by Kari Shuey
“What do you need?” He growled. “You should be staying at the main house. The only reason you come this way is if there is an emergency.”
Abby held up the plate of food she had prepared for him. “I thought you might like a home-cooked meal. I’ll be doing the cooking now.”
Windsor looked down at the plate and back at Abby. “No thank you, Miss. Now get on back to the main house. I need to stay focused out here.”
Abby was somewhat stunned. No one had ever turned down a free meal she had offered before. This Mr. Windsor must really not like her much. She walked back to the main house and put the plate of food on the counter. She wondered why Mr. Windsor was so bad-tempered. Why did he want to keep to himself so much, and why didn’t he want her anywhere near the guest house?
The front door opened and in came a disheveled looking Mr. Saxe. He didn’t look like he’d had a good day. Removing his suit jacket, he turned to place it on a chair and commenced to walk over to the fridge. Almost as if he didn’t realize Abby was in the same room as him, he started when she spoke. “Rough day?”
He rubbed his hands across his face. “You could say that.”
“I thought congratulations would be in order. I heard they cleared you as a suspect – must have been some alibi.”
Nodding, he acknowledged the win. “Yes, that was a pleasant part of my day… but perhaps the only one.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Anything I can do to help?” The offer sounded trite. Abby regretted it the moment it came out of her mouth, but she couldn’t take it back.
“No.”
“I made dinner for you, if you’re hungry.” Abby grabbed the plate she had offered to Windsor a moment ago. “It just came out of the oven.”
He gazed at the meal extended to him. “It looks delicious. I’d love some.”
Abby smiled. She set the table and they both chose a seat. Abby watched him take his first bite and genuinely enjoy it. Making a meal for someone who appreciated her cooking, however amateur it was, made her day. She found herself looking forward to this job with each passing moment she spent with Mr. Saxe.
Chapter 5
They ate their food in silence for the first few minutes, Abby consumed with her thoughts. She wanted to ask Mr. Saxe if he was relieved he was no longer a person of interest, and pick his brain about who he thought the killer could be. But seeing the state he was in made her reconsider her choice of small talk.
He looked up at Abby. Caught off guard, Abby looked away, realizing she had been caught studying him. She played with her food a little and darted a look back in his direction. She was surprised to see an amused expression on his face.
“So, Miss Russell, I didn’t know you were such a good cook. You made it sound like I would be eating macaroni and cheese for dinner. This meal is actually quite good.”
“I’m glad you like it. It is one of the only dishes I feel I can adequately pull off.”
The conversation felt stilted, as if they were teens on a first date. That idea was preposterous. They were certainly not on a first date and the fact Abby’s thoughts went directly to a romantic evening made her question her sanity. He’d made no indication that he had an interest in her beyond her cleaning services. She probably wasn’t even his type. Though, no one knew what his type was. He hadn’t been seen in public with anyone, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t actively dating. Mr. Saxe might be considered one of the most eligible bachelors in the area, but as far as Abby was concerned – he was unavailable.
Abby’s gaze lingered on the mysterious man before her, darting away when he looked up to meet it. She fought her body’s instinct to blush; certain she’d been caught staring once more. She never thought she had a type, and yet now she found herself fascinated by him. His hair, once combed and not a strand out of place, was now mussed as if in protest. He’d removed his tie and loosened his collar. There was a sort of vulnerability about him which made her wish she could get to know him better.
Abby reached for the pepper shaker and in the same instant, his fingers brushed hers. Pulling away abruptly, she smiled awkwardly. “Go for it,” she mumbled. Berating where her thoughts were taking her, Abby consciously reminded herself that she was a level-headed woman. Her infatuation with Mr. Saxe was out of character and very likely due to her curiosity about him in general; nothing more.
Their eyes met, and butterflies erupted in her stomach. The reasonable part of her battled with the hopeless romantic side. While the urge to fawn over this handsome man sought to overwhelm her, Abby came to her senses and demanded these feelings leave immediately. There was no room in her life - or job - for a silly crush. Let alone an interest in a man who still could be involved in the murder that took place only weeks ago.
