by Kari Shuey
Gavin sighed, “Well, who can argue with that logic?” He was quiet again. Probably thinking about what to say next. He wasn’t going to let her go, and she was beginning to get frustrated.
“Look, Gavin-” But he interrupted her with his hand. She was planning on pointing out she could leave at any moment and simply go back to her other job. He couldn’t hold her here against her will, and yet it sounded like he thought he could.
“Alright, I’ll allow it. You can go out once a month to help on a different job. But choose wisely. If you want to continue working for me, I’d like to have the person who signed the agreement follow through with what was in the contract.”
Abby fought down irritation. She could do whatever she wanted. But that would mean losing a title she was thoroughly enjoying for the time being. She just wanted a little bit of a challenge. And she said as much. “Sometimes people need to be challenged so they can retain their skillset.”
For the first time that night, Gavin got a crooked little smile on his face. “You need a challenge do you?” He picked up his fork, swirled it in his noodles and flung it at her.
Abby gasped and looked in dismay at the red splotches he’d put on her blouse. “Gavin! What has gotten into you?!”
“Oh, so you didn’t want to work a little harder?” he challenged her. “Because I think you could benefit from a bigger mess.” This time he picked up some of the pasta with his fingers and threw it over her head.
She had ducked when she saw it coming and turned around to look at the mess on the floor behind her. Noodles and red sauce streaked the floor. Turning back toward him, she stood up and put her hands on her hips. “I’m not cleaning that up!”
Gavin puckered his lips into a pout. “Oh, is little Abby not cut out for the challenge?” he said in a baby voice, taunting her to join in.
“Okay, I get it. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you and all that. Now will you stop messing around?” Abby glared at him.
“You mean, like this?” Gavin picked up a noodle and flung it at her.
Abby wasn’t prepared for this one, and it hit her square in the forehead. “That. Is. It!” She picked up a handful of spaghetti and threw it with almost perfect aim right at Gavin. He must not have anticipated she’d counter with an attack of her own. He got hit in the face with a good amount of pasta, and he had to wipe it away before opening his eyes again.
Calculatingly, he slowly stood up and sneered at her. “That is more like it.”
A food fight ensued. They made an absolute mess of the kitchen and each other. Running away and popping out from behind the island, they attempted their best forms of sneak-attacks. When all the ammunition had been spent, they sat on the floor, cold, wet, and laughing.
“What an absolute mess! I can’t believe you did that.” Abby sighed. She looked around the room, glad they had kept the mess to the wood floors and wipeable surfaces. This would take a very long time to clean up well.
“Anything for you.” Gavin’s tone said more than he was letting on.
Abby looked over at him again. His solemn stare was the same one he gave her when they were talking about their relationship and how he felt about her.
“I mean it, Abby. I would do anything for you.” He leaned in toward her, reaching for her face, wiping some sauce off her cheek, letting his touch linger.
Laughing to break the tension, Abby motioned to the whole kitchen. “Including cleaning up this mess?”
Gavin laughed too. “Nope. I’d do anything for love… but…”
“You won’t do that.” Abby smiled as she finished his sentence. She looked down at his nice suit and gasped. “Oh no! Gavin, I completely forgot you didn’t change out of your work clothes. They’re ruined.”
He waved her off. “I can get another one. It’s just a suit.” He stood up and held out his hand to her. Helping her up, they stood there, the thick tension between them returning. “I have so much fun with you, Abby. I wish…”
The back door opened and startled the two of them, successfully cutting Gavin off. Windsor was standing in the doorway with a shocked expression on his face. He must not have been watching the security feed of the kitchen.
“What in heaven’s name happened here!?” he demanded, scolding them like school children. “You two are grown adults!” He focused on Gavin. “There are serious matters we have to deal with.”
Gavin’s expression dampened. “You’re right. Abby, I’m sorry, I will be right back to help you.” He reached for her hand and squeezed it.
Abby watched Gavin move to follow Windsor, but his friend held up his hand. “Uh, no. You are not going into my place looking like you just killed Chef Boyardee. Get changed and meet me over there.”
Gavin nodded and retreated to his room to change. Abby stood there, covered in sauce as Windsor shook his head. “Sometimes you two do the most immature things.”
“You’re just jealous we didn’t invite you to join in,” she shot back.
“You wish. Personally, I prefer to eat my food… not wear it.” Windsor left her stammering for a comeback.
She was still trying to figure out where to start, when Gavin wandered through the living space, ready to head out to meet Windsor. “Boy, Miss Russell, you really let your work get away from you, didn’t you?” He was teasing. His smile reaching his eyes. “But really, I will be back. I did make most of it after all.”
“You better,” she threatened, and then she pulled out a bucket to start collecting the noodles. She couldn’t wipe anything down with food in the way.
Chapter 28
Gavin shuffled across the lawn, unable to stop smiling. His awful day had turned into a nice evening. It didn’t matter that he made a mess of his house, of his clothes. He improved the relationship he had with Abby and he was able to change the climate of the room.
Arriving at the guest house, Gavin opened the door and let himself inside. Mentally preparing himself for what Windsor needed to talk to him about, Gavin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “What is it this time, Windsor? Did you find something already?”
