The Dirty Dozen: Alpha Edition

by Kay Maree

  Alaina’s eyes widened as she looked around the room at the various computer screens that dotted the wall. Some played news programs on silent, and others had the stock exchange constantly running. Morrisey was sitting behind a huge mahogany desk typing away. When they entered the room, he leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head, smirking at Alaina.

  She narrowed her eyes at him, wanting to give him a piece of her mind for not simply telling her who he was. Morrisey raised an eyebrow in challenge and Alaina bit down any scolding words that were forming. Morrisey smirked again, wearing a look of victory while Cash continued with instructions, oblivious to Alaina and his brother’s silent exchange.

  “This is where we do our work from and where we spend most of our time. We don’t expect you to clean in here. However, in here contains very sensitive information. You may see things that our competition desperately wants to get their hands on,” Cash said looking at her with narrowed eyes, “and believe me if they get their hands on our work, we will know that it comes from you, and if that happens, we will ruin you.”

  Alaina nodded her head emphatically letting him know that they could trust her. There was a chance that she didn’t understand anything that was contained in the room however, she also understood the importance of trust. She wanted this job, she was relying on this job, without it she would be homeless. She needed the brothers to be able to trust her. Alaina wouldn’t sell them out to anyone.

  “Good, so every day at twelve we expect lunch to be brought to us here, we eat dinner at six and breakfast at eight in the morning. You will oversee the preparation of all meals,” Cash continued.

  Alaina was starting to feel overwhelmed. She knew that she was a decent cook, but these brothers were so wealthy, what if they were used to five-star quality meals? What if she couldn’t do all that was expected of her.

  “You are overwhelming her,” Morrisey said from behind his desk, seeming to easily pick up on Alaina’s struggles.

  Cash looked over his shoulder at his brother before turning his attention towards Alaina again with a frown, “are you going to be able to do this job? Because if you can’t, you need to tell me now,” he said.

  Alaina shook her head, “no, I’m sorry, I can do the job, I’m trying to remember everything, if I could just write it down, I feel that would help.”

  “Of course,” Cash said, turning to his desk and rummaging around the various papers that were strewn across it before holding a pen and paper out to her, “here you go, do you need me to go over everything again?”

  Alaina shook her head, and quickly jotted down everything that she was told, noting the mealtimes and what was expected of her regarding cleaning. When she had everything written down, she looked back up at the brothers and gave them a smile.

  “Okay, that’s everything,” she said.

  Cash gave her a single nod of his head, before he waved his hand for her to follow as he left the room and continued to lead her throughout the house. Alaina followed Cash along the second floor until they got to a room that had a door that was shut. Cash stopped in front of the door and crossed his arms across his chest.

  “This room, you are not to enter, this is our private room, so you under no circumstances are allowed in there, do you understand me?” he asked.

  Alaina’s curiosity was peaked, she couldn’t be told not to go somewhere and not wonder what the secret was, but she nodded in agreement that she wouldn’t enter the room. Her mind was wracked with ideas of what could be behind the door, from a dungeon to a safe where they kept their riches.

  When Cash seemed satisfied that she understood everything and had written down what was expected of her, he dismissed her for the rest of the day, until she had to prepare their meals. Alaina went back to her room so that she could unpack her belongings. When she entered the bathroom, she looked longingly at the bath and wondered if she had time to take a long soak before she had to make the brothers dinner.

  Alaina couldn’t remember how long it had been since she had soaked in a bath, never since she left her parent’s home at eighteen.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Alaina was searching through the fridge for the ingredients to prepare the men their meal. They had food that Alaina didn’t even have the tiniest bit of knowledge about. She wasn’t a bad cook, it’s just that she hadn’t ever had the money or experience in cooking with caviar or whatever kind of fish john dory was. She felt like she was somewhat out of her depth.

