“Mm-hm.” He took another sip of wine and stared at me expectantly, but I didn’t know what he wanted. As though reading my mind, he sighed. “Why did you ask to stay in the office tonight, Maxwell?”
“Max.” I flushed until my cheeks stung, and pressed my hands between my knees, jaw tight in anger at how easily I got embarrassed. “My name is Max. My parents call me Maxwell.”
“Ah.” He smiled, and my heart crashed against my ribs because he didn’t smile often around me, and he had the nicest mouth. I shook the thoughts from my head, though.
There was no way in hell I could be interested in Jean-Paul Dubois, especially after the bullshit he put me through working for Mr. Elwood. Then again, maybe I’d deserved it for getting caught blackmailing Mr. Elwood…. Mom always said I acted stupid, but she was also the one who told me to do anything necessary to work my way up the career ranks. I wasn’t like Jaxson, though; I couldn’t fuck my way to the top.
“Fine. Max, why did you want to sleep in the office tonight?” he asked again, taking another sip of his wine until he finished it off and set the tall glass on the coffee table. Gesturing to my bowl, he continued, “You should eat that or it’ll get cold.”
I grabbed the bowl and dragged a spoonful to my mouth, my cheeks hot again.Damn it. I followed his orders so easily and didn’t know why. Everything he said felt like a command, and it was hard not to listen. When I’d swallowed the stew I had in my mouth, I spoke again. “I… I left home.”
“Your parents?”
I hated how pathetic that sounded. I was a twenty-three-year-old man still living with my parents, and I’d left, run away like a child who didn’t get his own way. Dad always said I acted like a three-year-old. “Yes, my parents’ house. I left.”
“Why?” JP leaned forward, and I shifted back because I hated how easily he had me flustered and frustrated all at once.
“Because I’m tired of being ridiculed. I thought they’d be happy with me because I made my way up to Mr. Elwood’s office. I was there, where they wanted me to be.” I stuffed my mouth with another spoonful of stew and swallowed around the heat, not caring if it burned the entire way down my throat. “But then Evelyn told everyone that Mr. Elwood hates me and didn’t want me there, that the mayor forced Mr. Elwood to take me, though they don’t know why, and now I’m the laughingstock again.” I drew my legs up closer to my body, anger warring with shame in my gut, making me feel weird, like maybe I wanted to vomit what I’d just eaten. “I’m always the embarrassment of my family. Itry, but it’s never good enough. My older brothers and sister are perfect. Not me, though.”
I hadn’t realized I’d been ranting until my chest hurt. Taking another spoonful of stew into my mouth, I realized it didn’t taste as nice as it did a few minutes ago because I’d worked myself into a furious state. I dropped the spoon back onto the coffee table and sighed, resting my elbows on my knees and slouching forward.
“Please don’t fire me,” I whispered, defeat weighing heavy on my mind. Not even the calm atmosphere of JP’s home could make me feel like he wasn’t my doom. “They’d never forgive me.”
“I’m not going to fire you.” He moved, and I didn’t notice he was beside me until he curled an arm around my shoulder, and like the fool I was, I leaned into his warmth. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been hugged. Mom and Dad never showed any affection, even when we were kids. “You’re good at your job.”
“I staple papers.” I laughed at how absurd that sounded. My family had no idea that’s what I did.
“And you’re a good stapler. They’re very straight.”
I glanced at him, expecting to see mockery on that handsome face, but he was genuine, and my heart took a leap. I smiled and thought about thanking him, but I didn’t knowhow. It was in the same category of apologies; Kalinskis didn’t do that.
“How about we get the guest bedroom ready and you can go to bed?” JP shifted away quickly, as though he finally realized he was too close, and stood. He straightened, then gestured for me to follow him, and like the good dog I was, I did just that.
His house was beautiful, but I couldn’t help but focus on all the death traps I saw as we walked up the stairs and toward the guest bedroom. There was nothing specifically unsafe, but he kept his plugs in the wall, and nothing drove me crazier. Too many homes caught fire that way. Then there was the hallway, beautiful and long, but I had to stop and fix one of the photos of his family because it was slightly crooked.
If he noticed, he didn’t say anything, and soon we arrived upstairs at the door to the guest room. He swung it open and I peered inside, whistling at the sight of the high ceilings and polished floorboards. Painted in a pale cream color, it was light and airy, with a roomy double bed graced with a solid-wood headboard. Modern, yet matching the old architecture.
“It’s nice,” I said as we stepped inside.
“I didn’t do too much work to it. Never needed to.” JP glanced at me with a long stare, and I froze, not sure what I was supposed to do, but then he kept speaking. “Your suits and bag are in that wardrobe over there. The bathroom is just across the hall, and there are fresh towels already hanging on the rack. Let me know if you need anything else.” He walked to the fireplace and fiddled with the buttons there. A low fire sprang to life in the grate and the room began to warm.
“Okay.” I nodded, suddenly feeling awkward being in his house, but he just left me there and closed the door behind himself. Staring around the room, I took in the ornately carved paneling and the wide windows with heavy cream floral drapes. It really was beautiful, and well-designed.
I fell onto the bed and sighed, staring up at the ceiling. Today took a turn I’d never expected, and being at JP’s had not been part of the plan. I worried that being here meant he’d have something over me, and maybe he’d make me quit because of everything he now knew. The thought made me shudder. Now that I was out of a home, I couldn’t afford to be without a job, even if I wanted to quit.
I sat up again and stared outside, where snow came down harder, some of it battering against the glass. Standing, I walked over to the window to gaze out at the backyard, covered in a thick layer of fresh snow. The blanket of white was beautiful and undamaged, unlike me. Everything in this world seemed to be happier than I was, even the elements.
I snorted at the thought and yanked the curtains closed. It was better to forget about the outside world for now. Tomorrow was another day.
Later that night,after a short nap I never expected, I went for a shower. The bathroom was just as elegant as the rest of the house, with black-and-white diamond tiles that extended halfway up the wall, and the rest being a dark blue granite. There was a porcelain bathtub near the far side of the room, with a built-in sink on the right side of it, and an ornate little gas heater set into the wall on the left. There was a red mat laid in the center of the room, and the shower was behind a glass door to the right.
The towels were hanging on a rack beside the sink and didn’t really go with the rest of the room. The color bothered me. I stepped toward them to feel the cotton between my fingers. They were as fluffy as they looked, but I couldn’t help noticing that even though they were folded to look nice, one end sat higher than the other. I needed to fix that. Tugging the front slightly until they were aligned, I nodded in satisfaction.
I took a quick shower, during which I spent time rearranging JP’s shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel so it was ordered from shortest to tallest on the ledge etched into the wall, then got out and dried off. Once I was in my pajamas—a pair of long blue pants and matching shirt—I padded out into the hallway and down the stairs. The sitting room was clean of bowls and wineglasses, so I suspected JP had come back down to wash them.
I stared at the blinking tree again, my fingers itching to move a couple more ornaments around, but I didn’t dare. The fear of breaking more of JP’s possessions had me frozen, standing there feeling awkward until I realized what I needed to do. I stepped forward as quietly as I could, hoping not to disturb JP, wherever he was. Moving to the side of the tree, I gently eased the plug out of the socket. I could put it back later, before JP woke up. I did the same to the other plugs around the sitting room until they were all out and somewhere safe so no one would trip over them.
Once the sitting room was done, I moved into the kitchen, doing the very same thing until the only plugs left in were the stove and fridge. I hadn’t even realized what I was doing until I’d completed my task and stared around the room with flushed cheeks. I’d have a lot of work to do before JP woke up, but I didn’t mind. At least we’d be safe while we slept.
