CHAPTER ONE:
As I watched Mr. Wood’s kids walk towards me with four beefy guards surrounding them. I wondered how their day had been. More specifically Jimmy’s as he’d been acting off lately and I didn’t know why. But there was no questioning him for he’d just blow me off. My eyes first went to Ashely, who was fourteen. She had Auburn hair cut to her jaw line and sea blue eyes. Today she wore a white crop top t-shirt with black skinny jeans. Over her shoulders was a faded light colored jean jacket, and on her feet were white converse. Next came Cole, with dirty blond hair in need of a haircut, he had light green eyes. He’s twelve. Today he wore a leather jacket over a yellow T-shirt tucked into dark black pants, on his feet he wore light black motorcycle boots. Last but not least came Jimmy. He was ten and the thinker, with the mind of an adult. He too had dirty blond hair but it was short. Today he wore blue jeans and a black hoodie. On his feet were white flat tennis shoes.
I worked for their dad, Gus Woods. And when I say work, I mean nanny the kids while he was out doing who knows what. I didn’t mind it though, it was kind of fun and it was like having my own kids.
“Hi guys, how was school?” I said as they stopped in front of me.
“Good, fine.” Ashley and Cole chorused.
“What about you Jimmy?” I asked as the door to the glass building buzzed open. He looked at me with murky green eyes and stuck his tongue out. “That bad huh?” I said as we walked in through the open Lobby. Going up some metal stairs, to their living quarters, we went into the kitchen where I uncovered some plates that held Ritz crackers and colby jack cheese. As they dumped their bags, and sat down on the stools, I took out three cups of rootbeer.
“Thank you Ms. Carmichael.” The two once again chorused, saying my last name as their father had instructed.
“You’re welcome, but remember, when your father isn’t here, you’re to call me?”
“Rat face.” Jimmy said quietly and Ignored it.
“Ms. Jenney.”
“Correct.” I said beaming at Ashley and Cole. Jimmy rolled his eyes, grabbed his plate and went to his room. The door echoed loudly in the silence.
“So, what was the highlight of your day?”
“Definitely when Richard put a frog in Ms. Thompson’s desk drawer.” Cole answered as he laughed
“Oh how awful.”
“Mine was when I helped a girl up after she fell. She gave one of the charms to her bracelet. See.” She held up a tiny blue colored music note.
“I do. It’s beautiful.” I said as I took it gently from her hand. Gave it a look over and handed it back.
“What did you do today?”
“Oh you know this and that. Did some clearing. Wrote up some notes for your dad. And then you came home.” Cole scrunched up his nose
“Sounds boring.”
“Cole, that’s rude. Ms. Jenney’s just doing adult stuff.” Ashley aid with a shrug of her shoulders
“Sorry Ms. Jenney.”
“No problem Cole.” I said with a laugh.
“Thanks for the snack Ms. Jenney. But Cole and I should do our homework.” Ashley said with a frown.
“Yes, you should get that done before your father gets home.”
“See ya.” They said as they brought their food with them. After they left, I looked at the sparkling white kitchen. My thoughts turned back to eight years ago. That was when Mr. Woods worked for the CIA But he was also working for the FBI stealing information from the CIA and giving it to the FBI. The CIA caught on and he’s been on the run ever since. I met Mr. Woods his third year on the run, he found me in the alley where my body had been dumped from an attempted murder that didn’t actually kill me. Mr. Woods took me in and I’ve been helping him ever since by taking care of the kids and keeping them company as they are only allowed to go to school, wearing body cameras of course. Going to school was their only normalcy in life right now. With a sigh, I recleaned the counters, reorganized the fridge writing down things that we were out of. Then I made myself comfy in the library and picked up my favorite book, The Secret Agent. I read for a while undisturbed until my phone dinged loudly with a text from Mr. Woods
Kids home?” Crap, I’d forgotten to text him
“Yes Kids are home. Sorry I forgot to text you.”
“Good. I will be home late. Make whatever for dinner. Don’t wait for me.” I nodded my head to myself. Usually I waited for him until he got home, just to be sure that he was still breathing. I tried reading my book again, but my thoughts turned back to Mr. Woods. He was tall, and handsome with dirty Blond hair and dark green eyes, two dimples showed on his cheeks when he smiled. I wish I could say he paid attention to me, but sadly I wasn’t the only woman in Gus’s life. No, to him, I was just another assistant. Gus had a girlfriend, named Niki. She was a dumb blond. The dumb blond type that really get’s under your skin. With perfect thin blond hair and seagreen blue eyes. No blemishes in sight which accented her tanned skin. Her nails were always perfectly manicured every time I saw her. With new clothes from Paris, France and Turkey. One would be jealous of her and maybe I was and maybe I wasn’t, but I’d always hated high maintenance people and she for sure was one.
I was fairly plain, with ringlet curly brown hair and a sort of pale complexion except for in the summer. One dimple showed when I smiled. I was always in the background, behind the beauties, but I didn’t care. My nails long and slender had never had a drop of nailpolish on them. My teeth were okay, though one of my front teeth was slightly crooked but the kids never made fun of it. Niki wore low cut dresses and mini skirts. I wore pantsuits, T-shirts and jeans. She wore her hair down a lot and occasionally, up in the latest styles, I had mine in ponytails, braids or buns. She wore heels and I wore flats and tennis shoes. I was skinny but not overly skinny like Niki was, some would say she was anorexic. My bust was pretty decent, not too big, but not too small, medium sized, same for my butt. Niki had a very big bust from doing breast augmentation. She looked ridiculous because she also had butt implants which didn’t look good with her skinniness. My run on thoughts were soon stopped by Ashley
“Were ready for dinner Ms. Jenney.”
“Okay, I’m coming.” I put the book down and followed her back to the kitchen. We made homemade pizza’s as Juimmy sulked on the island watching us. As we let the pieces cook, we played uno and Jimmy actually played which was a bit unusual for him. But we had a nice time while we waited. Soon the timer dinged, I pulled them out as Ashley set the table and Cole poured the water. We sat down and ate, having a delightful conversation. Then with dinner over, Ashley went to play the guitar while Cole practiced Violin, Jimmy went back to his room to do whatever he does at this time of night.
I put the leftovers away, washed and dried the dishes. Then I went back and read my book, scaring myself every once in a while when I heard a random sound. At 8:00, Ashley came and got me for bed. I followed her to her lavender painted room and tucked her into bed. I turned on her nightlight, kissed her head and shut her door. Then I checked on Cole to make sure he was at least getting ready for bed, he was. Last but not least was Jimmy. He was reading in bed, I made sure he had his alarm set for ten which meant he had to go to bed. With a yawn, I too climbed the stairs to my sleeping quarters above theirs on the next level. I brushed my teeth and changed into pajamas. Then I sank beneath the silky sheets and fell into a deep sleep.
