"quietly while you were asleep

the moon and I were talking

I asked that she always keep you protected"

© 2021 Emma Norman. All Rights Reserved.

"Scarlett..." I groaned and hid myself further under the mountain of blankets which were already covering. You could say that I had an obsession with blankets, given that there were four of them on my bed. But it wasn't my fault that I got cold.

It could be the middle of summer and I would still complain that I was cold. My Gran had once joked that they could send me to the hottest place on Earth and I would still take my blankets with me.

Thing is, she probably wasn't wrong. I almost wished that she was still here just to hear her make those jokes again and to laugh at all the things which I did wrong; I missed her but I was always told that 'God only takes the best.'

"Muuuuuummy!" A squeal escaped from my lips as my five-year-old threw her entire weight on top of me with joy lacing her voice. "Wakey wakey. Uncle Steffie said he is taking us out for pancakes."

"I can't believe I allow a child to call me Steffie," my brother grumbled under his breath with a roll of his eyes, but it was hard to believe that he was genuinely annoyed when he had a small smile on his face.

"Aw. Gracie, Uncle Steffie is complaining again." I am sure that, had I not been using my daughter as a protective shield, Steven would have hit me upside the head for calling him that. Grace was the only person who was permitted to call him that, anyone else had daggers thrown in their direction and were threatened with death. "What do we do when he starts complaining?"

Grace's brunette hair flapped around her face as she threw herself at Steven and wrapped her arms tightly around him; giggling as she did so. "We attack him with cuddles."

"We attack him with cuddles," I affirmed as I threw my blankets off my body and tossed my own body towards my brother, wrapping my arms around his midriff with a smile contained on my ruby lips.

I couldn't help the happiness I felt as I watched my brother and daughter interacting with each other, laughing with their heads thrown back and happiness shining in their eyes. They might have been all I had but they were also all that I needed.

There was a dark time in my life. It was a time, just after my Gran had died, that I was struggling and I genuinely couldn't cope. I felt that my entire life was falling apart and that there was no one who were there for me; no one who cared about me enough to want to be there for me.

But I discovered just how wrong I was when Steven was the one saving my life whilst Gracie stood in the background, tears streaming down her face, screaming Mummy at the top of her lungs. I was only partially conscious but it's a memory which still haunts me whenever I close my eyes and has caused me to become one of those overprotective mothers who doesn't trust anyone (other than their brother) with their child.

"So? Did someone mention pancakes?"

><

This morning had been relaxing, enjoyable even. I didn't stop smiling the entire way through breakfast and there was a calmness which washed over me, as it always did when I spent time with the only family I had left.

But, unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. As happened whenever the time I was allowed to spend with my daughter came to an end, I cried and I held her tightly, and I whispered to her just how much I loved her. I told her that I didn't want to let her go and I promised her that it wouldn't be long until she was back with me.

It was a promise which I was determined to keep. I had spent the last eighteen months working my ass off to prove I was a fit mother who was capable of looking after her own daughter without the supervision of her own brother.

Today was the final step on the ladder to success. Today was the last tick on the checklist of things I was told that I had to achieve in order to have full custody of my daughter once more. Today was the day where I would finally show everyone I was capable of being a good mother and that one fucking mistake shouldn't define a person nor dictate the outcomes of their life.

Steven had never doubted me and he had fought for me. He had told the courts that I was a good mother and that I had never done anything to harm daughter, but they didn't listen because they didn't give a flying fuck.

To them, I was an unfit mother who deserved to lose my child. In their eyes, I needed to be punished, and what worse punishment is there than being told your child is going to be removed from your care and that you shan't be allowed to see them?

It felt as though someone had put their hand into my chest and ripped my heart out where I stood. I only managed to feel some semblance of humanity again when Steven piped up and offered to take temporary custody of Gracie—it avoided the complications of her going into the care of her biological father.

He was sociopath and psychopath all rolled into one. If Gracie had gone to him, I never would've stood a chance of getting her back because, whilst he would've been a shit father, he was a very rich man with his fingers in many pies.

I shook my head to prevent myself from disappearing into that place again and focused on the room in which I was sat. My palms were sweating and my heart was beating ten to the dozen, but the knowledge that this would lead to me getting my daughter back far outweighed the anxiety I was feeling.

"Miss Johnson?" My head shot up so fast that I had a feeling of vertigo as I looked towards the tall, lean woman who had called my name. If it wasn't for the heels which I was wearing then she would've stood taller than me and been a lot more intimidating but, as it is, I plastered a smile on my face and stood with my hand in her direction as a way of polite greeting. "It would appear that luck is on your side today. There is only one other applicant but she has neither the experience nor qualities which we are looking for. So, all being well, the job is essentially yours."

