EMERALD

My goodness!

This is the most absurd thing I've heard today.

"What?" This is worse than I'd expected.

"Not my words, I know how hardworking you are, but the orders came from above. I'm sorry, Emerald."

"Above? Mr James isn't that petty? Not to mention, unfair? I'm innocent, Cecilia."

Cecilia sighs before giving me one of those pitiful looks. "I'm not talking about Mr. James, Emerald."

"Then what are you talking about?" I pry.

"There has been some changes in the management. Lindsey Hayes now has shares in the Galaxy." Cecilia breaks more terrible news.

What. The. Actual. Fuck!

It only means I'm not getting any help here.

Fuck my life! Whom did I annoy in my previous life?

I spend the rest of the afternoon on one of the benches at the nearby park. All I do is close my eyes, think, think, and think. When open them I stare at the clouds for a while and the cycle continues for a few hours.

The sun is yet to set. I still haven't thought of anything constructive. The other option is to talk to Gabriel. Try to get a loan. I can't believe I'm considering it. I hate the position that I'm in. Desperate measures are the worst.

I could finally confess to my parents, but I should try the worst options first. If I don't tell my parents, will I have to get married to Spencer to save my family?

My phone dings in the middle of my very bad thoughts. I hopelessly scroll, thinking it's probably one of those promotion emails...

Except it's not!

It's not!

It's an email... From the housekeeping agency? My hand flies to my mouth as I gasp in disbelief. What is this I'm looking at?

I didn't think a bad day could end like this. It's like a dream come true...

No. It's actually a dream come true.

I squeal, and I'm loud enough to attract attention, but I don't care.

I got the job!

I fucking got the job.

I didn't even know I had dance moves until now.

The excitement is uncontrollable.

_______________

I'm not the only one excited about the good news. My parents wake me up earlier than usual the next morning. And by that, I mean they come to my room at 4 am. On a normal day, I would complain, but today isn't a normal day. I also need their moral support and their blessings.

I get to the agency before seven and wait at the reception. Contrary to my expectations, there is no line of interviewees scrambling for the same job, which makes my mind race with questions. What if they sent the wrong email? I mean, they'd rejected me once, but why the sudden change of heart? I didn't want to think much about it, because I was scared I'd jinx it.

A friendly receptionist leads me to another office half an hour later. The woman in the office is also friendly, which gives me a good feeling.

"Emerald Sandoval," she begins as soon as I settle in the seat opposite her.

"You're in luck. I was impressed with your resume. You had a very good recommendation."

Then why the first rejection? I wonder, still taking note of the fact that Cecilia risked her job for me. I don't know how to thank her.

"The first five vacancies were taken by more experienced people in the field. However, someone put in a request yesterday. They were in urgent need of a housekeeper, that's why you got a late email. We had to consider you on this one, since you were unlucky in the first slot."

The biggest luck of my life!

The best part is that I'm meeting my boss today, so we can discuss the terms of our contract.

I want to scream to the top of my voice, but I'll have to hold it in, for now. I need to act sane.

But seriously, how lucky did I get in a short time?

A car picks me up from the agency to my boss' company. I was told he wanted to see me in person and interview me a little.

I've got this. I tell myself. I haven't come a long way just to fumble at the last stage.

We arrive at a big building, with floors that I can't even look up to count. The driver has been silent the whole time. He leads me to the elevator and presses the tenth floor. While we go up, he looks at me and says, "Piece of advice for you?"

Oh, yes, please.

"He has one rule. Use common sense."

He goes silent. I wait for more words from him, but they never come.

That's it?

Weird, right?

However, I can't let that get to me. I'm getting this job.

The elevator door opens. He lets me step out first. I can't help but scan the place, hiding my gasps. The place is well-established. So cool, with everyone engrossed in their work, a few telephones ringing, others walking around with papers, and all those things corporate people do.

The man leads me to one of the offices, which I assume is our final destination, where I'm finally going to meet my boss.

He knocks and opens the door. He peeks his head. "She's here."

I'm still standing behind him when I hear a deep, sultry voice say, "Let her in."

Uhm...have I heard that voice before or am I crazy? It must be the excitement, right?

The driver lets me in.

I walk into the office, carefully, a mixture of anxiety and excitement washing over me. That voice sent a rumble to my insides.

However, what meets my gaze is more shocking.

I haven't even had a scan of the office when my eyes land on an Adonis sitting behind the desk.

As soon as our eyes meet, I want nothing but to crawl underground and disappear.

No wonder that sexy voice sounded familiar. Now that I'm in, the scent in the room is also familiar.

My mind goes back to the other night at the club, he had come close to me. The scent was intoxicating. I almost lost myself in it.

What did I do to him?

I emptied drinks on his shirt.

Just kill me already.

FLAVIAN

Between managing the nightclub, Flavian Holdings, and keeping my relationship with the Barnes intact, the past few days have been extremely busy. The good thing about the nightclub is that I have my assistant, Rafael, who has been significantly helpful for the past few years.

With my busy schedule, I forgot to find a housekeeper until my mother's loyal servants came knocking to my villa yesterday morning. She's usually serious about this stuff.

