Page 28 of The Billionaire's Housekeeper

Luckily, the little boy was near enough to the edge. The boy then looked up and laughed. "Ha ha. I fooled you."

"Joey, what you doing?" his mother said, rushing over to the edge of the pool, her tablet still in her hand.

"I'm sorry for this commotion. I thought he was drowning," Abbi admitted.

"Actually, I would've heard him, if he was drowning," the woman said.

Abbi wasn't even aware that Chad had approached them, too. He looked quite concerned.

"Sorry, miss. It's just that a lot of parents think that when kids are drowning they make sounds. But the truth is, drowning is silent. It's a silent killer. You won't even hear them. I saw a program on TV where lifeguards and parents were at a pool filled with dozens of children and two of the kids just went under the water silently. And nobody even noticed. I’m sorry if I got you alarmed. It's just that we have to be so very careful. When they lose consciousness they don’t make a sound. It almost happened to me when I was little," she said, her voice trailing off.

Very few people were aware that silent drowning was one of the top accidental deaths in children.

"Actually, she's right, ma’am,” the security guard added.

Chad was impressed. "She sure is," he said, gazing intently into Abbi’s eyes.

The mother was stunned at first. She eyed Abbi up and down. Then she grabbed her little boy and held him close to her. "Thank you…um…what is your name?"

"Abbi. I'm actually on my day off. But I work around here, too.”

Abbi's heart was racing a mile a minute. Not only because Chad was there but because of what could've happened. Sometimes it was just too hard to mind your own business. Not when somebody's life could be at stake.

After the woman left, security departed and the commotion was over. Chad inched closer to Abbi. "That was really nice what you did back there, Abbi." His voice was very low and deep.

"Like I said, we all have to look out for each other. And it almost happened to me, too. Drowning is silent. And all it takes is to not have your attention on your child for one split second and then it could be all over." Her heart palpitated just thinking about it.

Seconds later, they were disturbed by the sound of clicking cameras. It looked like a team of models were taking pictures at a photo shoot nearby.

"Listen, I said earlier that I wanted to talk to you,” he said, his voice was charming and velvety.

She could never get enough of hearing him speak.

He wanted to speak to me earlier…I know…

Abbi could hear her heart pound hard in her chest but she tried to calm herself. She was going to be confident. This morning after he’d left, she’d almost lost her confidence and felt very insecure. The first time in a long while. But God, Abbi really wanted nothing more than just to be pleasured by Chad again. She wanted to feel him inside her once more. Last night was the most memorable night of her life. No man had ever left that kind of impression on her. But she had to be a lady. She didn’t want to appear or sound desperate. And she was sure by his expression and his serious tone of voice this morning that whatever he had to tell her probably wasn't anything pleasant.

"The truth is, Chad, I want to talk you, too. But right now I agreed to fill in for Jen’s shift this afternoon. She wanted to trade with me so that she and the girls can go out on the town. I think they’re going shopping or to a movie."

“I see,” he said, sounding unemotional. “Just let me know the moment you get back, okay?"

"I will," she said quietly. Her heart palpitated in her chest so much that she could not control it. She drew in a deep breath and watched as he walked away.

Why did this feel like the end of something good? Abbi just had that feeling, that sinking feeling, right now…

* * *

Later that afternoon, Abbi went over to the block of cabins on the east side of the ranch resort to do some extra cleaning. At times, guests would request extra towels or linen. She looked at the number on her card; it was for cabin number twenty-four.

She parked her cart outside the door of the log cabin and grabbed a few towels.

She then went up to the porch and knocked on the door.

Abbi waited for a few seconds before somebody shouted that she was coming.

When the door swung open, Abbi was too stunned to speak for a moment.

It was the supermodel.

The same girl who’d approached Chad the other day after the horseback riding. The one who addressed him as “Baby.”

"Oh… good evening, ma’am,” Abbi stammered, then tried to sound as polite and professional as she could. "You requested some extra towels?"

