Blowing out a breath, I say, “Okay…I’ll get more information next week and let you know what I learn.”
Closing her own laptop, Fawn pops upright and smiles. “Great, I’ll start packing.”
“Isn’t it a little too soon to—”
“Nope. It never hurts to be prepared.”
Fair enough.
Chapter 3
?
There’s benefits, and then there’sbenefits. Somehow, these arebenefits.
Mirabelle
This is not the pool house I remember. Not at all. Not even remotely. For starters, did it get…bigger? Like, loads bigger. Likeit’s a second housebigger. Not atwo-storyhouse, but a modest, comfortable, two-bedroom house.
It is also, you know,clean. Even though I have never stepped foot into this soft blue paradise to clean it. Sunshine floods through the large windows across the granite kitchen countertop, and I run my fingers absently over the smooth rock face.
Behind me, Mr. Anders breaks the silence via clearing his throat, and I jump because I forgot he was there. “Feel free to change anything you don’t like,” he says, as though I’ve already agreed to live here, when I haven’t. “I’d prefer any company be gone by ten or…” His eyes roam the ceiling. “…notloud.”
Company. Right.
My eyes trail toward the open bedroom doors. Two bedrooms. A bed in each.
Things are moving a lot faster than I anticipated.
Fixing myI’m not freaking out over the possibility of living heresmile on my face, I say, “The thing is, sir, I am interested in taking this job, but I have a roommate right now, and she relies on my income to afford where we’re living. It’ll take some time to coordinate a different living situation for her…”Unless… My tongue ties around the word, suddenly hyperaware I’m about toask a man with a two hundred billion dollar net worth if I can have a roommate here.
“She?” he says.
“My best friend.” Maybe it’ll matter to him that she also works at Maid for You? At least then he’ll know she’s also been background checked and all that fun stuff. “We’re with the same maid-for-hire company and started living together shortly after I got the position.”
His hand lifts and clamps to his mouth. “Not a boyfriend, then?” His gaze drops to roam the spotless tile. “That’s fine. Bring her. There’s two bedrooms.” While I’m trying to catch my breath over the fact I didn’t have to ask if she could move in with me, his gray eyes hit mine, sharp. “I only need one housekeeper, though.”
Panic floods my chest, and I throw up my hands. “No, I know. I’m not asking you to also offer her a job.” My lashes flutter as my brain short circuits. “Are you sure it’s okay for her to move with me? Would she need to pay rent, or anything like that?”
“No, it can be included in your benefits. One more person living here makes very little difference to me, so long as she isn’t loud past ten.”
Wow. Okay.
That seems too good to be true.
Nevertheless, I find myself warming up to this idea if it means that Fawn and I can live in this beautiful little home and have our own bedrooms. The panic in my chest remains, but it’s quieter as I manage my expression and lock my hands together in front of my frilly purple apron. “Can we go over job expectations?”
His chin lifts a fraction of an inch. “I had an assistant pull together a contract last week. We can review it in my office.”
“Oh.” I straighten. “Wow. You’re on top of things.”
He arches a brow at me.
I stammer, “I mean, of course you are. You probably can’t be a billionaire if you aren’t on top of things, but I just wasn’t expecting you to have a contract pulled together already or anything, considering it could have been wasted energy if I’d decided against taking the position. Not that you wouldn’t need a contract for whoever you would end up hiring, though. I suppose, in that way, the only wasted energy would be printing it out again with a different name…which isn’t that bad…and it’s good to be prepared. I guess my comment was a little stupid.”
“I pay Forrest well to waste his energy on my behalf,” he gruffs.
Actuallygruffs.
