CHAPTER 17
MELANIE
THIRTY
THE CAR PULLED INTO WHAT I SHOULD NOW CALL. MY DRIVEWAY AT EXACTLY FIVE THIR
I lingered in the seat for a minute, running my hands over the leather as I turned to Blaine, “You know, at some point I’m going to have to drive myself. You’re not my chauffeur.”
I’d decided he wasn’t so bad and actually seemed really nice, as opposed to his beast of a best friend.
He smiled at me and I noted for the first time the dimples in his cheeks
“It’s early days yet.” We both knew but didn’t say it was because the big boss didn’t trust me
“Besides,” he added, “I don’t mind driving you around.” He shrugged. I took the time to actually study him. Blaine was pretty attractive and seemed like a genuinely good person but I didn’t delude myself for a second that he didn’t have some dark deeds underneath the charming exterior. Hell, we all did, and I’m no judge of character.
He noticed my scrutiny and laughed nervously “What?” he asked.
There was no way I was going to tell him I was checking him out and wondering what he was like in bed so I changed tack. “How did you guys meet anyway!!
“Jordan and I We go way back.” He leaned back in his seat with a wistful smile, probably going back in time mentally. “Grew up in the same neighborhood, you know? Just exchanged Heys until- He stopped suddenly, looking uncomfortable like he’d said too much.
“Until!” I prodded. Blaine turned to face me with a strained smile.
“It w
was nice getting to talk to you today, Mel. We should hang out sometime.”
I took the statement like the dismissal it was and got out of the car, waving as he pulled out of the driveway. I stood there for
minute, trying to remember the last time anyone had called me Mel
Probably high school, since my dad never called me that. It was always princess or buttercup or any of those cutesy little girl names. I smiled and looked down, kicking at the gravel with my right heel. I’m doing this for you, dad. This is all for
As I turned to go inside the house that I was slowly starting to realize was mine, at least, temporarily, I caught the eye of the gardener who had been so engrossed in staring at me that he had drowned a sad looking potted plant in water, making it droop even more. I smiled at him and he hastily looked away, his cheeks turning a bright shade of red. He couldn’t be a day over twenty, bless his poor teenage heart.
I called out a greeting in Spanish as I walked past and he mumbled one in return with his eyes firmly fixed on the ground. Adorable
Lopened the front door and immediately heard shouting which I probably couldn’t hear previously because of the soundproofing
I followed the noise to the alcove separating the kitchen and found Julio engaged in a shouting match with one of the maids who had arrived sometime this morning
A closer glance told me she was the one who’d provided a comb for me earlier and without even knowing what the problem was, I was already on lier side.
I stopped the flow of rapid Spanish they were firing at each other (with more than a few insults mixed in) by stepping into their might and raising my hands. I had never really had household staff except for one maid while I was growing up so I
didn’t know how to handle this situation.
However, seeing as they keep the house I live in, I feel obligated to step in somehow. I turned to Julio for an explanation but he just folded his muscled arms and glanced away so I diverted my attention to the lady. Her face was bright red with anger and she was heaving but she managed to get the words out.
“I suggested that to celebrate your first day at work we should make you a full Puerto Rican feast but this…this man shut me down saying that you come from America so you would want American food. I argued that you are not in America anymore so that doesn’t matter and he started to yell at me and say horrible things” she said in one breath.
A
CHAPTER 17
By this time my interest was piqued so Lasked, “What horrible things did he say?” Julio snorted and I gave him a
disapproving look before turning back to the lady whose name I didn’t know. She seemed reluctant to say this part but started to speak anyway.
“He said I was dumb and trying to teach him his job but I know nothing about food. And then…then he said I don’t eat and 1 have a flat ass. The last part came out on a wail as she covered her face with her hands and succumbed to tears.
was
The rest of the household staff gathered around us and I struggled to keep my face diplomatic, I felt like my every
very move w being watched from that moment on and if 1 sided with anybody, I could divide this house so I scrambled around for a neutral solution until an imaginary light bulbs shone above my head.
“Look, it is sweet that you guys were arguing over me, but you don’t need to. Any cuisine is fine with me and equally appreciated. But tonight let’s just order pizza. Everybody loves pizza right?” I waited with bated breath while everyone murmured their agreement, even Julio.
“Good. Because if you guys had said no I’ll assume I’m living with aliens“. This got a smile out of the crying lady who someone had addressed as Josephine. Julio cleared his throat and said, “I could make a batch of pizza in about an hour, no problem.”
I fixed him with a hard stare “No cooking tonight” 1 ordered and though he looked pained, he acquiesced, which surprised me. Looks like we’re making progress.
Later that night, when everyone had long since gone to bed, I jerked awake from a fitful sleep with my mind going on full alert. I’d been in enough sticky situations to recognize when one was imminent and I always relied on my instincts because they never failed and always kept me alive.
It was why I’d rarely partnered up with other people. They fucked up my algorithm
My instincts right now were telling me to get the hell out of bed and put some clothes on and I did.
I listened for sounds outside my bedroom door and heard none so I silently opened it and surveyed the living area. Finding nothing. I relaxed a little. With all the shit I’ve been through this last week, I couldn’t blame myself for being a bit paranoid. Deciding I couldn’t go back to sleep now, I walked over to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Halfway there, I caught a small sound but kept walking casually.
Getting to the kitchen I stood in the doorway for a moment, then shifted slightly to the right. Having confirmed what I needed to know, I went over to the cupboard and grabbed a glass cup. I then went over to the fridge to grab a bottle.
Before I could open it, I spotted a warped reflection on the fridge door and ducked down just in time to avoid the bat swinging for my head. It crashed into the fridge hard enough to make a dent and I spun, coming face to face with a cold–eyed man wearing a ski mask.
For the second time in two weeks, someone was in my house…
