Page 49 of Maid for My Billionaire Boss
Icompletedmyafter-dinnercleanup and was sorting through the unopened bills on my counter. I opened one envelope and felt the first hint of a real smile in weeks. “Look, Josiah.” Holding up the piece of cardboard stock paper that was inside, I proudly stated, “It only took two weeks to get my certification from the state to be a Food Service Operator. I can open my smoothie stand.”
“Joy.” His voice came out in a flat, unamused tone. “Now I can plan how my bed will look on the sidewalk.” He seemed to be at that age of youth where you leave behind the magic and wonder in everything you see and start to remove the filter to see true reality.
“It is joy because it means I can work again. Now all I need to find is a food truck I can afford, and we will be the dream team again.” There was a double knock at the door, and my heart stopped. I only knew one person who was loyal to a double knock, and I didn’t want to see him.
“Mom, someone knocked.” Josiah half sat up from his position of holding down the couch. “Do you want me to get it?”
“No,” I said, bitterly as I stuffed my certificate back in the envelope. “They can go away.”
Another double knock.
“Mom, maybe it’s someone important. Should I look out the window?”
“No, they might see you and they need to get the hint and leave.”
I waited for a third double knock, but there was nothing. I paused, feet cemented to the floor, not daring to stir the air in case he might sense we were home. When I felt it was safe, I tiptoed to the window, and gasped at what I saw.
“What is it?” Josiah swooped in next to me, crawling behind the sheer curtain, pressing his upturned nose against the glass. “Wow, that’s a lot of unicorns!” His voice came out hinting of awe as he took in the dozens of giant stuffed unicorns all aligned on the sidewalk. “What are they for?”
“Nothing.” I pulled him away from the glass and straightened the curtain back to closed. I was about to grab the blanket from the sofa and throw that over the window too, just to spite Trey.
“How’d they get there?”
“Um, that’s the thing about unicorns, they are magical.” Scratching the back of my neck, I could feel a nervous heat turn on, and I rambled on, “And they just do that.”
“Mom, they are not real.” He motioned to the window. “Didn’t you see they were stuffed?”
My eyes filled with tears, and in my head, I screamed at them. There was no way I wanted Josiah to see me cry, nor did I want him around that monster ever again. “Baby, can you go upstairs to shower?”
“No.” His voice came out etched with his stubborn independent thing he had going on recently. “I want to see the unicorns.”
“You can’t go outside right now. It’s dark, and we don’t know who put them there. We can look at them in the morning.”
The look he shot me was one of disappointment, but he was obedient and left to go upstairs. Having zero intentions of seeing Trey ever again in my life, I picked up my phone and texted him.
Me:Get off my property or I will call the cops.
Trey:I have something for you.
Me:I don’t want your stupid toys.
Trey:Something else. Something you would want.
Me:Get Lost!
Trey:Keys to your home. And the deed. Everything in your name.
A tortured groan fell from my lips.
He saidhome.
Not house.
I didn’t want anything from him, butmy home. . . that was mine to begin with.
I deserved those keys, but I didn’t want to see him. I knew his game. He was obviously trying to lure me to him so he could talk, but that wasn’t happening. He didn’t deserve that.
Me:Leave them on the step and get off my property.
