Ripley’s pov Dropping the girls off at daycare went surprisingly better than suspected. Maybe it was all the toys, or maybe they weren’t fully awake yet. I know, I am not. This job starts early, and I could barely sleep last night. Although this job was good news—a chance at a new start for me and the girls—I was still really nervous. All night, I prepared for every possibility in my head. It was something that I had always done, but it became worse once I had kids. Every scenario and every thing that could possibly go wrong had entered my mind. I had countless conversations with people that didn’t even exist. Conversations about my girls, my late husband, and my life in general. Things that would probably not even come up. Yet, I had practiced every response to every stupid question I could think of. I yawned behind my hand as I walked towards Allison. I had already gotten dressed in the uniform she had laid out for me. It wasn’t a classic black-and-white uniform like in the mov

Ripley’s pov“Heather will be training you this morning because Mr. Hemming has requested your services today.” Allison told me, first thing when I arrived.She looked so proud, while I felt mortified. It was my second day, and I knew that there was no way in hell that Mr. Hemming had good intentions in asking me to work in his room.That man had only shown arrogance and irritation around me. Besides, I was nobody to him. So what was his deal?Heather rolled her eyes at me and put an obvious fake smile on her face. “I’ll show you how everything is done.”Okay. Does that mean she’s going to purposefully tell me the wrong way to do things? Because it sure feels like it.Maybe I’m just not as trustworthy as I used to be, but it was clear that Heather wasn’t happy I was taking her job over. Which she proved in the elevator going up to the penthouse.Heather came into my personal space, standing way too close for my comfort, and scoffed at me.“I don’t know what you did, but this won’t las

Ripley’s pov I sat on a bench in the sun. It wasn’t as warm out anymore, but when the sun was shining, it was pretty nice. It was needed, this break. To clear my head, to rest. It wouldn’t work if I was down in the basement with the rest of the cleaners. All that I needed was to watch a video of my girls and feel the sun on my face, and I would be able to handle the rest of the day. It wasn’t like I needed to go back to Cas’ penthouse suite. He told me I was done, so the few hours I had left could be spent cleaning the rooms of the guest who had left today. I giggled as I watched Rose and River act silly. God, how I loved it when they acted silly. My in-laws wanted my girls to always behave, but that’s not how three-year-olds act. They dance, they make silly faces, they have tantrums, and sometimes they go into a fit of laughter for no real reason. They’re brutally honest yet loyal. I love this age, even if it comes with tantrums at times. They’re three. I mean. They’re not allowe

Ripley's povAfter Cas told me to dress nice, I headed to Allison for help. I didn’t tell her who I was meeting but that I needed to wear something fancy for an unexpected meeting during lunch.Which earned me more questions than I wanted to answer. But I wasn’t sure I could tell her the truth.In the end, I told Allison it had to do with my late husband’s estate. As soon as I mentioned my dead husband, people stopped asking questions.Maybe they were scared I would cry in public, and nobody wants a public scene. Or they felt bad for me.Either way, Allison stopped asking questions and was a great help in finding something to wear.Long story short, Allison took me to the lost and found, where we found the dress I was currently wearing. As long as I returned it, Allison didn’t see it as a problem that I took a long lunch break.“You’ve been here three days, and you’ve already won over our most important guest.” She had said.“And the grumpiest,” I joked.Once I read the contract Cas ha

Cas' pov “Maybe we should use that list of of topics to discuss during a date,” Ripley joked nervously. “Considering I’ve barely been on any dates and you, um, how do I put this?” “Usually skip dinner and go straight for dessert?" I replied. “I’ve heard I am somewhat of a man whore.” “Yeah, sorry about that.” “Well, the whore part would indicate I get paid, and usually the women get more out of it money-wise than I do.” Ripley leaned forward, her breasts catching my eye. The low neckline was the reason I picked this dress, and it did not disappoint. It was better she didn’t know this dress cost three times as much as the earrings. I had no fucking clue about dresses, but I had an assistant pick out a selection for me to choose from, and this one from Robert Cavalli caught my eye. It was simple, yet irresistible. A little like Ripley right now. Open back with small straps made of black silk that fell perfectly between her breasts. Fuck, it was perfect. Plus, it had a slit on the