Page 14 of Shattered Hope
With a short visit to the bathroom, I was ready to face the world and take whatever came my way. Hopefully, I would be able to convince the housekeeper to open the door for me so I would be long gone before he even woke up.
As silently as possible, I went to the kitchen to wait for the woman to show up, hoping she would be there soon to make him breakfast.
Instead, I found him leaning against the kitchen counter, only wearing some pajama pants and nothing else.
His incredibly muscled body was breathtaking, and even my battered body responded to his potent masculinity with a very feminine response. My heart stopped for a moment, just to start drumming in my chest, and my lips became instantly dry.
He took a sip of his glass of orange juice and looked at her with a frown.
“Good morning,” I mumbled, wishing I had stayed in my room.
“Is it?” he asked, in a derisive tone.
I pursed my lips and clenched my hands into fists, struggling to stay in control and not follow my instincts that insisted I should run.
“The storm is over,” I stated, looking away.
The sound of him putting the glass on the stone counter startled me, and I crossed my arms over my chest to stop him from seeing me shudder.
“It’s still snowing,” he pointed out.
“That’s not a problem,” I assured him, though we both knew I was lying.
“What are your plans?” he asked in a cold tone.
I licked my lips and tried to find the best answer possible, knowing my credibility was as low as it could be. Though I couldn’t fathom why he was even asking. Why would he care?
“I’ll try to find a job while looking for a homeless shelter. I’m sure something will come up,” I said, sticking to the truth as much as possible.
After the fruitless search of yesterday, I would not waste another day looking for a job. I needed to find a place to stay, even if it was an abandoned building or the sewers. Anything that provided a roof over my head would work.
“You said the shelters were packed,” he pointed out.
“They were… but that might have changed today,” I insisted.
“You think?” he asked, dripping sarcasm. “Temperatures will continue to drop today. No one will leave the shelters.”
“I’ll find a place. Besides, this is none of your business,” I ranted, out of sheer desperation. What the hell did he want from me? “If you’re not calling the police on me, I would like to leave now, if you don’t mind,” I added, doing my best to hide the trembling in my voice.
“What kind of job are you looking for?” he asked, ignoring my request blatantly.
7
For a moment, I considered not answering his questions. It was none of his business, and I couldn’t understand why he was wasting his time asking. However, I could tell I wasn’t going anywhere until I had pleased him. This was probably his way of appeasing his bruised ego.
“Anything… I have worked as a waitress, babysitter, cleaning lady, cooking assistant, dishwasher… that sort of jobs,” I explained.
“Didn’t you go to college?”
I was about to say yes, but that would require adding a lot more explanations than she was willing to give. “No, I couldn’t afford it,” I replied instead.
“But you finished high school?”
“Yes, I did.”
“So, why not look for a professional school and become a secretary, personal assistant, paralegal, or something of the sort?” he insisted.
“Couldn’t afford that either. Some people are born for manual labor. What’s wrong with that?” I asked in a defensive mode.
