Page 23 of Sweet Little Thing

He required my company? Okay then.

I went to the cabinet, got down a plate, and put half of the portion I’d made for Stone as a serving for myself. Jasper watched me do it. Feeling his gaze made me nervous.

“What time did you get in last night?” he asked in a tone of concern.

“Three,” I responded before placing my plate next to him and taking a stool.

“I hope you’re taking off tonight. That’s two nights in a row. You need rest. Your body will rebel.”

I hadn’t spoken to Carey last night. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to the manager. Afraid I’ll have to go in.”

“Call him, Beulah. He’ll understand.”

I could do that. “Okay,” I replied. “It’s busy when I get there, so finding time to talk is hard.”

He didn’t say much more in the next few minutes as he ate and drank his coffee. I took that time to plan what I’d say to Carey over the phone.

“Portia left last night. Said she was going to stay with a friend in the Hamptons for the rest of the summer. You won’t have as much work to do in the house. If you can get in more hours at the office, that’s okay with me.”

I stopped with my fork midway to my mouth. Portia left? “She left?” I asked.

“We don’t exactly get along,” he said.

“That’s why she left?”

He shrugged. “Don’t know. Don’t care. Less bullshit for me to deal with.”

Would Jasper also leave? How long would the filing job last? What then? What if my being here was no longer needed in thefuture?

“I want you to stay here, hell, Beulah, I need you to stay here. I don’t have time to find someone dependable and trustworthy to live in this house. To take care of it, whether she’s here or not. Portia’s not a concern. You have a job here.”

He was reading my mind again.

“You’re good at that,” I finally said.

“I’m good at a lot of things. You need to be more specific.” His tone was teasing, but I wondered what things he was referring to.

“Knowing what I’m thinking.”

“You have very expressive eyes.”

He paid close attention. He was the only one ever to tell me that. Guys had complimented my eyes before but never said anything like that. Jasper was being kind. That made it hard to remember that I shouldn’t lean close to smell his cologne or study his varying smiles. The way they were all different. I also shouldn’t admire the way he looked in his clothing. If he caught me doing those things, I was sure these jobs would end.

I took one last bite and stood up. Making myself indispensable around here would create job security. Crushing on Jasper would not. “I’ll get to work upstairs and then be at the office by eleven if that’s okay?”

“Yeah, that’s good, sounds great.”

“I’ll also do a deep cleaning in the pool house this morning.”

He didn’t respond, then finally said, “Yep, that’s good. . . though, Beulah. . well, I’ll be moving into my room inside the house today. But while Stone is here working with me, he’ll need to stay in the pool house. You don’t have to stock the kitchen for him.”

So, Stone worked for Jasper? That seemed odd. Stone didn’t appear to be the sort that would work for anyone.

“Okay, I’ll go make sure your room and bathroom are ready foryou.”

He smirked. “Why are you so nervous?”

That was the million-dollar question. One that wasn’t going to be answered. I shrugged and replied, “I’m not.”

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