AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Speaking of… I’ve found the kitchen. An industrial place with gleaming stainless steel appliances I’ll happily be polishing. A man dressed in a white chef’s hat and coat stands behind the stove, working with a cast iron pan. He tosses two slices of bacon and some scrambled eggs on a plate.
“Hungry?” He holds the plate out to me as I pass him.
“Oh, that’s so sweet. I’ve already eaten.” The bacon is perfectly crisped, the eggs light and fluffy. I take the plate. “But I could be tempted.”
He nods to a stainless steel bar lining the far wall of the kitchen. “Take a seat and have a bite before you go. And welcome to the crew.”
“Thank you.” I take the plate to the bar, slipping onto a barstool. There’re napkins and silverware here, everything ready for staff to eat. I eat quickly, taking care of my dishes afterward. I thank the chef again, asking him to point me in the direction of the supply closet.
There’s no door, just an opening in the wall, arched and decorated with a pretty molding. It’s not a closet, but an entire room of the mansion. I step inside. I’ve found my heaven. The floors are large black-and-white square tiles, freshly scrubbed and spotless. The walls are lined with shelves, each one labeled, items neatly placed, labels forward, cloths and towels folded properly. Everything here just makes sense.
I inhale the scent of cleaner. I touch the clean, soft cloths. I do happy twirls in the center of the room, spinning on the toes of my fresh white sneakers.
“Somebody sure likes to clean.” Keisha’s voice grabs my attention.
I stop, mid-spin. “Sorry. Didn’t realize anyone was here.”
“Just came to check on you, ladybug,” she says. “Looks like you’ve found your happy place.”
“Yes. It’s amazing.” I grab a stack of cloths, ready to get to work.
“See you at lunch?” she asks. “I’m meeting a couple of the Clamp Tramps by the pool for lettuce wraps at one. Sound good?”
“Yeah. Sure. Of course.”
I spend the morning happily cleaning alone. This place is just about spotless, but I find a few areas that need improving. At one, I dine by the pool, happily chatting away with a number of underdressed, beautiful women. I find I have more in common with them than not.
I’m on the pre-clean day shift and at five, Keisha comes to tell me I’m off the clock. I go to the staff desk in the room behind the coat closet, blushing from memories of last night as I pass by it. I follow Keisha’s directions for signing out from my shift. There are strict protocols, and I focus, following each set.
Heavy bootsteps come my way.Thatvoice fills the small room. Just the sound of it and heat trickles down my spine. “What are you doing?”
I don’t dare take my eyes off the screen, tapping the numbers Keisha gave me. Can’t screw this up. “I’m clocking out. Then I’m going to go change. Then I’m heading home.”
I think over what I’ve got in the fridge to make for dinner. Not much. I still haven’t been to the store. Looks like I’ll be making Nonna egg frittatas tonight. I feel guilty after the wonderful meals I’ve eaten here today, wishing I could bring her some of the chicken lettuce wraps we had for lunch. She’s never complained, though, only thanked me for each meal I’ve prepared.
I’m so engrossed in my clocking out and my dinner planning, it takes a moment to realize he’s standing before me like a locked gate, his hands planted on his hips, his stance wide, blocking my exit from the room.
There’s a growl in his voice now. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“What do you mean?” I say. “Keisha said my shift was over.”
“You’re not leaving. You’re not going home. It’s not safe.”
“I thought you had guards, I mean, not that you have to do that for me, I hate that they have to be there for me, but—”
His gaze dares me to defy him. “You are not going back to that house.”
I think of my grandma, our frittatas, our nightly routine. “I have to. For Nonna.”
He takes a beat to think but his dark eyes don’t leave mine. “You will come stay here at Fire. And you’ll bring your Nonna with you.”
Two women from the dance troupeMujer Hermosapass by, feathers fluttering over their bare asses, hung from sparkly belts tied around their bare waists. They too, have dinner on their mind, chatting over what’s on the menu tonight. Steak. I wave politely as they pass by.
I hiss at him, “Are you… serious? You want my Nonnahere?She may fancy herself a sex kitten, but Fire is a whole different world than the one she grew up in.”
“There is no other option.” He shakes his head. “I want you where I can have my eyes on you. You’ll stay with me in my guesthouse. And Booker’s been looking for any excuse he can find to complete his ‘read a hundred classic novels before you die’ challenge. Nonna can have the carriage house with him. It’s a one-minute walk from my place. We’ve converted it into a four-bedroom home. I think there’ll be plenty of room for the two of them and Booker can keep an eye on her too.”
This is crazy. My precious grandmother moving in with the bouncer of a sex club? I mean, I know things are friendly between them, nothing inappropriate, but still… “She’s only ever lived with me.”
