by Crystal Dawn
“Evenings are harder to find jobs. Our workers are mostly days. I could use her on the weekends.” Viv replied.
“I’ll tell her.” Caro said.
“Evenings are good for convenience stores, hotel desk clerks, and twenty four hour businesses.” She added.
“Gram, you were up early.” Caro observed.
“How did you know?”
“I went to the bathroom and smelled the coffee.” Caro replied. She filled her plate and sat down to eat.
They would be going to the construction site soon. She would go with them to view the progress and give some thought as to whether she would go ahead with the other three buildings. The need was there, but it was a lot to have going on in her life at her age. Of course if Viv stayed here, she could help run them.
A lot of excitement had come into her life lately. Ariel had started things, because she had told the cats about this place. Now they were being overrun. Maddie didn’t resent others for trying to improve their lives. Paranormals had it hard, she’d be the first to admit that. Trying to hide such a big part of yourself couldn’t be easy.
She plated up the eggs, biscuits and gravy, and piles of bacon until they each had a plate. That’s when she sat down with the girls and ate her fill. Always having a good appetite, it was still unusually voracious today. It must be because she’d been thrown off her game last night and had a rough night’s sleep.
“How did things go with Azrael?” Lucia asked.
“They went fine. He seems happy with the house and was surprised to find it was almost done.” She answered honestly. Okay, maybe she had left out a thing or two. Sue her.
“That’s amazing. He’s hard to deal with most of the time. For some odd reason, I think he was looking forward to staying here.” Lucia admitted.
“That would be odd indeed.” Maddie declared. “Will you girls clean up so I can go with Viv to the site?”
“Sure.” Caro said. “I hope the visit goes well.”
Yeah, she hoped so too. They went in Viv’s SUV because Viv preferred to drive. The crews would be arriving soon so she hoped to be done with the tour so she wouldn’t delay them. This building was huge, four stories tall with twenty apartments a mix of one, two, and three bedrooms. A designer and an architect had laid out a floor plan with no wasted space.
Once the other buildings were done, a playground surrounded with benches and several picnic tables would be in the center area. There would be a sizable parking lot and the grounds would look nice with sidewalks and landscaping. By the time she was done going through the building, she was impressed with how nice it looked and how close they were to completion.
“Is there any way to move some people in?” She asked,
“We already have some of the people moving in on the top floor which is completed. Once they are moved in, we’ll let the next group move into the third floor which should be done by then. My estimate is to be done in two weeks or less. What do you think?” Viv explained.
“Perfectly doable at the rate you’ve been working.” She agreed.
Viv got her crew going and then ran her home. They arrived just as the delivery girl for the local flower shop did. “Maddie Hawkins?” The girl asked.
“Yes?”
“These are for you, Ma’am. You have a lovely day.”
“Mom? What have you been up to?” Viv asked.
It was a lovely bouquet of a dozen bright red roses with fern, baby’s breath and some gorgeous purple lilies mixed in. She couldn’t deny it was the nicest bouquet she’d ever received. It still wasn’t the one she loved best. As a young bride, her husband had picked her wedding bouquet for her in his mother’s flower garden. That act of love was forever burned in her mind.
Breathing in deeply, the roses perfumed the air around her. “I’ve not been up to anything.” She opened the card and saw the message.
Maddie,
I hope you’re not upset with me. I appreciate all you’ve done.
Azrael
It was obvious, to her at least, that he was new at this. Someone else must have encouraged him to send the flowers. The girls had come outside to see what was going on and everyone stared at her.
“Give, Grams. Who are they from?” Caro asked.
“They are the appreciation for a job well done. Azrael sent them.” She admitted.
“I’ve never heard of him sending flowers to anyone before.” Lucia said.
“Maybe he’s looking for some wild hillbilly.” Viv giggled like a school girl.
“Viv, I can’t believe you said that.” Maddie said sounding shocked. She wasn’t, because Viv had always been playful and skirted what was proper. Her daughter wasn’t entirely wrong either, but she’d never admit it.
“Let’s get these in and I’ll let you girls get back to work. I have lunch, supper, and a bunch of work on my computer to do.” She pointed out.
“Hmm, trying to get rid of us Mom?” Viv enquired.
“That’s silly. We’re just all too busy to waste time.”
Viv sighed heavily. “When you’re right, you’re right. We’ll discuss this at lunch.” Her daughter giggled like she had as a young girl. It sounded good. “Let’s get going everyone. Lucia, stay a moment. I need to talk to you.”
They went in the house and she set the flowers down on the table. They truly were gorgeous and smelled lovely. “What did you need, Maddie?”
“I gave some thought to your desire to work a few hours in the evenings. You’re a personal assistant, right?”
“I am.”
“I could use someone to help me with this job and running my businesses. Someone that knows to keep everything they do confidential. It won’t pay like your regular job, but it would be flexible. You can work less or more as you need to or even take off a day of it gets to be too much.”
“I’d be honored to work with you. When can I start?”
“As soon as you’re ready, just let me know.” Maddie suggested.
