Chapter 7

• As Sarah approached the door to their apartment on her way home from work, she considered the possibility of meeting everything scattered like the previous day. Alita had most likely exploded again, and she was probably blaming herself for talking too much or something.
• Sarah considered calling Alita to inform her, but decided it would be better to inform her in person knowing dully well that this decision was at the expense of returning home to a wreck, just like the day before.
• Alita is a composed and well-controlled individual. She is almost always in the midst of everything and prefers to ride the flow of life to wherever it takes her rather than using force and being brusque, even when necessary. However, when she snaps, she truly snaps. She goes berserk and does things you'd never expect her to do.
• Sarah hoped she would open the door and see Alita. If she wasn't at home, she was probably at a bar, drinking excessively and on the verge of doing something she'd later regret.
• When Sarah touched the door handle and turned it to see that the door didn't open, she felt a chill run down her spine. Her heart nearly leapt out of her mouth. She exclaimed, then turned it again, and this time the door opened, and she sighed and pushed it further to let herself in.
• She was hoping she hadn't made a mistake by holding on to the information she had. She was wouldn't to forgive herself.
• "Hello there," Alita said with a forced smile before returning to staring at the ground as she had for the past hour after raining curses on her mouth and barely stopping herself from scissoring it off her face.
• "Come over here, girl," Sarah yelled, sprinting over to Alita and opening her arms to welcome her into her embrace. "Please accept my apologies." She drew her in for a hug, and despite Alita's stiffness, she managed to wrap her arms around her. "This is entirely my fault. "I sincerely apologize."
• "No, no, don't do that," Alita said raspily. She had clearly cried for quite some time. She tried to say something, but the words vanished into the air as they escaped her dry throat. She coughed and pushed herself out of Sarah's embrace. "I don't know what I was thinking when I opened my mouth to say something about something that didn't concern me." Now that I've ruined my chance at having a better life, I'm going to stare at the ground until it opens and swallows me up.
• "Don't say that, you didn't really ruin anything," Sarah blinked and shook her head. "Everything is fine. We're fine, Alita," barely being able to talk. Alita's sadness rendered her devasted.
• "How can you say that, Sarah, you were there," Alita sniffed as she prepared to enter another wailing face. "When they send you away, they never get back to you. "I've been to enough interviews to know," she sniffled and whined once more. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
• "No, you've gotten the job." You've done nothing wrong. "I went back and talked to him, and you have it," Sarah said, a weak smile on her face.
• Alita's face lit up with delight. "Did I get the job?" She felt energy seep into her drained body, causing her to jump up and spread her hands in the air. She drew Sarah in for a hug, smothering her with kisses all over her face.
• "You're squeezing me too hard," Sarah grumbled. "I can't breathe."
• "I'm sorry," Alita said as she let go of Sarah and covered her mouth.
• "I understand," Sarah says. She wiped her brow and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry I let you down and made you cry all day." I'm a terrible friend. I was self-centered. I wanted to tell you in person so we could share your happiness and joy."
• "It's alright, I guess," Alita sighed and rolled her eyes. "I already hate you so much so we're good. You have no idea how far my thoughts had gone. I almost cut..." She quickly covered her mouth with her hand and looked down. "I wish the news had come sooner, but thank you for having my back. Sarah, what would I do without you?"
• "I'm sorry," Sarah said, wiping her tears away with her shirt. "I'll make it up to you. Let's go out to eat tonight. Please allow me to treat you."
• "Who could refuse that?" Alita smiled, her hands splayed in the air.
• "All right, give me a minute to freshen up. Please wait a moment."
• "A minute? It is never a minute," Alita said as she walked over to the mirror to check her appearance. She made a silly face and in about a minute or two she was looking as good as she did that morning.
• "Before I forget," Sarah exclaimed as she dashed to the restroom. "You work as a nanny as well as a housekeeper. He is currently firing his housekeeper. "He's probably already done it," Sarah exclaimed, laughing evilly. "And you're coming to the office with me tomorrow to negotiate your employment terms."
• "Wow," Alita cupped her chin, nodding in response to what she had just heard. "You're a horrible person, Sarah. You persuaded him to fire his housekeeper. That's some dreadful shit."
• "What wouldn't I do for those I care about?" She spoke inaudibly from the bathroom, but Alita overheard her. "If that's my crime, I don't regret it. Everything will work out for the better."
• Sarah had been trying hard not to feel bad about advising Benson to fire his housekeeper. She took solace in the fact that it was best for his career, and if it was good for him, it had to be good for them. As long as Mr. Benson Astor was good, they were all good.
• As Alita heard Sarah talking to herself in the bathroom, a wave of emotion washed over her. She was so overwhelmed that she pushed the door open and hugged naked Sarah, who was surprised, confused, and trying to say she was naked and soaked underneath Alita's clench of love and utter gratitude.
