Page 16 of Daddy's Little Worker
“Lita, I don’t know what to do,” she whined as she stared at the door. “I don’t know whether I should actually go or not. Dominic will be here any second now to pick me up. I’m nervous.”
Lita didn’t say anything, though. Typical. Lita liked to be nonverbal most of the time. Not that Frankie cared. If she could be nonverbal most of the time, she would, but she had to talk to people for things… adult things.
“I think it’s cause I have a small, teeny tiny crush on Noah, my boss. I can’t let that happen, though!” Frankie held Lita close to her chest. “That type of relationship can’t happen. Not when I really need this job. If we did get together and then broke up, I would have to find a new job. I can’t afford that. Not when this job is paying me more than all the other onesand I get health insurance as well.”
It was too good to pass up. She desperately needed it.
“I know you always tell me to follow my heart, but I can’t this time. I can’t jeopardize my job, no matter how right it feels with Noah.” she sighed.
Her phone went off, and she sucked in a breath. Dominic was outside, waiting for her. Time to put on her big girl panties and go to work.
Putting Lita in her bag, she grabbed her keys, locked the door, and walked out of the building. She didn’t know when Noah was going to come to install the cameras and the new lock, but she hoped it was soon. Frankie hadn’t slept well last night at all. It was mostly nerves, but she kept hearing footsteps, and she didn’t know whether they were close to her apartment or not.
“You’ve got this,” she whispered to herself.
“Frankie,” Dominic greeted as he opened the passenger door for her. “Ready for your first day of work?”
Was she ready? Absolutely not.
“Yes.” She smiled before he closed the door.
“Don’t lie.” Dominic raised an eyebrow at her as he got into the car.
Her shoulders sagged. “I’m nervous. Really nervous. I don’t want to mess up.”
“You aren’t going to mess up, and if you do, it won’t be the end of the world. Noah and the other owners are really chill about things,” Dominic said.
Frankie hoped so. She had a feeling she would be making a lot of mistakes today. But shealwayshad that feeling. Noah hadn’t talked about what to do if something did go wrong, and it was worrying her.
“Frankie?” Dominic called out her name, pulling her from her thoughts.
“Yes?” She turned to him.
“Is Frankie short for something?”
She sighed and shook her head before she realized he didn’t see what she did. “No, it’s not short for something. Maybe I can say it’s short for Franklidina, or I don’t know. But no, it is notshort for anything. My parents just decided that they wanted to be different and call me Frankie.”
Growing up, a lot of boys made her life a living hell, teasing her when they realized it meant nothing and sounded like a guy’s name. Frankie was surprised it took them this long to bring it up. No one had asked this yesterday when she introduced herself.
“That bad?” he asked.
“What?” her eyebrows furrowed.
“Growing up with the name.” Dominic briefly looked at her before he pulled up to the side of the building. “You sighed before you answered, a long sigh.”
She shrugged. “It’s not an easy name, especially when you are a little kid, but I managed. I’m still here.”
Dominic placed his hand on her shoulder, giving her a small smile. “Well, if anyone gives you trouble, you let me know.”
Her lip twitched, and she nodded. “Thank you for picking me up. Sorry you had to do it.”
“Don’t you say sorry. I do this all the time. We like to keep our employees safe. If that means picking people up when they don’t have a car, then I will gladly do it. And it’s not just me. There are several other people at Behind the Scenes who drive people when they need help,” Dominic explained.
She nodded once more and opened the door, not knowing how to respond to him. She still felt bad that she’d made him come get her. Frankie stepped out and turned to him.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Why didn’t you say anything about the part of town I lived in?” she inquired, clasping her hands in front of her.
