“Morning, Chelsea,” Anita said pleasantly. “What can I get you?”
“I’ll have a little of what you’re making, please; actually no, I’ll have whatever you can fit on the plate, I’m starving.”
“Lord, girl, I have no idea where you put all that food.”
Chelsea shrugged. “I’m not exactly skinny.”
“You’re not exactly fat either. Lucky thing. Eat up.” She slid a plate across the breakfast bar. “So what do you have planned today?”
“Nothing much,” Chelsea said.
“Feel like a trip to the city with Amy and me?”
“I’d love that.”
“Well, good. You go ahead and eat your breakfast and I’ll help Amy finish dressing.”
An hour later Chelsea was zipping into the city in Anita’s little car; her phone was in her bag but she’d forgotten to charge it. She probably should have let Josh know where she was going, but then they were only going shopping, he wouldn’t mind. They chatted and played a game where you had to count red cars. They even played I Spy. In no time the thought of letting Josh know where she was had completely flown out of her head. “You know what? Josh is working late. Maybe we should catch a movie and have some dinner in town.”
“Oh, could we, mamaw?” Amy begged from the back seat.
“Let’s see if you’re a good girl,” Anita said with a wink to Chelsea.
“I will be. I promise.”
Amy was well-behaved and that meant dinner in the city. It was around nine o’clock by the time they drove back up the long driveway that led to the mansion. Neat, manicured hedges edged the paved road. Subtle lights that couldn’t be seen in the daylight sparkled from within the greenery and lit their way.
“Yay, Josh’s home,” Chelsea said, not noticing the serious frown that her boyfriend wore as he walked toward the car.
“Josh!” Amy yelled. The little girl jumped out of the car and threw her arms around Josh’s neck.
He lifted her into his arms. “Hello, Miss Amy, thought it was quiet around here.”
“We had the best day ever! We went shopping and I got new shoes and a new bathing suit and a ring to swim with and some pool noodles!”
“Did you, honey? That’s great!” he said, kissing the small girl’s cheek. He tried to put her down again, but she grabbed his cheeks in her small hands to make him face her.
“And we went to the movies and we had dinner at a restaurant.”
“Really!”
“Uh huh. Are you sad?” Amy asked.
“No, of course not, how could I be sad with all your exciting news?”
“‘Xactly!”
“I need to talk to Chelsea though, ok?” This time Josh did set her down and Anita managed to tug her away with a wave.
“Hello, you,” he said, kissing Chelsea softly after the others had gone.
His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes and it made her a little nervous. “I’m getting the distinct impression that you’re not happy with me. Did I do the wrong thing, going out with Anita and Amy? Did I spend too much money?”
“Of course not, silly!” Josh said, taking her hand and walking inside. “You did forget something though.”
Chelsea stopped in her tracks. “What?” Then it hit her. “My phone. I forgot to tell you where I was going.”
“Yes, you did,” he said. “I rang and rang but it kept going to your voicemail again. You can’t blame me for being worried after the last time.”
“Sorry.” Chelsea winced. “But you know I’m not going to do anything like that again.”
“I did tell you though to watch out if you left your phone off again.”
Chelsea chewed her lip nervously. Josh had taken her hand and was tugging her toward their room. She tried to get out of his grip, but Josh grabbed the band of her jeans.
“Not so fast. I told you what would happen the last time I couldn’t contact you.”
“But I didn’t mean it. I had a couple of bars when I left and it went dead. Anita doesn’t have a charger in her car.”
“Did you misunderstand me when I told you to make sure your phone was charged?”
“No,” she agreed begrudgingly. “It just kind of went out of my head.”
“Well, I’m guessing that it might stay in there a bit more next time.” He sat on the desk chair and undid her jeans, pressing a light kiss on her belly as he let them drop to the floor.
Chelsea gasped at the thrill that ran through her with the light touch, but it was short-lived. She was soon staring at the plush carpet. It wasn’t a long spanking, but a short sharp reminder. Not more than a dozen smacks cracked across her upended bottom, but there was enough power behind them to make her squirm away from the unrelenting hand. All to no avail.
“Now go and put your phone on charge and don’t let it happen again,” Josh said calmly when he helped her to stand and gave her a hug. “Have you had dinner? I’m going to make a sandwich.”
Chelsea nodded, wiggling uncomfortably as she pulled up her jeans and panties over her freshly spanked rear. “Didn’t you have dinner?”
“I can get something,” he said with a smile.
Chapter Ten
Chelsea opened one eye to find her small friend staring at her. Goodness knows how long she’d been standing there, probably willing her to wake up.
“Can we swim now?” Amy asked happily. “When we bought the noodles you said that you’d swim with me today.”
“I will swim with you today, but I’m still tired so it will be a little later in the morning, ok?” Chelsea said sleepily. “I have a couple of things I have to do and then I’ll be all yours.”
“Will they take long?”
“No, honey. I just have to get ready. I still have my pajamas on.” She hadn’t had breakfast either, but she could take some fruit down to the pool area.
“Ok.”
“You need to ask your mamaw if it’s ok first, ok?”
