Darker The Forbidden Berry

Aja frowned a little and looked down at her plate. She had kind of figured that making sure he did not get someone pregnant was part of the job, but she did not really think it was that serious. After all…That was a lot of pressure. She did not want the fate of a family’s dynasty on her shoulders.

She must have looked as concerned as she felt because Rachel reached out and put her pale hand on Aja’s wrist.

“Don’t think about it too hard, okay? He’s really not as petulant as he seems,” she said with a soft chuckle. “Just make sure he gets to his appointments.”

Rachel pulled away and walked towards the small walnut table that sat on the other side of the kitchen. It looked like it might pull out and become a buffet table. She picked up a worn leather purse and slung it over her shoulder.

“I’m going to let you two enjoy getting used to the house,”

“I can stay?” Jaleeyah asked, her eyes bright and her smile wide.

“Of course! This house can get lonely, and Finn is going to be gone for another two days. Someone else might as well enjoy the space.” She waved, her words trailing off as she walked down the long hallway that led to the front door.

There were two distinct clicks as the door opened and then closed. Aja let out the breath she did not realize she’d been holding and then looked at Jaleeyah, her gaze more worried than it had been before.

“Well, that’s a relief,” Jaleeyah said, pushing away from the counter and going over to the fridge.

“A relief….?” Aja grunted, staring at the counter.

“Yeah. She was really nice and she did not seem to have any issues with this guy.”

Wine glasses clinked together as she pulled them down from under the cabinet where they were safely hung upside down. She set them down between herself and Aja and uncorked a bottle of white wine with a silver label.

“That whole mess did not comfort me at all,” she said, waving her hand at the hallway Rachel had disappeared down.

“What? Why?”

“This isn’t the job I thought I was doing. I’m an assistant Jaleeyah. What they’ve asked me to do here is far more serious than messing up a coffee order, you know?”

“Aja…You’re supposed to keep an eye on him, right? That doesn’t mean you’re responsible for every single thing he does. If he goes to work and fu*ks his secretary, you can’t stop that. He’s a grown man and he’s going to do whatever he wants. So just enjoy this huge fu*king mansion and get him to his dates. Be his anti-wingman.”

“You make it sound so easy,” She said, sipping the bittersweet wine.

“Because you’re making it too complicated. You’ll be fine, okay?” She slapped the counter and grinned at Aja. “Now…Let’s get drunk as hell, rent a movie and then spend all night in that glorious hot tub.”