Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Grant was in the big room, a bottle of beer in his hand. He lifted the bottle toward me like some kind of boozy greeting. “Did you finish my room yet?”
“I’ll be going in your room?” I asked uneasily.
“Yes, mine and everyone else’s. They’re part of the house you’ve been hired to clean.”
“It’s a big house.”
Bennett cocked his head to the side, his blue eyes colder than his cousin’s. “So?”
I looked away, trying to think quickly. I needed this job, so I couldn’t challenge him. Either of them. Then again, if they had a completely unrealistic idea of what I could accomplish in a day, that might lead to me losing the job, too.
“Would it be okay if, on every other day, I just focus on cleaning the common areas? And then on opposite days, tackle the bedrooms?”
“Sounds good to me,” Grant said.
“As long as everything gets done,” Bennett said, somewhat sternly, as if I’d asked if I could take a three-hour nap each day.
The sense of unease settled in my stomach. These were rich, privileged young men. How on earth would they know what it took to keep a house like this clean? Even I didn’t know, since it was so big, but I was pretty sure I had a better guess than them. “For the individual rooms, what does that entail?”
Bennett frowned again, as if I was trying to get away with something. “Dusting, vacuuming, emptying trash. General cleaning.”
I nodded, and tried to purse my lips together, but a question slipped out. “But aren’t there like twenty bedrooms?”
“But only a handful are occupied this summer. Focus on them first,” Grant advised. His long legs dangled off the counter as he looked me over. Everything about him screamed rich kid with too much time on his hands, but he was a student. He had to do more than just lounge around all day. Maybe.
“Okay, I’ll do that. Can someone point those rooms out to me?”
Bennett looked irritated, as if I should just know, but Grant nodded. “Sure. No one’s staying on the first floor this summer. Grant and I have suites up on the third floor. That leaves four guys staying on the second floor—plus you.”
That still didn’t tell me where exactly the rooms were, but Grant was still being more helpful than his cousin.
As if on cue, Bennett took over the conversation again. “And, of course, you’ll be cooking dinner for us.”
My heart sank. I’d almost forgotten about that. Maybe I’d purposefully forgotten? My cooking skills weren’t the greatest. “Just dinners, right?”
Bennett studied me a moment and then nodded. “We usually eat on campus or at restaurants in town for lunch.”
“And we’re usually too hungover in the morning to worry about breakfast.” Grant laughed at his own quip and shot me a wink.
“So today, you can start in the kitchen. The grocery delivery won’t be until Friday, but you can go through the refrigerator and get rid of anything spoiled and clean the shelves.”
“Okay,” I said, trying to keep the doubt out of my voice. “All three of them?”
“That’s the one for food,” Grant said, pointing to the one nearest us. “The other two are mostly used to stock drinks.”
“Drinks?” I had an image of a fridge full of water bottles and soda.
“Beer,” Grant clarified. “We are a fraternity, after all.”
“Right.”
“After you clean out the fridge, you’ll restock the other two. There are cases downstairs and to the right.” He jerked his head in the direction of two doors on the other side of the kitchen. One looked like it led outside, and the other one must have led to the basement.
“Okay.” Was I supposed to go down there now? No, Bennett had said to clean the fridge first. I walked over to it, feeling self-conscious as the two of them watched me. But I felt a little better when I opened the door of the fridge. No rank smells greeted me. The glass shelves weren’t covered in spills. And there wasn’t much food. Suddenly, I remembered something they’d said at the interview yesterday. “Am I supposed to go to the grocery store, too?”
“You can do that tomorrow,” Bennett said.
“But what about dinner tonight?”
“We already have plans. But tomorrow you’ll go to the store and cook dinner for us.” Bennett clapped his hands together as if done with the conversation. “Do a good job, Hailey.”
I almost said yes, sir before I realized how absurd that was. Yes, he was technically my boss, but he was also a guy only a few years older than me, and a fellow student. “Will do,” I said instead.
Bennett strode out and Grant followed behind. When he reached the door, he paused while Bennett continued on ahead.
“Help yourself to whatever you want in the fridge,” Grant said. It sounded like an afterthought, like he wasn’t used to thinking about other people’s needs. And why would he? He’d probably had maids and cooks his whole life. But still, I was grateful for the offer. If I had to pay for my own food this summer, that would cut into the amount I could save up. And if I couldn’t save enough to afford housing in the fall semester, this would all be for nothing.