by Erika Rose
Chapter 2
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jason shouted.
“Protecting myself!” She said to him through clenched teeth.
“You’re trespassing.”
“No I’m not, I live here.”
Jason thought for a moment, maybe the realtor had forgotten to mention that the care taker had a daughter, “Is Mia your mother?”
Mia’s eyes drew together in confusion, when the fog cleared she wasn’t sure if she should apologize or just stick her foot in her mouth and resign. She asked carefully, “Are you Jason Pike?”
Shocked that she knew who he was Jason took a step backward, “I am, and who might you be?”
Mia couldn’t stop the laugh that took over. Here she was imagining an old man with hair growing out of his ears, and in actual fact her new boss was the most attractive man she had ever seen. He was at least six inches taller than her, but since she was short that was rarely an achievement. His hair was short and dusty blonde, a chiseled jaw and strong forehead made his ice blue eyes even more intimidating than they would be in another face. She could tell underneath his clothes were muscle, and nothing soft about it. Right now he was looking at her with those ice blue eyes waiting for an explanation; she felt her nipples harden in response. Clearing her throat she turned and grabbed a sarong from the chair. Tying it around her she took the moment to gather herself before turning back to Jason. She held out her hand, “Mia Kanu, pleased to meet you.”
Of all the things Jason expected when he met his caretaker, Mia was none of them. How on earth didn’t he notice her age when he glanced over her Curriculum Vitae? “You’re so young, why didn’t Sally mention it.”
Mia looked confused, “Well it’s on my CV so I don’t think it was necessary for her to point it out.”
Jason thought back to when he looked it over, he had been on the verge of buying out a large hotel group and he might’ve been distracted. Angry with himself for missing it he turned to her, “Well you’re too young to look after my house.” He looked at the young girl standing in front of him. She was still only covered by two swatches of cloth. Her abdomen was flat and lean and he couldn’t help but think what it would feel like to run his fingers over it. She had a small waist accentuated by her wider hips. He could imagine hanging onto those hips in flare of passion.
Mia had never been known to have a temper. In fact she was the person in the group that always tried to maintain the peace, but at this moment she felt her barely present temper reemerge out of hiding. Jason Pike was looking at her with an expression she couldn’t decipher, and feeling insulted by his statement she defended herself. Placing her hands on her hips she lifted her chin to look him straight in the eye. “Excuse me?” She said slowly. “Did you not notice the garden on your way around the house? Were the plants busy dying or the grass yellow?” She pointed to the swimming pool. “Is the swimming pool to murky and green for your liking?” Jason looked toward the swimming pool which was in fact crystal clear.
“No but,” Jason voice trailed off as she ranted on. “You haven’t even been inside the house, where I can assure you, you won’t be finding a speck of dust. Have you seen the pantry, which is organized within an inch of its space? Speaking of which, you’ll find your ridiculous list of necessities already bought and stored. So tell me again why I’m not capable of taking care of your precious mansion?” She cocked her brows at him waiting for an answer.
Jason had never been spoken to like that by an employee before, and the fact that all his blood was pooling somewhat south of his brain, it made it very hard to focus. He wanted to fire her but first he needed to find out about the list she was talking about. “What list?”
“Oh what list? The stupid list you sent me last night of all the things you cannot manage without, including the latest swimsuit edition.” Her tone was sarcastic. Mia knew she could basically go and pack her bags. She was surely fired.
“Fuck!” The expletive was uttered before Jason realized it; the list must’ve been Angelique’s surprise. He’d really have to have another chat with her. Knowing how demanding she could be with her staff, Jason couldn’t help but apologize, “I’m sorry about the list, it wasn’t me. My fiancée sent it to you, it really wasn’t necessary.”
“Well it’s bought and stored, like I said, the receipt is on the kitchen counter, since I don’t have an expense card yet you’ll have to reimburse me.” She glared at him with contempt confused by her body’s reaction to him, “I prefer cash.” She allowed her eyes to trail over his body and felt another stirring or tingle, she wasn’t sure which.
“Of course, I’ll make sure you get an expense card before I leave.”
Mia grabbed her book and her towel knowing she should leave before she jumped him, “That’ll be better. You can go in through the patio doors, there’s a set of keys for you in the foyer on the table by the door. I’ll be in around five o’clock to fix you dinner. And next time you decide to arrive before the arranged time, it’ll be nice if you could let me know.” She turned and walked back to her cottage. Jason watched her walking away confused. He intended to fire her but instead he felt chastened for arriving too early on his own property. He had many times heard the expression dynamite comes in small packages and until today had never met a person it applied to. After meeting Mia, there were no other words to describe her. If his reaction to her was so strong, he knew it would be best to fire her, but on what grounds. He’d have to think of something. Shrugging he walked towards the patio doors and into his house for the first time.
