Page 13 of The Favorite Girl

They could have been on a cover of Architects Digest. Both of them were completely, unnaturally beautiful.

Mrs. Ivory was wearing a cream-colored dress, light pink lipstick, and her blond hair was cut in a short, neat bob; while Dr. Ivory was tall, with broad shoulders, and blond, almost white, hair. He was slightly more tanned than Mrs. Ivory, which wasn’t a challenge considering the woman looked like she never saw direct sunlight. They could easily be Edward Cullen’s biological parents.

“Hi.” I licked my dried lips and rubbed them together nervously.

“Come, take a seat, dear,” she said with a smile that showed no movement on her face.

Walking slower than imaginable, I took a seat in the accent chair across from the sofa the couple sat back in. A porcelain teapot and assorted baked goods were neatly lined in front of me.

“Miss Rao, I’m Daphne Ivory and this is my husband, Ian Ivory—” Her husband cleared his throat and she fidgeted her hands. “Dr. Ian Ivory,” she corrected.

“It’s really nice to meet you both. You can just call me Demi, though.” I clasped my hands together to help buffer the shaking.

“And you can just call me Daphne.” She smiled and poured a cup of tea, lifting it toward me.

“This is a beautiful blend our chef Margot makes right here with herbs from our garden.” Daphne let go of the delicate teacup once I gripped it. I really didn’t want to drink the dark tea while wearing all white and sitting on an all white chair, but they were watching me intently, so I said a quick prayer and took a sip.

“Mmm… wow. This is actually really good.” I was surprised how sweet the tea was.

“I’m so thrilled you like it.” Daphne smiled over at her husband, who kept his face mostly stoic.

“Demi, we’d like to ask you a few questions.” Dr. Ivory straightened his back and brushed the light beige pants he wore. I was grateful for the hints of color in their clothing or else I’d have thought I was in the middle of some kind of cult.

Sometimes I would catch those six-episode crime series on the motel T.V., so my mind would always jump to worst-case scenario, and because, well, my life always became the worst-case scenario.

“Of course.” I crossed my leg over the other and carefully placed the teacup on the mini plate.

“Please state your full name and birth month.” The question seemed so strange to me, especially how it was presented.

“Demi Rao and my birth month is June.”

Nodding, he looked at the stack of papers in his hands. What was on them? I had no records. I mean, for the past four years, I wasn’t even Demi.

“Where were you born?” Dr. Ivory asked with zero emotion.

“Well, I was actually born in India, but we moved here when I was young, so I really don’t even remember much.” I shrugged.

“Where is here?” Dr. Ivory furrowed his brows as his piercing green eyes seared into me. I always thought green eyes were rare. But Bradley, Daphne and Ian all possessed them.

“I grew up in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.”

“Oh, we adore Gatlinburg. Such a scenic mountain town.” Daphne offered a smile in my direction.

“Yeah…” I added before looking back at Dr. Ivory, who was still staring at me as if he was trying to figure out a puzzle.

I’m here for the position of a housekeeper; I’m not trying to be your surgical partner.

“What brought you to Charlotte?” He set the stack of papers down and laced his fingers together.

“Tennessee didn’t feel like home anymore,” I answered honestly. Well, somewhat honestly. Truthfully, it hadn’t been home for four years. Instead of providing the comfort of home, it was the place that held the most treacherous memories for me.

It was the place where I fought for my life and barely survived. Hell, survive may not even be the right word since I didn’t even feel alive most days.

“Tell us about your family…” Daphne glanced at her husband before looking back at me.

“Oh…” I didn’t know how any of this was relevant to this job position, but then again, I’d be living here, in this colossal mansion with them, so I suppose I’d be careful with who I allowed inside, too.

“My parents are… Well, they both died. And I don’t have any siblings.” I bit my tongue, feeling a sting in my eyes that had my stomach tumble.

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