  One of the first things she thought she would have to do was to start buying some cookbooks so that she could prepare better meals for the brothers. She didn’t know who had been doing their meal prep before she came along, but she wanted to make sure that she prepared things that weren’t just edible but delicious. However, for now they were going to have to put up with simple dishes.

  Alaina pulled out the ingredients for spaghetti bolognaise with meatballs. She hoped that they liked Italian food. It was one of the few things that she was good at cooking. Looking at the clock on the wall she wondered if she would have enough time to make the pasta from scratch, or whether they would even notice the difference.

  The smell of the bolognaise sauce was making her mouth water. Cash hadn’t discussed with her what the rules were around her eating. She assumed that she would be allowed to eat meals, but as to whether that was to happen with the brothers or not, she wasn’t sure. She decided that she would make a plate up for herself and eat in the kitchen, if they requested her to eat with them, then she would join them.

  “That smells divine,” Cash said from behind her. Alaina turned and gave him a bright smile.

  “Thank you, I wasn’t sure if you would like Italian food or not, without cookbooks, I’m afraid I’m limited on what recipes I remember,” she explained.

  “Of course, come with me,” Cash said, as he led her from the kitchen into a small alcove, that almost looked like a walk-in pantry. He pushed open the cupboard door and stacked inside was a mountain load of cookbooks.

  Alaina’s eyes widened as she took in the stacks of books, from celebrity chefs, to local restaurant chefs, there was books there for every cuisine and every event. She was practically salivating with the thought of the various meals she could conjure up.

  “Oh wow, this is amazing,” she exclaimed, “I can’t wait to prep up a meal plan and then start cooking.”

  “I look forward to eating what you create,” Cash said with a chuckle before he turned and left the room, leaving Alaina to continue staring over the various books.

  By the time she came back to the kitchen, the water had just started boiling for the pasta and she saw that she had fifteen minutes before the brother’s would be ready for their meals. Alaina busied herself finishing off the pasta and serving it up with a side of garlic bread and a garden salad. When she brought the meal to the table, Cash and Morrisey were sitting waiting. They were both dressed in jeans and a fresh t-shirt, they both looked like they had showered. Alaina couldn’t believe how beautiful both men were. She shook herself as she continued to bring the brother’s meals to the table, checking herself so as not to be caught drooling over her bosses.

  When Alaina sat the dish in front of Cash he bent forward and sniffed at his plate, “this smells beautiful, I’m looking forward to digging in,” he said with a bright smile.

  Alaina set the dish in front of Morrisey, before placing the salad in the center of the table. “I hope you enjoy,” she said with a bright smile, before turning to leave the room. She planned to plate herself a dish and eat it in the kitchen.

  “Alaina, why don’t you bring a plate of food for yourself and sit with us, we would like to chat with you and get to know you better,” Cash said.

  Alaina looked between the two, she bit her lip, unsure what the right move was. She didn’t know if this was a test and she should politely decline the offer, however, if Cash truly wanted to get to know her, it would be rude if she did decline the offer.
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br />   “I promise we won’t bite, well not unless you ask us to,” Cash said with a small chuckle.

  Alaina smiled before nodding her head, she left the dining room and gathered her plate of spaghetti bolognaise and some cutlery and going back to sit down at the table. The brother’s watched her as she sat opposite Morrisey, with Cash at the head of the table. Once she was seated, Cash and Morrisey picked up their cutlery and began to eat. Alaina followed suit and started in on her meal. It was her best one yet, she figured it helped having the finest of ingredients to work with, rather than whatever was on sale.

  “Alaina, tell us about yourself?” Morrisey said as he dabbed his mouth with a napkin.

  Alaina finished the mouthful of food that she had before answering, “I’m not sure what I can tell you, I’m twenty-five years old, I grew up with my parents. My dad worked in the glass factory and my mum was a commercial cleaner. I have two older brothers; one is in the military and the other is a chef.”

  “Why didn’t you go to college?” Morrisey asked.