She gathered her dishes and walked to the sink. As she rinsed them off, she was so deep in thought that the unexpected presence behind her made her drop the plate she was holding. With a loud shatter, the plate made contact with a glass sitting in the bottom of the sink.
A gasp escaped Abby’s throat and she reached in without thinking. The broken shards in the shallow, soapy water were nearly invisible and it took only a second to realize her mistake. The jagged crystal sliced through her flesh, a curse escaped her lips, and her nerves screamed out in pain.
Reacting with a swift movement, Mr. Saxe grabbed her wounded hand and ran it under some cool water. Abby watched in amazement while he wrapped a clean hand towel around her palm and put pressure on it.
“You need to be more careful,” he whispered.
He was so close she could smell the aroma of his cologne. His sure grasp and quick thinking had been unexpected and took her off guard. Still stunned, Abby let him carefully survey the damage.
“Hold this tightly. It doesn’t look like you will need stitches, but we should probably disinfect it and wrap it up.” He left her side for all of a second before he was back with a first aid kit. He unwrapped her hand and pulled out the antibiotic ointment.
Abby pulled away. “I think I can take it from here.” Embarrassed, she couldn’t believe she had allowed herself to not only break one of his glasses but also hurt herself on the job. It hadn’t even been a full week yet! Her cheeks burned red. Putting the ointment on her hand stung but she didn’t want to show him any further weakness. What made it worse was her inability to wrap the gauze around her wound. Without asking, Mr. Saxe took the bandage from her and attended to the injured hand.
***
Gavin was thoroughly enjoying his new housekeeper. She wasn’t the stiff, no-nonsense kind like Amara had been. She was warm and open… and genuine. As far as her work ethic was concerned, she was exactly what he needed. On a completely different scale, she was exactly his type. She was shorter than him, willowy yet strong, and brave. His first impression of her was that she would ‘take no prisoners’. He got the feeling she wouldn’t take any kind of bull from her employers, which enthralled him even more. Her red hair, dimples, and even her freckles made him smile whenever he thought about her. Lately, his thoughts were becoming reckless. He found himself daydreaming about the beautiful housekeeper he had living under his roof.
Out of all the people he had hired in the past she was the one that stood out. And allowing her to influence him in the slightest was risky. He had a past, an overwhelming secret. If she were to discover it, what would that mean for his future? Getting close to anyone at this point would be irresponsible and out of the question. Why was he letting her draw him in?
He watched her quietly clear her place and realized he had finished his meal long ago. He’d take care of it and turn in for the night, if only to get away from the intoxicating woman he’d just shared a meal with. As he came up behind her, he must have miscalculated how secure she felt in the same house. It was like someone hit the slow-motion button and he had no control over it. Gavin reacted, hoping she wasn’t hurt too deeply. He didn’t want her to rethink whether she wanted to work for him. When she pulled away, it stung. Perhaps she
didn’t feel safe with him. He couldn’t blame her. He would be lying to himself if he said she had nothing to be afraid of.
She struggled with the bandage, obviously not wanting to ask him for assistance but helpless to position it correctly. Gavin stepped in without asking. Sometimes people have to accept they have weaknesses and let another take charge.
“Thanks,” she mumbled.
He watched her turn toward the sink and gingerly take out the shards of glass that were sitting under a layer of bubbles. “Don’t!” he said a little too brusquely. Gavin grabbed the spray nozzle and rinsed off the bubbles so he could see the glass more easily. Placing the pieces into the wastebasket under the sink, he was surprised to find her staring at him again. “You were hurt already. The last thing I need is a housekeeper who can’t do her job.” He meant it as a joke, but the reaction on her face showed offense. It was just as well. If he could keep himself from developing feelings for her, then maybe he could survive the next few months until other arrangements could be made.
