Training the Help [Hedon Falls 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More)

by Michelle Graham

  Sophie stepped from the shower a few minutes later and grabbed a towel to wrap around her hair and another to wrap around her body. She was suddenly very hungry. She had picked at the food at the hotel without really consuming much of it, and they hadn’t stopped for anything else. Sophie decided to take Kendra up on her offer of raiding the kitchen. It was handy to be so close to it. She realized though, that she needed to put on some clothes. It wasn’t like her own apartment where she could wander into the kitchen in a towel if she wanted. She rummaged through her clothes, looking for something suitable. She settled on a pair shorts and a tank top. Leaving the towel on her head, she went off to the kitchen. She wasn’t sure where the light switch was, but there was a light above the sink that was on, so she could see well enough.

  The fridge was Sophie’s first destination. She opened the right side to discover that it was a freezer. The cold air rushed out in a blast and she could feel her nipples hardening painfully at the onslaught. She quickly closed the door again and opened the left side. The fridge was well stocked with fruits and vegetables, bottled water, juice, milk, and a variety of meats and cheeses. Sophie pulled out a package of cold-cuts, a block of Havarti, and a bag of red grapes. She set them on the counter, and then looked around at the cabinets. She opened the one beside the fridge and found the plates and bowls. She pulled out a dinner plate, set it on the counter, and then moved to the next cupboard. This one held glasses and she selected a small one for some juice. She had spotted a pantry on the far wall and when she opened that, she found a huge selection of dry goods. She bent over so she could see what was on the lower shelves. She wanted some crackers but was having trouble finding any.

  “Can I help you find something?” a deep voice said from behind her.

  Sophie yelped as she jumped up and whirled around. Jack was standing behind her. Her eyes were level with his bare chest, which had a sparse covering of light-brown hair and well-defined muscles. She raised her eyes to see him looking down at her. She had to tilt her head back, because he was so tall. As her eyes found his, she became aware of the heat radiating off him. He was standing extremely close. His brown eyes seemed almost black in the dim light, and the look he gave her was intense.

  “I…” Her voice trailed off as she felt the towel slipping from her head. She reached up to grab it but Jack was faster. He pulled the towel off and Sophie’s hair fell damply around her shoulders. She was at a loss for words. Earlier that day, she thought she had been attracted to him, but now the feeling was undeniable. Heat coursed through her and caused a gentle throbbing between her legs.

  “Did you need help finding something?” Jack asked again with a slight smile on his face.

  Sophie swallowed and willed her mouth to work. “I wanted some crackers. I’m hungry.”

  “You should have eaten the food at the hotel,” he said. He leaned closer to her and reached up into the pantry. This brought his chest right into her face and Sophie closed her eyes to avoid looking. He was a married man and absolutely off-limits.

  “You can open your eyes,” he said softly.

  Embarrassed, she looked up at him again. He had moved back and was holding a box of soda crackers out to her. “Thank you,” she said as she took the box from his hand.

  “You’re welcome,” he replied, following her to the counter where she had assembled the food and dishes. “The silverware is in that drawer there, and there are cutting boards in the one underneath it.” He pulled each one open to show her. “Do you mind if I join you?”

  She shrugged her shoulders, aware of his gaze on her back. It occurred to her that when she bent over, a good deal of her ass was exposed by the short shorts. He had probably seen a whole lot more of her than she would have wanted him to. She made a mental note to only wear pajama pants or long nightgowns from now on. Jack reached out from behind her and picked up the bag of grapes.

  “I’ll wash these if you can get a plate of meat and cheese for me.”

  “Okay,” she said softly. She took another plate and glass out of the cupboard. She sliced the cheese and laid a few pieces on each plate. Then she added a couple of rolled-up pieces of ham. A small handful of crackers completed each plate. She returned the unused food to the fridge and put the box of crackers back in the pantry, standing on tiptoe to reach the shelf. No wonder she hadn’t been able to see them before. When she returned to the counter, Jack was placing a bunch of grapes on each of the plates.

  “What would you like to drink?” he asked as he returned the rest of the grapes to the fridge.

  “I thought I saw some cranberry juice in there. I’ll have that, please.”

  Jack poured them each a glass of the juice, then picked up the plates and walked to a small table on the other side of the kitchen. Sophie took the glasses and followed him. She sat down opposite him and they began eating in silence. Sophie found she could barely taste the food, because she was so wound up from being around him like this. Occasionally she snuck a glance at him. He was wearing pajama pants with no shirt, and he had a fine body. He was tall and broad, exactly the way she liked her men. When she was with someone like that it made her feel tinier, compensating for her extra pounds. She gave her head a quick shake and picked up her glass.

  “So tell me about yourself, Sophie,” Jack said suddenly.

  His question startled her and she jerked the glass. The red juice sloshed over the lip of the cup and landed on her chest and white tank top.

  “Shit!” she exclaimed as she set the glass down and looked at her chest. Juice was running between her breasts and there was a large red stain on the center of her shirt. She looked up and saw Jack’s eyes glued to her boobs. She flushed and felt her nipples harden. She knew he had seen it when his eyes widened slightly and then rose up to look at hers.

