Page 35 of Daddy's Little Worker
She thought she was tired before, but now she felt exhausted, like she should crawl under her covers and go to sleep. Noah was taking up too much of her thoughts every single second of the day.
“Frankie,” he gently said as he pulled into a parking spot. “Can you look at me?”
Frankie really didn’t want to. She wanted to pretend that nothing had happened.
“Now,” he commanded.
She looked over at Noah, who was smiling at her. He was always smiling at her, like she was the most precious thing in the world.
“If you need anything, let me know. I want to help you if I can or if you just want to talk to me. I want to be there for you.” He brushed a piece of hair out of her face.
Frankie nodded but didn’t say anything. She didn’t trust her voice right now.
“Good girl. You don’t need to work any extra time today. Arriving late was not your fault, so don’t feel guilty about it,” Noah told her, his face getting closer to hers.
“O-okay,” she whispered, waiting for him to kiss her forehead like he’d done so many times.
But it never came.
Noah pulled away from her. “Ready to go in?”
Her shoulders slumped, and she nodded. Frankie had gotten a taste of what it was like to have forehead kisses, and she wanted more of them. She wanted more of them from Noah, but she couldn’t just ask for that. She turned away, tears pooling in her eyes at the whiplash she was getting from him.
Frankie got out of the car and quickly made her way into the club, walking straight toward the employee room.
“Frankie!” Trent called out. “I was getting a little?—”
She didn’t pay any attention to Trent as she entered the employees’ room. She needed a couple of seconds to regain her composure. But the tears welling in her eyes wouldn’t go away. They were staying like bad breath in the morning.
“Frankie,” Trent gently said behind her.
Her shoulders curled in on herself as she kept her head down, not wanting Trent to see her crying.
“Are you okay?” Trent asked. “Can you turn around for me?”
She held her hand back with an open palm, hands shaking badly as she tried to signal for him to stop. She didn’t want him close. She didn’t want him to know she was about to break down at work. No doubt he’ll tell Noah, and she didn’t want to be around him right now.
“Okay, you’re okay.” His voice was soft and smooth. “I’ll stay right where I am. Do you need anything? Do you want a hug or to talk?”
Frankie shook her head and hugged her arms around her stomach. “L-left a-a-alone.” Her voice was shaking a lot.
She tightly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She needed to get her act together and quickly. Frankie was at work, and she shouldn’t let Noah affect her so much.
But he did.
Everything he did affected her, made her mind spin with thoughts and questions that didn’t feel like her own.
“Do you really want to be left alone?” he asked.
Her shoulders shook as her arms tightened around herself. No, she didn’t want to be left alone, but she didn’t want just anyone with her. She wanted someone she trusted and could break down in front of, but that wasn’t possible.
The one person she had come to trust was the one causing all of this.
“All right, you just take your time. I’ll let Noah know you are going to start a little later,” he gently offered.
Frankie whirled around, keeping her head down. “Don’t!” She raised her voice, panic engulfing her whole body.
“Don’t give you a couple of minutes? Or don’t tell Noah?” Trent asked.
