“They were very nice.”
Ben took the seat beside Addison and I moved around to my desk chair.
“Did they fill you in about the job?” Ben asked.
“They told me a little. It sounds relatively straightforward.” She kept her eyes on Ben. “Luci said you would help me if I had any questions.”
“Does it sound like something you’d be interested in?” I asked directly.
Those baby-blue eyes lifted to meet mine as she nodded. “It does. And I don’t want to disappoint you.” Addison swallowed hard. “You’ve both been so kind. I really don’t want to put you out, but I greatly appreciate what you’ve done for me.”
I found it interesting that she wasn’t hiding behind her wit and bravado. Gone was all the sassiness, replaced with genuine respect. I appreciated the fact she could do that.
Leaning forward, I rested my arms on my desk. “Addison, should you choose to take the job, I want you to know that you’ll be held accountable for your performance. The way in which we met, as well as anything D/s related, is secondary to all this. We wouldn’t have made the suggestion if we didn’t think you were capable of succeeding.”
She nodded, but I could tell she didn’t believe me.
“It’s just…” Addison sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping as she rested her hands in her lap. “It’s obvious I need this. I’m sure you’re both well aware that I have nothing and no one to help me.”
She paused, but I didn’t rush her, nor did I try to fill in the blanks. I wanted to see where she was going.
Addison shifted again, clearly restless. “Truth is, I lived in foster care my entire life and although I was found when I was only a couple of days old, that didn’t—”
“Found?” Ben interrupted.
She looked sad when she glanced down at her hands. “I don’t like to talk about it, but my mother abandoned me at a bus stop. The man who found me took me to the nearest fire station. From there, social services came in. They never were able to locate my mother—she evidently used a fake name at the hospital—but they did find my birth records.
“I grew up in foster care. I started out being fostered by a couple who were desperate for a child, but then the woman got sick when I was two. Since they hadn’t proceeded with the adoption and knew they couldn’t care for me anymore, they sent me back. At that point, I was shuffled in and out of overcrowded foster homes for years. When I was thirteen, I ended up in a group home, where I stayed until I was eighteen.”
Well, that explained a lot. The people who should’ve kept her safe had abandoned her. Not just once but multiple times. It definitely clarified why she was willing to stay with that asshole she’d been with at the club. The woman was looking for stability.
“Where’d you go from there?” Ben asked. “When you were eighteen?”
Addison looked over at him, and for a second, I thought she wasn’t going to answer, but again she sighed.
“I was on the streets mostly, sleeping in shelters when I could, until I met a man named Walter Evans. He was a lot older than I was. At first, I thought he wanted to be my friend. He took me in and let me take care of his house. I was with him for about a year when he offered to send me to college, but in order for that to happen, he wanted me to be…”
“His girlfriend,” I said, urging her to continue.
“Yeah, well.” Addison rolled her eyes. “If only it’d been that simple. I was only nineteen when I met Walter and he…he was sixty-two.”
Ouch.
“I didn’t know it at first, but he was a Dom. And he was into the whole Daddy/little thing and he wanted that between us.” She outwardly shivered as though put off by the thought. “I had no desire to role play as his little girl—I was not attracted to him in the least—and I wasn’t about to whore myself out for school. He told me I could have a couple of weeks to think about it. I knew I didn’t need to think, so…well, I waited for him to go to work the next morning and I left. That was nine years ago.
“The streets have been my home pretty much since. Made a few friends who would let me sleep on their couches from time to time. Then I met Josh last year and we hit it off. Two days after we met, he asked me to move in with him…”
I didn’t need to hear more of that story. I already knew the ending.
“Well, none of that’s taking place here,” I explained as I leaned back in my chair. “We’re offering you the position, Addison. No stipulations. We’d like you to work here. Like I said before, what happens in any other regard requires the three of us to agree.”
