I Am Emma Swan
Chapter 1
Pounding on the door wakes Emma up from a restless sleep as she turns over hoping whoever it is takes the hint and goes away. Unfortunately for Emma, the pounding doesn't stop so she gets up throws on a robe and opens the door a crack and then sighs, "Well fuck."
"Swan! Do you have something for me?" The landlord bellows through the chain link.
"No, I don't have your money, Leroy." Emma sighed resting her head on the door.
"Swan, you're 2 months behind on your rent. Pay me by the end of next week or pack up and get the hell out!"
"I know, I know! I'm trying, okay? I'll see what I can get by next week."
"No, you need to pay the full $1000.00 by the end of May; the owner wants the money or you're out and someone who can pay moves in, got it?"
"Yeah, yeah I got it. I'll do what I can."
The short gruff man shook his head and walked away as he grumbled.
Closing the door, the blonde walked back to her bedroom and flopped down onto her bed with a heavy sigh. Running her hand through her hair she closes her eyes, grabs her pillow, and screams into it.
A few hours later, Emma walked into the bar to start her shift. It's a crappy bar with crappy patrons who leave crappy tips and Emma has had enough. Instead of wiping down the bar or washing glasses she is scanning the want ads of the local newspaper. She knows she either needs to find a higher paying job or another part time job to make ends meet. She doesn't want to end up sleeping in the back room of the bar hoping Robin, the so-called owner won't try to get into her pants again.
When she first applied to be bartender at The Lucky Lion, she was homeless and living in her car. He gave her a break and said she could sleep in the back and then later that night he showed up thinking she was going to pay him in kind. A swift kick to the balls, a punch in the face, and an attempt to call the police he said it was a misunderstanding then left the bar leaving her alone ever since. It didn't take long to find an apartment in which Robin advanced her the down payment for the misunderstanding and the safety of his manhood.
Looking through the want ads there wasn't much out there if you're without a college degree or years of experience for administrative jobs. Even with her GED she really didn't have experience in anything but bar tending and waitress positions. Changing jobs and cities after a few months didn't really give her a credible résumé. No one wanted to hire a person who roamed from place to place never committing for too long.
Being in Boston, Emma felt as if she wanted to settle down, put down some roots in the city but not being able to find a job to do just that, she may have to move on once again. She was just about to throw the paper down when the last want ad caught her attention. "Live-in Personal Assistant for elderly woman, no experience necessary must be organized and pleasant to work with. Only serious applicants will be interviewed. Please call 617-509-…"
"Hmm, live-in… I could do that then I could save on rent and probably food. If the old lady is nice enough, I could do this! How hard can it be to assist an old bird?" Biting her lip in thought she went to the bar's phone and dialed the number in the ad. After a few rings a woman with an accent answered, "Hi, um my name is Emma Swan and I saw your ad in the paper. I would love to meet with you for an interview."
"That's wonderful Miss Swan, my name is Belle, and I will be conducting the interview and if you do well then you will meet with the employer."
"Okay sounds good, when would be a good time for you?" Emma asked hoping she didn't sound too eager.
"Can you come in tomorrow morning say around nine-thirty?"
"Yes, I can make that time, um and where are you located?"
"Oh of course, the office is in the Back Bay area, 370 Boylston Street unit 266." Belle replied, "Are you familiar with this area?"
Emma's eyes widen at the location. The rich side of Boston. "Oh yes I know the area I'll see you tomorrow morning at nine-thirty."
"I'm looking forward to it Miss Swan, see you then."
Emma's spirits were lifted after the phone call, and she went to work cleaning the tables and making sure the bar was stocked for the evening crowd hoping that it would be the last time she did so.
The next morning Emma nervously arrived at the swanky looking office and knocked on the door, an enthusiastic voice rang out for her to come in.
When Emma walked in, the woman at the desk smiled brightly, a little too brightly Emma thought but replied with her own smile as the woman stood up, "Hello, you must be Emma Swan, my name is Belle French. Please have a seat."
Emma thanked her and sat down, I'm sorry, but you look a little pale, are you feeling all right?"
"Oh yes! Of course, I'm fine but thank you for asking. So, Emma did you bring a résumé with you?"
"Yes, sorry, here it is. Um before I arrived in Boston, I moved around a lot, but I really like it here and have been searching for a permanent job to stay." Emma said worriedly.
"Oh well experience is experience. It's nice to know that you do want to stay here permanently. Would it be all right if I ask some personal information? It may seem odd to you, but the employer has had a number of assistants to up and leave due to family or partners and she really would like someone who will stay for longer than a couple of months."
"Oh, I don't mind please ask anything."
"All right then, so do you have family nearby or away?" Belle asked first.
"No, I am an orphan and grew up in foster homes. I left when I aged out at 18 and have been on my own ever since." Emma answered without thought hoping that bit of information won't hurt her chances for the job.
"I'm sorry to hear that Miss Swan. Is it okay if I called you Emma?"
"Yes of course."
"Okay, so no family, what about a boyfriend or girlfriend?"
"No, I haven't had any time for that, and my last um girlfriend was a little possessive and creepy, so I broke up with her, packed up and came here to Boston."
"Do you have any children?
"Nope, no kids, they're nice and all but better when they're someone else's and I don't have any pets either, but I do love cats and dogs."
"That's good to know thank you." Belle replied with a smile then looked down at a folder on her desk.
