Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 104820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
“Don’t get me started on all that nonsense you read in the tabloids about Arch and Sonia Montefiore. You heard him on the beach—they never were a couple. It was just Hollywood hype. Those magazines love to speculate on A-list romances because it sells copies. But I saw the way he looked at her outside of the love scenes, and not only was there not a twinkle in sight, it was the opposite of love.”
Margaret was still trying to reassure her, but it was hopeless. Tessa’s worst fear was to make a fool of herself by falling head over heels for a man she could never have. Archer Davenport was her celebrity crush, not her patient or even her employer. Twinkle or not, they lived in completely different worlds.
She looked down at her watch and found that her fingers were worrying at the leather strap. Alarm bells were going off inside her. She had made a promise to herself never to be with a man who made her feel small. Never again. Arch was literally larger than life. She was used to seeing his handsome face on giant movie theater screens and billboards. He was a star and she was a caregiver. It was no match at all.
Margaret sat back in her chair, clearly satisfied that she’d won the argument and the conversation was over. But Tessa would go into the agency this afternoon and speak to her manager personally. She’d come up with a good reason why she couldn’t take the job and ask to be placed elsewhere.
Then this whole issue would go away.
* * *
It wasn’t a long drive to Monterey, where the agency she worked for was located, but Tessa still tried to enjoy the views. After all, it might be the last time she could soak up the gorgeous scenic coast. She would miss the beach, that much was certain, with its golden sand and dreamy, flaming orange sunsets.
When she arrived at Helping Hands, the receptionist said that Nina Patel was just finishing a meeting and would be with her shortly. Nina was the owner of the agency, and Tessa had never met her; they had only spoken on the phone before today. Tessa took a seat on the leather couch and waited nervously, feeling like she was in a hospital waiting room. It was a relief when the receptionist finally called her name, and she made her way along a magnolia-painted corridor to Nina’s office.
Nina Patel was a formidable-looking woman in her fifties, smartly dressed in a gray skirt suit and pearls. She greeted Tessa warmly, offering her a seat and a glass of water, which Tessa took gladly.
“Congratulations on bringing such a great client to the agency,” Nina said. “I understand Mr. Davenport asked for you personally, having witnessed how good you were with your current client, Margaret Percy. We’re very pleased with your excellent work. There will be an NDA to sign, of course, to protect Mr. Davenport from the press.”
Wait—what? Tessa felt the first stirrings of panic. She hadn’t even accepted the job, but everyone around her was acting like it was not only a done deal, but that it was the best thing that had ever happened too.
She cleared her throat. “I’m flattered, of course, that Mr. Davenport thinks I would make a good live-in caregiver as he recovers from his injury, but I imagine you have someone else on your books who would be better suited to the position—someone with celebrity experience?”
Nina’s brow furrowed. “The client has requested you personally. Who could be better?”
Tessa swallowed. She had to think fast. And then she remembered—she’d had a request last month to help a mother with a newborn. She reminded Nina that once her time with Margaret Percy was over, she was supposed to go to Los Gatos, a town ninety minutes north of Carmel.
Nina frowned again, and even before she spoke, Tessa felt like she was back in school about to receive a lecture from a disapproving teacher. “Mr. Davenport understands how valuable you are as one of our best caregivers,” she said. “That’s why he offered a higher salary to compensate. This will be a lucrative assignment for you. We’ve already found someone for the Los Gatos job. No need to worry about that.” Nina paused and said, “And of course you’ll receive a finder’s fee for bringing Mr. Davenport to our firm.”
Tessa’s heart pounded. Everything was moving so quickly. And yet—a higher salary was a tempting offer. Plus a bonus? She needed the money. When it came down to it, Tessa didn’t care where she lived or what she wore. She had very few possessions and enjoyed life that way. There was only one thing that was truly important to her. Only one thing that she lived for.
Her art.
No one in Tessa’s life knew that she spent every minute of her free time painting and went without luxuries in order to buy professional-quality paints and brushes. She knew she wasn’t very good, but she was determined to keep going and get better—even if it was all in secret. She’d fantasized about a weeklong workshop in Santa Fe with Mylene Fraser, her idol. It cost three thousand dollars… a sum that until this moment had been out of her reach.