  Alaina dropped her head; she was ashamed that she never had the chance to go to college. She had applied for every scholarship that had become available, but her grades just weren’t good enough. She had been diagnosed with dyslexia when she was twelve years old. She had always struggled with school, getting good grades didn’t come easily like it did for her brother Trenton. He just seemed to sail through school, but for Alaina it was something she struggled with. The words would jump all over the page and numbers appeared backwards. Her parents tried to help as much as they could, but money was limited, her parents worked hard to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, there wasn’t a lot of spare money for therapists and specialized tutors. So, Alaina had to simply muddle through.

  “There wasn’t enough money to pay for college,” she said quietly.

  “Did your brother’s go to college?” Cash asked.

  Alaina shook her head, “Trenton, who is the chef, he went to culinary school after working for a year in a restaurant and being sponsored by his boss. My older brother Zeb joined the military when he was eighteen and had just graduated high school. I tried to get scholarships, but because of my dyslexia I couldn’t get an academic scholarship and I didn’t play sport,” she said with a shrug of her shoulder.

  “What would you have done if you had got a scholarship?” Morrisey asked.

  Alaina sat back and thought about the question, “I think I would have done something creative, I love to draw and paint, so I would have possibly done something in the arts.”

  “I would love to see some of your drawings some time,” Cash said to her.

  Alaina smiled. “I would be honored to show you. I imagine I’m not as good as others, but it is something I have loved to do for years.”

  “Don’t do that,” Morrisey said with a stern look. Alaina was confused what he meant, did he mean for her not to show Cash her artwork? “Don’t compare yourself to others. Art is subjective. Just because I love a piece of art and it makes me feel a certain way, doesn’t mean that Cash doesn’t hate it. So, don’t compare yourself to other artists.”

  Alaina nodded, “I will try not to, sir,” she promised, ducking her head as he chastised her.

  She heard Morrisey’s chair push out from the table. Alaina continued to look down at her plate, her face blushed with embarrassment after being told off for comparing herself to other’s. She never felt she was smart enough, pretty enough or good enough as others. Her self-esteem had hit an all-time low when she was seventeen and her mother had caught Alaina cutting into her thigh with an old rusty razor blade. Her mother never screamed or yelled, even though Alaina was sure she wanted to. Instead she had cleaned Alaina’s thigh up, and calmly took her into the kitchen where she put the kettle on and made them both a cup of tea. Her mother then proceeded to ask Alaina to tell her everything that led up to the point, where she felt she had to cut herself.

  There was so many tears and snot flowing through the conversation as Alaina filled her mum in on the bullying that she was facing from kids at school. The boy who had asked her out only to follow it up with laughter and humiliation when she said yes. The bullying could only happen so many times before she couldn’t take it anymore. When Trenton found out about the boy, who had been the catalyst for her wanting to self-harm, he left the house in a hurry, his eyes angry and jaw clenched. When he got home that night, he had grazed knuckles and a black eye. That was nothing in comparison to what the three boys that had humiliated Alaina at school the previous day looked like. Their eyes were all swollen shut and they had split lips. The boy who had instigated her humiliation had a broken nose and a cut on his eyebrow that was stitched.

  The boys although they never apologized to her, they never bothered her again after that. Alaina flinched when she felt Morrisey’s fingers cup her chin and slowly lift her face to him. “Alaina, you are perfect the way you are. It doesn’t matter that you have dyslexia, it doesn’t change the beauty that you are. I don’t want you to compare yourself to others because all that does is bring you down. Remember everyone has faults. Look at any celebrity, they are beautiful on the outside, but how many of them are drug addicts, how many of them are desperately lonely or are raging alcoholics? Everyone has faults Alaina. But sometimes what we view as faults, are attributes to what makes us the perfect people we are. Do you understand?” he asked.

