The Price of Inertia (The Seven Sins #4) - Lily Zante Page 0,11
few hours later and sees my suitcase by the door.
“What’s this?” he asks, glancing at me with a dour face.
“I got the job!”
“Already? This is the interview you went to today?”
I nod excitedly. “Incredible, right?” I clap my hands together, trying to make myself feel good about this even though it dawned on me earlier that I’ll be living with a total stranger, and a guy who’s not really nice at all. The house might be a luxurious haven but this guy looks scary.
“You were offered the job on the spot?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Wow.” Jamie takes his backpack off his shoulder and leans against the door, as if the shock of my news isn’t what he wanted to hear. I expected more from him. A little bit of excitement for me, given the bad week I’ve had. But even when I tell him that the guy offered to double my wages, he doesn’t flinch. “Aren’t you worried about that?” he asks, adding more fuel to the fire that is my worry.
“Guess who the mystery man is?” I ask him, “The guy who I’ll be cooking and cleaning for?”
He looks confused. “I have no idea.”
“He’s someone famous. Someone world famous.”
Jamie’s eyes wide. “World famous?”
“Not like a movie star or anything. Someone more low-key. You might know of him though.”
He looks at me as if I’ve asked him to marry me.
“Ward Maddox,” I pause and let that sink in. Jamie blinks twice.
“The Ward Maddox? The guy who wrote The Attic? The guy who writes horror?”
I nod, relieved to get some sort of reaction from him. “Isn’t it exciting?”
Now he’s buoyed up and asks me all sorts of questions. I answer them as best as I can, while leaving out all negative stuff about Ward. I tell him everything about the house, the parts of it that I have seen.
Later, I pack my belongings into my car, but Jamie insists on coming with me to help.
Somehow, having Jamie by my side for as long as possible, is a great comfort to me.
WARD
This situation stinks like a rat’s ass.
What the hell am I doing here, in this house that isn’t even mine?
With two people I barely know?
Screw Rob.
I can replace him in a heartbeat. There are enough New York agents who would gladly take me on.
If only it was that simple.
Rob is more like a friend.
I’m stuck with him, or rather, he’s stuck with me.
Screw Rob.
How will I survive the next few months? He’s left me with no choice but to get on with it, but he hasn’t made it any easier. He likes to think he’s helping me, but he’s not. This book won’t get written any faster even with this new set up.
Like I told Trevor, the trainer guy, I’m up for exercising. I used to do it before. My career will kill me. Sitting at a desk all day long is bad for my health. I’m aware of the problems. I just can’t fix everything at once. I can’t write and get healthy and fit when I’m in a funk. I told Trevor that I need to take things slowly. He showed me around the entire gym room and told me how each piece of gym equipment is used—like I don’t already know. He’s a cocky, smarmy guy. I’m not stupid. I see him judging me. Just because he’s got the muscles, and I have the flab. I can look like him, I have had that type of physique, maybe not so pumped as him, but not far off. If I choose to put my mind to it, I can get it back, but my mind has been elsewhere, lately.
When your mother stops loving you at a young age, and you live your whole life waiting for her to say she made a mistake, waiting for her to say she was sorry, straining your ears to hear her beg for forgiveness—and none of this happens, it sinks you into a funk so big that nothing and no one can help you dig your way out.
Today’s lesson was a waste of time. I didn’t make any progress, and I didn’t really work out. Rob thinks he can click his fingers and I can magically transform and spring into action.
I fucking can’t.
After Trevor leaves I return to my den. There’s no need to shower because I’ve not worked up a sweat, but now there’s something else to worry about. I can’t concentrate because she’s here.
Somewhere.
The new housekeeper. Rob told me to show her to her room