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Journey and I arrive to my apartment building about 45 minutes later once we get through the Friday night traffic in the city. I understand the need for people to take public transportation because it will get you to places faster but someone like me can't just take the subway without being recognized. My driver pulls up outside my building, parks the car and walks over to open our door. I allow Journey to step out of the car first before I step out after her. She stands in awe as she takes in the building in front her looking up to the top floor where my Penthouse is. "Wow," she says, "this is where you live?"
"Yes," I say with a soft smile.
"It's like a castle," she says as she continues to take in the large building in front of her. "Do you own the building?"
"I do," I answer, "and many other buildings in New York City."
"Wow," she says.
We walk into the front door of the building as the doorman holds the door for us. I guide her across the black and white marbled floor to the elevator. I press the button and as the doors open I allow her to enter before me. Once the elevator doors close I place my key into the slot blocking anyone else from joining us in the elevator as it takes us up to my private entrance to my penthouse. The doors open and we step onto my marble floor. I lay my keys on the table in the foyer that's decorated with a vase filled with flowers and a mirror above the table. "I'll show you to your room and then I will give you a tour unless you want a tour now."
"Wow," she says, "THIS is where you live?" she whistles. "I never saw anything more miraculous." She has a large vocabulary which means she is book smart and has an education of some type. "It's beautiful," she says as we make our way up the stairs to the bedroom she will be staying in while she stays with me.
"Thank-you," I say with a smile. "This is your room," I say. "Later on I can take you shopping for more clothes if you wish."
"You don't have to do that," she says as she looks around the room. It's not exquisite but it is pretty. The walls are a cream color with a light pink carpet. A Queen Size bed fills the center of the room directly across from the walk in closet which sits next to the bathroom. There's a wooden dresser off by the wall and a patio door leading out to the balcony. She places her duffle bag on the white comforter with the pink roses and pink sheets underneath. "Is the bathroom mine too?"
"Yes," I say. "That is your own private bathroom. Let me take you on a tour. I want you to make yourself at home and be comfortable."
"Okay," she says as I start to give her the tour of the penthouse showing her my bedroom followed by my home office, the living room, the den, the laundry room I have never used in my entire life as all my clothes go to the dry cleaner, the kitchen and my man room where I have the guys over to watch football, basketball, baseball or whatever and play a game of pool, smoke cigars and drink some booze. "Wow, you live here by yourself? You don't have a girlfriend or a wife that lives with you?"
"All by myself," I answer her. "And no, I have no time for a relationship so I don't even try."
"I see. It must get lonely around here," she says as we make our way to the kitchen.
"I'm hardly home for it to get lonely," I answer. "I come here to eat, sleep and then I'm at work the next morning. I don't really have the time to get lonely."
"I see," she says. "You don't get tired of working?"
"Not exactly," I say as working is the only thing I have in my life. I never get tired of working. I enjoy what I do. "I love working."
"I couldn't tell," she says as she looks around the kitchen. "So why me? Why did you want to help me?"
"I'm not sure," I say. "Something inside me told me I needed to help you. I wasn't sure you were going to let me."
"I have pride like any other person, Mr. Ambrose but I won't deny help if it is offered to me. I will be on my feet again soon and out of your hair. I promise. I could help you out around your house if you would like me to. I could run errands for you take your expensive suits to the dry cleaners, put your laundry room to use, cook dinner, breakfast and I can clean up around your penthouse. I want to earn my keep so anything that you need done please let me know and I will take care of it."
"Journey, please call me Dean and I have people that can do all that stuff for me," I say.
"Please, Dean allow me to help you out as much as I can. You don't have to pay me. I would do it to stay here until I can get back up on my feet."
"If that is something you wish to do," I say, "then okay but you really don't have to."
"I want to," she says. "You have been nice enough to give me a place to stay it is the least that I could do."
"Thank-you," I say with a smile. "Let's discuss some things first," I say as I motion for her to take a seat at the table. "Can I get you anything to drink?"
"Water please," she says. I go to the fridge and pull out two bottles of water. I walk them over to the table. I hand her bottle to her and then take a seat next to her at the table.
"So what's your story?" I ask her.
"What do you mean what's my story?"
"How did you become homeless and end up at the shelter. I know you weren't always that way. You're actually a very smart woman. I'm just curious how you ended up where you were."
"Well, I wasn't always like this," she explains. "Life just took a crazy turn and I ended up this way."
"Okay," I say, "so tell me about it."
