ass through the door? Diane
never actually did anything with them, just sat in whatever room they happened
to be in, usually texting on her phone. In fact, anytime they asked her to
play, she sent them to “go bother the nanny.” It hurt Anya’s heart that Diane
could be so unfeeling to Mark and Teddy, but it wasn’t her place to say
anything.
Anya smiled at the boys as she passed them, their automatic
smiles back fortifying her against Diane’s evil aura. As usual the woman wore a
short dress that showed off her legs, high heels, and enough makeup to keep a
department store’s beauty counter in business for years. She looked impeccable,
urbane, and sophisticated, while Anya looked like someone’s chunky kid sister.
Forcing herself to be calm, she handed Diane the gin and
tonic she’d been told to fetch. Not asked to get, or even requested, but told
to go fetch like she was some trained dog. When she set the glass on the table,
Diane didn’t even look up from her phone, just picked up the drink and took a
sip while staring at the screen.
Dian’s upper lip curled. “You didn’t put enough gin in. I
don’t know why Jesse lets such incompetent people work for him.”
Before she could stop herself, Anya shot back, “I was hired
to be his nanny, not his bartender.”
Now Diane did look up, and her cold blue eyes narrowed into
slits. “I don’t know who you think you are, girl, but one word from me and
he’ll fire you faster than you can blink.”
Unsure of the truth of the other woman’s words, and not
wanting to get into a confrontation in front of the boys, she swallowed her
pride and walked out of the room before she hit the bitch. As soon as she made
it to the hallway, she ran into Mrs. Kline, Jesse’s mom. A kind and funny woman
with a dry sense of humor, she often came during the day to help out around the
house when the boys were home.
Mrs. Kline gently gripped her arm and steered her toward the
kitchen. “Come on, Anya. If anyone is going to have the pleasure of beating
that woman, it’s going to be me.”
The mental image of the round and pretty older woman booting
Diane out of the house helped her control her anger. “She is so…so…”
“Mean?”
“Yes.”
Anya’s stomach clenched as she remembered all of Diane’s
snide insults about her weight, her looks, and her lack of sophistication. Oh,
Diane never acted like that in front of Jesse, and he had enough to worry about
without adding Diane’s craziness to the mix, but darn if she didn’t wish that woman
would go fall down a well somewhere and leave them alone.
They entered the kitchen, Mrs. Kline’s domain, and Anya sat
at the breakfast bar that separated the cooking area from the dining space.
“Pardon me if I’m out of line, but why does Mr. Shaw tolerate it?”
“Please, call him Jesse. When someone says Mr. Shaw, I think
they’re talking about my late husband.”
Anya shrugged, feeling incredibly awkward. Usually she and
Mrs. Kline got along great, but now she felt all weird after what had happened
with Jesse at Wicked. “I don’t know if that would be respectful.”
“Pish posh. But back to the original subject.” Mrs. Kline
returned to chopping up some vegetables for a stew she was making. Silver light
bounced off the blade of the expensive knife as she diced an onion. “My son,
bless his heart, tends to not really pay attention to what is going on around
him.”
Thinking of how Jesse was totally oblivious to the fact that
she was also Dove, Anya couldn’t help but agree. “Yeah, I’ve kind of noticed
that.”
Mrs. Kline gave her a sympathetic smile. “I’m not saying
he’s walking around with his head in the sand, but he tends to miss some
things. He was like that when he was a boy as well. Always thinking about some
fabulous technological invention and oblivious to the rest of the world. Not
that it turned out badly, mind you. Being CEO of your own tech company
certainly has its advantages.” She
never actually did anything with them, just sat in whatever room they happened
to be in, usually texting on her phone. In fact, anytime they asked her to
play, she sent them to “go bother the nanny.” It hurt Anya’s heart that Diane
could be so unfeeling to Mark and Teddy, but it wasn’t her place to say
anything.
Anya smiled at the boys as she passed them, their automatic
smiles back fortifying her against Diane’s evil aura. As usual the woman wore a
short dress that showed off her legs, high heels, and enough makeup to keep a
department store’s beauty counter in business for years. She looked impeccable,
urbane, and sophisticated, while Anya looked like someone’s chunky kid sister.
Forcing herself to be calm, she handed Diane the gin and
tonic she’d been told to fetch. Not asked to get, or even requested, but told
to go fetch like she was some trained dog. When she set the glass on the table,
Diane didn’t even look up from her phone, just picked up the drink and took a
sip while staring at the screen.
Dian’s upper lip curled. “You didn’t put enough gin in. I
don’t know why Jesse lets such incompetent people work for him.”
Before she could stop herself, Anya shot back, “I was hired
to be his nanny, not his bartender.”
Now Diane did look up, and her cold blue eyes narrowed into
slits. “I don’t know who you think you are, girl, but one word from me and
he’ll fire you faster than you can blink.”
Unsure of the truth of the other woman’s words, and not
wanting to get into a confrontation in front of the boys, she swallowed her
pride and walked out of the room before she hit the bitch. As soon as she made
it to the hallway, she ran into Mrs. Kline, Jesse’s mom. A kind and funny woman
with a dry sense of humor, she often came during the day to help out around the
house when the boys were home.
Mrs. Kline gently gripped her arm and steered her toward the
kitchen. “Come on, Anya. If anyone is going to have the pleasure of beating
that woman, it’s going to be me.”
The mental image of the round and pretty older woman booting
Diane out of the house helped her control her anger. “She is so…so…”
“Mean?”
“Yes.”
Anya’s stomach clenched as she remembered all of Diane’s
snide insults about her weight, her looks, and her lack of sophistication. Oh,
Diane never acted like that in front of Jesse, and he had enough to worry about
without adding Diane’s craziness to the mix, but darn if she didn’t wish that woman
would go fall down a well somewhere and leave them alone.
They entered the kitchen, Mrs. Kline’s domain, and Anya sat
at the breakfast bar that separated the cooking area from the dining space.
“Pardon me if I’m out of line, but why does Mr. Shaw tolerate it?”
“Please, call him Jesse. When someone says Mr. Shaw, I think
they’re talking about my late husband.”
Anya shrugged, feeling incredibly awkward. Usually she and
Mrs. Kline got along great, but now she felt all weird after what had happened
with Jesse at Wicked. “I don’t know if that would be respectful.”
“Pish posh. But back to the original subject.” Mrs. Kline
returned to chopping up some vegetables for a stew she was making. Silver light
bounced off the blade of the expensive knife as she diced an onion. “My son,
bless his heart, tends to not really pay attention to what is going on around
him.”
Thinking of how Jesse was totally oblivious to the fact that
she was also Dove, Anya couldn’t help but agree. “Yeah, I’ve kind of noticed
that.”
Mrs. Kline gave her a sympathetic smile. “I’m not saying
he’s walking around with his head in the sand, but he tends to miss some
things. He was like that when he was a boy as well. Always thinking about some
fabulous technological invention and oblivious to the rest of the world. Not
that it turned out badly, mind you. Being CEO of your own tech company
certainly has its advantages.” She
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