The Tycoon's Baby Revelation - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,12
she wanted to yell out “Yes!” but was afraid. This couldn’t be happening, she thought. She’d just gotten a job, an amazing job that paid better than she’d ever thought possible, two days ago. Now someone was offering her a house? A freaking house? And the rent was only a fraction of what they’d have to pay if they’d found a small apartment in a commercial building. The three of them had discussed renting a studio apartment because it was cheaper and it would allow them to get out of the shelter faster. But all of the apartment complexes required a month’s rent as a security deposit, a cleaning fee, and the first month’s rent up front. That was several thousand dollars in this area. Money that they just didn’t have yet. Plus, with her last job at the restaurant, she wasn’t sure that she could earn enough for a full months’ rent on minimum wage, even with Pepper and Rayne working whatever part time jobs they could find.
“What kind of security deposit is required?” she asked, wary and hesitant.
The woman waved her hand again. “Oh, don’t worry about that. If anything breaks, just give me a call and I’ll get Dennis out here to fix it. We don’t need a security deposit.”
No security deposit? That was…unheard of!
The woman smiled gently. “Why don’t you go look upstairs at the bedrooms and talk it over with your sisters?” she suggested. “I’ll wait outside and I can answer any questions you might have.”
And with that, the woman let herself out, pulling the heavy door closed behind her with a solid thud.
Slowly, Sloane walked up the narrow stairs. It was small, but there were three actual bedrooms up here. One was a sort of master bedroom with its own bathroom. The other two bedrooms were only slightly smaller, and they shared a bathroom between them. All three rooms had a full sized bed with blankets and pillows, a nightstand, dresser, and lamp. Nothing else, other than curtains on the small windows, but they were quaint and pretty and…so much better than the cots they’d slept on for the past several months!
“What’s going on?” she whispered to Rayne and Pepper.
“I know. This feels weird,” Rayne said, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s almost too good to be true.”
Pepper nodded. “Yeah, this is too nice. It’s a bit creepy.”
Sloane nodded, looking around at the adorable cottage. It was even furnished! “We should get out of here. Something just isn’t right.”
All three of them nodded, then turned to walk down the stairs. They were so narrow that they had to go down single file, but by the time they reached the front door, they were almost running to get out of the house.
But outside, they came to a stop because a man in his mid-seventies was standing in front of the house, leaning heavily on a cane.
Once again, Sloane pushed Pepper and Rayne behind her, but they tried to step in front of her, each trying to protect the other two. It would have been comical if they hadn’t been so terrified.
“I’m Jefferson Lamont,” the older man explained, extending his hand to Sloane. “And you are Sloane Abbot.” He shook Sloane’s hand, then turned to Rayne, shaking her hand and then Pepper’s. “It is a pleasure to meet you ladies,” he said with a gentlemanly voice. “And this,” he said, waving to the older woman standing behind him, “is my housekeeper, Wilma.”
“Sir,” Sloane said with a nod of acknowledgement. “Thank you for the offer, but we’ll have to turn it down.”
“Don’t,” he said softly, looking every moment of his seventy-plus years. “Please, girls, don’t turn down my offer.” His hands clasped over his cane and he smiled. “I’m a very wealthy man and I have a ridiculously large house, including this carriage house. I know what the three of you have gone through over the past several months, and I guarantee that I don’t have any nefarious plans. I just want to help.” When he saw the stubborn just of Sloane’s chin, he sighed. “You’re working for Josh Starke,” he said to Sloane. “Is that correct?”
“Yes, but…?”
“He’s a good man,” Jefferson interrupted gently. “And he said that the three of you needed a place to live.” He tilted his head towards the carriage house. “This place has been empty for a while now. Please, take my offer and move in. Today, if possible. You’ll be safer here than at the shelter. Josh recommended you,” he