My Protector and My Lover

Chapter One; Alex

I wake up from my alarm clock and begin my day. I quickly take a shower, put on my work uniform, and grab all of my things before heading out for the day.  Today is my second day of my new job and it's starting to grow on me. I'm not used to the common nine-to-five workday but it's something I have to do since I have given up the whole daddy's princess era of my life. I was tired of the constant orders and not being able to do anything in my life without it revolving around my father. My mother died when I was thirteen from cancer but she always told me to never depend on a man and that I am my own God. It affected my father in many ways. One of them is much more strict than before. I could never hang out with anyone, always stuck in my room. I had been planning my escape since I was fifteen and as soon as it struck midnight on my birthday, I set off on my quest for a new life. My mother had set up an account for me before she passed away, letting me have all access to the money once I turned eighteen so I didn't have to depend on my father for anything. However, I wanted a new life and that meant getting a job, doing what normal people do. I set up an interview with the bakery down the street and immediately got hired because they were so understaffed. The manager, Hannah, was in her mid-thirties and she looked so drained. 

I get to the bakery which is a three-minute walking distance from my apartment and immediately clock in. I start cleaning the counters, turning on all the lights and radio. I go in the back to make sure that we have our deserts ready for the rushes. It's a Saturday so we normally are pretty busy. As soon as I put my stuff behind the counter, two groups of three came in. "Good morning, welcome to Suzie's Bakery! What can I get you today?" I start taking in the orders, giving the people their change back, and start working on giving them their muffins or cupcakes. I start calling out their names for the orders and I get to the last one. "Theo?" 

He gets up from the table in the corner and I didn't have a good look at him until now. He's gorgeous. He has bright blue eyes, and a sharp jawline, and is wearing this black suit that fits him perfectly. "Thank you love. I hope you have a great day." He smiles at me and I immediately get this hot feeling inside of me. "You too Theo." He chuckles and walks out the door with the two other guys he was with. 

The door opens again and it's Hannah and her two daughters, Ana and Sarah. Ana is five and Sarah is sixteen. Sarah normally hates being here but she started helping us out with larger orders and now she's become an employee. Ana normally stays in the back with her mom and sometimes when it's slow, I help her with her homework.  "Hi Alex, I'm sorry for being late, someone decided that she wanted to do her hair in a million ways and the other decided to stay in the shower for an hour." I chuckle and start wiping the counters. "It's okay, it hasn't been bad yet." 

"Good, I'm going to take Ana in the back with me and start baking. Sarah, please help Alex in any way that she needs, and don't be rude to customers. Lauren should be here any minute." I nod and Sarah sits down by the counter. Hannah walks to the back and there's a tension in the air that I can't ignore. 

"You okay Sarah?" I ask, looking at her and hoping she will open up to me. I've gotten somewhat close to her since she started working here. She is a pretty girl but I can tell that Hannah is dealing with financial issues and the stress of the bakery is getting to her. Hannah told me that their father left right after Ana was born and that he didn't want any contact with the kids at all. He ended up meeting some girl and he's started taking care of her kids. "Yeah, I'm fine. Blake hasn't texted me today and I think he's losing feelings." 

Blake is a boy that she's been on and off with since I've been working here. They met at a football game and he bought her an ice cream. Sometimes, he will come in with flowers or chocolates, other times, he'll come in empty-handed and look pissed off. "Why do you think that?" She starts ranting to me about the million things that he's done in the past couple of days. I watch her as she looks easily annoyed and doesn't know what to do. I wish high school for me was like this. My whole life, my father didn't want me to go to school so he hired an old lady named Neva to help me. My mother hated her and always left us alone when she came over. Before I can comment, the bell above the door rings and I turn in that direction. It's one of our regulars and this time, he wants a cake pop and a brownie. 

Before I knew it, it was the end of the day and we closed shop. "I have Lauren and Claire working tomorrow but you know how Claire is. Do you think you could come in if she doesn't show up?" Hannah asks me once we walk outside the shop. Ana is playing with her Barbie and trying to fix the outfit that it has on. "Yeah, of course. Just text me if you need me." 

"Thank you, Alex. I hope you have a good rest of your day." I smile and start walking to my apartment. My phone begins to ring and I take it out of my back pocket, seeing Kassie trying to call me. I answer and before I can say anything, she immediately states, "We are going out tonight and you cannot say no."