“Ok.”
Amy ran down to the kitchen and climbed up on a stool. “Mamaw, can I go swimming with Chelsea?”
“You didn’t wake her, did you?”
“No, I just waited by her bed.”
“You should stay out of Chelsea and Josh’s room unless you’re invited in.”
“But mamaw, how can she ask me in if she’s sleeping? Anyways, can I swim with Chelsea today?”
“Did Chelsea say she wanted to swim today?”
“Uh huh. She said to ask you if it was ok.”
Anita smiled. “Then I guess that’s fine. You mind what Chelsea says though, honey, ok?”
“I will, I promise.”
Amy waited for what felt like a really long time, but when she couldn’t stand waiting any longer, the little girl wandered back to Chelsea and Josh’s bedroom. The door still wasn’t open. She sighed. “Chelsea, can we go now?” she called through the door. She smiled happily when it opened.
“Just wait a little longer, Amy. I’ll just be a little longer, ok, honey?”
“Ok.” Amy said. The door closed again. Chelsea said wait, she didn’t say where she had to wait. Maybe she could just ride her new bike that Josh got her for her fifth birthday. After a quick look down the hallway to check for adult eyes, she ran for the elevator.
There was a room downstairs right near the back door where her bike sat and a box with her outdoor toys. She pulled her bike out from behind the box and opened the door. With great difficulty she managed to tug it down the back steps. There was a path that led to her house where she lived with mamaw. She rode her bike here every day since she got it and then she rode it home in the afternoon. She loved this garden. It was pretty and there were paths everywhere. She rode the bike down the path that led to the pool, looking longingly at the sparkling water as she circled the fence. It was hot. It sure would feel good to get wet and be cool again. Chelsea was taking too long. It was lucky she had her bathing suit on underneath her clothes; it was gonna be easy to take them off and get right in that po
ol when Chelsea came down. She got off her bike and peered through the fence. Why did she have to wait for Chelsea? Isn’t that why she had swimming lessons? She walked around to where the gate was and shook it. It wouldn’t come open without the numbers. She didn’t know which numbers to use.
* * *
Chelsea had a hot shower and dressed in her new bathing suit. It was a nice day to spend swimming and sunbathing. She wasn’t sorry that she’d slept a bit longer though because if she went down there and fell asleep in the sun, anything could happen to Amy. She shuddered at the thought.
Chelsea went looking for Amy, but remembered that she hadn’t picked up the combination for the pool lock off the desk, so she went back. She didn’t know what made her look out of the window, but she did. “Oh my God.” Amy had used her bike to climb up on the fence. Chelsea gasped as the little girl jumped from the top into the soft sand pit below. Chelsea stared desperately at the window. There was nowhere to open it. The house was completely air-conditioned so, like a high-rise, the windows were permanently closed. She banged on the thick glass, but it didn’t even make any kind of noise that Amy was likely to hear from so far away. All she could do was get there as fast as she could and try to stop her before she got into the water.
She banged on the elevator button, but it was on the bottom floor so she took the stairs two at a time, bursting out into the garden when she got to the room near the back door. “Amy!” she screamed. She got out the door just in time to see the little girl disappear into the sparkling water. There wasn’t even a splash. No yelling, nothing. She ran down the path with the card held up, trying to memorize the numbers as she went. “Amy, do your dog paddle, baby,” she yelled as she got closer. “Amy!”
“Tired,” Amy garbled through a mouthful of water.
“I’m coming,” she said as she punched the numbers into the electronic lock. “You keep paddling, Amy.” This time Amy didn’t answer. When the gate finally swung open, she ran for her life, for Amy’s life, and dove into the pool. She came up just beside the terrified child whose eyes were thankfully wide. “Amy,” she said with relief as a pair of small arms tightened around her neck. “It’s ok, you’re ok.” She waded to the edge of the pool and found Anita standing there, her face ashen.
“Mamaw, mamaw!” Amy whimpered. “I drownded.”
Anita put her arms out and took the weeping child from Chelsea. “You naughty, naughty girl! You could have drowned! Luckily, Chelsea here saved you.”
“Chelsea said we was gonna swim,” the little girl cried. “She tooked too long.”
“I didn’t say you could swim by yourself. I didn’t, I swear, Anita.”
“I know,” Anita said. “It’s ok, honey, you did good. I’ll be forever grateful for you saving my baby.” She turned to Amy. “You, my granddaughter, are in big trouble. No swimming for you.”
“No. Or riding her bike, I don’t think.”
Amy nodded with a sad face and covered her eyes. “You took sooo long.”
“It didn’t matter if I took all day, Amy, you shouldn’t have done that. You broke the rules.”
“I didn’t drown.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Chelsea felt sick. “I feel sick when I think of what could have happened.”
* * *
It was dark when Josh got home. The lights were still on in the kitchen and there was a casserole on the kitchen bench with an envelope from Anita. In it was an outline of exactly what had happened that day, even though she had called and explained and apologized over and over. The poor woman must have felt terrible. He blew out a breath; thank God Amy was ok, but there was no sign of Chelsea.
