Page 8 of Alessio

“No, but you don’t like me very much.”

“I don’t have a problem with you aside from your attraction to the boss, which you were warned about.” I press my lips closed because he’s not going to listen to me, and I sure as hell am not going to tell him that I was fantasizing about him when I was staring out the window.

“So how far away do you live?” Just as the words come out of my mouth, we pull in front of another large home. It’s nowhere near as massive as the main house, but it is still bigger than the three-thousand-square-foot house May and I grew up in. It’s made of stone and brick with a cobblestone driveway, matching the main house.

“Wow, this is yours?” I ask stupidly as he puts the SUV in park.

“Yes.”

“It’s very nice,” I say, undoing my seatbelt and popping out of my seat.

“Thank you.” He takes my suitcase and duffle, carrying them to the house while I trail behind him, trying to keep pace with his quick steps. Damn, he moves entirely too fast.

After entering a code and a key, the door unlocks and we head inside. “Follow me, and I’ll show you to your temporary room and then you can relax for a bit.”

“Okay,” I mutter. I’m so out of place it’s awkward. The house itself is gorgeous, white on dark brown trim. It’s beautiful and spacious. There’s a large double door right off to the side of the entrance, and I wonder what’s in there.

He escorts me to the second floor and then to the second bedroom on the right. “Here you go. This is your room. It has its own private shower. Unfortunately, I wasn’t expecting company so it only hasmen’s shampoo and wash. I can have some brought in.”

“I packed some in my bag when I left.”

“Good,” he grumbles, setting my suitcase on the floor next to the bed before dumping my duffle onto the mattress.

“Thanks. I’m sure you have other things to do. Is there some place nearby where I can go grab dinner?”

“Yes, in the kitchen. I’m going to be cooking in twenty minutes.”

“Oh, do you need me to help you?”

“Can you cook?” My cooking is all the basics, and I can’t make all the fancy stuff he’s probably used to eating.

“I’m not bad.” I shrug one shoulder and tilt my head.

“That’s not a ringing endorsement.” He twists his lips like he’s fighting off a laugh.

“Well, I’m not going to lie,” I say, letting out a giggle.

“Fine. How about I cook, and maybe you can make coffee in the morning?”

“Sounds fine to me. Thank you.” He nods and pauses once before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. I’m not sure what to make of that conversation, so I’m just going to assume he was being nice.

I unpack my clothes, hanging them up or sliding them into the nice dresser, and then take a seat on my temporary bed and rest for a minute. Then I remember I need to call my sister. It’s already after four, and I haven’t spoken to her all day. She’ll be starting her shift soon.

The second she picks up, my sister is on me. “How did it go? Tell me everything. Were they mean? Did they try anything funny with you? What happened?”

“Chill out.” I throw myself back onto the mattress, lying flat on the comfortable surface. “Hello. How are you? Take a breath between words, maybe.”

“Sorry, but you didn’t call me. Your text message was vague, and you didn’t send another all day.” She’s right. I could have called her during my break, but I was too tired and then I spoke to Mrs. Ricci as she made me a sandwich.

“Yeah, well, I got here safe, and then I was busy all day.”

“Too busy to give me some details?” She sounds completely exasperated with me.

“Honestly, there’s not much to say except that I work inside a mansion just outside the city. I got there way too early and they let me in and we worked all day. I’m staying in a nice large guest bedroom with my own bathroom and they’ll drive me to the train station on Thursday night, so I have Friday too and I’ll come back on Monday morning.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Is it a family that lives there?”

“It’s a businessman and his employees that work for him. He runs his company from home, but that’s all I know. I didn’t actually meet him. I met some of the staff, and I’m not allowed to talk to the boss man if I do encounter him.”

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