"Wait? What do you mean? Don't I need to have an interview before you offer me the job? Make sure I truly am what you are looking for? You know, make sure I am the right fit for the company?" It isn't that I was trying to talk myself out of the job. Deep down, I was ecstatic that I was almost guaranteed the job, but it seemed too good to be true.

Things like this didn't happen to me. Things had never fallen into my lap and I had always had to work hard, so I was having a hard time believing what I was hearing right now.

"Before we go any further, allow me to introduce myself properly, since I am the one you will be discussing things with." She seemed friendly enough and there didn't appear to be any malice in what she was doing either. I just had a real hard time trusting people, especially those I had only just met. "I am Danielle Simpson. I do just about everything for Mr Peck, bar washing and ironing his underwear for him."

"If you do that, then what is the purpose of me?" I was blunt. It had been one of my downfalls, or so my ex-husband had claimed when I asked why he thought beating me was the answer to all of his problems.

"Fair question," Danielle chuckled and she began walking towards an empty room on the left side of the waiting area I had been sat in. I took that as my queue to follow after her and waddled—I didn't wear heels very often, only when I had to make a good impression—along behind her. "Mr Peck's workload has become unmanageable for just myself to do. Now, before you get any impressions, Mr Peck isn't a demanding boss and, when you get past the tough exterior, he isn't as cold as he likes to make people think either. You know what men are like, they want everyone to think that they have total control and that they are independent, but we all know who is the person behind their success."

"We do?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Yes. For any man in power, it's their PA who keeps them ticking over and ensures that they remain in control." I shuddered at the thought of being at the beck and call of a man once more. I had done it once before and it turned out in my favour, but rather he was the one making all of the gains whilst I was the one making none of their gains. "Your job would include arranging Mr Peck's meetings for him, scheduling his bi-weekly finance meetings with his Board and having the appropriate information ready for said meeting, keeping minutes from his meetings and, most importantly, maintaining superiority over a small number of staff. Nothing you haven't done before, correct?"

"Correct. My previous boss—"

"—Mr Stanton?" I gritted my teeth and shook my head at the mere mention of the monster I used to work for. I still can't believe I thought he was a good man who was capable of love. But, if there was one thing Mr Stanton had taught me, it was definitely to look before I leap the next time I decide to fall in love (and that's if I ever fell in love again).

"Yes. Him." I couldn't help the venom which seeped into my voice and it didn't go unnoticed by Danielle either as she turned her head to the side in confusion. I reminded myself that, in order to move on from the past and to look to the future, I needed to let go of what happened with that inhumane piece of shit. I cleared my throat and refocused my attention on Danielle's blue eyes. "The things which you mentioned I will have to do for Mr Peck are, indeed, much the same as the tasks I carried out whilst in the employment of Mr Stanton. I would also travel with him, where necessary, to meetings to act as I, shall we say, buffer between Mr Stanton and his clients. I would also check over financial records since, as you will have seen, I obtained a degree in finance and accounting so I was able to point out some discrepancies in the accounts."

It didn't matter that those discrepancies had been caused by Mr Stanton himself or that, when I had brought it up with whilst we were away in Manchester, he had beaten then raped me. None of that mattered because Daniel fucking Stanton had made sure that none of that mattered.

"Thorough. Mr Peck always appreciates someone who is thorough." If Danielle had picked up on the animosity which I felt towards the pig, Mr Stanton, she had chosen to ignore it and continue with the conversation. "He also appreciates someone who is honest, loyal, and good at their job."

"Well, Miss Simpson—"

"Please, call me Danielle. It's what everyone around here calls me," Danielle smiled kindly and it made me feel more settled around her. Even if there was no one else here who I got along with, at least I would have Danielle to make things smooth and easy for me.

"Danielle," I said awkwardly, "I can assure you that Mr Peck will have nothing to worry about. In fact, I believe it will be him saving me, rather than the other way round."

"In that case, Scarlett Johnson, welcome to Peck Industries. It is a pleasure to have you on board."

thank you for reading this chapter, and I hope that you liked the introduction to Scarlett's character. I also hope that you get a sense of just how broken she is, but also how strong she is trying to be :(

questions:

1. what do you think of Scarlett?

2. who wants to murder her ex-husband? we can arrange a whole group of us to go..