I wake up to the ringing sound of the alarm beside my bed. It's six in the morning, and another week is smoothly coming to an end.
Life here is amazingly sweet, especially if you have a boss like mine. Andy is an incredible boss and a terrific daddy to Angel. He is a workaholic, yes, but I idolize how he creates time to spend with his daughter. I admire how he is involved in his daughter's activities and life in general. Even when he arrives home late after the little girl has gone to bed, his first stop will be in his daughter's room.
For instance, he came home so late last night and wasn't able to have a chat with his daughter. To make up for that, after we shared our coffee, which has become a ritual, by the way, he told me that he would be the one to take Angel to school today. He even wanted to be the one to prepare her for school, but I insisted on doing that. I'm delighted about the fact that he is such a kind boss, but there is no way I will take advantage of that. I came here to work, and I intend to do just that, despite how good my boss is.
I fling my warm duvet away and get out of the so-comfortable bed to go and wake Angel up for school. After brushing my teeth and changing, I walk to Angel's room. Breakfast is usually delivered by seven, at the latest, so I have enough time to prepare her.
"Good morning, to the most gorgeous princess!" I greet her, caressing her back gently to wake her up, and she snorts.
"Mmhh.. morning, Auntie Ania!" Huh! This is the nickname she gave me the very day her father brought me to this house. I remember when she called me Ania, Andy thought she was battling to pronounce the name Tania. But the little girl snickered at her father and told him that Ania was her nickname for me. She is such a sweet and jovial bubbly doll. I'm kind of getting addicted to her too.
"Morning sweetie. Sorry to cut your sweet sleep, baby, but it's time for school." I say.
"Okay!" She sits up on the bed and stretches herself. "Can I use the bathroom first?" She adds.
"Sure. Call me when you are done, okay?" I peel the duvet off her and carry her to bed. As she does her business in the bathroom, I make her bed and take out her uniform from her closet.
Taking care of Angel is no pressure at all. It's actually a pleasure. The girl is so disciplined and compliant. You don't need any effort at all.
After about twenty minutes, I am done bathing and dressing her. After combing her hair, she stands in front of the mirror, as she usually does, to admire herself. I take her bag, and at the same time, I hear the doorbell ringing. That should be the breakfast delivery.
"You okay?" I ask Angel after realizing she has been staring at herself in the mirror for way too long and without saying anything. That's unlike her.
"Yes." She turns to me, and I can obviously tell there is something bothering her.
"Are you sure, sweetie? Why do you look sad?" I kneel in front of her, and she smiles weakly.
"Auntie Ania? Why don't I have a mother?" She asks, and I am thunderstruck.
Shoot! What?
This question shouldn't be directed at me, but I just cannot assume it, right? She looks really bothered. Terribly bothered, and I am bothered by her situation.
"Umh. Why do you ask that, princess?" I quiz her, caressing her shoulders.
"Because I have kids in my class who always ask me where my mother is. Why don't I have a mother like them?" She sadly retorts.
"And what do you tell them?" I ask as I figure out a way to get out of this.
"That I don't know. I have Daddy instead. But they say I should have both parents." The sadness on her face deepens.
Damn! This is none of my business. I shouldn't get involved because I know nothing about her mother either.
"Have you told Daddy about this, princess?" She shakes her head, meaning she hasn't. "Well, this is what I can tell you, princess." I cup her beautiful face with my palms as I utter what comes to mind. "Those kids have no right to ask you something like that, okay? Don't tell them anything. And if they pester you again, well, tell Daddy, okay? I'm sure Daddy will know what to do about it. Or better still, report them to the teacher, okay, princess?" I plead.
I feel sorry for her. Really. And Andy, too. I don't know what he will do if he learns that her precious girl is being teased over something he can't offer her right now. I have seen how much he cares and what he is willing to do for her. This will cause him headaches, for sure. But he has to know.
"Okay, Auntie. But Daddy doesn't tell me why I don't have a mother either." Angel speaks.
"Well, then don't insist on it too much, princess. Maybe Daddy thinks you are too young to understand his explanation, which you are, kiddo. You know Daddy loves you so much, right?" She nods her head in agreement. "Then you also know that Daddy will not tell you or do anything that will hurt you, right?" I add.
