Amanda Collier was a young woman bounded by her past and live with the notion to never trust again, entering into the world of her wealthy neighbour, whose life is the total opposite of hers.
With both her parents dead at a small age, this small t...
Amanda was sitting on the front porch searching the newspaper for work, when she heard the small voice. Putting the paper down, she saw a small girl standing at the foot of the porch steps. She had black, curly hair that bounced as she moved and bright blue eyes. She sported a wide grin, showing small teeth.
Amanda stood up and put the newspaper on the chair she was sitting on. She walked over to the girl, looking over her shoulder or nearby if she saw any adult. She didn't. She had been so engrossed in the newspaper, she didn't see when the girl walked up. She had no idea where she came from.
"Hi Emma, I'm Amanda. Who are you here with?" She asked, smiling at her. Now that she was closer, she saw that the little girl was wearing a pink blouse with a blue jumper over it. She clutched a pink, stuffed bunny in her tiny hands. The stuffed animal was almost as big as her. She looked to be about four or five.
"I'm here alone. I live next door." She replied. She used her right hand to point at the house that was directly next door in that direction.
Amanda has been here for five days and she still hadn't gotten the chance to meet her neighbours. It was the first time she was seeing this little girl. She frowned as she wondered how she has walk over to her house without her parents noticing.
Just as she thought that, she heard a man's voice shouting from next door. "Emma!"
Emma's head swung around abruptly towards the direction of the voice. A guilty expression form on her face. Amanda looked up to see a man stepping from the house next door, looking around. His eyes then flashed to Amanda's house and spot the little girl. He breathe a sigh of relief as he shake his head.
"Emma what are you doing over there?" He asked, walking towards the hedges that separated the two houses. The same hedges that Amanda assumes the girl crawled through to get to her house.
Emma looked up at the man and grin widely. "I was saying hello, Daddy."
"Sweetheart, it is not nice to bother people, especially so early in the morning." The man said in a quiet tone.
The little girl's small lips puckered out in a pout. "But I wasn't bothering her. I was just saying hello. She's our new neighbour." Emma explained.
The man, who Amanda now knew was the little girl's father, smiled. He then looked at the watch on his hands. "Okay, that's nice honey, but we have to leave now. Aunt Lillian is waiting on you and Daddy's going to be late for work." After saying that, he looked up at Amanda and sent a wave her way. Amanda lifted her hands and waved back.
She then looked down at Emma and smiled. "You better go now. It was nice meeting you."
The little girl grinned once again. "Bye!" she waved at Amanda as she ran back over to the yard, where her father was waiting on her. Her father took her hands and they walk back to the house.
Amanda walked back to her chair, took up the newspaper and sat back down. Before the little girl had showed up, she was reading that a jewelry store needed a clerk. She took up a red marker and circled the ad, before continuing to scan the newspaper.
***
"Please Aaron, I would love it if you came to the social on Friday." Stella Peterson was saying, following Aaron into his office. "It's a social for everyone working here, you have to go."
Aaron sat down at his desk with a sigh. Stella closed the door after her and stood in front of his desk. After a few seconds, he looked up at her. "Stella, I'm sorry, I can't."
Stella pouted her deep red lips. "Why?"
"I have Emma to think about." Aaron said.
Stella lifted her hands in the air and then sat on the edge of his desk. "You could take her to her aunt's house. You always do that."
"Yeah, but I don't have a choice then; I have to work. It's not mandatory on Friday and I can't push her off on her aunt all the time. I have to spend time with her and I would like to take every opportunity I have to do that." He ran his hands over his face and sighed again. "I haven't been able to spend enough time with her as it is because I'm always busy."
"So you're really going to give this up?" Stella asked, disappointedly.
He looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry." He said, even though he really wasn't. He hated going to work functions, because Stella was always clinging to his arm. She loved to pretend they were an item and all he wanted was for her to give him some space.
Stella has been working at Morgan and Winter Law Associates for a long time now. When he started working here she was already here. She was one of the data entry specialist and ever since he got here, she has staked a claim on him. Some days, she would try to get his attention by shamelessly flirt or ask him out. Honestly, he wasn't all that interested. She talks way more than she should, was too vain and was obsessed with labels. He could do without someone like that. However, Stella believes that one day they would be a couple.
Stella got up from his desk top and smooth out her grey work suit, before fluffing her blonde curls. She smiles at him. "Fine. I guess a next time then."
"Yeah, a next time." He replied. She turned and left his office, making sure to swing her hips as she did so. When she closed the door behind her, Aaron went back to his work, glad that she had left him alone.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