The model gave her the once-over, eyeing her up and down, an unreadable expression on her face. Then she answered, "Actually, I did. Place the towels in the bathroom. And remove the dirty ones." Her voice was commanding and impolite. Then she turned her face and her lips curled in disgust.

Abbi drew in a deep breath. She was determined to maintain her politeness and her professionalism. She reminded herself she enjoyed her job and it didn’t matter what job she did, all jobs were important and all people deserved respect and those who didn’t think so, that’s too bad on them.

She still couldn't see what Chad saw in this model. Well…beyond her exterior features, anyway.

Chad seemed so sweet and so kind and so down-to-earth. Just a cool, regular guy. And this woman…? She seemed like such a diva.

Just then a twinge of jealousy struck Abbi. Did this woman also have the pleasure of experiencing Chad's deliciously fiery love making? Did he do to her what he did to Abbi with his lips over her intimate area?

Abbi felt her heart beat hard in her chest and she felt her stomach tighten. She felt her limbs get weaker. She couldn't bear the thought of Chad having been with another woman—with this woman, which was crazy really because they both had a relationship or two before they met. And it wasn't as if they were…in a long-term relationship, was it? Well, she sure hoped they were beginning a relationship after the crazy, erotic things they did to each other last night.

Just then she realized she'd been so intimate with Chad and yet she didn't know exactly where she stood with him. But she really believed in him. And then the words of Mrs. Martin flood back to her mind. "Don't let love pass you by."

The way she felt about Chad, Abbi knew he felt the same way about her. His lips could not lie. There was something there between them. Not just the interests they shared, but a powerful and strong chemistry.

As long as he was single and free, Abbi was going to fight to be with him. Just then renewed confidence slid inside her body.

Abbi placed the new towels in the bathroom, pulled out her gloves from her pocket and removed the dirty towels that were scattered on the floor to put into her linen bag.

"So how do you know, Chase?" The woman leaned against the breakfast bar in her suite when Abbi came out of the bathroom. The model had her arms folded across her chest. Abbi didn’t like the way she was eyeing her up and down but she ignored it. Abbi liked herself, so she couldn’t care less who didn’t like her.

"Chase?” Abbi was puzzled. Was this woman confused? "Who's Chase?"

"You mean you forgot the name of the guy you rode the horse with yesterday?" Her voice was very condescending.

"Oh, his real name is Chase?" Abbi knew that sometimes people had shortened versions of their names. She'd met a guy named Jack before, whose real name was John and vice versa. "The maintenance guy?" Abbi clarified.

The woman gave her strange look. "The maintenance guy?"

"Yes. You're talking about Chad, the guy who fixes things around here, right? The maintenance guy? The contractor?"

"What’s going on here?" The woman shook her head and laughed. “So is it that why he's dressed like that? You think he’s the maintenance guy? Is that what he told you?"

Abbi felt a lump climb into her throat. Her heart was pounding hard and fast. What was going on?

"Chad works in maintenance," Abbi said, then she grabbed her towels and was ready to leave to go to the next guest cottage. "I really can’t stay too long, miss. Is there anything else you'd like?"

"Actually, yes. Please give my regards to Chad,” she said with a wink. “Oh, and I think you might like to see this, too…" The woman walked over to the table and picked up a magazine.

"What’s this?"

"I don't know what he's told you or what's going on here, but don't be fooled. Chase and I are still going out with each other. We’re still an item. He’s just taking a break to see other girls. He has such a wild sexual appetite, you know. I’m okay with it. We have a sort of open relationship right now.”

Abbi felt her blood run cold. Her face froze. Her heart stopped beating.

“Chase is wonderful and he's a smooth talker,” the woman continued. “But he’s just like any other man who wants to put a lot of notches in his bedpost. And like every other woman, you’re just disposable. Sorry to burst your bubble. It's just that you guys look so, I don't know, cozy together. But he's a love ‘em and leave ‘em him kind of guy. And oh, he forgot to tell you that he owns the place, huh?” The woman smirked. "Wow, I can see why he would want to do that. He probably wouldn’t want to spend any money on you. And he wouldn’t want you to come after his money either. You know, he's really not into gold diggers."

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