep everything as secure as we can.
Dolores has two choices. She can either come clean about leaving it unlocked, and I can fire her. Or she will pretend it never happened, and then I will have to confront her about it. The latter makes me sigh. The less interaction I have with her, the better.
Now, I just need to sit back and wait.
Chapter3
Serena
Groaning as the sound of my phone ringing interrupts the peaceful morning, it’s not a noise that I particularly want to hear at this moment in time, but I feel obligated to answer regardless. Working for the temp agency gives me steady-ish work, but I wasn’t supposed to be in today. I was looking forward to a morning in bed, with food and movies. The rain is a soft pitter-patter against the window, which makes this even more of a duvet day.
“Guess you found me something. Fuckers.”
Pausing, I seriously consider not answering, but I live hand-to-mouth as it is, probably working on average three days a week, sometimes less. Here, there and everywhere. If the agency has something for me, I need to drag my ass out of bed and go earn some money.
Turning over in my soft double bed, my long blonde hair flicking into my face, the soft blankets wrap around me and keep me warm despite the cold and rainy weather outside. Allowing my eyes to adjust to the light, and when I'm able to focus on my phone, I see that it's my uncle calling.
My parents.
Sitting upright, I grip the phone tightly, my heart pounding at the impending bad news I fear is about to be imparted upon me.
“Uncle Q. What’s wrong?”
He chuckles. “Nothing, Reenie. Everyone is fine.”
Scrunching up my nose, relieved but curious, I ask, “Why are you calling me at this godforsaken hour then?”
“It’s eight-thirty,” he points out as if it’s lunchtime.
“Yeah, and?”
“I have a job for you.”
“Oh? Where? When? I’m free next week.” I cringe at the lie. I’m freenow; I just quite like it in my bed.
“No, this is a permanent position, Reenie. Your mother is concerned about this temping situation. She wants you to settle down and have a proper job.”
Grimacing, I clench my jaw. This is a bone of contention between my mother and me. She expects that at twenty-five, I should be settled into a career and thinking about finding a husband who accepts that I won’t give up my job to look after babies and shit. I mean, why bother with all that when I’m happy on my own with no one to tell me what I can and can’t do? Isn’t all that are what my thirties are for?
“I’m good, but thanks.”
“Reenie, I’ve sorted out a position for you at Carter & Jeffers. It’s admin for the founding partner, Logan Carter. It’s full time, has benefits, and you can use it as a launching pad for a legal career further down the line.”
His offer is met with a stony silence.
“Reenie?”
