other.
She typed away at her phone with one hand as I approached.
"I'm Carrington."
She looked up from her phone. Her forehead wrinkled.
"You're Carrington Butler?" Her high-pitched voice matched her stature, but she seemed less polished than she appeared.
"Yes."
"Really?"
"You want to see my driver's license?"
"No, you're gorgeous. I was expecting some poor, trashed-out little thing, but you’re beautiful."
"What did you think? I was some poor little black girl who got knocked up by Mr. Griffin's son."
"Honestly, no one knows the whole story so I think we kind of made it up. Not in front of Mr. Griffin, of course."
"Of course."
"I'm sorry. This is not appropriate at all. I am working on being more professional. My name is Kayla Griffin. Uncle Griffin asked me to meet you and introduce myself because I'll be attending FSU in the fall as a transfer, and he thought we could be friends. Also, I am an early education student and love kids. If you need any help with Jackson, I'm a great babysitter."
She spoke fast, but with a central Florida drawl. I liked her, but her eyes darted around and she kept fidgeting.
"Mr. Griffin is your uncle?"
"Yeah, he and my dad are brothers." She turned to a guy in a black suit and white shirt and motioned for him to approach. "This is Andrew. He's Uncle Griffin's driver and bodyguard."
"Miss Carrington, welcome to Orlando. Can I take your bag?"
I handed my suitcase over and followed them as we headed to a waiting limo.
"Where are we going?"
"We'll drop you off at the hotel and let you freshen up. Mr. Griffin asked me to entertain you tonight, and he would meet you for breakfast in the morning."
We rode the rest of the way to the hotel in silence while Kayla texted someone on her phone every few minutes. I wondered if she was reporting back to Mr. Griffin.
We pulled up in front of the hotel. The salty air hit me as I exited the car. I inhaled.
Kayla got out and walked into the lobby with me.
"We already checked you in. Here's the key. I am staying in the hotel while you’re here, so we can head out for dinner around seven thirty. We'll go to Universal Studios and eat at Emeril's and hang out there or if you have another place in mind."
"Kayla, are you here to keep an eye on me? I can take care of myself."
"No, it's nothing like that. I swear. I'm so sorry about what happened to you and want to make it up to you. Let you know that all Griffins aren't racist, narcissistic, money hungry, legacy protecting assholes."
She forgot ignorant and sadistic.
"I know you don't have any reason to trust us, but I promise no ulterior motives."
"Okay. I'll meet you down here at seven."
"Yay," Kayla said and clapped her hands together.
I enter the hotel room, happy to have a moment to myself. What had I gotten myself into? I assumed the Griffin bloodline stopped with Josh or I guess with Jack.
I collapsed on the bed and called my mom.
"Hey. You made it."
"Yeah. They put me up in a hotel suite. I feel like the room is bugged, and I should be careful what I say."
"Am I allowed to tell you that you’re being paranoid?"
"Mom, you don't know the things this man has said and done. I have a right to be suspicious."
Since Mr. Griffin came back into my life, I've gone back and forth on whether I was doing the right thing. I didn't think people could change in such a short period of time.
"Have an open mind and remember you're in control."
"Okay. How's my little guy?"
"He is fine. He keeps running around looking for you, but Grandpa is distracting him."
"Good. Can I talk to him on FaceTime?"
"Okay, hold on."
I activated the camera and waited for her to come back. When his little face appeared on the screen, my heart dropped. I bit my lip and smiled.
"Hi, Jacky."
"Mommy."
"Hey." Tears formed in my eyes, even though I just saw him not six hours ago.
"Mommy, Grand Pa." Jack pointed to where my dad sat on the couch.
"Yeah, I see you and Grand Pa. You having fun with Grand