“What, she upset she didn’t immediately get a management position?” Trent’ chuckles from his seat.
“Yeah, somethin’ like that. Now, why don’t you get your asses outta my house. Shit, you should be makin’ enough these days to get your own around here.” Clay’ looks right at Trent’, slightly digging into him.
“Um, to be fair . . . you asked me here to meal prep for you.” That’s right. Clayton Storm can’t even cook his own damn meals, nor does he trust anyone to do it for him except his baby sister. The man is loaded with issues, but most of them have to do with his trust.
“Fine, you can stay. But, you, get out.” He points to Trent’ while I walk off into the kitchen to get started. If it weren’t for me, I don’t know how Clay’ would survive.
Chapter Two
Keira
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I know there isn’t anything else that can be done. I’ve given her three strikes and this still continues to happen. “I’m sorry, Keira . . . you know I hated to come up here and tell you this but . . . I don’t know what else I can do. It keeps happening and she’s caused quite a few messes I’ve had to clean up.”
It’s all true. Madison didn’t want to come up here and tell me her best friend isn’t following orders, or even abiding by the company’s standards. At Corporate Cares, we pride ourselves in our work. For goodness sake, our entire mission is about helping kids who have no one else to fight for them. I don’t know when coming into work drunk has been something we tolerate, but I don’t remember that being in the employment manual.
Gosh. Okay, that was a bit mean. I’m not normally so bitchy, but a few hours of sleep and no coffee will do that to anyone. Add in the fact I’m in the middle of going to grad school and trying to maintain somewhat of a social life and boom, well, there we have it.
“Did anything happen with the kids?” I figure it will be a no, but at the way Madison scrunches her nose up I’m immediately proven wrong.
She blows out a breath and nods, “Yeah, I’ve paged two counselors to get over to the house.”
“Where is Sasha now?”
“Being detained by Morris.”
Morris, who’s one of the laziest guards if I’ve ever met one. I’m sure the only thing he’s watching is the back of his eyelids.
“Okay, and who did you call to go over to the boy’s house?” If there is a God, she will tell me at least one of them was Rylee. She’s arguably the most experienced counselor we have here, and depending on what went down, the kids will need her to lift their spirits like she’s always doing.
“Mason and Regina are on their way over. I figured given the event, we needed a male and female.” I’m in no way their boss, but, if you asked me Madison didn’t think clearly.
I nod my head once, “Right, um, well I think if you gave Rylee a call and explained the situation, she’d appreciate it. She might even want to make a stop over to the house and double check that the boys are okay. Now, are you going to tell me what happened . . . or do I need to get that from Sasha?” I rise from behind my desk to stand and notice Madison’s face turns blood red.
“Given the circumstances, can we recap it later? It’s already been such a long day.” Madison runs a hand through her long, curly brown hair, appearing more defeated than she was when she walked in my office.
“Certainly, just remember to fill out the incident report form and bring it to me tomorrow morning. When that happens, we’ll go over everything. Thanks for coming to tell me, Madison, but I have to get going and handle the situation. I’ll see you in the morning.” Walking around my desk, I give her an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder before I head over to my closet and grab my light duster coat and purse. Once I’ve slid my purse over my shoulder, I make my way down the long corridor, and pass the receptionist’s desk before I’m at the elevator. The second the elevator doors open I high tail it in there in the hopes no one will follow me inside.
For a few moments I debate what to do next, knowing there are really only two options. I can either treat Sasha like an employee for Corporate Cares . . . as is my job, or I can treat her like a human as well. The only problem is I’m not supposed to be someone who cares about what happens to these people. I was hired as the human resources manager to handle payroll, tax forms, and all of that . . . but over the last year they’ve brought me to job fairs, interviews, and so much more. Before I even realized it, my job turned into something totally different. And if I’m being honest, I started to care . . . a lot more than I should’ve.
These people who work for the charity . . . I’ve realized we all have rough pasts and this place is what speaks to our soul. It resonates with us in some retrospect, so I feel it’s my duty to not only be a human resources manager, but an ally. So, that’s what I’m going to do for Sasha. I’m going to be her ally.
Before I change my mind, I take my phone out of my purse and unlock the screen. Tapping two more times until I see Vic’s name. Hovering my finger over his name, I wait for a split second before tapping it again. The ringing sound is loud enough I can hear it before I even press the phone to my ear.
“Hey, everything alright?” He asks in a sweet tone.
Sweet as sin, ‘cause this man isn’t kind. “Yeah, though, I need a favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
I’ve never done this before, but if I don’t at least try . . . I’ll always wonder ‘what if’. “I have someone who needs to get into the program, and she can’t wait. She’s bad, Vic . . . and the commercials say how the Recovery Center is the best . . . so I’m going to ask you if there’s any way you can get her in one of the centers. LA, Malibu, Phoenix, Seattle . . . it doesn’t matter where. I’ll make sure she gets there, but, please . . . can you find a spot for her?”
The sound of hot air blowing through a kettle comes to mind as Vic thinks about what I’ve said. “How important is this person to you?”
“Let’s not play games, Vic. Can you find a spot for her, or not?”
“I can always make room. But I’m not doing this for free.”
Of course, there had to be something he wanted. “What do you want?”
“Mmm, Kaia. Christmas, the next three years.”
My mouth drops open in complete shock. “You have to be kidding me.”
“That makes me feel like you don’t want to help this woman out.”
Typical Victor Ortega. Callous, merciless, and most of all, heartless. He’ll go straight for the jugular without hesitation.
“Fine. You can get Kaia for the next three Christmases. I’m sure your mother would appreciate that anyway.” Bitch of a mother is what I should’ve said.
He releases a slight chuckle, “Perfect. You still coming to pick our daughter up tomorrow night at six?”
“Why wouldn’t I be, Vic?”
“Just making sure.”
Yeah, right. More like he’s trying to cause more issues. “I’ll see you tomorrow, but I’ll call you later tonight to figure out where to take my . . . friend.”