When Rain Falls

Chapter 4 | Help Wanted (Part 1)

When Rain Falls

Chapter 4 – Help Wanted (Part 1)

     Deidre was obviously confused with what I just told her. "Are you sure, Raina? Like I said, this is my boss's house." She rolled her windows down and lifted her company badge at the camera that was installed at the top left side of the gate. It didn't take long before the golden gate slowly opened up and Deidre made her way down the long winding road.

     I was as confused as Deidre. This was her boss's house? How? When? Nothing made sense at the moment. After raking my head for a minute, I thought about my stepmother. Oh, God. Don't tell me Mabel married Deidre's boss? It has only been two years and she had already moved on from my dad? The nerve of that bitch. Oh, wait. Never mind. According to Deidre, he's a single pringle. So that leaves me back to square one.

     What the hell happened?

     There were three baby blue colored vans parked near us with groups of people walking back and forth inside the house. I'm guessing they were the cleaning crew, based from the mops, brooms, vacuums, hoses, and rugs they were holding.

     "Wait, I think I know how to explain this." Deidre said, parking the car in front of the garage.

     "You do?" I ran a hand up and down my left arm. I was shivering from the car's AC that was on full blast. Deidre noticed, so she turned the AC off.

     "Your family probably sold it to my boss," What? I wanted to scream right now from the anger flowing through me. Deidre grabbed her phone from the cup holder and started texting. "According to his previous secretary, the mansion was purchased from a year ago," she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I only started working for him six months ago."

     "It's alright," I shrugged. "It is what it is."

     "Come on, let's go inside," Deidre slipped out first. She opened the passenger door to let Cosmo out before opening the back trunk. My mind was still swimming in a sea of anger, mulling over the things Mabel had done in the past. I was tempted to contact her right now and give her a piece of my mind. I snapped out of my trance after Deidre knocked on my window. "Girl, what are you doing? Let's go!"

     Sighing in defeat, I forced myself to get out of the car. "Sorry, I was just thinking about—" I stopped myself as I looked up at the three-story white mansion. Dad used to call it the Whitehouse, because the whole exterior's color was in plain white. I instantly felt the burn from the back of my eyes just seeing my dad's house again. Dad, I'm home. How I wish you were here. I needed to be strong. Deidre doesn't know the whole story on why I was here. I'll tell her eventually. Eventually, meaning later, when I get a chance.

     Deidre's smile disappeared when she noticed how quiet I was. She placed the box she was holding down on the floor and walked over to my side. "I'm really sorry. I know this house probably meant a lot to you." Cosmo barked as he looked up at me.

     "Yeah," I nodded as my eyes wandered around, inspecting the interior of the house. It had modern and classical art pieces in every corner. The wall was filled with abstract oil paintings. No pictures. "I guess I'll just have to suck it up."

     Three men in black suits were busy drinking coffee in the kitchen. They were talking to this one guy who was in a light blue dress shirt. He looked up from his laptop when he saw us come in.

     "Well, look who we have here. If it isn't Ms. Smarty Pants herself," the guy said with a sly glint in his eyes. He got up from the island and held his arms wide open to hug Deidre. "Come here and give daddy a hug and a kiss."

     "I don't have time for you, Dale," Deidre grinned as she brushed past him to access the refrigerator. "Anyway, we have company, so show some decorum."

     "Dale Amari. Nice to meet you." He held out his hand.

     "Nice to meet you, too, Dale," I smiled back, shaking his hand. "Is it okay if I go use the bathroom real quick?"

It's a pretty short chapter, but don't worry I'll post the next one soon. :D

XOXO Katie