Jason opened the patio doors and walked inside. The cool air conditioned air welcomed him, carrying a scent of furniture polish and vanilla. The living room was adjacent to the patio by the pool and Jason immediately felt at home. There were large comfortable leather sofas surrounding an old fire place with a flat screen television mounted on the wall above it. He could see the open plan kitchen to the left, and without looking he knew the stairway to the second floor would be in the foyer. As he slowly did a walkthrough of every room, he was glad he had acted on impulse and bought the place. There were many beautiful old features, it was just a shame they were neglected. He fought a silent battle in his mind between what he thought of the place and what Angelique would think of it. Surely she would want a gas fireplace installed in the living room. The appliances weren’t the latest on the market and the fridge was hidden by a door similar to the kitchen cupboards. She would want a glass or mirror fronted fridge. In the bedrooms he found original crown molding and hardwood floors. Without thinking he slipped off his shoes and stepped onto the wood. It wasn’t as cold and sterile to his feet as tiling, but it definitely needed some work. The bathrooms were large, but the flower motif tiling and sixties flooring definitely needed updating. As he reached the master bedroom he realized Mia had been right. There wasn’t anything he could fault her for. The house was in pristine condition. There was no dust, the kitchen was carefully organized and the garden looked beautiful from all the windows which were also gleaming in the sunlight. He had bought the house furnished and that definitely needed some changing. Except the living room. There was no way he was getting rid of those leather couches. He could already picture himself relaxing on one of those couches with the patio doors open on a Sunday afternoon. Mia would be nestled in the crook of his arm, dozing away and he would be watching some sport on the television. Mia? Where the hell did that come from? He meant Angelique. Definitely Angelique. He tried to picture Angelique on the couch with him and failed miserably. Angelique would rather be sunning by the pool or painting her toe nails or playing with her latest make up kit. She wasn’t the relax on a comfy couch type. Jason forgave himself the mishap and promised to be more vigilant around Mia in future. It must be the sun or the scotch he had on the plane, possibly both. A shower would be a good idea to clear his head and wash away his arousal for his sexy care taker.
Mia looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing her standard
‘owner in residence’ outfit. Beige cargo pants with a white golf tee. Her hair was being its untamed self. She smiled at herself in the mirror vowing tonight would be better. Now that she had processed the shock that was the very attractive Jason Pike, she would go to the house prepared. She squared her shoulders prepared to show Jason Pike just why she was the best care taker for his house.
As she opened the patio doors she could hear loud music playing through the surround sound system installed throughout the house. She made her way to the kitchen, a perfect care taker always tried to remain invisible, a mantra which completely got lost in her mind as she stepped into the kitchen. Chaos was the only word she could think of. Jason stood behind the counter, with half an orange in his hand currently hovering over the juicer. There was a half chopped tomato on a cutting board. Some type of poultry fillets were placed in a tray, with a dark black layer of what she presumed was pepper on them. Half the pantry was packed out on the counter and the fridge door was beeping due to being left open too long. Without saying a word she walked around to counter to Jason, who hadn’t yet noticed or heard her enter and tapped him on the shoulder. The orange in his hand flew through the air hitting a cupboard and shouted a stream of expletives.
“Mr. Pike? Are you all right?”
Jason grabbed a knife and swung around to face her, “What?” He looked like a mad man. It took a moment for the fog to clear and for him to recognize Mia. “Thank God you’re back. This place is haunted.”
“Haunted?” Mia asked, confused.
Jason looked towards the ceiling indicating the second floor, “I tried to sleep but something keeps moving up there. I decided it would be better to ask you about it first than to confront it, so I came downstairs and started on dinner.”
Mia leaned in close to his ear, “Oh you mean the ghost…” She found his scent distracting, but couldn’t help herself from going on.
“Yes, have you seen it?” Jason asked on a whisper feeling Mia’s hair brush against his cheek.
“Yes, we’ve actually had some quite interesting conversations,” Mia said as she leaned back against the counter. “He used to be in love with a native, but her parents didn’t approve.”
“Go on,” Jason said as he stepped closer to her again, listening intently, as if he was afraid the ghost would eavesdrop on their conversation.
“Well it was a long time ago, so they did what Hawaiians’ do to people interfering with their daughters.” Her matter of fact tone of voice didn’t give Jason a reason not to believe her.
“What is that?”
“They killed him and then held a Luau; they invited the whole island to feast on the man that would’ve stolen their daughter.”
Jason was bluffed but only for a minute until he saw her lips twitching, “You’re lying.”
Mia held her hand to her stomach as she laughed, she couldn’t believe he actually fell for it in the first place. Watching her laugh Jason felt his groin stir for the second time that day. Her laugh rolled through the room causing a smile to spread across his face and he felt the faint tingle of desire course through his blood. “You had me good.”
