An American Cinderella

I dared to hope that we could get there.

I reluctantly climbed the steps leading to the front door of my work. I wanted to go back under the trees by the Reflecting Pool, not up the stairs to my document prison. The walls felt stifling after the freedom of the sky.

Plus, I just wanted to kiss him again.

Henry reached out and opened the heavy wooden doors. He held them for me like a gentleman as I walked into the cool interior. Gus grumbled from behind his desk, arms crossed.

“Are you alright, Aria?” Gus asked as my eyes adjusted to the different lighting.

“I’m great,” I assured him. I turned and looked back at Henry. “Can I see you again?”

He grinned. “What are you doing Friday night?”

“Nothing.” Even if I had something planned, another date with him would be worth canceling plans.

“I’ll pick you up at six,” he said. “There’s a game I’d like to take you to.”

He took a step toward me and Gus stood up, looking protective. Henry paused and reached out and took my hand. He brought the back of my fingers to his lips for a gentle kiss. I couldn’t help but blush at the princely gesture.

“See you at six,” I replied, a little more breathless than I intended. Henry grinned and released my hand. He nodded politely to Gus and smiled once more at me before heading back out of the building. I watched him leave with longing.

“At least he brought you back on time,” Gus grumbled, taking his seat at the security monitors.

“What?” I asked, still looking at the door and thinking of Henry.

“Two hours. He brought you back right on the dot,” Gus informed me. “Not even a minute late. I appreciate respect like that.”

I stood there for a moment in surprise. I certainly hadn’t been paying attention to time. If it had been up to me, we would have been hours late.

“You know you can call me if your date goes sour,” Gus said, his eyes glancing up from the monitors. “I’ll come get you.”

It was the most fatherly thing anyone had said to me in a long time.

“Thank you, Gus.” My voice cracked a little bit.

“I don’t think you’ll need it,” he continued. “He seems respectable enough. But, I want you to know you can call me if you need to.”

I walked around the security desk and gave the big man a hug. He wrapped one arm around me and squeezed. I felt loved and safe knowing he had my back.

“You’re not supposed to be back here,” he reminded me gently when he released me.

“Right,” I agreed and quickly jumped back to my designated side. “Thanks, Gus.”

I started walking to the stairs knowing that Jaqui would want details of my lunch. I smiled thinking of Henry’s kisses. The way he made my heart pound. I couldn’t help but smile thinking of him.

“Oh, and Aria,” Gus called out. I turned to look back. “He better treat you like a princess or else he answers to me.”

“I’ll make sure he does,” I assured him. Gus nodded and I smiled as I went up the stairs.

Chapter 7

Friday couldn’t come fast enough.

I’d done a little more digging on Henry Prescott in preparation for our date. He was a good rugby player, but not considered one of the best. There was very little else in the way of information about him. It seemed that Paradisians weren’t big into social media advertising everything about them. What I could find matched everything I did know about him. He was more legit than most men I dated, even if he was known for rugby rather than anything else.

I was excited that he wanted to share that with me for our date tonight.

I went to work each morning that week with a smile on my face. Luckily, the backlog of documents held out for the entire week. I gleefully scanned each one into the system, even though I knew that every sheet of paper scanned brought me closer to having something my stepmother would want.

That was a bridge I would cross when I came to it. Until then, I was going to enjoy being able to message her that I had nothing of interest. It was petty, but it made me feel good to put a little crimp in her plans.

I did miss working for Senator Glenn, but at least I had amazing coworkers here. I loved getting to see Gus every morning. I loved having lunch with Jaqui and the other office girls every day. Everyone at the office was friendly and warm. I belonged here, even if I didn’t really deserve to be here.