Cinderella Complex Read Online Free Page B

tried to fix his hair where she’d messed it up.
    â€œPish-posh, don’t be such a spoil-sport, Jack.”
    I stifled a giggle. “Yeah, you spoil-sport you.”
    He glared at me, then scanned the room. “Wow, you sure invited a lot of women, Grandma.”
    Clusters of people stood everywhere, all women of varying ages and shapes and sizes. Even some teens and college-aged girls, much to Jackson’s interest. He quickly forgot Riley, the love of his life.
    â€œThere’s food on the tables over there and drinks out back on the sun-porch.” Grandma hugged me again. “Don’t run off too far, I want to talk to you in a few minutes.” She leaned down to touch my face. “Got lots I want to tell you.” With that, she hurried off to greet more guests.
    Jackson wasn’t kidding when he mentioned the number of females here. It seemed odd that Grandma knew them all from selling pharmaceuticals.
    I grabbed a cup of punch and stood in a corner by the window. Shadows darted across the backyard, peeling away from the trees outside. I shivered.
    What the heck ?
    Setting my drink down, I went outside and wound my way back toward the tire swing.
    It groaned as the wind spun it around. I heard a rustle in the bushes.
    â€œHello?” I moved toward the sound. A shadowy form elongated from the bushes near my feet. I stopped. Shadows were supposed to move away, not toward a person. The air around me buzzed and grew colder. Was that wings flapping?
    Whoosh! Something raced across the sky. It blocked out the moon as it flew overhead.
    â€œMaggie!” Grandma hollered. “You get in here now.”
    I hurried back to the house. Her face looked white. “Grandma, are you okay?”
    She stumbled as she dragged me back into the house. “I’m fine—you just need to be more careful, is all.”
    â€œGrandma—”
    â€œHush, child,” she said, leading the way upstairs. “I need to talk to you.” She held tight to my arm and kept peeking over her shoulder as if she expected someone to jump out of a dark corner. We walked down the long hallway to her bedroom. Once there, she tugged the drapes shut and scooted me to her large walk-in closet.
    I stiffened. Either Grandma had lost her mind or she really thought someone was after her.
    â€œUm—shouldn’t you be downstairs greeting your guests?” I planted my feet so she couldn’t drag me any closer to the closet.
    â€œThey can wait. What I need to talk to you about is more pressing.” Grandma stepped into her closet.
    â€œCan’t we talk out here?”
    Popping her head out of the closet, Grandma chuckled. “I know this seems odd, but will you trust me?”
    Her eyes begged me. With a sigh, I let her take my hand and pull me into the huge walk-in. Light shimmered near the back where another door stood, hidden behind hangers of clothes. Where’d it come from? I knew, from years of hide-and-go-seek games there’d never been a door back there, or else I would’ve found it.
    â€œWhat’s going on?”
    She shut us in, turned, and clasped my hands. “The time has come for me to retire, Maggie. I’ve been doing this job for so long. And downstairs is the proof of my success. Generations of happiness.” She smiled wistfully. “But now, Maggie, I want to hand the legacy over to you.”
    Great, how was I supposed to tell her I wasn’t interested in pharmaceuticals? “Grandma, it’s not that I don’t appreciate this, but I kind of had bigger plans. Not like there’s anything wrong with medicines and junk. But it’s not my thing.”
    Grandma’s laughter filled the space. “Heavens no, child. I don’t want you to follow in those footsteps.” She squeezed my hands. “I suppose I ought to be more clear. Maggie, I want you to take over my position as Fairy Godmother.”
    My mouth dropped open. I