He opened the bedroom door and the room was in darkness. The light from the hall lit up the room. Chelsea winced. “Chelsea?”
“I don’t get it,” she said.
Her voice was husky and he guessed she’d been crying. He crossed the room in a second and sat beside her, gathering her into his arms. “Shh, it’s ok,” he said, trying to calm her as the tears once again took over her.
“It’s not ok.”
“Tell me, what’s not ok?”
Chelsea sniffed, pulled a couple of tissues from the box next to her. “You said that rules and punishment are so we don’t have chaos, so bad things don’t happen.”
“That’s kind of what I said, not completely.”
“There were rules. Amy knew she wasn’t supposed to go downstairs on her own. There’s a fence right around the pool. There is a lock! I told Amy that I had to do something, I told her to wait.”
“This isn’t your fault.”
“Whose fault is it then?”
“Amy’s. She was very naughty to break the rules, especially with something she knew was wrong.”
“Doesn’t really matter who’s at fault. A five-year-old girl could have drowned, despite all the rules and precautions in place to protect her.”
“I know, but she didn’t. It could have been bad, really bad, but we can all learn something from this.”
“Like what?”
“Well, Amy will learn that if she doesn’t obey the rules, she won’t get to swim or ride her bike for a very long time. You and Anita need to check with each other and not take the word of a five-year-old.”
“Fair comment. What about you, what did you learn?”
Josh sighed. “It was my pool. The fence and gate were to standard, but obviously that isn’t enough. I think we need an alarm or a higher fence. I already have someone coming out tomorrow morning,” he said. “I’m proud of you, Chels. Your quick thinking saved a little girl’s life today.”
“Thank you.” She flushed with pride. “And that’s good about the pool fence.”
“Do you feel better?”
“Yeah. I was just so angry at everyone, including Amy. What kind of person gets angry at a five-year-old?”
“A person who loves a five-year-old and doesn’t want to see them get hurt, especially when they make a silly decision.”
“Ok,” Chelsea grinned. “I get it.”
“Have you eaten?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Why don’t I call for a pizza and we can go over and talk to Anita.”
“Is she upset?”
“Yeah, she thought I would fire her.”
“She’s family, you don’t fire family.”
* * *
Chelsea was nervous as she applied her makeup. She did as her lawyer suggested and kept her appearance understated; she wore a simple white linen suit. “Am I ok?” she asked as Josh came up behind her and wrapped himself around her.
“Perfect. You look like an angel.”
“I won’t go to jail, will I?”
“Stop worrying,” Josh said. “Everything will be fine.”
“That’s easy for you to say.”
Josh kissed Chelsea’s neck. “I’m going to let that pass because I know you are beside yourself with worry. Unless you need a spanking to calm your nerves?”
Chelsea looked at Josh like he’d grown a second head; however, she did weigh her words. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m wearing linen. If you wrinkle it all up then I’ll have nothing to wear.”
“I could remove it in a flash without a crease.”
“I’m calm,” Chelsea said.
“Good. Take a deep breath and we’ll go.”
“Good luck, honey,” Anita said, hurrying out to say goodbye as the elevator doors closed.
Chelsea’s eyes filled with tears but she managed to give her new friend a watery smile. “I’ll be ok,” she said, hoping to hell that was true.
“Of course you will.”
* * *
When they got to the courthouse, Josh noticed a cute little decorative pool with a fountain in the gardens that surrounded it. “Quick, let’s make a wish.”
“Are you sure we won’t get arrested for littering or something? I’m in enough trouble.”
“No one gets in trouble for making a wish at a fountain. Look.” He poi
nted to a sign.
“That’s nice. All monies will be collected and donated to the Children’s Hospital,” Chelsea read. “Ok then, let’s make a wish.”
They each threw in a quarter and then closed their eyes while they made a wish.
* * *
“A fine and suspended license,” Josh said happily as they left the courtroom. He’d stayed strong for Chelsea and for himself, but he had been a little worried. He was ninety-nine percent sure this was the way this would go, but you never knew whether a judge would decide to make an example.
“Yeah, I guess not driving won’t kill me.”
“No, it won’t. It’s only six months. I’m sure we can find something to keep you busy at home, and if you need to go out, someone can drive you.”
“I don’t have to copy any more chapters, do I?”
“Nope.”
“Thank God.”
Josh chuckled. “You’re a free woman, where would you like to go?”
“You know what I’d really like to do now?”
“What’s that?”
“Go home.”
“Home to see your mom and dad?” he asked, a little surprised.
“No, silly, your house.”
Our house, he thought. “Yeah, that sounds good to me too.” That brought him back to the wish he’d made when they were at the fountain. He’d been prepared for this day either way, but it would be so much better with this hearing behind them. “Just as soon as I take care of a few errands.”
“Are they very important?” Chelsea asked with a pout.
“Well, they’re things that I have to do, and it seems a shame on the one day I have off to not get them done.”
“Hmm,” Chelsea said. “It’s not like we get to have a day off together through the week though.”
“I know, but these things won’t take long and then we can have lunch out.”
The Billionaire and the Waitress Page 14
