𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐞𝐫 | 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢

Late Hour

I watched as Cheryl's fiancee swept into the penthouse like she owned the place.

"Uh, come in..."

She turned around and looked at me. "I'm Veronica Lodge, Lodge Industries. As the new maid, you'll probably be seeing me here a lot and--"

"I'm not a maid." I swiftly cut her off. "I'm Toni Topaz, the twins' nanny." I smiled.

"Oh! Well, in any case." Veronica gave me a meaningful look, clearly expecting me to get out of her way.

An awkward beat passed of us just staring at each other before I spoke. "Uh.. let me take you to them. We were just having a surprise dinner for Cheryl. An impromptu thing the twins threw together at the last minute."

"How sweet." She forced a smile. "Hope they didn't leave the kitchen in tatters."

"They did a great job. And I think we have some leftovers for you to try some." I offered.

Her face grew to one of disgust. "Oh, uh, that's quite alright. I have a strict diet." She said before pushing her way past me, heading straight for the dining room.

When we entered the room, Cheryl looked up at us in shock. "Veronica? What are you doing here?"

"Happy birthday!" Veronica greeted Cheryl with a kiss on her cheek, then offered her a small velvet box.

"A diamond tennis bracelet? Thank you, it's lovely."

And boring. Cheryl already has, like, a million of those.

Veronica batted her eyes like a love-struck teenager. "Only the best for my cherry!"

She reached out and tousled Casey's hair. "Aren't you happy to see me, Chase? I brought presents for you guys too!"

He stiffened in his chair. "My name is Casey!"

Veronica shrugged. "That's what I said. How would you like a new watch? It's Armani! I got a matching one for you too, Chelsea."

"Thanks, just what I always wanted." The little girl mumbled.

Veronica lit up at that. "You have good taste."

I fought a laugh. Is this real?

"What a thoughtful gift, Veronica. Armani timepieces might be a little mature for them, but that's something we can discuss later." Cheryl said.

"You're never too young to become a style icon."

Veronica moved to sit in the open chair- my seat- when she noticed me still standing there. "Well? Aren't you going to clear the dishes?"

I blinked. "Like I told you before, I'm not the maid. And even if I was, that's not how you speak to people."

She rolled her eyes. "Semantics. If you're not going to clean up, then you're dismissed."

Cheryl's eyes dramatically widened. "Veronica, you can't just--"

"Ooo, you'll never guess who was in first class with me on my flight!" Veronica enthused.

"--talk to--"

"Gigi Hadid! Can you believe it? Now there's a style icon. She.."

Cheryl tried to cut in again, but Veronica talked right over her.

She shot me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry."

"Cheryl, you can't just sit there and let her talk to me like that." I whisper yelled.

Veronica yammered on as I started towards the door.

"Goodnight, everyone."

I returned to my room and plopped onto the bed, still unsure about what just happened. I pulled out my phone to text the one friend I knew would understand.