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“Can I be frank with you?” I watch her nod, and steeple her fingers in front of her lips. “I am a mafia boss. With this job, not only do I need to protect the people that work for me, but I must protect my business as well. There may be times when you will have to protect the house and the people in it, I have to be able to trust you can protect everything in this building. Would you be able to handle it?”
She worries her lip, and her eyes begin to shift. She twists her fingers and starts to cross and uncross her feet.
“Mr. Sannetti, I only have a few years left of work in me. I was hoping to get this job to help me save for the retirement home I was looking into. But, I can honestly say I don’t think I am the right fit for you. I wouldn’t be able to protect the kitchen cupboards, let alone the staff,” she whispers, and closes her eyes.
“How about we make a deal?” She slowly opens her eyes and tilts her head to indicate she is listening. “How about I pay for the retirement home of your choice, and all you have to do is help me make a good decision on who to hire for this position?”
“I can’t ask you to do that,” she says, as her eyes begin to fill with tears.
“Mrs. Everett, I am offering this. You remind me of my nonna. When Nonna passed, she left a huge hole in my soul. One only a grandparent can fill. I would be honored to have you as my honorary nonna.” I stand up and walk around my desk, crouching down and taking her hands in mine. “I would love to make sure you choose the right person who can help you set up and stay safe.”
The door opens and Jackson enters. “Xavier, the next interview is here, but she would like to know if she can use the bathroom before her interview.”
“Show them to the downstairs guest bathroom. I will be done here in a few minutes and then you can show her in.” Jackson murmurs his response and backs out of the room.
“What do you say, Mrs. Everett?”
“I will help you find the right person for this position, and we can agree to discuss that other thing at another date.” I nod and offer her my hand. When she stands, I take her to my chair behind the desk. I walk over to the corner of my office and open up the small fridge to pull out a bottle of water for her.
“Good afternoon, ma’am. I am Dale Arsenault. I am here about the housekeeping position. I hope you haven’t filled it yet,” a feminine voice says, as the clack of her heeled shoes echo in the room. The sliding of my desk chair followed by, “Please ma’am, let me come to you.” The quick steps alert me to the female, making sure that Mrs. Everett doesn’t move.
“Missy, I’m not too old to whoop your hiney,” Mrs. Everett states, placing her hands on the desk, then pushes to stand.
“Ma’am, I am pretty sure you can squeeze the stuffing out of my cheeks.” She giggles.
“Hi, Miss Arsenault. My name is Xavier Sennetti. I will be your interviewer. Mrs. Everett here is my personal lie detector.” He turns around and hands Mrs. Everett the uncapped bottle of water.
As I turn and offer my hand, I have to bite my tongue. When she stands and offers me hers, her eyes take me back to a scene from over a year ago. Those eyes have haunted me every night. The pain that radiated out of them hurts my heart to this day.
“Mr. Sennetti, my name is Dale. Please feel free to use my first name. Miss Arsenault sounds like I need to be in boarding school with a head mistress who uses her ruler like it's attached to her fingers.” She smiles. I have never witnessed such a brilliant smile.
“Dale, please call me Xavier. Have a seat and I will take Mrs. Everett to my driver so he can take her home. Do you mind waiting for me?” I ask, still slowly shaking her hand.
“No problem. It gives me time to finish collecting myself after the morning I’ve had.”
I turn to Mrs. Everett, who is already walking past me to the door. I look up at Jackson with wide eyes before walking to him and handing off my makeshift consultant.
“Xavier, do whatever you can to make sure she is the one you pick to take the lead. Not only will she be strong when you need her to be, that woman is strong. I can tell by the short interaction she would be able to handle anything thrown her way,” she states, walking through the door, Jackson following and shaking his head.
DALE
“Damn that man is fine,” I whisper, as the door closes behind him. When his eyes connected with mine, it was like I had seen them before. But I have never meet the man.
“Sorry, Dale, she was the person before you and when I explained to her what needed to be done, she told me she couldn’t do it. But I couldn’t let her go without making her my honorary Nonna,” he says, closing the door and making his way to the giant oak desk in front of me.
“Even though you don’t think she is right for the position, that woman is strong and fierce.” I say. The lady reminds me of an older version of my mom. I know my mom would put anyone through the ringer. If it meant protecting those she loves.
“Let me tell you about the job. It’s not just housekeeping, you will become the head of the house and run everything. Your job would simply put, to be in charge of the help. You would make sure the house stays stocked, that the others get paid on time, and they keep up their duties,” he says, pulling his chair in closer and picking up a pen, which he begins to tap on the pad of paper on his desk.
“That sounds easy enough. If you need to criminal reference check, I can get one for you,” I say, my heart syncing to the beat of the pen he taps.
“There’s more. I will need you to completely take charge. If a situation should arise, you will need to protect the house and the people in it,” he states, his eyes connecting with mine. “Dale, do you know who I am?”
Shaking my head, I open and close my mouth. “Am I supposed to know who you are?”
He smirks. “Well, usually people know my reputation. So let me introduce myself. I am Xavier Sennetti. I am the boss for one of the biggest mafia families on the east coast. So when I say you need to protect this house, I mean you need to be able to lift a gun and pull the trigger. Because people coming in uninvited will have no issues pulling the trigger.”
Holding my breath for a brief second, I know I need to ask questions or I need to stand up and run. “How likely will the need to defend arise?”