It would have been easier to assign someone the role of finding me a housekeeper, but that's not the road I'm willing to take. I want to vet mine. I need a perfect and convincing one.

Going for one of my mother's loyal minions would be digging a ditch for myself.

They would report my every move. In the end, I'd have to fire them. Which is why, to avoid such a dramatic cycle and save everyone's time, I'd put in an impromptu request for a housekeeper from one of the best housekeeping agencies in the city.

I sent one of my drivers to pick her up from the agency this morning. I need to see her first, just to know what I'm dealing with.

An hour later, he knocks to inform me my housekeeper is here.

"Let her in," I say.

When I look up from my load of work, my eyes meet the woman I never expected to see any time this year.

It's really her!

I could never forget her face. That beautiful face with dazzling eyes, but fierce. She's in a black, straight skirt with the length slightly above the knee. It hugs her perfectly, revealing the attractive curves. I'm even jealous of the skirt, wishing to replace it with my hands. Beautiful piece of art this one. My hands itch to explore her body, and my cock twitches at the mere thought of it.

She's wearing a simple, official blue shirt, long-sleeved and tucked so perfectly. Her hair is tied into a ponytail, just like the other night. Nothing about her is sophisticated, making it easy for one to overlook her beauty.

Only after she clears her throat do I realize I must have stared longer than I should.

"It's you," I smile. This is going to be fun. She doesn't respond.

"Scarecrow moves?'' I ask as soon as my driver leaves, in reference to the fact that she's been glued to the same spot for a while.

"What?" Her brows furrow, confusion written all over her face, rightfully so.

"Should I pay you for standing at my door? That's what I mean," I elaborate for her. The way she rolls her eyes is almost discreet that I could have missed it. This one must be good at keeping secrets. Perfect for my mother.

I sense some hesitations as she takes the seat opposite me. Her eyes speak something we both are aware of. Our last encounter had a lot of hiccups. Well, putting aside the fact that I still wanted to kiss her because of how hot she looked that night.

"The world must really be a small space, don't you agree, Miss..." I raise a brow.

"Emerald... Emerald Sandoval," she supplements, like suddenly she's regained her momentum.

"Right. Let's get straight to business." I rest my elbows on the desk. "Let's not waste each other's time. First order, an apology."

Her response is to squint her eyes like she has no idea what I'm talking about.

"Uhm, apology for what exactly...sir?"

I bet the last part was her way of being polite.

I scoff. She's still stern, which leaves me more intrigued.

"Really? Do you want me to recount the events of that night where you rudely made my shirt a tequila drainage?"

She exhales loudly and then sits upright, seeming to think hard. "Well, sir. It only means you're lucky to have me as your housekeeper. I will clear the mess I made with your shirt. You asked me if I knew the consequences of what I had done. Honestly, at the time, I didn't know. But don't you think fate brought me back to you?"

I cock a brow.

"Nice play, Miss Sandoval."

I'm still fascinated. Fate?

If we're talking about fate, I'm thinking of us being fated to inappropriate things. For example, fated to caress her body, kissing her deeply. It's what I've wanted to do since she walked through that door looking so beautiful that I was unable to tear my gaze from her. But then, I don't voice my thoughts.

"What do you mean?" I play along with her analogy.

"What I mean is, the consequence of that one action is that now I'm destined to take care of your laundry. All of them."

"Even my boxers?" I raise my brows briefly with a grin. However, I don't miss the flush on her cheeks.

"That would depend, sir."

"Depend on what?"

"Your preference."

"My preference in boxers? What type do you like?"

Her flush deepens as she avoids my gaze.

"That's...That's not what I mean." She clears her throat.

"Then, enlighten me, Miss Sandoval." I

lean back in my chair.

"I mean, if you prefer for me to wash them or not."

I'd prefer you help me take them off. I think.

A hot housekeeper? Why does it look like I'm digging my own grave here?

I want to say no to her. But again, with the kind of fierceness she possesses, she's the type of housekeeper I need, to pull my mother off my shoulder. I lean forward and look into her dazzling eyes. "What if I said no? Someone called you a home wrecker. You called me an asshole. I'm not sure I'm familiar with the better side of your character," I say.

"You know, it doesn't hurt to hear both sides of the story," she counters.

"My schedule is tight. I can't spend my day yapping with my soon-to-be housekeeper," I smirk, "or not."

"If you say no, you'll be missing out on the best person to take care of you," she argues.

I'll be missing on much more than that. Like those pretty eyes, that fierce personality...

Gosh, I could take the whole day.

This woman looks like a whole package to me.

___________________

ONE HOUR LATER...

I couldn't say no.

However, despite the confidence she displayed, I could sense some vulnerability...or fear.

I remember the exact feeling. My heart broke at the thought of it, and I was suddenly curious about what her life must be like. What she must be going through, even though she'd looked like she was trying hard to mask it. Something was clearly wrong.

When I became this kind of person, I have no idea. Why I didn't want to crush her hopes, I have no idea either. But it's definitely not because she's drop-dead gorgeous...

Okay, maybe, just a little of that fact, but it wasn't the main point. Call it a bonus.

The main point being, I cared so much, for Something that should've been none of my business.

And now, I have a housekeeper who's probably going to drive me crazy.