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She went to answer, but an engine purred outside.
Daisy hurried to the window to peek out. “This has to be Mia. I’m so nervous. Are you ready?”
“I’ve got you,” I promised.
I finished the coffee prep while Daisy let her potential new employee in. Mia followed her into the kitchen and gave me a shy smile at Daisy’s introduction.
I shook her hand.
She was pretty, with huge boobs I envied, her fair hair tied in a neat ponytail, and her clothes old leggings paired with a warm sweater with a couple of bleach marks on the sleeve. In her hand, she carried a cleaning products caddy. She’d come ready to work. Nailed that first impression.
“Your home is beautiful,” she said with an American accent, gazing around.
Daisy thanked her and held up a mug in offer, earning a nod from our visitor.
“You’re from the US?” I asked.
“I was born in New York, state, I mean, not the city, but my mom was English, and we moved here when I was young. Never really shook off the twang.”
I pointed at myself. “Same. Came here at fourteen and never changed.”
Daisy handed over a cup and gestured to the milk and sugar. We all settled around the kitchen table, and my friend gathered her nerves and started.
“Good to see you found the place okay. We’re kind of remote here, and all the work is local.”
Mia nodded. “My daughter’s dad was from Scotland, so I’m right at home. I’ve only done cleaning work in the city, though. Shoot. What I mean to say is I can vacuum, dust, and polish with the best of them. I love a challenge. You mentioned in your advert that your business specialises in jobs that other cleaners turn away, right? That sets me on fire. I want to know more.”
Daisy took a deep breath. “You’re talking my language. Day to day, it’s mostly maintenance jobs—working families or single parents who need the extra help, a few businesses—but the big jobs when they come in give me life.”
Mia grinned, sitting up taller. “My work history is cleaning offices, but give me a filthy kitchen, headphones, and my cleaning products, and I’m a woman possessed.”
“Same! I listen to audiobooks,” Daisy replied.
Smutty ones. She played dirty books as she cleaned. I kept that nugget to myself.
Daisy continued, giving an outline of the work that would be on a rota and how it got allocated. “I have full-time hours available, if you want them. There are more work requests than I can book in.”
Mia nodded enthusiastically. “That’s fine with me. I’ll take anything you throw at me and I promise to do a great job. My only constraint is my daughter. It’s just me and her. No dad anymore.”
“How old is she?” I asked.
“Four. She’s attending preschool, which is awesome, but I’d need to organise wraparound care if I had a job early or late.”
“I can make that work,” Daisy said. “I want babies, too, in time. This is going to be a family-friendly business.”
“Plus there’s plenty of babysitters around here, if you’d prefer that to the school clubs,” I added.
Daisy shot me a happy look.
She liked Mia, I could tell. Taking on a member of staff was a huge deal, and her excitement was palpable.
“There’s just one small issue,” Mia said, her smile fading. “Oh my, this is going to sound bad. If you did make me an offer, and I don’t want to be presumptuous, is there any way I could go on the books under a different name than my own? I don’t mean to avoid tax. Any official forms can have my real details. I… I just need to work under a pseudonym for clients in case anyone calls, asking for me. I need to be upfront about that.”
She’d said no father was on the scene, but I gave her a once-over, seeking bruises on her wrists or throat. Nothing was visible, but my senses were jangling.
Daisy leaned forward. “Are you in trouble?”
“Not with the law or anything bad. Just some people I’m trying to avoid.”
