Did normal women turn down a wild romp from a hotsingleman when it was offered up on a silver platter? Because I had a feeling that answer was no, and they’d say as much in the jury room when they’re deliberating over my fraud case.
“That’s just too much damn fucking fine to say no to.”
“Excuse me?”
I jumped. “What! Hello?”
“Hello?”
“Mrs. Prado?” I asked, recovering quick. “Hi, this is Ms. Kim—”
“I know who this is.”
I blinked, wondering if I mistook the chill in her tone. “Yes... uh... thank you for taking my call. Do you have a few minutes to talk?”
“About?”
“About possibly coming back to work for—”
“Excuse me? Coming back to work? For you? You must be joking. This is a joke, and not one that has the decency to be funny.”
Okay, I didn’t imagine the chill.
“How dare you waste my time with this non—?”
“I’m sorry,” I blurted. “I’m so sorry for everything I’ve done and said. Sorry for mistreating you and pretending for even a second that you’re not the best chef and house manager that anyone could ask for.”
“I... What?” The wind whooshed out of her rant. “Who is this?”
“You know who this is,” I replied, skirting around the question. “And you know I don’t give apologies easily.”
She snorted.
“Or at all,” I rushed to say. “But this one I owe you. I’m sorry, Mrs. Prado, please, hear me out.”
“Hmm.” Only she could infuse a hum with suspicion. “Five minutes.”
“That’s all I need.” I clapped my hands, waving them at the sky and sending my thanks to Hera. “Because I’m going to get straight to the point. The manor’s become a shitpit and I need your help restoring it to its former glory.”
Another hum. “A shitpit sounds about right,” said the fifty-eight-year-old woman. “And needing my help is accurate too, but why in the world would I come back?”
“I—” I halted, cringing. “I want to say for a substantial raise, but I... I don’t have any money to pay you.”
She scoffed. “What else is new? Since when have you ever had, or been willing to part, with a single cent?”
I deflated like an old balloon. I was forced to learn how to cook and clean after being kicked out of my fancy life, but that didn’t mean I was prepared to cook for an entire family three times a day, or clean a manor bigger than my old apartment building. And that didn’t begin to account for all the yardwork that needed to be done.
“But you didn’t pay me before, so there’s no need to start now.”
“What?” My ears pricked up. “What do you mean I don’t need to start paying you?”
“I will submit my pay stubs to the estate, Soo Min, obviously.” Exasperation laced her tone. “As I did before. With the exception that these pay stubs will reflect a sixty percent rise in pay. Yes?” she snapped.
“Yes,” I said instantly, tossing another thank-you to the heavens. “With a bonus thrown in if you handle the hiring and interviewing of the rest of the staff we’ll need. Groundspeople, gardeners, housekeepers, painters, roofers, and an interior designer or two? Please,” I threw in.
“Three thousand.”
“Twenty-five hundred and I throw in a kitchen remodel.”
