Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 100716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Someone on their deathbed wouldn’t have an eight-pack.
Or a monster dick.
I cough to clear my chest of the tingles spasming there before I finish making the bed. I can’t have these types of thoughts about an owner. It’s against the rules. Mrs. Whitten would have my head if she heard even a snippet of my thoughts. I’d hate to consider her response if she learns about our kiss. Just the thought doubles the output of my cleaning skills.
Confident the sheets are tight enough to bounce a nickel off, I vacuum the carpet, scrub the sink and toilet, and then wipe down the mirror and shower walls.
Once the products on the vanity are replenished, I take a step back and survey my work.
Everything is clean and orderly.
I can’t say the same for my heart when a shadow falls over the only exit of the bathroom for the second time in under an hour. “All done?”
My head bob is submissive, but it hides my nerves. “Yes. This room is r-ready.”
Rafael acts as if I didn’t stutter. “This room?”
Again, I nod. “I have four more rooms on m-my roster for this apartment.”
My heart pounds in my ears when he straightens his spine. His height is more imposing when it is at its full stature. He is an inch or two taller than Ark but around twenty pounds lighter. “You’re servicing the rest of the rooms here?” He points to the floor at the end of his sentence.
I nod, too confused by his unmissable bewilderment to speak.
Cleaning isn’t a housemaid’s sole skill, but it is very much a part of their job description.
Shock hits me half a second before disappointment when he asks, “Does Ark know?”
“I assume s-so.”
Rafael twists his lips as if he isn’t convinced. “I highly doubt that.”
“Why?”
Don’t worry. I am as shocked as you that I didn’t stutter. The shortness of my reply helps, but it is still surprising. I guess I shouldn’t be shocked. Rafael isn’t Ark, but who you surround yourself with is as important as how you present yourself. I trusted Ark enough to fall asleep in his presence and kiss him. That means Rafael’s name will most likely soon be scribbled at the bottom of a very short list of people I trust.
Interest blooms in my chest when Rafael says, “Because he has a far more important task he needs your help with.”
“He d-does?” I sound daft. Rightfully so. I am.
And desperate.
Very desperate.
I breathe a little easier when Rafael nods before he returns to the central part of the primary suite. I follow him, my nerves instantly dispelling since there are two exits and only one person capable of blocking them.
The odds are back in my favor.
Rafael moves for a desk at the corner of the ample space while saying, “Val said she’d give you this at the same time she gave you the map.”
I’m lost in his meaning until I recall my interaction with Ark last Friday night. He said he would have his security team draw up the entry and exit points of the underground parking lot for me. I’ve seen him since then, but when a sick child is demanding your attention, you don’t have time for anything else.
“I haven’t se-seen Val this morning. She wasn’t in her office when I arrived.”
“Probably because she’s doing this instead.” Rafael gives me a hand-drawn map of the foyer. “The meetings have already started, but you still have plenty of time.”
“For?” I ask when he fails to elaborate on his reply.
“For… whatever it is that you do.”
“C-clean?”
This shames me to admit, but that is the only thing I am skilled at. When I was fired from my last job, I tried to find something different. Nothing came up. I only stumbled onto this position when I returned the check Maksim Ivanov hand-delivered to me for helping his wife.
The amount cited on the check would have had Tillie and me living comfortably for years, but I genuinely don’t believe in spending money I haven’t earned.
Again, my life isn’t close to glamourous, but it is ethical.
Rafael waits a beat before lifting his chin. “Yeah.”
“When does the me-meeting end?” I move to the cleaning cart to remove my schedule, hopeful I can squeeze in Ark’s request without too much reshuffling. A disruptive routine is as dangerous as no routine. “I could probably clean the me-meeting room—”
“Ark doesn’t want you to clean up after the meeting. He wants you to…” He strays his eyes around the room, his lips twisting when he takes in the portable coffee station at the side of an inbuilt bar. “He wants you to serve refreshments. These meetings are a snoozefest. Without coffee, he’ll never make it out alive.”
The dramatics of his reply twitches my lips, but it doesn’t alter the facts. “I don’t do catering. There is a bakery n-nearby that—”