Page 9 of Knotted their Beauty

Stunned, I stumble into the room as he points toward the living room.

“Your interview starts with Calista. Good luck.”

He turns away, lifting his phone to resume his call, saying, “No. I cannot get to Santa Barbara today. Butler is out of his goddamned mind!”

Shaking my head, I walk over to where a little girl with gorgeous dirty blonde curls sits playing with a puzzle. It’s about two in the afternoon on a Friday. I have no idea where her father is hurrying off to, but it must be important.

“Hi.” Pulling off my backpack, I think better of it. “I’m Arlo. Do you mind if I sit beside you, Calista? If you do, I’ll sit on the floor and you can ask me questions.”

Her light eyes lift in my direction, and I find I can’t quite tell what color they are. They look as if they could be a gray-green.

“No one usually cares what I want since I’m little,” she says, shrugging. “If I tell you to sit on the ground, would you really do it?”

“It’s your home, and I’m nothing more than a stranger in it.”

“I’m a little sad I’m not meaner,” she sighs. “You can sit with me while Daddy finishes his call. His work is driving him insane.”

“Thank you,” I reply, sitting gingerly on the couch. “What kind of puzzle are you making?”

“They’re sea animals. Some of the pieces are hard to figure out though…ha! There you are!”

My lips twitch as I see her complete the head of a puffer fish. Her tongue sticks out in concentration, and she places a few more pieces before carefully lifting her hands and setting them in her lap. It’s as if she’s forcing herself to redirect her efforts. There are adults who aren’t this self aware.

I’m impressed.

“I’m sorry to take you away from your puzzle. Want to ask your questions real fast so you can go back to it?”

Her eyes flick up to me, and it feels as if she’s judging me in some way. Maybe, judging is too strong of a word, but she’s definitely trying to figure me out.

“What do you think is an appropriate snack for me?”

I blink at her, wondering if this is a trick question. Then I panic because I don’t know if I’m responding to her or her father’s standard. Fuck, breathe, Arlo before you pass out and fail her test due to embarrassment.

“It depends on the time of day,” I rasp. “Fruit for something light, and maybe a grilled cheese sandwich if you’re starving. Running outside builds an appetite.”

“Hmm.” Tough crowd. No wonder she goes through nannies like crazy. Something tells me this father-daughter duo is intense when they’re working a room together. It’s probably best that he’s letting her have first crack at her questions. “Do you like to play outside?”

“What isn’t to like?” I ask. “If you stay hydrated, there’s a lot to do. I noticed a park while walking here. It looks nice.”

“Ohh. It’s great! I like the one by Daddy’s work that has big swings. They let me go super high! I bet I could get my feet to touch a cloud.”

Her excitement makes me grin, and soon we’re chatting back and forth. She tells me all about different types of food, her favorite songs, and I ask if she has dance parties. Her eyes get really round at my question and she squeaks as she tells me how much she enjoys them.

Mr. March joins us as we talk, and I glance nervously at him. Since Calista is still speaking, I give her my attention. If her father wants to speak to us or end our conversation, he can damn well use his words.

“Cali?” he asks, waiting patiently for her attention. “May I interrupt? I need to get to work. There’s a fire I need to put out.”

“You may. Can I stay with Arlo while you go? We can call this a test or whatever, Daddy.”

“A test run?” he asks, his lips pressing together as if he's thinking about smiling. Unfortunately, he doesn’t, and I find myself disappointed.

Coming closer, he crouches down beside her so he’s on her level, but it doesn’t diminish how fucking big he is. His dark brown curls are just as wild as his daughter’s but he manages to make it work in his dark suit. Breathing in slowly to remain calm, I inhale his peppermint mocha scent. I fucking love coffee. I really hope for my sake that I don’t have to interact with him much because perfuming for my boss is a bad move.

Boss? Ha. You haven’t gotten the job yet, Arlo. Chill out.

“I need to run some reports on Arlo before I can leave him alone with you.”

“I’m not going to hurt her,” I say slowly, confused by how he said that.