“I guess I will go to bed then.” Abby spun on her heel and left the kitchen. Gavin dried his hands and sighed. He was terrible at human interaction. Definitely not one of his strengths, it was one of the reasons he preferred to keep to himself.
***
Abby couldn’t have been more upset. Her boss practically accused her of not being able to perform her duties she was hired and skilled to do. It wasn’t the first time she’d been cut on the job. It was a hazard in her line of work. All she needed was some gloves so she could keep her hand dry. Who did he think he was? She was more than capable of cleaning up the mess she made! The arrogance!
Abby put her ear to the door and listened for any movement. Had he skulked off to his office? Was he considering calling Mr. Perkins and asking for a replacement? Oh, she’d fight him on that one! Maybe she just needed to serve him his meals and eat hers alone to prevent another debacle like this in the future. She turned around and leaned against the door with her arms folded. “I’ll show him,” she muttered, “he’ll take back all those doubts he has about me.”
Her anger fizzled out into another bout of embarrassment. A muffled scream escaped her closed lips, she lightly hit her head against the door a few times. She allowed herself to slide down the door and sit on the floor with her legs crossed. This was so unlike her. She never cared what a client thought about her in the past. Her work had always spoken for her. She didn’t need to defend her abilities to anyone… not that she cared to do so… until now. What was it about Gavin that put her so on edge all the time? It couldn’t be the murder investigation. He was no longer the prime suspect… so why was this getting so difficult!
A knock at the door startled her. She was getting tired of that. He had a terrible habit of showing up when she wasn’t expecting him. “Yes?” She asked as nonchalantly as she could muster.
“Miss Russell, are you okay?” The tone of his voice was void of any concern – at least she couldn’t hear any.
Opening the door, she fought the temptation to put him in his place. She wanted to tell him she wasn’t some damsel that couldn’t take care of herself. She took the job despite the rumors going on about him, didn’t she? Just because he made her jumpy did not dictate if she was or wasn’t okay. “Absolutely.” Abby gave him her best fake smile. “Thank you for your help, it wasn’t necessary. Sorry about the glass, I can replace it for you-”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. It’s just a glass. What I mean to say is, you left abruptly. I wanted to be sure you…”
“I’m fine.” She snapped. “I mean… I really am fine. It’s nothing I haven’t had before. It won’t affect my work, I can assure you.”
Mr. Saxe shook his head. He leaned into the door slightly and raised his arms to grab the molding around the door. “That’s not what I mean either. What I am trying to say is… Well, you see… Look, Miss Russell. It’s true I am very introverted. I don’t like being around a lot of people so sometimes I don’t know how to act around them. However, this hasn’t affected my ability to read body language. I can usually tell if I’ve offended someone. I fear I may have said something to you that was taken the wrong way. I want to assure you that I am not concerned about your work. I’m concerned about you. Don’t overdo anything just to prove a point. I am more than happy with our arrangement.”
Abby’s lips parted into an expression of shock. Her eyes, once full of fire, were extinguished. She had been ready to fling insults at him and instead he had left her speechless. This was an unexpected turn of events. “Uh… um…. Yes. Thank you for your concern.” For someone who had so much wealth, Mr. Saxe was acting more considerate than Abby would have expected.
He nodded slightly and rapped his fingers on the molding. “Okay then. Sorry about your hand. Let me know if you need help redressing it tomorrow.”
Mr. Saxe left, and Abby leaned her head out the door to watch him. What just happened? Was he actually concerned he had hurt her feelings? That was the first sign she’d seen that he had any empathetic tendencies. Even on the news, he had remained stone-faced. Sure, she’d caught glimpses of amusement or contentment… but this was the first sign of concern. How could a person be so completely guarded all the time and yet willing to check on an insignificant member of the household like herself? This made him all the more intriguing to her… and she hated it. She would not allow herself to fall for her boss. Abby refused to become the stereotypical female counterpart in the novel her life was attempting to turn into.