  Alaina nodded her head. She did understand. She had been told for years by her family that she wasn’t stupid. Having dyslexia didn’t make her a fool, or an idiot. She wasn’t dumb. Sure, she had trouble reading because of the way that the letters and numbers would jump over the page, but that didn’t mean she was stupid either.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly, lowering her eyes back to her plate.

  When she looked up again Morrisey and Cash were watching her with a fire in their eyes, that she couldn’t understand. The only time men had looked at her like that, meant they wanted her body. She hadn’t given that piece of herself over to anyone. She wasn’t holding onto it for a reason, she just hadn’t found the man that she wanted enough to get naked with. However, sitting at the table with the Caldwell brothers’ eyes on her she struggled to sit still. A fire was being lit between her legs and it was a fire that maybe only they could quench.

  Morrisey cleared his throat and nodded. “Right, well I’ve got a bit of work left to do. So, I’ll leave you to it. Thank you for dinner Alaina, it was delicious, I look forward to eating more of your food,” he said with a smile, that didn’t show any of the mistrust and what seemed like dislike that had covered his face when they had first met.

  Alaina smiled back at him and stood, watching both he and Cash leave the table. She started to collect up the dirty dishes to take to the kitchen as she pondered what it was that had just transpired between the three of them. She knew that she shouldn’t even be thinking the way she was, these men were her bosses. If anything happened between them, it would be highly inappropriate. However, she couldn’t seem to convince her brain or her vagina of that. At that moment her brain was still relishing over Morrisey’s soft touch on her jaw and her vagina was dripping with fantasies of what else those fingers could do.

  CHAPTER THREE

  After Alaina had finished cleaning the dinner dishes and the kitchen, she spent the rest of her night tucked up in bed, pouring over recipes that she could cook for the Caldwell brother’s. There were so many dishes she wanted to try and now that she had access to the ingredients it gave her the opportunity to branch out beyond basic meals.

  When Alaina’s alarm had gone off at seven, she was awake with a new sense of excitement for what her day would bring. The first being another meal. This time breakfast. She decided to go with the traditional, English breakfast, until she got an understanding of what the brothers liked to eat, she didn’t want to get too creative with their meals.

  Alaina had set up the table as she did for dinner the previous night and
waited for the brothers to arrive at eight o’clock before setting their breakfast in front of them. This time she wasn’t asked to join, so Alaina ate quietly in the kitchen. When she finished, she went back into the dining room and noticed that both the brothers had left the table, plates cleaned of food and empty.

  Disappointment flooded Alaina; she had hoped to have the opportunity to be able to get to know the brothers more. She thought maybe the spark of interest they showed her last night meant something. She couldn’t help that niggling sadness that crept into her heart. Alaina shook her head and took in a deep breath.

  She couldn’t see them as any more than her bosses and she felt silly for allowing such an idea to even start to grow. All she could do was start her day and get on with the job that they were paying her to do. Alaina wondered if the night before had been a test. All she could hope for is that she had passed.

  ****

  MORRISEY

  God damn that woman was beautiful. Her long dark hair that she had pinned up in a ballerina bun on top of her head, her long legs and that gorgeous body that she hid under baggy clothes. He couldn’t believe that Alaina saw herself as anything but the desirable woman she was. It had broken his heart last night when she told them about her having dyslexia and therefore not feeling like she was as good as others.

  He wanted to burn the world down, just to show her that she was perfect. It took everything in him, not to take her over his knee and spank her bottom red, until she realized how gorgeous she was. And then she went and called him sir. His cock had hardened immediately. He wanted her desperately but had to show some control. Morrisey’s jaw had been aching as he walked away with the strength that he was clenching his teeth. The girl was here as their housekeeper, she was not their pet.

  It had been so long since Cash and he had shared a girl in that capacity. Sure, they had their parties, and they had their nights of pleasure. However, it was something else to have that one woman who was willing to give herself over and become completely submissive to them both. Allowing them to take control of her entire pleasure and life. The last woman that he and Cash shared had broken Cash’s heart.