Emma thought the questions were a little odd but understandable. As Belle wrote something down, Emma began wringing her hands hoping she didn't say anything that would keep her from getting the job.
"All right, now how are you with living in another's home? The employer prefers if her assistant lives in the house with her and her son."
"Her… uh son?" Emma asked because she just said she wasn't really into kids.
"Yes, he is about your age, so you won't have to look after him." Belle replied with a chuckle. "And the employer is quite well for her age, so you won't be taking care of her medically or physically just making sure her day to day runs smoothly."
"Oh okay, well I don't mind living in her house, I'm sure it's a lot nicer than the apartment I'm in now."
"Are you familiar with computers, social media and the internet?"
"Yes, I don't own a computer and my phone got smashed last week but I've never been one to have a Facebook page or Twitter account, but I can search and whatnot online if needed. I was, well am behind on my rent so I really couldn't afford a phone yet, not that I had anyone to call…" Emma faded with a sigh.
"Oh, so no close friends nearby?"
"No, I don't have any friends here in Boston or anywhere really." Emma finished quietly.
Belle smiled and wrote something else. "Thank you, Emma for answering my questions. I really believe you are perfect for this assistant job. I'm going to call her right now to see when she's available to meet with you to ask her own questions. Is that all right?"
"Really? Sure, that would great! Thank you, Belle." Emma replied thinking this was a weird interview but if it gets her the job, she'll go with it.
Belle stood up and went to the back office, closed the door, quickly pulled out her cell phone and called her employer. "Hey, listen this interviewer is the one! This woman is perfect! No…no I'm so sure this time believe me she is perfect. Yes, she is still here can you come over now? Yes, yes, I know. No worries she'll be here."
While Belle was in the other office, Emma got up and walked around the spacious room looking at the paintings on the wall. She had never heard of this agency when she first arrived in Boston looking for jobs, 'maybe its new or something' she thought to herself. 'It's pretty swanky. With no rent to pay or food I could save for a place of my own, a car and really make a life here in Boston.'
Emma's thoughts were cut off when Belle came back into the room. "Well Emma, it seems you're in luck, they are available and are on their way right now. I hope that's all right?"
"Oh wow, that was quick. That's great though, I can't wait to meet them."
"Just have a seat, would you like something to drink coffee, water or juice?"
"Water would be great, thank you."
It wasn't long before a short grey-haired woman walked into the office along with a man about Emma's age and height. He had brown hair and was clean shaven and dressed nicely in a navy tailored suit. When the woman and man saw Emma, they both smiled at her widely then looked to themselves as if they were having a conversation with their eyes.
Belle saw their reaction and quickly got up and introduced them to Emma.
"Eugenia, Neal it's so nice to see you both again. I would like to introduce you to Emma Swan, Emma this is Eugenia and her son Neal Cassidy."
Emma stood up and smiled as she held out her hand to shake both of theirs. "Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you both."
Eugenia, a short stout woman in her 60's, cleared her throat and put on a smile as she shook Emma's hand. "It's so good to meet you too dear, Belle told me that you are just what I'm looking for in an assistant and I do believe she's correct."
Emma shook Neal's hand as well feeling a little awkward when he held on a little longer than necessary, "Hi, nice to meet you as well, Mr. Cassidy."
"Oh, please it's Neal and my mother is Eugenia no need for formalities." He replied smiling, his eyes darken as she pulled her hand away.
"Okay please everyone, have a seat, I believe Eugenia and Neal have a few questions for you Emma." Belle said to them.
The questions they had didn't take very long as they asked her similar questions that Belle did. It seemed that they were happy with the fact that Emma didn't have any friends or family and was a loner. They were sympathetic but they seemed pleased. Emma just thought they were an eccentric pair and left it at that.
When Emma explained that she owed back rent they quickly gave her enough cash to pay it off which she quickly tried to refuse but they didn't want her to have any outstanding bills and Neal said it was an incentive to take the job and to start right away.
"Right away?"
"We were hoping you could start tomorrow morning." Eugenia replied.
"You want me to start tomorrow? I mean move in and everything?" Emma asked quite shocked with what was happening.
"Oh yes, I want you to go home, pack and we'll pick you up first thing in the morning. Is that all right dear? Can you pack up that quickly?" Eugenia asked her.
"Yes, I suppose so, I don't have much to pack just clothes mostly and a couple of knick knacks." Emma replied with a frown. This is going way too fast for her, but the money is good, and she'll be paying off Leroy. Something in her gut is telling her it's just too good to be true but she really needs this job.
"Why don't we all go out for lunch and talk a little more, I'm sure you are feeling a bit overwhelmed which is my doing and I apologize for that, but you see dear, once I know what I want I just grab it and go." Eugenia explained feeling as if Emma might back out and she couldn't have that.
"That sounds wonderful Eugenia, are you all right with that Emma?" Belle asked placing her hand on Emma's arm.
"Yeah, yeah that sounds great. I will say this is all seems to be happening pretty fast, but you guys seem so nice, and the job sounds almost too good to be true, but I really want this. So yeah, let's get some lunch and get to know one another."
The four went to lunch and then dropped Emma off at her apartment with $1000 in cash for Leroy and a time they were picking her up the next morning.
Feeling tired after packing her things, Emma lies down on her couch and falls asleep.
When Emma woke up, she was neither in her own bed nor in her own clothes. Disoriented, dizzy with a massive headache, Emma sat up and looked around an unfamiliar room. "Where the hell am I?"