Windsor nodded. “It wasn’t really that difficult. I found Miss. Tye. We will have someone following her for the next two weeks and make sure she’s not a threat. Now these three people were the only ones you were concerned about, right?”
Gavin nodded. “Unless you can think of someone else who would be holding a grudge against me… or maybe know something more about my past they could hold over me. I just thought we’d been careful enough.”
“I think you have been careful. I don’t know that anyone knows about them.” Windsor turned to his computer and started writing a message to someone. He was likely giving directions to someone. He didn’t know what he would do without Windsor. The man had an answer to all his problems. Sure, he was a bit of a hothead, but he was also the person he could trust with his life.
Windsor turned around and looked at Gavin expectantly. “Are you waiting for something? I believe you have some cleaning to do. Don’t leave that poor girl to clean up the mess you surely started.”
“Why would you assume I started it?!” Gavin feigned offense.
Raising his eyebrows, Windsor’s exasperated tone said it all. “Gavin,” he used his friend’s name, “We all know how you feel about her. I can practically feel the chemistry all the way over here whenever you two even look at each other. The fact you played a childish game does not help you much. Sir, you are utterly… what do they call it?... Ah, yes… twitterpated.”
“What do you know about romance anyway?” He regretted the question the minute it escaped him. “Windsor, I’m-”
“Think nothing of it.” Windsor contemplated something he seemed to want to say. Finding the words, he spoke up. “Amara and I were getting engaged. She was my better half and I was ready to settle down with her. I don’t think I will find that ever again. So, if that is what you are feeling for Abby, and it isn’t a simple infatuation, consider how short life can be and go for
it.”
“You know why I can’t do that.”
“Yes, I do.” Windsor agreed. “But it doesn’t mean that you can’t at least consider trusting her with your secret. Now, go help her.” Windsor practically pushed him out the door.
Gavin was surprised to find out that Windsor and his housekeeper had been so close. He’d not seen any evidence of it. Windsor certainly wasn’t the kind of person to open up. And even Gavin could tell Abby didn’t have the same friendship with Windsor that Amara had.
By the time he got to the main house, Gavin could see Abby hard at work through the glass door. She was scrubbing, still in her dirty clothes. He supposed that she opted to stay in them so she didn’t have to worry about kneeling on the floor. Most of the mess was already cleaned up. She didn’t lie when she said she was one of the best.
Taking a moment to simply watch her work, he was in awe of the feelings that produced. Windsor had a point. If Gavin felt something for Abby that was more than simple infatuation, couldn’t he commit to trusting her? His eyes stayed trained on her as he approached the French doors. She must have seen him, even as the darkness fell behind him. She stopped and gave him one of her signature quizzical looks.
Gavin entered and put his hands in his pockets. “Sorry about all this. I guess I wasn’t thinking about just how big of a mess we could make.”
Abby looked up at him from her position on the floor. “Sure, you didn’t.” She wrung out the rag into the bowl of soapy water and scrubbed some more. “It doesn’t matter. It was fun. It’s your house, and it will give me a little more to work on in the next week or so. I bet I will find red sauce in the weirdest places for a while.”
Gavin went over to the drawer that held the wash rags. He pulled one out and ran it under some hot water. Settling down on the floor next to Abby, he worked on a part of the floor she hadn’t gotten to yet. It had been a long time since he’d done any cleaning. It was kind of nice, helping Abby. Neither one of them had anything to say. After about 20 minutes of finishing the floors and moving onto the walls, the two of them called it a night.
Abby rinsed off her hands and gathered the rags she’d used for cleaning. “I guess I will be tossing these clothes. Then again, they can be the new grungy clothes I use when I have a bigger job.” She looked down at herself and shook her head in disbelief. How did she get to be such a mess?
“I put my suit in the laundry. Take it to the cleaners with the other suits and take your outfit too. They might not be able to do anything with it, but it’s worth asking.” Gavin grimaced a little. “Sorry about your outfit. Let me replace it.”
Abby shrugged. “It really isn’t that big of a-”
“Really, let me replace it. I can take you to any store you want to go to, or you can find something and use that card you have. My treat.” Gavin was insistent, so Abby accepted.
“You don’t need to come shopping with me, that wouldn’t be any fun. I am picking a friend up from the airport this weekend, and I can go shopping with her. Thank you.”
It was getting late. They were leaning side by side against the counter. “I enjoyed tonight.” Gavin ended the silence. “It was fun doing something crazy… even if Windsor thinks we’re nuts.”
Abby nodded. “It was kinda fun. Not that I would do it again…” She thought about the conversation that had led to the food fight in the first place. “Thank you for being willing to share me. That sounds weird, but you know what I mean. It will be fun to work with my friends again.”
Gavin’s facial features twitched slightly, but he didn’t say anything.
“I suppose I will leave you to your evening. Thanks for your help, you know you didn’t have to. See you tomorrow.”
“Oh, yes I did. My mother didn’t raise me to leave a mess behind,” Gavin winked at her.
“Well, thanks regardless.” Abby pushed away from the counter, and Gavin reached out for her wrist. Pulling her closer to him, he grabbed her other wrist.