"Yes. Daddy loves me so much." She giggles faintly.
"Then that's all you need to know, dear. You have a super dad who adores you so much. Now if those kids tease you again, you tell Daddy immediately. Or..you tell me, okay?"
"Sure, Auntie Ania!" She says it with a beautiful smile on her face.
"Promise?" I smile back at her, raising one hand for a high-five.
"Promise." She says, giving me a high-five.
"Come here." I pull her up for a hug, and she accepts, wrapping her small hands around my back. We pull away after a while. "Let's now rush downstairs for a quick breakfast so you won't be late for school, okay?" I say.
"Yes." She happily answers, and I scoop her off the ground and carry her out of the room, her one hand wrapped around my neck.
Descending downstairs, I catch a glimpse of Andy sitting in the dining area, with a tray on the table. He must have received the breakfast. I cross the sitting room and ascend the small stairs to the dining area. Upon noticing my footsteps, he looks up from his phone, and a megawatt smirk appears on his face after his eyes land on his smiling daughter.
"Hey, princess! Did you sleep well?" Andy greets her as he stands up and takes Angel from me, enveloping her in a tight hug. The love he has for his daughter is just phenomenal. It's as if she is his everything. His world! His life.
Wait a minute!
On a cold, snowy morning like today, Adrian Ashton, how do you manage to be this warm in just a short and a T-shirt? Our skin brushed a little when he was taking Angel, and I felt the spark of heat radiating from his body tickle my skin. Ooh, man!
"Morning, Daddy! Yes, I slept well." Angel answers as they engage in their usual father-daughter chit-chats while I set the table and serve breakfast.
"Why did you take too long to get ready today? Did you trouble your auntie, huh?" Andy asks as he puts her in her chair next to him.
"No, Daddy. We were just talking." Angel says, all smiles.
"Talking? About what?" I can tell that he is anxious to know what we talked about with Angel, but I intend to tell him about it after Angel goes to school. But if Angel decides to tell him right now, well, well, and good.
"Aah, just stories, daddy." She answers, and I figure out she doesn't want to tell her father yet. Why that is, I don't know. But I can't keep it a secret from him. The little kid will have to forgive me.
"Ooookay..." Andy says, though he is not convinced that he is actually giving this up. He shoots at me, probably to be sure that nothing is fishy, and since Angel, the not-yet-four-year-old girl, is a better liar than a twenty-year-old me, I only manage a smile that is definitely faked.
After breakfast, Andy drives Angel to school, and I am left to start my chores. Not like there are many.
After cleaning the dining room and the sitting room, I head to clean Andy's study. I wipe his desk and the swivel chair, the window, his computer, and the files on the desk and arrange them, and then I mop the floor. After that, I decided to wipe the shelves, and I pulled one of the stools that I normally stand on. But in an urgency to finish the work, because I know Andy will come directly to this room when he returns, which should be any minute now, I forget the floor is still wet. Just when I was about to put my second leg on the stool, I lost balance, and my efforts to hold on to the shelves didn't bear any fruit.
"Aahhh!" I scream, waiting to hit the ground, but instead, I fall on Andy's strong arms.
Damn! I didn't notice him coming in, but I thank God he was here.
Unfortunately for us, as the stool slipped, it hit the bucket that contained the water I was mopping with. With the soapy water not doing any justice to the slippery wet floor, Andy slips, and he starts his way down to the floor with me in his protective arms. He hits the floor with his butt, really bad, and the silly me lands perfectly on top of him.
Mistake!
As if that is not embarrassing enough, my hands are magically wrapped around his neck while his are around my small waist, our faces touching and my lips brushing his, and for a moment, I forget how to breathe. Perhaps because of the heat burning me from his body beneath me and the awkward position that we are in?
I understand the awkwardness because I have never been in such a compromising situation like this with a man, but this electric shock that is making my body tremble this weird feeling... Why the heck am I melting?
My orbs find his, his that are glued to mine. For some weird reason, there seems to be a compelling spark glueing us together in this sin-screaming position. None of us are moving. Everything is at a standstill. I don't know about him, but I think I am enjoying his sweet pheromones that have snatched away my ability to breathe. I just don't know the process of breathing anymore.
"Are you okay?" He whispers right under my nose.
Am I? Am I okay?