• Sarah repeatedly tapped Alita's shoulder until her grip on her loosened enough to just slightly hold her waist and look into her eyes. "What the fuck, choker, one more and I'll be in a coma from lack of oxygen," Sarah said, struggling to balance her breathing. She inhaled and exhaled and realized she was still naked, so she covered her chest with both hands and drew away from Alita to grab a towel. "I was trying to say, I'm naked and wet when you come rushing in," she said coyly, shrinking into the towel she had wrapped around her.
• "Sorry…" Alita stretched her palms over her face and backed up until her back touched the door. 'We're both girls, so what does it matter if you're naked,' she reasoned as she turned around and reached for the door. She squeezed herself into the small opening she'd created by gently pulling the door towards her, then vanished. She could hear Sarah heave and exhale as if she had been holding her breath the entire time.
• "Set as many alarms as you need to get you up by 6:30 a. m. because I don't want any trouble." My eyes are still itching me. If you don't wake up, I'll leave your ass behind."
• "I'm sorry about that, but you kind of caused it," Alita chuckled.
• Alita changed into something else because the one she was wearing was saturated with emotions.
• They ate out, bills on Sarah, and returned home late because Alita managed to persuade Sarah that they should go to a bar and take a few shots to celebrate her new job.
• Alita was the first to wake up, much earlier than usual, though she wasn't sure if she had slept all night or if she had remained awake all night waiting for it to be morning.
• Sarah was fast asleep. She was bad at drinking. That's why she drank so infrequently.
• Alita woke her up as well, though much more gently than the previous morning's painful slaps Sarah woke her up with. She had repeatedly called her name, but the girl had been knocked out cold the night before. A shot of whisky is all that is required to get Sarah to reveal a secret. The second shot was truth serum.
• "Wake up, sleepyhead," Alita said with a smile. "You were like, 'I'll leave your ass behind,'" she said as she crossed her arms across her chest.
• "The bar was a bad idea," Sarah said as she sat up, holding her head and slanting sideways. She was suffering from a severe headache. "How did you persuade me to do it again?" She screwed up her face and gave Alita an accusatory look.
• Even though Sarah was twice as slow in everything she did, they still arrived on time.
• Sarah led Alita to Benson's office and then left. She considered staying and listening through the wall but decided it was too childish. She was going to get everything out of Alita anyhow.
• Alita was always particularly adept at concealing her feelings. She could be smitten with wrecking balls on the inside and smiley-faced coordinated on the outside.
• "Good morning, Mr. Astor," Alita said, her hands behind her back and slightly wiggled sideways.
• "Please take a seat," he said, motioning with his hand. She drew up a chair and sat. She could never have imagined herself sitting on the twenty-fifth floor in Mr. Benson Astor's office for a job interview, even though she was a nanny and housekeeper. A lot of girls would kill to be this close to him. A nanny job at Benson's was a dream job for some.
• He was watching her intently, as if he was looking for something she was desperately trying to hide.
• "Please call me as Benson," he said. She gave a nod.
• Her gaze couldn't stop wandering around the office. The different types of furniture, the paintings, the flowers, and the view from the window. Everything just blew her mind. She pondered how much effort it would have taken to build an empire as a single person.
• When he noticed she was in the room and not really attentive to him, he smiled and let her savour the sight that welcomed her. He swallowed hard and drew back her attention to him by coughing.
• "Sorry…" She rubbed her palms nervously against her lap. She wore skinny waist-high jeans and a crop top, despite Sarah's advice to wear a gown and a jacket with heels to look official, which she thought was a ridiculous outfit for a nanny job interview.
• Benson could see her belly button because of how she sat. Silently, he cursed himself. It was happening once again. The warm fuzzy feeling he had felt the day before had returned. Despite the many voices and thoughts in his head, he remained calm on the outside. A technique he'd honed over the years and through the countless meetings he'd had on his way to the top.
• She didn't want to see these things, but her eyes had a mind of their own, and even when she forced a path for them, they still wandered a little and she saw everything. He appeared to be much younger than his actual age. If she didn't know already, it would be twenty-eight if she would take a guess. The number twenty-eight was ideal.
• Her perfume was in the air, and he could smell it. He wasn't sure if it was perfume or pheromone.
• Ahe, on the other hand, kept her gaze fixed on his eyes because she didn't want to follow the contours of his features. She didn't want to notice his broad shoulders, perfect jaws, amazing hair, and bulging biceps pressing against his top. She feared that one twitch would cause the poor cotton to rip.
• "I believe Sarah has informed you of everything you ought to know," He turned to look at the baby, then at her. He was perplexed as to why she was staring him down.
• "Yes, she had," Alita stopped kneading her lap because it was now hurting and she was afraid she would rip through the jean and peel her skin off if she continued.
• They talked about her pay and working hours.
• She was taken aback by how much he planned to pay her. It was three times what the Williams had paid her, but she kept her cool the entire time.
• She would come in the morning shortly after he left for work and then stay with the baby until he returned.
• She would begin the following morning, and her pay would be paid at the end of each week which was better than anything she'd done before.