Page 18 of Maid for My Billionaire Boss
“Yes, he hides under there when the females are being bullies. He’s the sensitive type.”
I overheard Trey ask Allen about some report and I realized that was the formal hand-off. I was officially going to have to keep this cat conversation going by myself. Leaning back in my chair, I dove further into the cat chat, “So . . . do you have a lot of cats?”
Taking a moment to brush a piece of herstraight as straw, salt and pepperhair that had stuck to her lip back neatly behind her ear, she leaned forward even more. “Well, I rescue them, so right now I have a few dozen.”
“Wow.” I blinked dramatically at the visual.
“I know.” She nodded at me in a reassuring way. “It’s a little overwhelming. I bought a three-bedroom home and remodeled the basement just for the cats.”
There must have been a pause in Trey’s conversation because they overheard the last part of Jane’s comment. Allen flicked his eyes to land on mine. “That’s what you do when you have too much money. You buy buildings to put cat trees in.”
“Right.” I sheepishly smiled at Jane, a little afraid of her since learning she was basically the definition of a crazy cat lady. When the waiter came back, Jane spoke for me by saying, “She needs to try the wine-infused pasta with clams.” Her eyes were on the waiter, but her finger pointed sharply at me.
I had aslightissue, so I squeaked out, “Well, I can do pasta . . . that sounds good.” I made a squeamish look at Jane and voiced my correction. “However, I’m allergic to seafood, so can I have chicken?” I gritted my teeth into a toothy grin, feeling Jane’s eyes on me.
The waiter nodded, completed our orders, and left, leaving me exposed so I hopped back on the cat-chat train. She spoke rapidly and bounced from one story to the next. I wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but I kept smiling as she carried on about her cats, their relationships, medical issues, and just about everything you can think of. When a pause came in Trey and Allen’s conversation, Trey asked how it was going on our end of the table, and Jane spoke for me, “It’s going well, but this one”—she nodded in my direction— “sure doesn’t talk much.”
My cheeks boiled, feeling defensive as I hadn’t had a chance to talk! I toyed with the idea of following the waiter to the back room and tipping him twenty bucks to spill a glass of wine all over me so I’d have a solid excuse to leave, but the less sane part of me couldn’t do that to Trey. One bonus, though, her constant chatter made it easy for me to eat my meal because I only had to make sure I had a pleasant look on my face and kept eye contact with her while I chewed. I also threw in a nod every time she broke out into laughter over her own comment. It wasn’t as bad as . . . say, dying would be, but it made for a long night.
When Trey finally paid the bill, I fought like crazy to hold back a sigh of relief. Jane leaned in for a hug and squeezed me like she’d been training for the all-American strong hug team. Trey had a humored grin on his face, busting him for the fact he had prior knowledge of her super squeezy strength.
As soon as they were out the door, Trey emitted the explosive sigh I had been holding in. I meekly slumped back down in my chair, matching his mood. Instead of talking, we fell into a silence, and I stared back at him, noting his eyes were more steel-colored than I had remembered—but I imagined it was because of the mellow glow from the light above us. His eyes seemed to burn with disgust and his lips were sealed tight and straight.
I didn’t have a clue what to say to him. I was supposed to be just his housekeeper—who had fantastic hair—but even the amazing hair part had to get rewritten, thanks to his possessed paper shredder.
His eyes flicked back to the table, landing on his wallet which had been left out. He picked it up, flashing it at me, and with a tiny curl from a corner of his lips, he said, “How big of a tip do I owe you? I’m pretty sure I heard cat poop at least twelve times.”
I chuckled, letting my eyes draw to his. “I honestly didn’t hear that part. I zoned out and started planning my unicorn parade.”
Parting his lips, as if he was going to talk, he surprised me when he didn’t say anything. Instead, he held his eyes locked on mine. This wasn’t his all-business look, but it was something similar to what happened the other night and the energy behind his gaze sent a shot of adrenaline right to my core. It was so potent it sent fizzy bubbles to my stomach that sparked like Pop Rocks. They were obviously mobile and traveled up my throat, tightening my vocal cords. Thankfully, he abruptly stood, saving me from my crazy bubbling spiral when he said, “It’s getting late, and Josiah is waiting for you.”
The night’s energy felt worn out and I didn’t even try to talk. We made it all the way across the parking lot in silence. When Trey opened my car door, he stood back, waiting for me to get in. He smiled and held my eyes. “I noticed you left your old-lady sneakers at home.”
I held my best messing-with-you-straight face. “I like to wear heels when I hang out with new people because if they turn out to be creeps, I can always use my shoe as a weapon and throw it at them.”
He rubbed the back of his head, letting his hand hook on his neck. “Good to know.”
“You’ve been warned.”
His lips curved into a thin smile, and I sank back into my seat. I was so sick of conversation after Jane’s nonstop ramblings I was ready to relax in the silence as he drove home.
Eleven
Trey
ItwasalloverAllen’s face the moment he walked in that he was done helping me, but I couldn’t give up and let my project fold. It wasn’t even the money, because I had more than enough passive income to live on forever, but Iknewall the people who worked in my software division. They’d worked for me for years and felt like an extended family. Not to mention they needed their jobs. I had a whole team who worked on this app for over a year—everyone from programmers to a top-notch marketing team. There were always other capital firms I could seek out, but this wasn’t about the money. It was about putting a person I trusted in charge, and Allen was my most trusted partner.
To top it off, Atalie kept looking at me with this sweet expression full of empathy. There wassomethingeffortless about hanging out with Atalie. She was quiet when I needed to think, attentive when I needed to talk, and optimistic when I needed to vent my stress. I hated my mind went there, but it was different than when I was with Tonya.
Tonya had a way of making me feel like I wasn’t enough for her. I couldn’t even blame it on being rich. When I traced through my memories, it had always been like that. I always felt like I had to chase after her. In the beginning, it gave me a rush. She was a little manic and I thought it was exciting. After all of the years, it had become exhausting. I’d admit I often wondered what it would be like to have a partner who would be happy to justbethere for me in the same manner I was happy to be there for her. It was a pointless thought which I pushed out of my head and went for easy conversation. “I texted my mom to let her know we’re on our way. We should be able to grab Josiah and I’ll take you both home.”
Atalie shifted her legs like she was tensing up. “That’s fine. You don’t have to give us a ride home.” Her face was pinched like something was bothering her. I had seen that exact expression the last time I had offered to drive her home. I’d assumed it was because she was embarrassed for me to see where she lived, but like I cared about that? This was arguably one of the most expensive states to live in and she was raising a son on her maid’s salary. I would never judge her for that.
I didn’t want her to feel bad, or pry into her personal life so I made a different offer. “Maybe I can get you a set of keys to my car for these sort of nights.” I looked over at her—accidentally noticing the streetlights did a phenomenal job at illuminating the side of her face. Other than the day I got to study the top of her head, I hadn’t really looked at her before tonight, but I found it hard to pull my eyes away. Her raven-dark hair contrasted to her ivory skin, and her dramatic green eyes seemed to change colors at least twice in the few minutes we’d been sitting here. She had one of those smiles that seemed so sweet and shy, like it could never utter a negative word, but when paired with her eyes, I’d bet she wasn’t as innocent as she looked. At first glance, she was gorgeous, but it was a different kind of beauty than you see in magazines. She fell more into the stunning, hot mess category.
“I hope it doesn’t become a pattern,” she quipped, but the expression on her face was pleasant and not at all displeased.
I tossed a shoulder up and spoke my thoughts as they came. “Or maybe I can let you have a car as an employee benefit.”
