Asshole

I stood there in the study, trying to endure one of the most embarrassing moments. This was even more embarrassing than the time a dog had chased me all around the hotel where I worked before taking the job. At least, then it was an animal, and the owner apologized profusely after I had fallen into the pool and was drenched.

This jerk did not even bother giving me a second glance before dismissing me so coldly. Who the hell did he think he was? From the study, I could hear the muffled noises of their argument from down the hallway. I leaned into the door to hear better.

"What the hell is wrong with you Lucas? It took me so long to find someone so perfect for the kids, and now you're about to screw it up." Mia yelled at her brother. Her tone dripped with anger and frustration.

"I don't care," Lucas snapped back, "get her out of my house and find someone else."

"Lucas," she scolded. "she's the first nanny the kids accepted without a fight."

"We'll find someone else. For now, get that piece of shit out of my house, I can't fucking stand her."

'Piece...of...shit...' only that phrase stood out in my brain.

I repeated it slowly again and again in my head, and the more I did, the more anger I felt.

That was the last straw. The asshole did not even bother to whisper. But I did not have to stand there and listen to this entitled dumbass run me down when he barely knew me. I picked up my bag and left the study, heading for the front door.

I felt bad that I had to leave without fulfilling my promise of saying goodbye to Aiden and Abigail, but if I had to stay here and listen to that jerk for a few more moments, bad things would happen to that handsome face.

As I stepped out of the study, I crossed one door, and in the next room, they were both standing still arguing.

"Mia, I do not like her, go and show her out." He said and turned his back to the door.

Mia looked confused and really upset.

"Don't worry your poor head. I think I can show myself out." My voice startled both of them, although Lucas recovered much faster from the shock than Mia.

Mia's shocked face is quickly replaced by embarrassment, Lucas does not do so much as flinch. He just continues to stare at me with his cold mean eyes. I wanted to tell him how much of an asshole he was, but I didn't. I would not waste my breath on an asshole like him. I adjusted my bag on my shoulder, and squared my shoulders, and continued walking to the door.

"Chris, please wait, " Mia called after me from the room where she stood with her brother.

"Let her go," that was the last thing I heard before I pulled the door open and walked out.

*** *** ***

"No way, he didn't," Celine's eyes widened in anger and surprise as we folded the towels for the room we were cleaning.

"Hell yeah, he did."

Celine and I had been best friends since we first met at foster care. She had stood up for me by punching Michael Garrett—the biggest bully at the care— in the nuts for pushing me into the mud. While I sat in the pool of mud, crying my eyes out, Celine whom I had never spoken to then came from nowhere, almost the same size and the same age as me, jumped in curled her fingers and gave him a hard punch in the nuts. It was so worth it because, although we had both spent a whole day in detention, the asshole learned his lesson and never came after us again.

Since that day, she became my sis from another miss. We were always there for each other, and all the things I would fantasize about doing to all the people that hurt me, she would make them a reality. She was the balls of our relationship, and I was the brains. In other words, she was the crazy one, and she would not hold back from beating up any asshole like Lucas, I was the rational one that had to talk her out of most of her not so rational ideas. Like when she thought it would be a good idea to throw rotten eggs at my ex-boyfriend's house, for cheating. I thought it was a good idea, except for the part where we would both land in jail with no one to get us out.

"Such a prick." she said as she made a face, "you did give him a piece of your shit right?"

"He is not worth my breath." I put the folded towels into the bathroom closet.

"The hell he is. After work, we're marching there with a bag of stones." her anger was rising, and I had to say something to bring back her back.

"Yeah, that's such a good idea, I heard jails in rich neighborhoods are more polished," I said drily.

"Yeah shit, well I'm not afraid of a few hours in jail." That was Celine for you, although she had never been arrested for anything major, she was arrested at least once a year, for teaching one punk or the other a lesson. And she wasn't affected in the slightest.

"Well, I am. Remember the bitch that tried to kiss me the last time?" That was a distant memory, but it was fresh in my mind whenever I thought of getting arrested.

Celine laughed at this "You can't blame the old woman, it's not her fault you're just a fine ass." she batted her eyes at me and tilted her head.

"Shut up," I said and threw a towel at her.

We both laughed and continued our work. We had to finish six master suites before morning, and we were on our second. Although we both had other jobs, we took night shifts at the hotel to earn some extra cash. Celine had recently gotten a job as an assistant for a startup company, and she loved the job. I was currently working at a coffee shop close to my house. Celine decided to keep up with the extra shift at the hotel till I found a better job despite the good pay at her new job. We were made for each other.