“I’ll start tonight.”
“That will be fine. Right after supper?”
“Absolutely.”
Lucia looked so happy it was contagious. She might not think Maddie had a lot to do, but she owned a lot of local businesses and rental properties and right now she was buying up more. It was crazy at her age, but it was a good thing to be busy and out among people. She’d missed that.
Thoughts of Azrael wormed their way into her mind as she cooked lunch on the stove after she had supper in the oven. She was an old lady and shouldn’t have her mind in the gutter like this. Bad Maddie! That’s what she was and he was a bad kitty for messing with her. Lunch was done so she turned the heat down to simmer on the soup and put the grilled cheese sandwiches in a container that would keep them warm.
Now she settled down and opened her emails. Leopards were beginning to contact her directly. It made her happier than ever that Lucia would be working for her. She scanned some emails and found these were requests for jobs or housing. Those should be going through Azrael’s office not directly to her.
She directed them back to Azrael, except for those looking for construction jobs. Those she sent directly to Viv. No need for her to work with anyone who didn’t do a good job with all these people looking for jobs. Hopefully that would solve one dilemma. Viv could try them out and if they were good and she had too many, she would take those.
Right now she had some unskilled workers starting on her motel. One of her cousins had been looking for part time job for a few weeks. She was supervising the clean up there. It would be an expensive project with so much of the work being outsourced. Even a small crew doing the easier tasks would save her some money.
There was a sound at the door. Someone knocking? The girls would just come in. She got up and hurried to the door. Once again she was surprised by Azrael. “What are you doing here?”
“Is that anyway to greet your boss?”
“You’re hardly my boss. More of a difficult client.” She described.<
br />
“Difficult?” It didn’t look like he was going to argue the client part.
“You never said why you were here. Why do you always arrive at meal time?”
“Maybe I enjoy having a meal with you.”
“The girls will be here soon.”
“Does that mean lunch is already done? I’m starved. We can discuss the people coming in the next wave while we eat.” Azrael directed.
Letting out a heavy sigh, she had a look of disapproval on her face. “Fine. Come in.” As soon as she stepped out of the way he rushed in as if afraid she’d change her mind.
“What are we having for lunch?”
“We have tomato basil soup or chicken noodle soup with grilled cheese or ham and cheese sandwiches.”
“That sounds marvelous. Need any help getting the table set?”
“Not really. It’s strictly casual.” She set the pots on the table on top of the mats. The sandwiches she put on a platter and set out. The girls would just have to eat them cold or heat them up.
Azrael pulled out her chair and helped her sit. He took the seat next to her instead of across from her as she’d expected him to. She ladled out the tomato into his bowl as he’d indicated she should. The chicken noodle was her choice. He added three grilled cheese to his plate and she took one of each.
They’d just began to eat when the girls came in. Viv halted as she entered the kitchen. “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t know you were expecting company.”
“It was a surprise visit.” Azrael offered.
They took their seats, the kitchen table was set up to hold six people. Serving themselves, they ate quickly. Viv gave her a quick report. Azrael looked surprised. “Why are you keeping tabs on the apartment project?”
“It’s mine.” She admitted.
“I didn’t know.” He said.
“And why would you? It really doesn’t matter does it?” She asked.
“You’re right. It doesn’t. Will you be able to handle the next wave?” Azrael questioned.
“Hopefully those left from the last wave will be out of temporary quarters.”
“I’ve heard they are in a campground.” He said.
“I was lucky to find it, but nearly half are in permanent housing now. Some were willing to go further afield.”
“Hopefully they will get back eventually.”
“Those who settled up the road on lakefront properties may want to stay. It’s twenty to thirty minutes away from the leap house unless there’s bad weather.”
“That’s not too bad.” He admitted.
“I was wondering why all your people are contacting me directly now?”
“One of the ladies was desperate for a place. I may have given her your email address. She wasn’t supposed to share. Will you be able to help her?”
“I have around six hundred emails and I’ve not gotten to hers yet.”
“Six hundred? Those can’t all be my people.”
“At least five hundred probably are based on my previous email rate.”
“Maybe Lucia can help catch some of them.” Azrael said looking at Lucia. The girl nodded.
Once lunch was done and she began to clean up, Azrael excused himself and said goodbye. Something was going on with that male and she wasn’t sure what. There was no way he’d come by for a casual meal and to talk about the next wave. They didn’t even know who was coming yet.
The girls had followed Azrael out the door, so she was on her own for a while. Her email count had risen to seven hundred and she was frustrated. At that rate, all she would be able to do was answer emails. She typed like a crazy woman either sending them to Viv for jobs, or Lucia to be put on the housing list.
Her usual emails were easier to deal with. They mostly told her about available real estate or needed services. She had a few possibilities for housing, only one that was move in ready. Right away she made some appointments to view the properties. Tomorrow she would be away from home if Azrael decided to visit.
Chapter 5
Confusion
“I must know how you got the better of her without repercussions.” Azrael demanded. Diniel turned red and looked away. He could not meet his eyes. “What haven’t you told me?”
