Her grin widens. “Let me guess . . . a certain girl.”
I turn my eyes back to the sink. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Sure, you don’t. So . . . you’re not daydreaming about the princess?” Elise’s tone changes to a tease.
“Princess? Didn’t know this house had one?”
“Cute.” She scoffs. “Victoria is practically sainted. Pretty, polite, rarely speaks. Says thank you to the staff and means it. She’s the perfect accessory for her parents to tote around.”
I’m not sure why what she says irritates me so much, but it does. WhatVictoriadoes, or what people think of her, shouldn’t bother me.
She means nothing to me.
Nor I to her.
So then why have my hands formed fists under the warm suds?
I’ve hardly spoken to her, and I already feel protective.
Not a good sign.
This won’t bode well for me.
A flash of her pale skin and soft laughter plays through my mind. The way the light spills through her hair is like an angel.
Shit.
Head in the game.
No thinking about your boss’s daughter like this.
“Same age as you, I think.” Elise bumps my shoulder. “It would be quite the scandal.”
“Scandal?” I arch a brow. “You make it sound like I’m plotting something.”
“Please.” She laughs from beside me. “You have that look. The one people get before they ruin themselves.”
Before I can answer, a low voice cuts through the noise of the sink.
“Don’t encourage him, Elise.” I turn in the direction of the man’s voice. “I’m Rob, work here too.” He’s tall and broad with grease on his hands and shadows under his eyes. He looks like he’s been around a long time, or at least longer than Elise and certainly longer than me.
He wipes his hands on a rag, eyes flicking over me. “If you’re smart, kid, you’ll stay away from her.”
Elise groans. “Here we go.”
“I mean it,” Rob says, his voice calm but edged. “You’re new here. You don’t know how this place works. The family’s bad news. Especially for people like us.”
“People like us,” I echo. “You mean the help?”
He doesn’t deny it. “We clean up their messes, pretend not to see the blood, and they keep the world spinning. That’s the deal.”
Elise rolls her eyes. “You make it sound like we work for vampires.”
Rob’s gaze doesn’t flinch. “You think I’m exaggerating? These people will eat you alive. Money and privilege don’t play by the same rules.”
I lean against the counter, watching him. “Yet you’re still here.”
He gives a humorless shrug. “Some of us don’t have anywhere else to go.” His eyes linger on me, measuring. “Don’t get ideas about the girl. She’s not for you.”