“That I did,” Mia sobered and looked around the kitchen, “So the ghost made you do it?”
Jason shook his head, “I’m not kidding, something’s up there.”
“Have you lived in an old house before?” Mia asked him seriously.
“Not really no, especially not on my own.” Jason said thinking back to the old rundown house he had grown up in, but his siblings and parents had always been around.
Mia picked a piece of tomato from the cutting board and popped it in her mouth, “Well Mr. Pike, old houses make noises. Creaking, scraping, sometimes downright creepy noises. Only you don’t notice them when there are a few people around as you assume it’s them. Lucky for me I’ve had the pleasure of spending loads of time in big empty old houses, and the noises don’t freak me out anymore.”
“So you’re saying this is an old creaking, scraping, creepy mansion?” Jason asked trying to hold back the laughter, “And I’m just a ‘fraidy cat?”
Mia sighed wistfully, “It seems that is the problem.” They both laughed, and Jason couldn’t help but feel foolish.
“Now if you don’t mind Mr. Pike could you please leave the kitchen so I can cook for you, I promise the ghosts won’t get you.”
Jason wiped his hands on a toweling cloth and turned to Mia, “Firstly, call me Jason. Mr. Pike is my father and even he doesn’t like to be called that.” He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a Sauvignon Blanc from the Napa Valley, “Secondly, I leave dinner to you on one condition; I hang around and get to know you a little better. You’re the first person I employed without interviewing first.”
“Fair enough, but don’t get in my way and please don’t try to help.” She sighed and looked him in the eye, “And please don’t let this be one of those long boring interviews where I have to recite a list of my redeeming qualities.”
“Promise I won’t ask for a list of your redeeming qualities.” Jason teased as he started flipping cupboards open looking for wine glasses. “Are you saying I can’t cook?” Jason found it odd that he felt comfortable enough with a perfect stranger to joke around.
Mia walked over to a glass fronted cupboard in the corner, and handed him two glasses, “No I’m saying that you’ve already made a big enough mess as it is, at least when I cook the kitchen doesn’t look like a hurricane just blew through.”
Jason handed Mia the wine and their fingers touched briefly. Mia could swear she felt zing of electricity run up her arm but convinced herself it must’ve been static. She looked at Jason wanting to see if he felt it as well. His clear blue eyes were focused on hers, she could feel the heat sparking between them like it never had with any other man before, and quickly turned away because of it. Mia didn’t have a lot of experience with flirting and dating. Most of her male friends she had known since school and were more like brothers to her than potential boyfriends. Not that they hadn’t tried at some point or other. When she was sixteen she had gone through a rebellious phase and tried everything everyone else supposedly was. Smoking pot had made her physically ill for two weeks, and making out with a guy for the first time was not all everyone chalked it up to be. It was sore and she felt ashamed afterwards, especially when he went bragging to all his friends about how easy it was to get Mia to put out. She had gotten a reputation as an easy girl, and yet she had only had sex that once. But even that evening there were no sparks involved besides the sparks coming from the bonfire on the beach. She hadn’t felt a tingling between her legs, and her breasts didn’t ache for his touch. All these foreign reactions her body was having to her new employer confused her. Alana was the only person that knew the truth about Mia’s only sexual encounter and had been the one to offer a shoulder to cry one when Mia had come home that night. At the time Mia was in the care of Alana’s parents, and even though Alana was a few years older than Mia, they had become best friends ever since Mia had walked into their house for the first time. She would have to ask Alana about all these strange feelings that were brewing inside her.
Jason took his wine and moved around the counter, he didn’t trust himself not to touch Mia again. For some reason he was drawn to her like a mosquito to a flame. It both confused and infuriated him. He sat down on one of the barstools and watched as she started to put the kitchen back to order, trying his best not to notice how her body moved, or her hair flicked when she turned her head.
Chapter 3
“That was great!” Jason said as he pushed his plate away from him.
“Don’t thank me, thank the water, washing off the pepper was the only chance that chicken had.”
“Do you cook for all your clients?” Jason asked as he played with the stem of his wineglass. For some reason the thought of Mia dining alone with another man bothered him.
“Most of them every night, others just once or twice a week.” Mia gathered the plates and st
arted walking to the kitchen. “But I don’t dine with any of my clients. I refuse to.”
“You didn’t refuse tonight?” Jason felt a glimmer of hope that she saw as more than just another client. He knew it was ridiculous but so was wanting her.
“I couldn’t, it was my interview remember? Mia called from the kitchen and Jason felt the glimmer disappear. When she returned she looked at him with a wicked smile he couldn’t help but want to kiss away, “So am I hired?”