Page 39 of Maid for My Billionaire Boss
Tears threatened to burn my already tender-from-crying eyes.I can’t feel like this.I definitely didn’t want Trey to find me like this—now or ever. I needed to look for a different place of employment because this wasn’t working. I can’t work for a guy I’m in love with while he dates someone else. Still, I needed a paycheck, so until I had a new offer, I would have to avoid him. There was no other way because I couldn’t let these feelings grow anymore as they were already too much.
Just do my job and ignore him.
This wasn’t hard.
This was titanium.
I took another moment to catch my breath, then ran my hands down the front of my skirt—to both smooth it out and wipe off the excess moisture from my hands. Before I lost my nerve, I headed back away from the parts of the house he usually dwelled in. I ended up on the far end of the hall, but I noticed the attic door was slightly ajar. I slowed my steps, careful to not disturb, but also felt a little investigative.
Figuring someone had left it opened by accident, I was going to shut it. However, faint sounds of laughter told me someone was up there. Not just someone—Josiah!My heart ticked up a notch as I didn’t want him to get in trouble. I quietly stuck my head inside the door, peering up the little staircase, but I couldn’t see him. More laughter. My anxiety went full throttle.This was clearly my fault because I had failed to tell him the attic was off-limits, but he had never wandered the house before!
It was not like him to dig around in other people’s stuff. I started to plow forward on a mission to grab him before he was found but halted fast on my heel when I heard Trey’s voice. Trey wasn’t mad. He was making a joke. “Where did Luke Skywalker get his bionic hand from?”
“Ah,” Josiah’s thinking interjection hummed. “A robot store?”
“No, asecond handstore.”
Josiah’s laughter piped out, filling up the entire room in a way that also filled my heart. Trey’s more amused chuckle rounded out the sound, sending waves of flurries that melted my heart right down to its core.
Why wouldn’t my heart melt at the sound of that?My son bonding with the man I was falling for. It would be perfect if it wasn’t for that elephant-sized caveat sending out alarms.Trey would never fall for someone like me. He was dating Tonya again. This was clearly setting Josiah and me up for more heartbreak!
Josiah had been through so much loss this last year, and the last thing he needed to do was get close to someone who’d he would have to forget about. I always believed things happen for a reason and the timing couldn’t have been more profound. This only solidified my decision to quit.
“Okay, now look closely,” Trey spoke up. “This looks like an illegal move, but it’s called en passant. Basically, the pawn can capture an enemy pawn horizontally adjacent in one—” Backing out of the room, I shut out Trey’s voice and slowly closed the door with a renewed sense of urgency deep in my gut, screaming I needed to find a new job. The sooner the better.Noise from down the hall jolted me. I took giant steps away from the attic door before almost running into Mrs. Michael.
“Atalie.” A smile that showed she was equally as startled strained on her lips. “I was looking for you.”
“Oh.” I tried my best to sound breezy as I made sure my back was facing the attic. “What can I do for you?”
“I need a favor. It’s my week to host my ladies book club.” Her head tilted toward mine like she was ready to share a secret. “And I forgot all about it and I’m short on people. Would you be able to sub for this week?”
“Um, a book club, huh?” My eyes fell to the side as I weighed how much stuff I had to do.I needed to start looking for another job today!
She leaned in a step closer like it was an urgent request. “Oh, please. It sounds silly but I’m in a bit of a friendly competition with one of my friends to see who would have the best attendance on their week of hosting.” Shaking her head like she knew it was ridiculous, she tacked on, “You’ll have a lot of fun, and it won’t take more than an hour or so.”
I was beginning to see she wouldn’t take no for an answer, and I also felt a little frantic about the fact Josiah was upstairs in the exact place she had warned me was private. Even though Trey was up there, I didn’t know the logistics of how they came to be up there together. I didn’t want to risk getting fired before I had another job. I hurried to make her happy so we could move away from this conversation and the door behind us. “I can come. Where did you say it was at?”
“I was trying to win the competition, so I planned my meeting on the beach.”
I took a few steps away from the door, hoping she’d do the same. “Book club on the beach?”
She followed right in tow. “It’s so relaxing and you’ll enjoy the night out.”
“Okay.” I continued to move my feet away from the door, trying to act relaxed. “What time and what book?”
“Six, behind the pier and . . .” Her eyes skirted the room once before adding, “It doesn’t really matter what book.”
My brows knitted together. “Don’t we all need to read the same book?”
“Well, yes, but it’s such short notice, just pick one.”
“Um, okay.” Something didn’t feel right about her vague plans, but I was focused on getting her away from the attic door in case Josiah would come bursting out. Without pause, I continued to lead her toward the steps, and cheerfully agreed, “That sounds great. I’ll be there. Oh hey.” I held up a finger like I was remembering something, but I was mostly trying to make up a diversion. “I, ah, was wondering . . . what’s the last book you read?”
“Oh.” Her brow flattened like she didn’t see the reason for my question. “I wouldn’t even remember. I don’t do much reading.”
Twenty-One
Trey
