She wondered if that was the reason that Jasmine handled the events earlier today so well. Phoebe had been a wreck when the little girl sat down beside her and started gently rubbing her back. Her life had just been put through the wringer but here was this child trying to reassure her that her dad would fix it. It was funny in a way.
Phoebe made her own plate listening as Jasmine talked about her father and uncles. Jasmine kept the chattering up until they finished eating. By the time they were done Phoebe was sure she’d heard enough to make her head spin. Between everything that had happened today and all the information the little girl’s chatter had stuffed into her brain, she was overwhelmed. She was glad when Jasmine went to finish her homework while she cleaned up the kitchen.
Cleaning was a chore she had always hated but it had to be done. She stored the leftover food in the fridge and left Peanut a note that it was there in case he was hungry when he got home. It was odd not worrying about her circumstances. She wasn’t sure why she felt so at home here. If she didn’t know better, she would swear that she’d lived here for months rather than the few hours it had actually been.
Her mind went back to the fact that she’d lost everything today. She was literally penniless. Earlier when Peanut had told he’d take them to the mall in the morning for her to get clothes, she’d protested. He’d insisted that Jasmine needed her hair cut anyway and ignored her objections. She insisted that she didn’t have any money, expecting him to back down about her shopping with them. Only he’d quickly countered that with a firm confirmation that he’d pay. She’d protested but it had done little good. He’d thwarted that hurdle by telling her to consider it a pay advancement. Peanut seemed like a genuinely kind person, but could she really trust his kindness? Phoebe wasn’t sure but she was taking a chance. She really didn’t have a choice. At least staying here, she had a roof over her head and food to eat. Those things were important in her condition.
Finished cleaning, she went into the living room and started watching a made-for-TV drama. After about half an hour, Jasmine came into the room and climbed up beside her on the couch asking to watch Frozen. Phoebe put it on and found herself just as engrossed in the animated movie as Jasmine was. When the movie’s credits rolled, she began ushering Jasmine to bed. She made sure that Jasmine brushed her teeth and then tucked her in before heading into her own room.
She stopped in front of the mirror looking at her reflection. She was wearing the shirt Peanut had given her with the loose-fitting shorts. She looked ridiculous but it was better than nothing. She had already moved her clothes into the dryer before she’d started dinner so she would have something to wear to the mall tomorrow. It was funny how life changed. This morning she’d been living in a bus station with a fortune in her bag and tonight she was going to sleep in an actual bed with not a dollar to her name. Phoebe couldn’t help but wonder what new changes tomorrow would bring.
Peanut threw his keys down on the counter and glanced around the room while rubbing the back of his neck. It was about one in the morning and he was starving. He tried to remember if there was still some of that pizza he’d ordered the other night. Nope, he’d fed it to Jazzy for lunch yesterday. Damn, maybe there was some turkey or something he could make a sandwich out of. He opened the fridge seeing the two containers in the front that hadn’t been there when he left. He noticed that they were filled with something. He pulled one out and opened it before sniffing.
Damn, that smelled good.
His stomach growled and he pulled out the second one. He realized that it was a fajita mixture. He didn’t bother looking for a wrap. He was too hungry to worry about it. After pouring some onto a plate, he returned the rest to the fridge. It was as he shut the door that he saw that Phoebe had left a sticky note for him. He grabbed it as he put the plate into the microwave. The neat swirling letters told him that Jazzy had made the meal for him. He grinned. He knew that Phoebe had done most of the work even if she was claiming that his Jazzy pants had made it. He grabbed a fork and his plate when the microwave dinged and leaned into the counter and took his first bite, almost moaning at the flavor.
Fuck, this tasted like heaven.
He scarfed it down while congratulating himself on a well thought out plan. He was glad he hadn’t made a mistake hiring Phoebe. Not that he’d hired her so much as forced her to come home with him. He didn’t think of her as an employee. His thoughts of her tonight had been highly proprietary. Kind of like when Susie had shown up with Jasmine’s photo. Huh, he didn’t know why but that seemed like an important connection. Viking hadn’t liked his genius move in hiring Phoebe. Viking nearly
