“Not at all. How can I help?”
“I wondered if I might have a word?”
Brandon is so all-ears that they’re about to flap in the breeze.
“Come to my office,” I say with a smile, and glare at Brandon once Nik has moved past me.
Brandon makes a face right back, in full view of any guest wandering by. That boy is going to get fucking fired one of these days, I swear to God.
“Please, have a seat,” I say as we enter my office. “Can I get you coffee, tea, sparkling water?”
“Nothing for me, thanks. I’m afraid I don’t have long.”
I nod sagely. Nik is a big-time exec, the kind who gets movies greenlit or canned just by a lift of his finger, and I hate to think about how many dollars he must be losing as the minutes tick by. “What can I do for you?” I ask, getting right to the point.
He leans forward. “First of all, I’d like to apologize for Lord Arden’s behavior throughout the weekend, and especially on Monday morning. He should have come to say goodbye when you left.”
I wave my hand. “Completely forgotten.”
“And second,” he goes on, “I’d like to ask you back again this weekend.”
The smile freezes on my face. “Back?”
“The thing is,” he says, with an apologetic look, “Lord Arden has been…difficult again this week. More than usual. He’s making a goddamn nuisance of himself, actually, and the household is just about ready to revolt if I don’t do something. He’s under a lot of stress. And…he’s mentioned you several times. Asked if you would be returning. I believe he enjoyed your service while you were there.”
I sit very still, staring at him for a moment, forgetting all about those studio dollars that are dribbling away. “I’m sorry,” I say after a good, long silence, “is this a joke?”
“I only wish it was,” he says grimly. “Listen, even Zee’s fed up with him, although she’s far too well-mannered to say it, and since household matters are undermypurview, it’s up to me to put things right. Or try to, anyway.”
I take that in. “I’m sorry, Nik, but—”
“Please.” He leans forward, his hands clasped together. “I’mbeggingyou, Ollie. I’ll get on my damn knees if you like, just—please. One more weekend. I’m sure whatever bad mood he’s in will have passed over by then.”
I spread my hands in bewilderment. “But Nik, I’m the one whoputhim in that bad mood. I slept all night in his bed accidentally, and—”
“You did?” If Nik’s eyebrows climb any higher, he’s going to lose them altogether. “Oh. I wasn’t aware…”
“Lord Arden didn’t tell you?”
“We don’t make it a practice in our household to gossip,” he says with faint reproof.
“Well, now you know,” I say, tired of this strange conversation. “And listen, even if I wanted to come back, I couldn’t. I’m scheduled on for work this weekend.”
He shakes his head impatiently. “That’s easily solved. Elton Kingsley owes me a favor.”
“Elton Kingsley owes you a favor,” I repeat slowly. Elton fucking Kingsley is the property magnate whoownsthe Bellamy Grand. I’ve never even seen him in the flesh. But I shake my head again. “Nik, Lord Ardenhatedme. You saw for yourself, he didn’t even come to say goodbye. You’d think he would’ve wanted to make sure I was gone, if only so he didn’t have to worry about me spraying him with more red wine or—or suffering from the overwhelming need tonap.”
But if anything, Nik looksmoredetermined. “Ollie, I’m at my wits’ end.”
“Nik,” I say firmly. “I have ajob. I can’t just—”
“Ollie,” he says, just as firmly, “what did you think of Lord Arden?”
I scoff as I play for time. “It doesn’tmatterwhat I thought of him. I was there to serve, I served, and…I didn’t do a great job at it, but...” Judging by Nik’s face, I’m not going to get out of this without answering the question. “I thought he was an asshole,” I say bluntly.
Nik laughs at that. “The whole weekend?”
“No,” I have to admit. “There were times when he seemed…” I remember his comforting hands sweeping over my body, soothing me, lulling me to sleep. “Almosthuman,” I finish.