“It cost me five thousand dollars.” He admitted.
“She charged you?” His face probably reflected his disbelief.
“Not exactly.”
“Out with it. I could grow old and die waiting for you to explain.” He stared at Diniel demanding an explanation.
“Fine. I felt pretty good about gaining the upper hand. She waited until I was no longer expecting any pay back. There was a knock at the door and I was home alone. When I opened the door, there was a group of women and children on my porch. This adorable little tyke hugged my leg and said she loved me for what I had done. Of course I had no idea what she was talking about.”
“Oh, gods. What did she do?”
“The woman in charge stepped up and said they really appreciated my donation. She explained Maddie had said that because she’d done me a big favor, I had made a donation to the old school which was being turned into a historical society on the top floor and used for the community in general on the other floors. The girl hugged me again and said because of my donation her mommy could keep her job.”
“She’s a sly one. That made it hard for you to back out.”
“It really did. I was expecting a small amount since Maddie was matching it. Instead, when I asked how much to write the check for, the lady said five thousand dollars. I never realized Maddie had that kind of money.” Diniel admitted.
“She owns the land the apartments are being built on for our people. It’s her project completely. Ariel also told me that money wouldn’t influence Maddie. She already had everything she needed. I thought she just meant the woman didn’t need much. Maddie is more complicated than I thought.”
“Driving you crazy, is she?”
“You’ve no idea. I came early, my plan was to throw her off. My house was almost done and there was a separate house for my Cook and family already finished. She got the best of me. Maddie seems to do that every time.”
“At least it’s in a good way. Saved you a hotel stay.”
“I’d planned to stay with her. Her mystery is making me crazy. I have to figure her out. The woman seems to have unlimited resources and when she can’t do something right away, she figures out a temporary option right away. How does she do that? Maybe Ariel is helping.”
Diniel laughed. “Do you know how much Ariel already has to do? She’s an alpha’s mate. A best-selling author, she works with her construction business that she owns, she owns a bunch of rentals, they are getting rogues by the groups, and she is working with Sebastian to ease our way into local society. Maddie was picked because she could take part of the load of getting us acclimated off Ariel’s shoulders.”
“How has she helped with that?”
“She got Hawthorn a job with the Missouri state police. Apparently that was a big thing. Ariel had contacts with the Arkansas state police but not Missouri. Ariel feels getting people into law enforcement and government jobs will help if anyone runs into trouble. I can see that, we have people in those kinds of jobs in New York. Most of those are staying there.”
“Anyone else?” He asked.
“Glad you asked Boss. Here’s a list of the people she placed in law enforcement or government positions. She got females, mostly, in clerk position with various offices like where you get your driver’s license, the social security-that one’s federal, and some of the county offices. Those are in Cassville, Branson or Springfield and it was easy to find them housing near their work. It’s still within an hour of here or less. Ariel plans to ask Maddie to help some of her pack get on in those offices too. The white wolf seemed impressed when I spoke to her about it.”
“Why were you talking to her?”
“I wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything she could do for us that Maddie couldn’t. She d
id give me some advice and have to say it looks like she’s right.”
“Don’t leave me guessing. Tell me what it was.”
“She said down in this area, the only ones my good looks and sexy attitude would help me with were those who couldn’t do anything for me.” Diniel admitted.
“I’ve seen signs of that myself. It’s a hard habit to break. Many of these females are different than the ones I’m used to.”
“You can say that for sure. Maddie takes whatever you do and seems to get over it, then bang, she hits back when you least expect it. I bet Ariel is that way too.”
“She’s different than any female I’ve ever met. I had nightmares about this move, but even though I purposely tried to mess her up, it’s been easy. Cook loves the house and there is a lot of room. There’s a garden spot too for vegetables and a small orchard. I’ll admit, I like the privacy of having her and the family in another building. When Maddie found out about Cook having grandchildren, she put in a small playground. The kids love it.”
“The woman is generous.” Diniel agreed.
“She made friends with Cook. Not an easy task.”
“Neither is drawing your interest.”
“True.”
“Anything you want to talk about?”
“Not until I figure it out myself.”
He left Diniel’s place and headed home. The house was nice, he couldn’t deny it. Everything on his list had been supplied and a few things he hadn’t thought of. Maddie was a miracle worker and no matter how he wanted to find an excuse to explain how she managed, she was just that good.
His next issue with her was his cat just wanted to rub all over her. It was something that had never happened before and he couldn’t explain it. At least not in any way his human side would accept. The problem was it was all he could think about and he had a modeling empire to run. Going to Maddie’s was all that was on his mind.
Maybe it was time to get more assistants and give them some authority. Lucia was great with certain things but she couldn’t deal with the models. They were too high strung, at least some of them were. Even the photographers could be difficult. She had an affinity for those who worked with their hands. All those things could fall under her supervision. He would try that and see how it worked out. It would help with about twenty-five percent of his responsibilities and free up some time to explore these feelings he had for Maddie.