Shaking her head to clear it, Abby pulled the comforter halfway down the bed. She’d never been the type to open up to someone without knowing more about them. She was as closed off to the world as the rolly-polly bugs she used to hunt for as a child. It took quite a bit of time for her to trust someone enough to consider a date with them. That was why online dating and blind dates were absolutely off the table. Maybe she’d been single for so long because she never had a chance to meet anyone new and get to know them before accepting a date. This was a quirk her friends teased her about often. How would she ever meet someone while working in her industry? Unless she fell in love with the grocery store bagger or one of her married clients, she’d never get married.
That was fine with Abby. Most of the people she knew weren’t marriage material anyway. If it was meant to be it was meant to be. Was this meant to be? Could Mr. Saxe be the person who made her throw caution to the wind and entertain a future with him?
Abby pulled her pillow over her head, tempted to scream into it. This situation was all so outrageous. She needed to get her head on straight and stop distracting herself with the ‘what-ifs’ in her life. Everything needed to stay normal. And normal was not allowing herself to be influenced by the tall, dark, handsome, quiet man in the other part of the house.
Get it together, Abby, she told herself. You are the master of your thoughts. Resolving to remain aloof, she would avoid any kind of unnecessary interaction from this point forward.
Chapter 6
Gavin slipped away to his office, preferring to stay busy rather than lie in bed unable to sleep. From the moment Abby Russell showed up on his doorstep, he’d been unable to stay focused.
Opting to go with a verified company for a new housekeeper, he figured they could do any amount of vetting necessary to guarantee a trustworthy individual.
Gavin couldn’t trust his own company to find someone to replace Amara. He suspected someone in his company was either responsible for her death or at the very least compromised. One of the first things that the police demanded from him was a record of the security footage. The CEO of Securitech would have paid for the highest security system they developed, right? Gavin willingly cooperated and guided the officers to the room at his company that stored the security footage. He pulled up his system and commenced to fast forward through the day. The screen blanked out for thirty minutes on the day in question. Gavin did everything he could think of to find the missing footage but it was lost. His IT guys
seemed just as baffled as he was. This was when the officers had convinced themselves that Gavin must have covered his tracks.
The police sent in their own team to investigate not only the missing footage from the Saxe property but who would have had access and know-how to delete it in the first place. Gavin was taken in for questioning, but he had no information he could have given them. He was gone the day in question. There was proof he was at a conference on security technology advances. He left two full days before she was murdered and arrived home to police tape blocking his entrance.
Amara had been a fabulous housekeeper. She had worked for him for nearly three years and she was very good at her job. She kept to herself and followed his requests about privacy. Because of this, he hadn’t gotten to know her on a personal level, a fact he regretted. He couldn’t deny it was disappointing to lose her, but he didn’t know her all that well.
Due to all the problems revolving around the missing footage, Gavin had decided to let his personal security team go. He kept on Windsor for personal reasons and moved his security monitoring on-site. It didn’t look like any of his clients had lost data associated with their accounts, which both relieved and unnerved him. This meant someone was targeting him or the housekeeper specifically. Was it related to his past? Maybe someone had a vendetta against him and this was their way of getting even with him.
Thoughts switched back to Amara. Ever since her body was discovered, Gavin had been a lot more careful about who he hired. He needed to make sure anyone who entered his house would abide by his requests. Going through a company like ‘Dirt Slayer’ ensured he could get a housekeeper who didn’t know anything personal about him and he could go about his usual duties without extra attention.
Mr. Perkins told him he had the perfect person in mind. She’d been with the company for 10 years and she had glowing reviews. Of course he sent over a variety of options, but Gavin couldn’t deny that Miss Russell was exactly what he was looking for. Everything sounded perfect… until she arrived on his doorstep. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun and a few stray red hairs framed her face. She looked strong, competent. There was a little hesitancy he could read from her, but seeing the circumstances of their meeting, he couldn’t blame her.