The holidays have come and gone, and now it's back to work. I'm so ready to start updating regularly again! I missed all of you guys! Thanks for all of the feedback, and I can't wait to get more!

Disclaimer: This has already been disclaimed.

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She had finished all of her work at the pawn shop. Everything had been labeled, inventory had been taken, things were tidy and put in their own special place. What else could there possibly be to do?

Belinda was surprised when she received a call from him the next morning. It had crossed her mind. It had seemed that since she had finished her job with Gold she would need to find a new means to pay the bills. But, perhaps, the deal was still in effect. She really didn't know, so she pressed a button and brought the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?"
"Miss French," his voice crackled on the other end of the line. "Be at my shop. Twenty minutes."

She had spent a week working for him, but his to-the-point manner still left her confused at times. Belinda had all she could to give a coherent answer. By the time she did, the line was dead. He had already hung up.

Belinda just sighed and looked around her disheveled apartment. The state it was in was enough to make her stomach claw with embarrassment. It was a very good thing she never had any visitors. She had been so busy with her endless jobs that she hadn't been in the mood to think about cleaning it up when she came home. On those nights, all she wanted to do was curl up with Rose and sleep forever.

For yet another day, the apartment would have to wait. She glanced down at the cheap watch on her wrist and saw that she only had another fifteen minutes before her meeting with Mr. Gold. She hurried into her bedroom and changed into a pair of beige slacks and a blue turtlenecked sweater. She left her long locks free and flowing over her shoulders, but she did make sure that she put a hair-tie on her wrist. She knew that eventually her neck would get way too warm, especially in Mr. Gold's shop. He always kept it nice and toasty in there.

Rose was ready in no time. Belinda just hoped that Ruby would take her on such a short notice. She tucked her phone in between her shoulder and ear as she called her friend.

"Ruby here."

"Hey, Rubes. It's me. I was wondering if you would think I was a terrible person if I left Rose with you until the afternoon?"

"Sure," came the ready response, "What's up?"
Belinda groaned. "Mr. Gold called."

"I thought you were done with him?"

"Apparently not. Lord knows what he wants now."

Ruby scoffed. "Don't show up. Then wait and see how mad he gets."

"Yeahhh, not a good idea there, Rubes. Don't start rubbing off on me now, ya hear?"

She snorted. "Fine. But you owe me. It's Friday. Which means I should be out getting hammered and having a jolly good time."

"It's only 10:30..."

"Exactly."

Belinda rolled her eyes. "Whatever. What you do in your free time doesn't concern me. So long as you leave my child out of it. She's way too young to be pulled astray by your wild nightlife." She heard the other woman scoff from the other end of the phone and Belinda tried to stifle a laugh. "Anyways, I gotta go. Duty calls. See you in five." Then she shut the phone and turned to Rose. "Alright then," she sighed, "Mommy-daughter day has officially been rained down upon." She picked the child up and then grinned at her. "You can thank Mr. Gold for that."

…...

"You are becoming quite good at being punctual, Miss French," Mr. Gold praised from behind his counter.

She smirked. "You must have pounded it into me then."

"Is that good or bad?"
Belinda shrugged. "Probably a little bit of both." Mr. Gold chuckled at her quip and watched as she started to take off her coat.

"You may want to keep that on a bit longer, dearie." He took his cane in one of his hands and began to walk around the counter.

She arched a brow. "Why's that?"

"Because you'll freeze if you go outside in nothing but that sweater." He opened the front door and led her out onto the sidewalk.

"And where is it we're going?"

"I understand you still need money to pay for your rent. So, I've decided on a new means of employment for you."

"Where?" Belinda asked curiously as she followed him around the corner and behind the shop. There was a black sedan sitting there, sparkling clean and looking brand new. But you could tell it was old by the worn and faded cushioning on the inside. It looked like an antique, which seemed to describe Mr. Gold completely. He seemed to love everything that was a relic of the past.

He opened the door for her which was a complete surprise. She smiled at him graciously as she slid into the passenger seat and watched as he walked around the front of the car and then sat beside her. He turned the key and looked at her. "You'll still be working for me, Miss French, but I no longer require your services here. You'll be working somewhere else."

Sensing that he wasn't going to explain himself any further, Belinda kept quiet and just watched as he drove through the streets of town. She was glad that the windows were tinted so that passer-bys couldn't see her. She could only imagine what they would think if they saw her inside the car of the pawn broker.

It was about fifteen minutes later. They were no longer in town, they appeared to be on the outskirts. There were several houses there, placed good distances from each other. It looked much more upscale than town did. It would seem the wealthy and prosperous took the homes down here. And she was right, she noticed, as they pulled up in front of a salmon pink Victorian-styled home. It was a two story, and decorated with many intricate details. The pink, she had to admit, however, was a bit unsettling. It fit Mr. Gold's persona very well. The unsettling bit, that was.

But why on earth had he brought her here?

He got out of the car and, again, he opened her door and allowed her to step out. She gave him a nod in thanks, too busy observing the house.

"Welcome to my home, Miss French." He motioned with his hand and she followed him up the stairs and onto the front porch.

"I don't understand," she managed to say in a voice that expressed her curiosity and confusion.

"No, I imagine you wouldn't," Mr. Gold replied as he unlocked the front door and pushed it open.

To Belinda, the home looked even older on the inside, as if everything had been left the exact way it had been when the home had first been built. It seemed as if she had stepped into a portal of time. But it really was a beautiful home on the inside, nothing like what she had been expecting. It was so different from the shop. It was clean, for one. And bright. It felt like a home.

"Do you care to explain, Mr. Gold?" Belinda asked, not wanting to cross the threshold. This was all very strange for her.

Mr. Gold turned around to face her and put his cane in front of him. "Ah, yes, I suppose explanation is in order." He smiled, not unkindly, at her. "You did well in my shop, I only hope you will do well enough here."

She furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean..." he began, "That this is your new line of employment. You will be in charge of everything that needs to be done here. It's been some time since everything has had a good cleaning and-"

"Your housekeeper?" She asked, her voice was full of disbelief. "You want me to be your housekeeper?"
"Do you see a problem with that?" He raised an eyebrow and just stared at her. Slowly, that crocodile grin spread across his face. "Remember, Miss French, that you and I made a deal. So long as you live in my apartment building, you will work for me."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I could just leave and find another way to pay you the money on my own."

"You could," he agree silkily, "But work has been slow of late. I really advise against it. So," he breathed out, "Are you in agreement?"
Belinda really had no choice, and it seemed that more and more she was getting into these situations. More and more she was becoming tied to Mr. Gold, and she most definitely did not enjoy it. She didn't feel like her own person anymore. She was his. She was reduced to the state of his housekeeper. This would definitely get the town gossiping.

But, as always, Rose was always the one thing that kept her pushing for survival. She could be as rebellious as she wanted, but there would be consequences, and not just for herself. So she swallowed down her pride and looked him straight in the eye. She nodded her head and he just grinned all the more.

"Good. Right this way," and he set about teaching her what her main duties would be. Belinda followed and listened obediently, hating that he was gaining more and more control over her with every new item he added to the list.

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I'm so glad I'm back to writing this! Yippee! And doesn't this all seem a bit familiar? Hahaha :)

Also, to any who don't know, funnygirl00 and I have started getting together a list of names, petitioning for the right to be able to delete any obscene/negative/offensive reviews that we do not want posted on our stories. Want to join our the cause? We already have over 50 names. Please PM me and offer your help!