  “I’ll get a cloth,” he said and jumped up from the table. When he returned, he crouched beside Sophie and pressed the cloth against the part of her chest that was exposed above the top. She snatched it from him and began dabbing at her shirt while he returned to his seat.

  When she was relatively dry, she set the cloth down. Her food was almost done, and her appetite had faded. She picked up her plate and the glass and went to the counter. She dumped the remaining juice into the sink, and carried the plate to the green bin in the mudroom. After she emptied the remaining food into it, she returned to the kitchen. Jack had the dishwasher open and had already placed his plate and the two glasses into it. He held out his hand for her plate and she gave it to him. When he closed the dishwasher and straightened up, they looked at each other for a moment.

  “Good night, Mr. Sullivan,” Sophie said and walked off to her room without waiting for a reply.

  Chapter Four

  In the morning, Sophie was already seated at the table in the kitchen with a bowl of cereal when Kendra came in. She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt and had her long hair pulled into a ponytail. Sophie was surprised to see that she wasn’t wearing any makeup, but she was just as beautiful without it.

  “Hi, Sophie,” she said brightly. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Well enough, Mrs. Sullivan,” Sophie replied. In truth, she had awakened several times after some very intense dreams about her new employers.

  “Please, call me Kendra. We don’t insist on formalities with the household staff.”

  “Okay, Kendra.”

  The actress smiled. “That’s better.” She pulled some fruit and yogurt from the fridge and dumped it all into a blender. She poured the mix into a tall cup with a straw and then sat down across from Sophie. “When we finish here, I’ll show you around the rest of the house. It’s quite large, so obviously you won’t be doing every room, every day. And we don’t use a good deal of the space, so many rooms only need dusting now and again. We have a central vacuum system and I’ll show you where all the hoses and other cleaning supplies are kept.”

  “That would be great,” Sophie said. “What other duties will I be responsible for?”

&nbs
p; Kendra sipped her smoothie before replying. “We’d appreciate if you can do the laundry. We have hampers in our closets, which I’ll show you. Also, I like the sheets on the bed to be changed every couple of days. I know it’s a bit excessive, but I love the feel of fresh sheets when I climb into bed.”

  “I can do that,” Sophie said.

  “Perfect. We’ll want you to do the grocery shopping. There’s a car that will be yours to use, and you can go into town whenever you need to. I’ll give you a list of what we normally like to have around, but if there’s anything else we think of, we’ll text you.”

  Sophie’s shoulders slumped and she bit her lip. “I don’t have a cell phone.”

  Kendra laughed. It was a delightful, sexy sound that she was well known for, and it was even better in person than on the screen. “We’ll get you one, silly. I’ve called ahead to the wireless store at the mall. You can go there later today and choose whatever you want. It will be added to our account.”

  “Really?” Sophie asked. She couldn’t believe how things were working out for her here. She had a job, a place to live, now a car and a cell phone. It was a lot to absorb, and she couldn’t help feeling there had to be some kind of catch. Yeah, it’s cleaning a house the size of a hotel.

  “Absolutely,” Kendra said. “It would be stupid of us to expect you to get something yourself when it’s basically required for the job.” She finished sipping her smoothie and took the cup to the dishwasher. Sophie followed behind with her own dishes, and then the two women began their tour of the house.

  “There are three stories, but the upper floors aren’t as big as the main level,” Kendra said. “Down here we have a large formal dining room and salon for entertaining. We don’t use it as often as we’d like to, so those are areas you won’t need to worry about too much. Jack and I each have offices on the main floor, plus our screening room, sitting room, and training room. We have a large bathroom near the patio door for when we use the hot tub or pool. Beside that is the closet with all the cleaning supplies for this level.”

  Kendra waved at all the rooms as they passed, and showed her the supply closet. Sophie looked out to the patio. It was very large and elaborately landscaped. The hot tub was close to the door and looked like it could hold about twenty people. Beyond that, there were steps leading down to the pool, which was closed for the season. Further into the yard, she saw two large sheds and sprawling gardens.

  “Do you have a gardener?” Sophie asked. “Those gardens look magnificent.”

  “You should see them in the spring and summer,” Kendra replied. “Jack actually enjoys doing as much gardening as he can, but with so much space, he needs help. We hire a gardener who comes in every other day between March and October.”

  When they finished with the ground floor, Kendra led Sophie up to the second level. “Up here is mostly guest rooms,” she said. “We don’t have many guests, so they aren’t used very often. And if we have children someday, their rooms would be here, too.” A strange looked flashed in her eyes before she looked away and gestured to the supply closet and linen closet. “You’ll have to come up here for your own linens and towels when you need them. We don’t have a separate linen closet downstairs.”

  “No problem,” Sophie said, looking around. There were four guest rooms, two on each side of the hall. Connecting each pair was a bathroom. At the end of the hall was another staircase and Sophie followed Kendra as she made her way toward it.

  “If you go down, this is the staircase that comes out near the patio door at the back,” Kendra explained. “Going up is the master suite.”