“Abby, I need you to promise me you will be safe. Be cautious wherever you go. And don’t hesitate to call me if you feel like you might be in danger. I couldn’t bear it if I lost you.”
Abby pulled back a little and laughed nervously. “Gee, Gavin… why are so serious? You know it’s not all doom and gloom… right? Where is this coming from? Did something happen today you’re not telling me?”
Gavin shook his head. “It’s nothing you should be concerned about right now. I simply wanted you to know how I felt. You have changed something within me.”
“Gavin,” she said patiently, “we’ve been over this again and again. This is just something we can’t do right now. Neither one of us can see ourselves budging on what we need.”
“But what if I could tell you I can negotiate that small part. I just can’t do it right now. Give us some time and I will work toward letting you see that part of me when I am ready.” Gavin’s voice held a note of pleading.
“Gavin, you don’t know if you will be ready. I don’t know if knowing would make a difference. I simply don’t think we are meant to be together that way. At least not right now. What if we dodged a bullet – both of us?” Abby was making excuses and she knew it. It appeared Gavin could see it too.
“Abby, don’t give up before we even have a chance to test the waters. You’re right. We don’t know what the future holds. But I can tell you something I do know. I know that I don’t want you out of my life any time soon.”
She fidgeted while he gazed into her eyes. He was making all the right points. “Maybe. But I’m not ready for any kind of change right now. Let’s just take things slow this time, okay? Let it be a little more organic. If something develops then we will let it run its course. But you have to promise me right now that you won’t push it. Please.”
Gavin nodded in agreement. He brought her hands to his lips and kissed them gently. “Then that is what I will do.”
Abby gave him a sweet kind of smile. This gentle side of Gavin was hard to resist. The sultry part of him thrilled her, and the mysterious side of him intrigued her. She only had gotten a glimpse of his irrational side… and that made her nervous. From what she understood, she knew that the men who could fly off the handle in an instant were the ones you needed to be careful around.
She couldn’t believe she accepted his request to be open to starting things up again. The tumultuous state of her heart was berating her poor choices right now. But the situation he’d been in when she first met him had subsided. She shouldn’t feel like this was a bad idea anymore… unless any relationship would get that label. And at this point, perhaps they would. Never in her life had she been so fickle over something or someone. And yet Gavin was contributing to that very thing. Either he was very good for her and she was growing from this… or he was bad – very bad for her.
Abby undressed and washed up. Scrubbing the sauce out of her hair proved more difficult than she anticipated which contributed to a longer shower than normal. She watched the water run down her body, forming rivulets as it made its way to the drain. She was washing away the day’s hardships, her indecisiveness, while committing to being a little better tomorrow. A fresh start.
Chapter 29
The morning Abby got ready to pick up Lori at the airport, she made sure all the housework was done before she had to leave. Lori was getting in around eleven, so Abby got up early. She gathered her keys, purse, and phone – making sure she had everything she’d need for a girls’ day out. And as the time drew nearer, she locked up and headed out to the car.
Abby waited in the pickup lane for only about 20 minutes before Lori sent her a message that she was headed out of the airport. Abby carefully pulled into traffic and made her way to the entrance of the airport. Lori stood on the curb, waving and smiling. Abby waved back and stopped. Together they put her luggage in the back of the car.
“Abby! Thank you for picking me up!” Lori gave Abby a hug before they climbed into the car. “First off… Abby! You can’t seriously stil
l be working for the Mr. Saxe! And from the sound of your messages, you have a lot more to tell me! So tell me everything!”
“Yeah, I didn’t give you much info in my messages because I didn’t know how things would go. I wanted to see how everything would play out.”
“Okay, Abby, I get it. You got to experience a lot more excitement then I did while I was away. So, what is it? How is it working for a billionaire? Who is the new love interest you’re keeping a mystery?… Give me all the details.” Lori promised to be the captive audience Abby deserved.
Abby hesitated; she knew she’d eventually have to tell Lori that Gavin Saxe was the love interest. And now that time had come. “Okay, so get this. Mr. Perkins wanted to expand his business. He asked a bunch of us to become housekeepers for some clients who wanted the same cleaners every day. He asked me if I would be okay being a live-in housekeeper, for this one guy. I was completely surprised and didn’t know what to say, but it’s free rent, right? I told him okay and he tells me it’s the Mr. Saxe. Lori, I’m not even kidding, at first I thought I might just be getting myself into more trouble than it’s worth. But then as it turns out everything in the news about Mr. Saxe couldn’t be farther from the truth. But that isn’t even the hardest part to swallow. His head of security was in a relationship with the murder victim… but he alibied out… then his landscaper hit on me… and… Mr. Saxe – Gavin wants us to be in a relationship.”
Lori gasped. “Abby! You’re not serious! I mean, accepting a job from a suspected murderer is one thing… but getting romantically involved with him? I thought you were smarter than that!”
Abby bit her lower lip and glanced at her friend. “Well, I didn’t want to believe he was guilty just because the media said so. And, I figured he wouldn’t try anything when all eyes were on him. And it turns out he seems to be a pretty decent guy.”