"It all started when I was about 16 years old. I loved school I enjoyed going to school and I was a happy kid. I hung out with my friends, I got good grades and I was at the top of my class. I had dreams about going to college and was planning on going away for school. My dad died when I was 9 years old which was hard but my mom and I had each other. We got through the tough years together. I was her rock and she was mine. We had a great bond together until she met a guy. She met him when I was about 15 years old and they fell in love pretty quick. She moved him into our house and ended up marrying him by the time I turned 16. I liked him at first. He seemed like a good guy. We always got along. I thought he was the best man my mom could have found in her life. He made her really happy. He made me happy too. He was willing to help me out with my sports and help me with my schooling. He was helping me look into colleges and then he changed. He became someone I didn't even know. Our relationship was severed when he started to make late night trips into my bedroom at night after a night of drinking with his friends and my mom was at work at the hospital; she's a doctor, so she was always out on call or working the 3rd shift leaving my step dad and me alone. He would go out at night and come home drunk. He would sneak into my room at first it started out with just touching me inappropriately and he threatened me if I told anyone he wouldn't help me get into college and he wouldn't help me anymore. I didn't say anything and it got worse. He began to rape me every night but he would threaten me each time that if I told anyone that he wouldn't help me get into college and he would send me away. I didn't want to leave my mom. I loved my mom. She was my best friend. I didn't have any choice but to tell her the truth when I became pregnant and had a miscarriage shortly after. I was so scared and I was expecting my mom to be by my side and kick him out. I expected her to believe me but she didn't. It was my word against his. Before I miscarried she found out she was pregnant too with my little sister. She wasn't going to get rid of him. He swore to her I was lying, that I made up the whole story and that it was some boy at my school that got me pregnant. She believed him. She called me a liar and kicked me out when I was just 16 almost 17 years old. I had nowhere to go but out on the streets. I had a friend whose parents offered to take me in when they learned I had been living out on the streets for a week. I was grateful for them but my self-esteem had fallen down. I lost interest in my friends, interest in school, interest in myself. I felt worthless and like trash. I ended up dropping out of school because my grades had dropped drastically and I met this guy named Josh. I loved him so much. He had graduated the year before I would have and we instantly became good friends. He got us an apartment, he said he loved me and we ended up having a little girl together about a year later named Zoey. Shortly after she was born Josh began to change. He turned to drugs and alcohol and he became abusive. I had no choice but to run. I had to run from him. I spent years in hiding. I have been all over and every time we got comfortable he found us so we had to run again. A few months ago someone had called CPS on me because Zoey didn't have a home because I hadn't found a job yet and they came to the shelter and took her from me. They placed her with a foster family and I get monthly visits with her but it's not enough. I miss my little girl. She is the only thing I have left in this world. CPS made guidelines I need to follow like I need a job and I need a home before I can get her back. They said I need to be sober which isn't a problem because drugs have never been my thing. I keep looking for a job but I keep striking out and without a job I can't have a home and without a home I can't have my daughter back. I just want her back. I've been trying but nothing is working. I just want my daughter back. I love her so much."
My heart hurts as I listen to her story. She has been through a lot and I want nothing more than to help her. "I'm sorry," I start to say. "You have been through a lot."
"Way too much," she says. "At the end of the day all I want is my daughter back."
"I can't imagine," I say. "And what happened with Josh?"
"I don't know. I'm sure he's probably in jail somewhere but I haven't heard from him since Zoey was 3 years old. I don't know if he's still out there looking for me but I haven't heard from him for a while."
"I see," I say. "I'm going to help you," I offer. "I'm going to make sure you get your daughter back and you already have a place to live until you're on your feet but this place is good enough for you to get your daughter back. It's not exactly child proof but I can make that happen. How old is your daughter?"
"Zoey will be 5 next month," I say. "It has been 6 months since I have seen her. I haven't had a way to a visit."
"I'm going to help you," I say. "I promise. The first thing I'm going to do is find you a job so you have some type of income and I won't require you to pay rent."
"How long am I allowed to stay here?" I ask.
"As long as it takes for you to get out on your feet but like I said I also own many buildings in New York so if you're not comfortable staying here I can rent you out an apartment and cover the monthly rent."
"I couldn't ask you to do that, Dean. I really couldn't. You have done so much for me already and I don't know how I'm going to thank-you."
"You don't have to thank me," I say, "I just want to see you get on your feet and get your daughter back and I'm going to make sure it happens."
"Thank-you so much," she says with tears in her eyes. "Thank-you!" She jumps off the chair and hugs me. I'm shocked at first as I feel her soft arms around me and I hug her back. "I can do anything. Please just let me know what you want me to do. I can work for you. I can work around the house, I can do anything you want me to do."
I let out a soft chuckle and say, "I already have a housekeeper but if it makes you feel better I can give you a job around the penthouse straightening things up, cooking dinner whatever you wish or I can get you a job somewhere in the city."
"Whatever is easiest for you, I am just grateful that you're willing to give me a job and that you're willing to help me out. Thank-you," she says.
"You're welcome," I say with a smile.
*A/N: What did you think of Journey's reaction to seeing Dean's penthouse? What did you think of her story of how she ended up where she is? What did you think of Dean's reaction? Do you think Dean has a story of his own that makes him sympathetic toward Journey? What do you think about him helping her get her daughter back? And what about him finding her a job so she can get back on her feet? Also what about him allowing her to stay there until she is on her feet again? Please review and thank-you for reading.