The Price of Inertia (The Seven Sins #4) - Lily Zante Page 0,7
A ball of excitement paws through my stomach. This is a great thing. A new journey. “So I’m going to be a housekeeper for him?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve got the job,” he tells me, glancing at his watch again.
“What?” I blurt out, shocked. “Just like that?”
“I need to go. I’m going to be late for my flight.”
“But we haven’t agreed to terms and conditions.”
“I’ll have the contract emailed to you when I get home.”
“But, but, my hours, my duties, you didn’t tell me anything—”
“I’m sorry. This must seem strange to you. It’s a strange situation.
“You’ve said the word ‘strange’ a few times now. I’m getting scared.”
He laughs. “Not backing out are you?”
“No, but I—”
“Good.”
“Can you start now?”
I scoff, out of sheer shock. “I was supposed to find a place to live,” I start to explain, but he already looks as if he’s in a rush to go.
“I’ve had a hard time finding someone at such short notice. Someone who could fit the part.”
I swallow. “What part?”
“Ward is fussy. He’s moody, and temperamental, and keeps himself to himself. He’s rude, and short-tempered.”
“You’re not selling this to me,” I say, and feel my heart thumping beneath my ribcage. I look around at the opulence of the mansion, and my brain is working out whether this is worth it.
What other choice to do I have.
“I need to find a place to stay.” It’s true. After the interview I was going to look around and find the cheapest most habitable place to live in.
Rob tilts his head up. “You don’t have anywhere to stay?”
“I lost my job, got thrown out of my apartment, my mom’s in a nursing home and ...” I stop myself from humiliation. This guy doesn’t want to know my story, and I’m not the kind of woman who wilfully doles it out. I don’t know what’s come over me. I’ve lost my wits just being here.
“You can stay here.”
“What?” My voice is shaky.
“You can stay here. This place is too big for one person. It’s got seven bedrooms, eleven bathrooms, a library, a study, a—”
“Eleven bathrooms?” My mind explodes. Who the hell needs eleven bathrooms? And only seven bedrooms? It doesn’t make sense.
“This isn’t Ward’s house. I’ve rented it for him for a few months. He needs to get the book finished. He’ll have a personal trainer coming in every day, and you to cook and make sure the house is clean. You’ll barely see him.”
“It’s just me and him living here?” My heart skips a beat at the thought that I’m going to be living in a sprawling mansion with a horror writer.
“There’s a personal trainer, but he won’t live here. Ward doesn’t like people.”
I almost choke in response. “I don’t have to live here,” I reply. In fact, I don’t even need this job. I’ll find something else.
“I’ll double your salary.”
“You’ll double my salary?” My heart almost misses a beat. “Why would you do that?”
“I’m not paying you, I’m only the agent. The money is coming from Ward.”
“You sound desperate to find a housekeeper.”
“This guy is falling to pieces. I can’t help him. I don’t expect you to help him other than to cook and clean, and between you and the personal trainer—” he pauses, then looks towards the door, “Trevor, he should be finishing up now. Between the two of you, you might just scare Ward enough for him to hide in this writing cave and finish the damn book. That’s all I want.”
“Double?” I say weakly, partly because I’m speechless that he could double my wages so easily. He might as well have been a genie that popped out of a lamp. I start to wonder if I’ll get two more wishes.
“Double, and you stay. Don’t worry. I’ll sort everything out.” He flashes me a cheesy smile. “He’s harmless, and a recluse. You won’t see him. He’s also a slob. Messy, and unmotivated. I need you to make sure he eats well, and healthily. Trevor is here, hopefully doing a workout but I need to leave this city. I don’t have time to find anyone else, and goodness knows Ward’s not going to do a thing about it.”
The door flies wide open and a man charges in, all hair and wild eyes. “I am not listening to that fucking man!” he growls.
Rob lets out a slow exhale as he stands. “Mari, meet Ward Maddox, world famous horror author extraordinaire.”
The beast—because this is exactly what he looks like—turns and stares at me and I almost stumble back from the shock