The CEO's Manny Contract

CHAPTER ONE part 2

“Oh, my goodness. Are you alright?” Sophie asked in a tone full of genuine worry. She looked down and realized she was still pouring coffee into her overflowing ‘World’s best momma’ mug. Immediately, she dropped the jug, grabbed paper towels and began wiping the mess off her counter.

“I’ll be fine, ma’am. Just a bit shaken up and I think I’m still in shock from the news.” Claire replied with a teary chuckle in her oh-so adorable Texan accent over the phone.

What a fighter, Sophie thought. “Well, I’m so sorry for your loss”. Sophie knew how it felt to lose a father. Although the pain dulled, it never truly left. “If you need anything, anything at all, you know to call me, right?” Sophie said kindly as she finished wiping down her counter.

Early the next morning, she had tried calling Claire, a sweet girl that used to work as a temporary nanny for her when Sophie's mother wasn't available before she got Vera. She had just learned that Claire had lost her father this morning, and knew the lady must be devastated.

“I really appreciate it, ma’am,” Claire gave a delicate sniff. “But I have to go home to Houston.” Sniff-sniff “My mom will be all alone right now and I gotta be there for her“

“Of course. I totally understand"

“I'm sorry I couldn't help, but I'll have Lesley meet you at the office at 8 today to fill in for me, I-if that’s okay with you” She stated hesitantly

Sophie had no idea who Lesley was, but she wasn’t about to make the crying lady explain herself “That sounds great, but you really didn’t have to worry about it. I’ll send a driver over to take you to the airport where the jet will take you directly to Houston. You’re not in any condition to be maneuvering through busy JFK on your own.”

And that was the last straw, because then Claire started bawling. “You really are the best, ma’am.” She blubbered between sobs.

Sophie wished she was able to hold the young lady while she cried. Claire was easily the sweetest girl she knew and she’s absolute magic with Kathy and Kelly. Her accent enthralled them. Too bad she had to leave for college. The few months she had spent with them were awesome, and she still dropped in from time to time to say hi to Sophie and the girls. A plane ride home is the least she could do for her at this time. She waited for the worst of the sobbing to pass, then said, “Well, I have to go now, but I’ll be in touch, sweetie and extend my condolences to your mom, will you?"

"Okay, ma'am"

Sophie ended the call and proceeded to call Ben, one of the company drivers and asked him to pick Claire up and take her to the private jet hanger. After that, she called the company pilot to prep the jet for take-off.

She then dropped the phone and stared long at her cup of coffee –now less than piping hot- with a hundred thoughts running through her mind. At the top of that list was how to get a babysitter on such short notice? She normally wouldn't have accepted the offer for Lesley's services, but she was in quite a bind at the moment and since Claire trusted her, Sophie would give Lesley a try.

Her train of thought was interrupted by Kathy and Kelly racing into the kitchen in their matching Wonder Woman pajamas.

"Good morning, Mommy!" They said in unison as they skidded to a stop.

Sophie took a sip of coffee and used the moment to admire her identical little girls this morning. With their loosely curled brown hair that was adorably sleep-tussled, straight little noses, rosebud lips and big, bright blue eyes which contrasted amazingly with their baby-smooth light brown skin. They took all her features. All except for the eyes and skin colour. Theirs was at least two shades lighter than hers.

"Good morning, lovebugs. You're full of energy today. I’m guessing you had a good night's rest"

"I slept like a baby" Kelly said.

“Well, you are babies.”

“No, we're not!” Came Kathy's indignant reply

“Okay okay. You are my babies” Sophie amended. “How’s that?” She asked.

"I can work with that." Kathy said. Kelly punctuated that with a nod

"When's Claire coming?" Kelly asked. It had been her idea last night during bed time to invite Claire for the temporary sitter work and Sophie had said she'd call Claire first thing the morning, since it was already late.

Sophie was really dreading having to break the bad news to her little girls. Kathy and Kelly had been looking forward to spending time with Claire.

“Well, sweetie,” Sophie started. She walked slowly around the counter to stand in front of them all the while thinking of the best way to tell them. “Claire lost her father this morning and she had to go back to Texas to look after her mom for a little while”

“Claire’s dad is dead?” Kathy asked for clarification.

“Yes, sweetie, Sophie replied gently “He’s dead”

“He spent Christmas with us here once. Remember Mommy?” Kelly said.

Sophie remembered. It was two years ago. She had invited Claire’s family to spend Christmas with them in New York. It was a fun Christmas with a full house including Sophie’s mother too. There was lots of laughing, singing, presents and eggnog. One of the best Christmas celebrations in Sophie’s recent memory. “I remember” Sophie hugged them both lightly to her to her hips.

“I wish I could give Claire a big hug right now” Kelly said glumly as she hugged Sophie back.

"Me, too" Kathy added.

Sophie felt so proud of her empathetic little girls “Well, she’s probably already on her way to the airport, so would you settle for a phone call?”

After a tearful phone call, Sophie figured they'd need a bit of cheering up. So, after a warm hug, she asked “How do you feel about pop tarts for breakfast?” Sophie asked, trying to inject a little excitement into her voice for the girls' sake. On a normal day, she was sure they could scarf down twenty pounds of the stuff without pause. She usually rationed pop tarts, but today, she decided to bend the rules a bit.

“Okay.” Came their less than unenthusiastic reply.

Not quite the response she had hoped for, but it was better than nothing and she was sure the gloomy mood wouldn’t last too long. “Pop tarts it is” She said with a sigh. “Oh, and you’ll be going with me to work today, since Claire can’t come in. Her friend Lesley will watch you there. I’m sure you’ll like her”

One bubble bath and a load of pop tarts later, the girls were feeling almost as good as new. Good enough to wow at themselves in the outfits Sophie had picked out for them. Sophie had chosen light summer dresses for each of them with complimentary sandals. The wow factor had been the way Sophie decided to style their hair. With the help of a bit of gel, a few hair ties and a lot of creativity, she was able to make their hair into an adorable half up-half down styles that completed the summer look.

As soon as she was done with the girls, Sophie went to her room and sat at her vanity, ready to do her own hair and makeup. She could have hired people to handle her wardrobe and makeup, but she preferred her own methods over that of anyone else. Besides, she studied cosmetology after all!

Kathy, who was sitting on the large bed watched the process attentively while simultaneously chattering away about the class meanie Annie Seltzer and her fake British accent. This was her favorite part of the morning; watching her mom get ready for work. Kelly, on the other hand was focused on the adventures of Shaun the sheep playing on her mom's TV.

Studying herself in the mirror, Sophie took note of her smooth-as-milk chocolate skin and attractive facial features. Despite the hellish week she's had, she was thankful it didn't show. Honestly, she felt like she’s never looked better. How many 28 year old single moms of twins could say that? She thought with a smile that was only a little smug.

Today, she decided to keep her shoulder-length curly hair down, parting and pinning it down on one side and expertly laying her edges, giving her a much younger look.

The makeup application process was neither a long nor complicated one, although it was one she deemed necessary since she was the CEO of a beauty company.

She founded Vivacious about ten years ago wile still in college studying cosmetology with the intention of focusing on the skin and hair care of the often misrepresented minority of women in the US including, but not limited to blacks, African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and Hawaiians. Her attention to the less-catered to market is the main reason her business idea had become a literal goldmine and made her a billionaire at such a young age.

Within ten minutes, she was applying a final layer of coral lipstick and inspecting her work. Flawless as usual.

"Time to go, girls"