"So what are you going to do now?" She asked as I sauntered out of the bathroom to the main bedroom.

"Get another job," I said as if I would just go somewhere and pick up a job whenever I wished.

"Like it's that easy?" it was like she read my mind.

"Don't worry. I'll find something soon."

"I know you will. I believe in you."

For the rest of the night, we worked together, talking and laughing about random things. Sometime around 3 am we finished and signed out. We said goodnight to each other and parted ways as we entered different cabs going separate ways.

As I unlocked the front door, my phone chimed for the hundredth time. In the last two days, Mia had been called four times and sent many emails and messages, to apologize on her behalf and for her brother's behavior. I believed and accepted hers, I accepted but did not believe Lucas'. He did not look like someone that would apologize to anyone.

According to her previous messages, Lucas had offered me the job seeing that his kids were heartbroken that I left. Although I politely declined the offer, Mia was really persistent. I would have given in if my little shred of pride was not bruised so hard by him.

Every time I thought of going back, those words resounded in my head. "piece of shit." There was no way in hell I would go back to him. Too bad because I was already starting to feel a connection to those adorable kids.

I opened the message, and yes, it was from Mia, but not the same one she had been sending.

MIA: Please, can we just meet for coffee tomorrow? I just want to talk.

I stared at the message for a while, not what I was expecting. But maybe we needed to talk face to face, so I could make it clear that I was not going to take the job no matter what she did.

I sent her a message with the address of the coffee shop where I worked and gave her a time.

The next day, she showed up right on time, it was my lunch break, and I had fifteen minutes to clear it all up and go back to work.

"I'm so glad you agreed to talk to me." She got to her feet and hugged me with a smile. Weird but okay.

I returned the smile with a half-smile. It would be harder to refuse her if she was being so sweet to me. "I'm glad to meet you too."

I sat across her at the table. "I already ordered for us." she pointed to steaming cups of coffee and a plate of cookies.

"That's so nice," I said, feeling thankful. It would have felt weird ordering at the same shop where I worked. I took a sip of the coffee.

"Again, I'm so sorry about my brother's bad behavior the last time." she apologized.

"Is he?" I blurted. Maybe I was wrong, maybe he was sorry.

She looked a bit taken aback by my question, but covered it with a smile, "The kids are asking about you every day,"

She changed the topic quickly, and I got my answer. The asshole was not even sorry.

"How are they doing," I asked, directing my attention to what mattered.

"They could be better, they're both hurt that you didn't say goodbye to them, and Abigail has not stopped sulking since,"

It broke my heart to hear that the kids were not happy. My mood turned sour, and I frowned.

Mia reached out and held my hand on the table. "I know my brother was a major asshole to you when you met, and you don't know how embarrassed I feel for his behavior," she looked sincere as she spoke, "but please, I'm asking you on behalf of the kids to reconsider your decision."

Now I felt bad for what I was going to tell her. The kids had nothing to do with this. They did not have to suffer just because their dad was a jerk. And Mia really looked sorry for what her brother did. But the only missing piece of the puzzle was the person that caused all this mess.

He was not even human enough to send at least an email or a message to apologize. That only meant one thing, if I took the job, he was going to pull that shit again, and my fragile pride could not take another insult from him. I had taken too much in life to be humiliated twice or thrice by someone who knew just my name.

"Have you tried introducing them to another nanny, maybe they..."

She interrupted me before I continued. "They would not even look at another nanny. Before you came, most of the nannies I interviewed were unwilling to commit fully to the kids. The ones that were, the kids were either too afraid of them or did not like them."

She took a sip of her coffee and continued, " You're the first to reach the stage of being approved by Lucas. And that's why I think you would fit perfectly in our family."

She squeezed a little on my hand that she was holding. "Please, Chris. If I have to beg you on my knees, I would. These kids mean the world to me, and I would do anything for them."

"Please Mia," I quickly said, "please don't do that." I was upset but not so upset that I would let her go on her knees for me. "Give me time to think about it. I'll get back to you."

I planned to confer with my advisor/right-hand woman—Celine—before making a choice. She always knew what to do.

Mia's eyes lit with joy as I said the words. "Thank you so much, Chris. This means so much to me."

I smiled back at her and stood up. I still had a lot to do before the break was over. "I have to get back now."

"Thank you again Chris." she hugged me again, and this time I did not find it so weird.

"I'll call you when I make up my mind."