Joel led me back to the hallway and straight to the elevator. He pressed the button, and I listened as the clang of metal reached the first floor, and the door opened to let us in. 

“What happens in a power outage or emergency,” I asked, stepping inside, “when you need to get her out quickly?”

He raised an eyebrow, and an almost proud look flashed across his face, “Between Master Vascile and I, we are quite capable of getting her downstairs if the need arose. I’m sure you would be able to as well if we weren’t home for some reason. There are almost always staff here, however. There are three stairwells in this building, not counting the one leading to the basement. The grand stairwell would be your best bet in an emergency, but I don’t anticipate that happening. I’m happy you asked though.”

The elevator shuttered to a stop, and we got out on the third floor. 

He paused and looked sideways at me, “The basement is off limits, by the way. It is Mr. Vascile’s quarters, and he works overnights. He is not to be disturbed during the day when he is resting, and certainly not at night, when he is working.”

“I hope he’s taking his vitamin D supplements,” I blurted without thinking. 

Joel looked at me in surprise, then he began to laugh, a seriously hearty chuckle that nearly had him doubled over. He finally seemed to catch himself, and stood up straight, dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief from his pocket. He smiled at me. 

“I’ve never heard that one before. You must have worked some overnights in your life, huh Ms. Evans?” 

I nodded. I’d been a night nanny for a few families. I wasn’t sure why my comment was so funny though, but maybe Joel was easily amused in general. 

He coughed, and his whole persona shifted, returning to the fancy assistant in a second. We walked down the hallway, this one just as full of crazy modern art as the first floor. Finally, we reached the door to what was clearly a girl’s bedroom, the door being bright purple with small posters of boy-bands across it. It definitely stuck out from the harsh decor of the rest of the floor. Squinting closer, I could see the print on each of the posters. Stray Kids.

I had definitely heard of them. One of my former kiddos had been obsessed with K-Pop, and told me everything there was to know about every group she could. I had to admit that the songs were pretty damn catchy. 

Joel knocked three times on the door, then waited, his hands clasped behind him as he stood patiently. I nervously patted down my shirt and skirt before remembering the stain. I really hoped she didn’t see it. Tweens had a tendency to be brutally honest. I could generally let it roll off my back, but I wanted to make a good impression. 

After a moment, the door slowly opened.