Page 26 of Bossed By the Orc

Chapter Sixteen

Penelope

I sighed under the hot water of the shower the next morning, knowing I was most definitely wasting water, but unable to step out from the spray for another full minute. It was only the ringing of my phone that summoned me out of the hold of the blissful water.

I saw my mom’s face on the screen and grinned as I answered. I couldn’t get a word in though, before my mother’s anxious voice came across the line. “Sweetheart,” she said quickly, “I think we might have to sell the house.”

“What?” I asked, baffled by the suddenness. “What’re you talking about, Mom? We talked about it. We’ll be able to settle the minimum payment at the end of the month. I’m going to call the bank and set up payment terms after that.”

“No, Pen, not the bank,” she said, tears making her voice sound hoarse. “Remember that development company that wanted to buy the house?”

“Yeah,” I said, wrapping myself quickly in a towel. I wanted to get dressed so I could do battle. I didn’t know what was wrong, but I’d soon have all the details and be able to do something about it.

“Well, they sent some men over here and they weren’t very nice, sweetheart. They’re saying that if we don’t sell to them, things can get bad.” Her sweet voice wavered and I gritted my teeth. “We put everything in your name, Pen. I don’t want them coming after you.”

I wish they would.

I held in the annoyed sigh I wanted to release, making my voice soothing instead as I told her, “Don’t worry, Mom. Everything will be fine. They probably don’t know that we can make the payments. I’ll reach out to them and make it all go away.”

The relieved sigh my mother released made my heart clench. She shouldn’t have to deal with all of this while she was recovering.

“Maybe that’s it,” she exhaled. “I tried to explain everything to them. I told them all about your nice new job and boss, but I don’t think they understood. I’m sure you’ll know exactly what to say.”

“Don’t worry about it, okay?” I told her, struggling to sound confident. “I’m sure this is just a little miscommunication. They know we’re not selling. We weren’t selling before and we definitely aren’t now. That’s our home.” There was no way anyone was taking it away from us now that we were so close to digging ourselves out of the hole that we were in.

“I won’t,” she said, her voice taking on the firmness that I remembered from when I was younger. “It is our home.”

We chatted for a few more minutes after that before she sent me off with a mini-lecture about being nice to the sweet orc who’d taken a chance on me. I almost scoffed, but stopped myself. I couldn’t exactly tell her how he was the most annoying male alive while simultaneously being the sexiest. Heat suffused my cheeks for what felt like the millionth time before I told her I had to go, glancing at the clock.

I mentally made a note that I needed to call the bank on my break. I still couldn’t believe that the development company had sent men to our home, but I was sure there was a logical explanation.

Once I had everything cleared with the bank, I could breathe a little easier and then contact the developers directly. I’d set them straight and then things could go back to the way they were before.

I felt a sharp pang in my chest at the thought of leaving the city after my family’s debt was settled. Leaving Dristan. I shook my head, exhaling roughly so I could distract myself from thoughts of him.

I needed to focus on my goals and not think about the male who was helping me with them. Annoyed with myself, I stepped into my bedroom and gave a loud squeak, clutching my towel to my chest.

An older female harpy turned to smile at me, her feathers ruffling a little as she looked at me. “Well if it isn’t the lady of the house,” she chirped, her voice high and sweet. “Come over here. Let me look at you.”

I was frozen in place, ready to run away without a second’s notice when she moved closer, clucking her tongue at me.

“There’s no need to be afraid. I’ve been with Dristan’s household since his parents were alive. Now let me see,” she took me by my arms, her claws gleaming in the overhead lights, but she maneuvered them perfectly, not even getting close to nicking me with them. “Yes, beautiful.” Her eyes were warm and she nodded before leading me back to where she’d been standing in front of the closet. “I picked some things out for you, dear, but I hadn’t even met you yet. I only got very vague instructions from Dristan. And you know how he is.” She curled me against her soft, feathery side as if we were long lost friends.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” I asked, my fingers almost white as I squeezed the edges of my towel together against my chest.

“Oh!” The female laughed, the sound bright and cheerful, “I’m Estrella. I run the household. I’m sorry you haven’t met me yet. I don’t usually need to make in-person visits. I usually only come by when Dristan’s at work. Which is all the time.” She clucked her tongue as she said it. “But I don’t need to tell you that. You could probably get him home more if you wanted to.”

Estrella tilted her head as she surveyed me from head to toe. “I can’t imagine why he’s forcing you to keep your things in a separate bedroom.”

I blinked at her, utterly confused by the conversation. “I’m Penelope,” I told her, holding one hand out to hers for a shake while keeping the other latched to the folds of the towel. “I’m his new personal assistant.”

It was the harpy’s turn to blink, her long feathered lashes fanning me as she did. “His assistant?”

I nodded, trying to pull away from where she still had a grip on my hand. She didn’t release me, tilting her head at me.

“That can’t be right. He has Fionel. When he said he needed me to take care of everything you’d need I thought it was because…” She trailed off and I grinned, finally realizing what was happening.

“Oh no, we’re nothing like that. It’s totally professional,” I assured her, relief filling me. “He’s my boss.”

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