She pulled out her phone and texted her daughter. “Everything good?”
The unmistakable sound of a text message being received in the kitchen caught her attention. She wandered into the room to find a green case face down on the counter. Ashley had forgotten her phone.
You know that everything’s fine. Just relax. Ashley is a grown woman who can take care of herself. Stop being overprotective.
But she had to be overprotective. Who else would look out for Ashley if she didn’t? Certainly not Tom.
She grabbed her daughter’s phone and slid it into her pocket, threw on her fleece, and headed out the front door. It was chilly on this early November evening. Not cold, but chilly. The snowstorm prediction wasn’t accurate, but the sun had already started to descend despite daylight savings not starting until tomorrow. She journeyed across the grass and to her neighbor’s front door where she rang the bell.
The door opened.
“Hi, Ryan,” she greeted him.
“Hey, Jen,” the handsome businessman responded. “Come on in.”
She smiled as she stepped into his house and slipped off her shoes on the entryway rug. “Wow, look at this place!”
“Yeah, it’s coming along,” he noted, closing the door behind her. “Thanks to your daughter.”
She smiled again while watching him stroll back to the kitchen table, looking spectacular as ever in his black dress pants and partially unbuttoned light blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled hallway up his muscular arms. There was a cup of either coffee or tea on the oak surface next to an open newspaper.
“Tea?” he offered.
“No thanks, I’m good,” she declined. “Where’s Ashley? She left her phone at home.”
Ryan shrugged his shoulders after taking a seat, raising the newspaper to his face to resume reading. “She’s around here somewhere.”
She shot him a curious glance before heading into the hallway, noting the layout of the impressive house as she went. The paintings on the walls screamed of class. The beautiful oak table in the passageway reflected a man with phenomenal taste. Nothing looked overly expensive, but his residency was stylish. Tasteful, if you will.
She soon found herself in the living room where she was met by gorgeous leather furniture. A large television sat in the middle of a beautiful entertainment center, but the amazing setup wasn’t what captured her attention. No, she was flabbergasted by how clean everything appeared.
Maybe Ashley had actually done a good job? Perhaps her daughter had a knack for cleaning that she was unaware of?
“Hey, Mom.”
Jen turned around at the sound of her daughter’s voice, and her jaw immediately dropped after she did.
Ashley strutted into the room in a French maid outfit that appeared fitted for a girl half her size. The black one-piece ended in a mini skirt–fancy white lace running along the bottom. The outfit barely covered her butt, and showed plenty of skin above the fishnet stockings that ran up to her mid-thighs. Her black high heels cracked with each step on the hardwood floor, and the cute white and black headpiece in her brunette hair bounced with every stride.
It was the exact type of outfit that Jen imagined wearing for her fictional husband. The only problem was that her eighteen-year-old daughter had completely stolen her fantasy! The top of the one-piece left the upper-halves of Ashley’s breasts exposed, for God’s sake!
She still couldn’t get over what she was seeing. Ashley casually held a feather duster in her hands, which just so happened to be covered by fingerless white lace gloves. She merely cleaned around the television like nothing out of the ordinary was taking place.
“Ashley…”
The teen stopped and turned to her mother.
“What are you wearing?” Jen asked.
“It’s my cleaning outfit,” Ashley answered with a proud smile.
Jen did her best to control herself. It was an awfully difficult task to achieve. “Did Ryan make you put that on?”
Ashley quickly shook her head. “No.”
“So, why are you wearing it?” Jen asked. Her blood pressure rose with each passing second.
“Mr. M told me there was a cleaning outfit in his closet. He didn’t make me put it on or anything.”
“Then why are you wearing it?” she repeated.
Ashley glanced off to the side, fairly positive of how her mother would respond to her reasoning. “Because it makes me feel sexy…”
“Go change.”
“But, Mom…” Ashley whined.
“Go change!” Jen demanded, her tone turning cold and sharp.
She watched Ashley storm to the stairs and ascend the steps angrily as her hands began to shake. She was on the verge of losing it. She took a deep breath and stomped down the hallway, back into the kitchen.
“What the hell is that!?”
Ryan glanced up from his paper.
“Seriously?” Jen asked, furious. “Like you don’t know what I’m talking about!”
He shot her a dismissive look before turning his attention back to the newspaper.
“Hey, dickhead!” she snapped.
He didn’t react.
She rushed over to the table and yanked his newspaper down aggressively. “Hey, I’m talking to you!”
Ryan only stared at her.
“Why do you have my daughter dressed like a whore?” she asked.
“I didn’t make her do anything,” he responded before bringing his paper back to eye level.
“She’s a child,” she reminded him.
“No, she’s not,” he spoke, his voice calm and deep. “She’s eighteen. She’s a woman.”
“You’re a predator. You’re probably thirty years older than her, you disgusting pig!”
Ryan chuckled to himself while his eyes continued to descend the newspaper column in front of him. His condescending attitude enraged her. This asshole had some nerve!
“When my–” Jen cut herself off.
“When my husband finds out about this,” is what she really wanted to say. Yeah, she could say it. Tom would definitely lose his mind after hearing about this. He wasn’t passionate about too many things these days, but what father wasn’t protective of his little girl? Especially when they were dressed the way Ashley was!
“When my husband finds out about this, he’s going lose his shit!” she said.
Ryan’s eyes didn’t leave his paper.
“Do you get off on this?” she continued to berate him. “Paying teenagers to clean your house while they dress like sluts? You sicken me! You wealthy assholes are all the same! Thinking you can do whatever you want as long as you pay people. Well, guess what, Ryan? My daughter isn’t for sale!”
“You need guidance.”
She took a step back, stunned by his choice of words. “What did you just say to me?”
“Guidance,” he repeated extremely slowly and clearly. “You need it.”
The left side of her face twitched. She desperately fought the urge to pick up his cup of tea and smash it over his head. How dare he speak to her in such a manner!
“I happen to be a successful woman–”
“I’m not talking about your career,” he interrupted. “I’m talking about your personal life.”
She was tired of talking to a newspaper. She took a few steps forward and forcibly lowered the business section down to the table while glaring at him. Her next words were cut short by the sound of footsteps growing closer in the hallway behind her. She turned to see Ashley dressed in a pair of jeans and a hoodie.
“Home!” Jen demanded. “Now!”