  At the top of the stairs was a landing with a pair of French doors. Kendra opened these to reveal a sitting room with an entertainment center and walls lined with fully-loaded bookcases. “Jack and I both love to read,” Kendra said with a shrug. “If you ever want to borrow any, feel free.” She pointed at two doors on one side of the sitting room. “The first door is the supply closet. The vacuum hose is in there as well. The second door is just storage so you don’t need to worry about that. The door over here leads to our bedroom.”

  She opened the bedroom door and Sophie gasped. The room was more opulent than the best suite at the North Shore Hotel had been. An oversized bed with four tall posts stood in the center of the room and it was covered with luxurious bedding and a mountain of pillows. The patterned carpet was rich and soft under her feet. A set of French doors led to a balcony, which overlooked the patio outside.

  “That view is breathtaking!” Sophie exclaimed.

  “I know,” Kendra said. “When the weather is nice enough, I love to sit out there in the morning with my coffee. It’s very peaceful.”

  “I can imagine.”

  “Over here are the closets and bathroom.” Kendra opened the doors. The bathroom was flanked by his and hers closets and in the middle of it was a Jacuzzi tub the size of a small swimming pool. Beyond it stood a shower enclosure with two showerheads, which was easily big enough for five or six people. Two vanities featured glass sinks and sleek chrome taps.

  “How long does it take to fill that tub?” Sophie asked.

  “About twenty minutes,” Kendra said with a grin. “We don’t use it often. Like the rest of the house, it looks great, but is mostly just wasted space. But Jack won’t hear of downsizing, which is why we need someone to look after it.”

  “It’s a big job, but I think I can handle it,” Sophie said.

  Kendra linked her arm with Sophie’s and said, “That’s why we hired you, hon. You seemed very capable. And much more personable than some of the other candidates.” She led Sophie out of the suite, and they went down the back stairs. They ended up in Kendra’s office where they both sat down.

  Kendra rummaged in a drawer and pulled out a file folder. “We have your contract here,” she said. “It’s pretty straightforward, but if you’d like a lawyer to look at it, that’s fine with us.”

  Sophie almost laughed out loud. Like I can afford a lawyer! She pulled the paper closer so she could read it. It seemed simple enough. It stated that they expected her to maintain their confidentiality, that she would use the equipment entrusted to her with care, and that upon termination she wouldn’t write any tell-all books about her famous employers. “This seems fine to me,” she said at last. “I’ll sign it now.” Kendra handed her a pen, Sophie signed, and the deal was complete.

  “These are your keys,” Kendra said as she passed a key chain to Sophie. “The car key is the black one, the garage door key is the one with a G on it, the front door key is the one with the D, and the others are for the other doors, but you most likely won’t need to use those. If you come with me, I’ll show you your car.”

  Kendra led the way back through the kitchen to the mudroom and out the garage door. There were five garage doors, and all but one had a car behind it. One was a sleek red sports car, one was a black sedan, one was a large, silver SUV, and the last was a relatively ordinary-looking blue crossover. Sophie followed Kendra to the blue one.

  “This is your car to use for as long as you’re with us,” she said. “You can use it anytime, for whatever you need to. There’s a gas card we keep in the visor so you can use that when you have to fill up. It’s good for the station in town. Would you like to take it for a drive?”

  “Sure,” Sophie said, eagerly. Living in Toronto, she had never needed to have a vehicle. She could walk or take public transit wherever she needed to go. But she enjoyed the freedom of being behind the wheel.

  “Great,” Kendra said. “Grab your purse, and I’ll grab my disguise and we’ll head out.”

  Disguise? Sophie wondered how the famous woman could possibly disguise herself well enough to go unnoticed. Hedon Falls wasn’t a large town. After grabbing her purse from her bedroom, she waited by the garage door for Kendra’s return. She gasped when she saw the tiny woman enter the mudroom wearing a super short, auburn wig. And when Sophie looked closer, she saw that the actress had gone so far as to put in gr
een-colored contact lenses.

  “What do you think?” Kendra asked with a grin.

  “Amazing,” Sophie said. “If I didn’t know it was you, I wouldn’t know it was you.”

  “That’s the idea,” she said. She showed Sophie how to set the alarm and then they got into the car. They pulled out of the garage and Sophie began navigating down the driveway. Before they reached the gate, though, Kendra stopped her and pointed to another drive, which branched off from the main one.

  “I didn’t see that last night,” Sophie said as she turned onto the smaller road.

  “It’s in a spot that’s hard to see when you come in on the main drive,” Kendra told her. “And there’s a gate just up here that needs a passcode. Jack is a little obsessive about security. This is here so that we can come and go without being noticed when we don’t have a guard or driver with us. The paparazzi will occasionally stake out the main gate.”

  They had just come to the gate Kendra had mentioned. Sophie pulled up and rolled down the window. Kendra told her the security code, and the gate swung open to let them pass. The driveway meandered for quite a way before they came to a second gate, and then finally it connected to a real road. Following Kendra’s directions, Sophie drove them into the town.

  “Have you been to Hedon Falls before?” she asked. Sophie shook her head. “It’s a great place. It has lots of amenities, but it’s still small enough to be quaint. I grew up here.”