What Are You Doing In My Kitchen?

Tongue-tied, Caden stared at his elder brother with a helpless expression.

He knew that Jace was right. If he had not broached the topic of considering the young beautiful lady as his nephew's minder, they wouldn't be in this fix.

"I admit I am partly responsible for this. But that was because I saw the way Charles clung to her as if she was his only lifeline, so when I eventually found out she was here for an interview…" he trailed off.

"But surely brother, you can do something," he pleaded in desperation. He wasn't ready to be saddled with such a huge task of convincing someone to take care of his nephew.

"Of course I can," Jace declared and turned to his son.

"Wipe your tears, son. She will be your nanny."

Caden let out a deep breath. "Is it what I think it is, that you want to do?" he asked.

A sly smile graced Jace's lips. "She asked for it."

"That's more like it. So what's the plan?" Caden moved his seat closer to his brother's, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Jace unclasped his intertwined fingers and gave Caden a meaningful look. "You seem to be idle recently. When was the last time you supervised a project?"

"Seriously, brother?! You seem to have forgotten that you promised me a month's break after completing the assignment in Singapore. And it's barely a week I came back," Caden quickly pointed out as he stood to his feet.

"See you around, Pumpkin," he said, ruffling Charles's hair and before you could say "Jack Robinson" he was out of the office.

Jace let out a deep chuckle, earning himself a frown from his disgruntled son who was getting more angry at his father who had driven away his favorite uncle.

"What's with the long face? I've promised to get you that young lady, I expect you should be happy by now."

But the little guy's expression seemed to be saying, "Promising is not the same as fulfilling, I can only be happy when you finally fulfill your promise."

"Whatever, but you'll soon find out that I never lie," Jace said and dialed his assistant's number.

"Come to my office immediately," he ordered as soon as the call was connected.

*********

Grace got down from the cab, a dejected look on her face. She sighed heavily at another day of effort in futility. She failed to get a job yet again.

Since the day she left Brandon corporations, she has been going from one interview to the other and has been turned down by all of them.

The few that eventually agreed to hire her gave her positions way low below her expectations.

To make matters worse, her landlord who was usually so understanding in the past all of a sudden threatened to kick her out by the end of the month if she doesn't pay up the six months rent she has been owing.

Wendy had offered to give her some money when she heard of her predicament, but her conscience wouldn't let her accept it.

Wendy needed the money more than her inorder to settle the piling hospital bill of her mother who has been diagnosed of liver cirrhosis.

Almost every penny Wendy got as salary was channeled towards managing her mother's sickness until they are able to raise enough money for a transplant.

As she stepped into her apartment, Grace was surprised at the aroma that greeted her.

"You are finally back," Wendy's voice sounded from the kitchen.

"What are you doing in my kitchen, aren't you supposed to be at work by this time?" She asked, taking a spoon to taste the noodles Wendy just finished cooking.

"Go wash your hands, Ms Foodie," Wendy reprimanded.

"Who told you to tempt me as soon as I got in," Grace retorted as she headed to the dishwasher.

"Today is my day off and I decided to check on you before going to see mom at the hospital," Wendy replied in response to Grace's earlier question. "But as expected of a job hunter, there was nothing to eat when I got to the kitchen, so I'm helping myself out.

"Oh, that's very thoughtful of you, I'm famished as it is."

"So how's the job hunting going? Any luck?"

"It's been close to a month and yet I've not made any headway," Grace complained sadly.

"And your landlord? Have you been able to convince him to give you more time?"

Grace shook her head as she scooped one spoon of noodles into her mouth. "He seems to have undergone a major heart surgery," Grace said solemnly.

"When was that? Was he sick?"

"He is as hale as a horse."

Wendy's brow puckered in a frown. "Meaning…?"

"His once soft and kind heart had been replaced with stone. He doesn't want to listen to any explanations from me. His only reply to all my messages was for me to pack out by the end of the month if I fail to provide his money. He wouldn't even pick my calls again after the last time he replied to my message."

"Then you have to accept the money I offered then."

"You know I can't. You can't just give me money like that. As it is, you have more than enough on your plate."

"Silly! I'm not giving you the money. I'm only loaning it to you until you get a decent job, then you can pay me back." Wendy smiled, making it sound as playful as she possibly could, but Grace wouldn't budge or renege on her stance.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Auntie needs the money more. The worst that could happen is that I will be thrown out, but until then I'll continue searching."

"And how long do you think that will take?" Wendy asked, hating her friend's stubbornness.

"I don't know," Grace replied nonchalantly.

There was a brief silence in which the two friends just ate their food, each engrossed in their different thoughts.

"I've been thinking lately," Wendy said hesitantly, breaking the silence.

Grace looked up from her almost empty plate. "About what?"

"Why don't you give my boss's offer some thoughts?"