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“Yeah, well my first impression of you wasn’t all that great, either,” I mutter and instantly regret it.
Something about this guy brings out some outspoken brattiness in me that I don’t usually have. I’ve never been one to stand up for myself. I’ve never been one to engage in confrontation. I normally go completely introverted around any sort of conflict.
He just told me he’s giving me a trial run and I backtalk him. Dumb move.
I looked him right in the eye when I said that, too, and now his jaw is ticking. And it’s incredibly sexy. My heart skips a beat, but I don’t know why. Am I getting aroused by ticking him off?
“The day we met was a bad day,” I say quickly. “I can get past it and do a good job for you. Just tell me your expectations and I’ll make sure I exceed them.”
He examines me for a minute, then asks, “What did you do for Aiden?”
“I kept this place clean, did his laundry and grocery shopping. Dropped off and picked up dry cleaning. He told me what he liked to eat and I came in every other day with new meal options and cleared out whatever he hadn’t eaten. Laundry, personal shopping for clothes and gifts, that kind of thing.”
“And how were you paid?”
“He did a weekly Friday deposit into my account. Thursdays I’d send him an email with copies of all my receipts and if I did something extra, I’d list it and he’d add accordingly. He was generous.”
“How generous?”
“He paid me well. And when I did extra things, he paid extra. I used his credit card to manage the expenses, so if you need me to do that, I’d need another one.”
“What sorts of extra things did you do?” he asks, and his voice has gone husky.
My face burns and I’m sure it has to be beet red.
He’s trying to get a rise out of me by being insulting. I don’t believe he’s really propositioning me, more like he’s testing me.
“If something had to be done here, I’d be here to oversee it. Like upholstery cleaning, any repairs. Cable installation, that kind of thing. Packing for trips. Liasing with his driver or other employees for things when he lived here. Making calls for things for the apartment and waiting for repair people or picking extra things up. Sometimes he’d make a list of things he wanted. Shop for a birthday gift for somebody, get theater or concert tickets, pick up stuff at the post office, buy a better showerhead and get it installed, errands to a pharmacy, buy him new shoes or clothes. You know… errands.”
“You haven’t exactly shown responsibility with a credit card.”
I sigh. “I’d be careful. Very careful after what happened.”
“How much money did you make?”
“About two thousand a month. Sometimes more. That was for the basics.”
“And how much time did all this take you?”
“Ten hours a week, maybe.”
“I could probably get all that done a lot cheaper.”
“Aiden was also very happy with my efficiency and my ability to be discreet about things. I guess it was worth it to him to not have to worry about that stuff. If he wanted something done he’d tell me and I’d make it happen.”
“Discreet about what?”
“Sorry, but that’s none of your business.” God that feels good to say. “Wouldn’t be very discreet of me to reveal that, would it?”
“Hm.”
“And it was worth it to me. The flexibility with him allowed me time to work on other things knowing I had steady money coming in. He didn’t police my time, just told me what he wanted and I made sure it happened around my schedule.”
“And you think you deserve that kind of money when you’ll be living here too?”
I shrug. “If you don’t want to pay that much, I’m willing to negotiate.”
“Maybe for the fact you’re staying here you shouldn’t be paid at all.”
I tilt my head to the side. “If that’s how you feel, I can deal with that.”
He scoffs. He doesn’t believe me.
“Really, Austin, I need a place to stay for a little while. If it makes you feel better to have me cook and clean as part of that bargain, I can deal. I’ll look for a job. Carly said maybe she’d get me a job at her New York office, so I’ll just-”
“I’m running the New York office, so that’s not exactly up to Carly.”
“Oh.”
“Oh,” he returns, injecting it with snark.
I shrug. “What would be fair to you?”
He studies me for a minute. “I’ll give you the same deal you had with Aiden. The company agreed to cover your salary as part of my duties here. But don’t screw it up, don’t break my rules, and meet my expectations. I won’t hesitate to fire you.”
I’m relieved.
Of course I’d clean and cook to stay here for free for right now, but that money means a lot. It will mean I can start moving forward. I’ll save every dime I can until I have to move so that I have some money aside.
