Page 12 of Maid for My Billionaire Boss
“Good.” I slid my lips eagerly into a grin. “Give me one second and I’ll come back out to give you the tour.”
She took one more look of acknowledgment at Trey before bowing out of the kitchen.
Both Trey and I let out a synchronized sigh, but even after his deep release, his breathing was loud and measured. “That’s Jane.” His voice was low and concealed. “She’s my worst nightmare.”
“I can tell.” I bit back a grin, feeling like I had entered some crazy nut house. “I’ll do my best to keep her busy, but don’t waste any time. I don’t know how long I can entertain her.” Tugging on the already straight collar of his shirt, like it would give him confidence, he shot me a look of exasperation before heading back to the table.
I reluctantly met Jane on the bottom of the stairs, pretending to be cheerful. Thankfully, I had hosted tons of art exhibits and I was able to say something thought-provoking about each piece. I didn’t recognize the first painting, but I could tell by the depths of the paint strokes and the patina it was an original of a large cargo ship. It wasn’t the nautical theme of the painting that made the hair on my arms stand up, but something about the artist’s style. It seemed so familiar but after double-checking the back and still not finding a signature, I had nothing to go on as far as its origin. I gave up trying to guess and moved on to the next one. The next one stumped me just as much as it was another ship, same artist and no signature. “It is so unusual to see an original painting of this quality not have a signature,” I commented.
“Right. If I could paint like that, I would have my name in giant letters all over the bottom.”
“Me too.”
“I’m impressed with your knowledge.” Jane gave me a suspicious side-eye like she still wasn’t sure if I should be allowed in some secret club of hers.
“My previous life gave me a lot of time in an art studio, entertaining people.”
Without another word, she leaned back against the wall, taking her sweet time studying the piece. The fact she continued to ignore the business negotiations downstairs—that were meant to include her—gave her a strong air of arrogance, like she didn’t value people’s time.
It was another hour before Jane asked for her coat again. I walked her downstairs, with a strained smile on my lips. When I shot Trey a warning look, he gave me a permissive nod, signaling it would be okay. As soon as the front door was shut behind their backs, he blurted out, “I’m so glad that’s over. I’m sweating so bad; my back is drenched.” He dramatically untucked his shirt, and I could literally see the streaks of a sweat stain through his white shirt. “I have never been so nervous in my life.” He took another big breath. “John and his wife declined right away. I had expected that. Allen wasn’t giving me much feedback but when his wife was ready to leave, I knew if he would have left with her, it would have been over.”
I spoke in a low voice. “So, is everything good?”
“No, not good, but it’s better.” His tone was even, but unconvincing. I didn’t offer any further comment because it wasn’t my place to pry. Instead, he broke the pause first. “Let’s go grab Josiah and I’ll give you guys a ride home since it’s so late.”
I pushed my bottom lip out in reflex and immediately rebutted, “No, it’s fine. We can walk.” We didn’t live far, but I didn’t dare tell him I was practically in his neighborhood.
His look said he wasn’t hearing it. “No, it’s not okay. It’s way too late for you two to be walking alone.”
I waved my hand in a dismissing way. I didnotwant him to see where we lived! I wasn’t ashamed of it. It was the opposite. Thanks to my departed mother-in-law, the house we lived in was exceptionally nice—not as nice as his. Nevertheless, it was prime real estate near the beach, and it would be impossible without telling him all the details of my private life to explain to him why I had to clean his house while living in a beach house. “I can call a ride share.”
“There’s no need.” He assured me and headed back through the house. “I was so nervous, I didn’t have a drop to drink, and the fresh air would do me some good.”
I raced to find Josiah to get him out the door before Trey further insisted. At first, my eyes grew in alarm because I couldn’t see him anywhere. Then Trey pointed to the high-back armchair in the corner, where Josiah had slouched way down; his eyelids hooded, fast asleep. My lips pulled up in the corners at the sight of how adorable—mom biased—he was and picked up a glass from the table. “Well, if he’s sleeping, I might as well finish cleaning up.”
Trey interrupted my actions by firmly stating, “You are not doing that now.”
I ignored him and pushed the chairs back neatly at the table. “The more I do now, the less I have to do in the morning.”
He followed me as I continued to gather more glasses. “No, I insist.”
“I’m only going to take care of the stuff that would attract bugs.” Collecting another glass, I was about to cross the room to grab the last stray glass on the buffet, but he cut in front, blocking me.
“If you don’t leave that alone, I’m going to get my paper shredder.” His lips slid easily over his perfect teeth, pinning an amused smile on his face.
“Shreddergate 2.0,” I easily made fun of myself.
His lips held on to his smile, but his face took a more stoic expression when he appeared to change the subject, “I might actually owe you an apology.”
“An apology for what?”
“I might have misjudged you. You were a huge help tonight. I’m sorry if I haven’t been acting like I appreciated your help, but it turned out you are much better with people than you are with shredders.”
A laugh escaped from my lips at the same time I looked up to meet his gaze. His eyes clung to mine, and a crazy magnetic pull seemed to trap me. In all honesty, he looked weary, but beneath that was something else which made the heat in my cheeks turn on. He was handsome, I knew that. However, his gaze penetrated so deep, it made the breath in my chest shallow.
Neither one of us flinched. Like a schoolgirl in an awkward first encounter, my feet stayed cemented to the floor. I let my bottom lip curl up under my top row of teeth, but still my eyes steadied with his. Finally, when I was about to give up, thinking we’d be frozen like that forever, he broke the trance by saying, “Will you stop working and go home?” He winced, and immediately backed on the heels of his words, catching me in another eye trap, like he was checking to make sure he somehow didn’t offend me. I wasn’t insulted but I didn’t have it in me for another face-burning stare, so I looked away.
I turned my head back to Josiah, who was piping out the quietest of snores from his cute little button nose. Trey moved forward and without waiting for a rebuttal, he scooped him up, saying, “How about I load him into one of my cars? You can drive it home and bring it back in the morning.”
