Page 21 of Finding Molly Parsons

With Faith in their lives, Carmen had to think a little differently. Faith needed help financially, at least until they could track down her aunt. That begged a few questions. Did Faith have a bank account? What about medical insurance? Carmen guessed Faith had neither.

Now the weekend was over and Faith was a little more settled, they needed to talk. Discuss the next steps and how Carmen could help Faith begin her new life. Clothes and a makeover were all good fun, but there was a serious side to starting over, a side that Faith probably didn’t know how to navigate.

After shooting a few emails off to her VPs, Carmen set about creating a spreadsheet for Faith. One that would help her check off important tasks that needed to be done ASAP, as well as planning for her future.

Satisfied with her work so far, Carmen thought back to the conversation she’d had with Rachel yesterday. There wasn’t much that Rachel could offer apart from advice, which was to talk to the neighbors, like Carmen already planned to do. Molly wasn’t a missing person, therefore Rachel couldn’t get involved. The detective said she’d poke around a little, but Carmen felt uneasy about that. Rachel getting into trouble with her boss wasn’t what she wanted.

Pouring herself another cup of coffee, Carmen heard Faith’s bedroom door open. It was almost 10:30 a.m., later than expected. Faith shuffled into the room wearing unicorn sleep trousers—courtesy of Mateo—and a faded black t-shirt. Faith’s newly shortened hair stuck out in different directions. “Hey,” the young woman yawned.

“Morning, sleep well?”

“Like a baby. That bed has magical powers, I swear.”

Carmen chuckled. It was more likely that Faith’s body needed rest after such a turbulent time. “Want some?” she asked, holding up the coffee pot.

“Mmm, please.”

Setting about preparing another mug of coffee and turning on the stove ready to make some scrambled eggs, Carmen realized how regular the whole setup seemed. Like Faith had been in the house for months rather than hours. “Here, get that down you. I’ll make you some breakfast.”

“Thank you,” Faith mumbled, her eyes almost closing again. The kitchen fell into a comfortable silence as Carmen made eggs and Faith sipped on her coffee. Only when Faith finished demolishing her breakfast did the girl seem to wake up fully.

“Do you have a lot of work today?”

Carmen scanned her laptop, noting a couple of new emails. Nothing that couldn’t wait. “Some, nothing crazy. I wanted to talk to you, if that’s cool.”

Faith sat up straight, a flicker of fear washed across her face causing Carmen to feel bad. It seemed Faith didn’t feel completely safe just yet. “Do you have a bank account?”

The question took Faith a second to answer. Probably not the conversation Faith thought they were going to have. “Um, no.”

“I’ll go out on a limb and say you don’t have any savings then.”

“No, nothing.” Faith began fiddling with the handle of her coffee cup.

“Hey, relax. I’m not asking because I want you to pay us,” Carmen chuckled, hoping to relieve some of Faith’s tension. “I’ve just been thinking about where we go from here. You need a bank account and you need spending money.”

“I can get a job,” Faith blurted. This wasn’t going the way Carmen hoped. Instead of reassuring Faith, she was making the girl panic.

An idea struck her. Faith wouldn’t accept money for nothing. That was clear. “I have a job for you.”

“What job?”

“I need a personal assistant.”

“Did you just make that up?” Faith asked regarding Carmen suspiciously.

“Yes, and no. I only thought of it now, but actually I could have done with some help a while ago. It’s basic. Answering certain emails. Organizing my schedule, that sort of thing.”

“Carmen, I don’t know how to do any of that.”

“You can learn and it’s good experience for you. Plus, you can earn some money.”

“I can’t take your money, Carmen.” The flush in Faith’s cheeks rose with the tone of her voice.

“Shit, I’m not doing a very good job of this at all,” Carmen chuckled. “Faith, you wouldn’t be taking money from me, you would earn it, legitimately. You can go into the office and shadow an experienced PA. When you feel ready, you can then take up the role of my PA.”

“Carmen—”

“Faith, you’ve made the choice to start out on your own. Getting a job and earning money needs to be your priority.”

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