The Road To Price

by Justine Elvira

  *****

  I wake up to the sound of pigeons on the beach. In this moment I am content. Having the sand beneath my feet makes me happy.

  “I wish I didn’t have to move,” I whisper to myself. My eyes flicker open and glance over to my phone that's next to me.

  4:25pm

  “Shit!!!”

  I have slept for over two hours. I get up and start to jog down the stretch of beach and towards my apartment.

  Twenty minutes later I open the front door to my apartment, grab my suitcase, and walk back out without a second glance.

  I really have no attachment to anything anymore.

  Hopping into my car, I speed off to Mr. Price's estate. If I race I can maybe make it a ten-minute drive, but being as it's a weekday at rush hour, I don’t arrive at the residence until 5:15pm.

  I approach the gates, but there is no one to let me in. I see a sound system with a buzzer on the brick wall next to the gate and buzz up to security. They open the gates for me and instruct me where to park and where the staff entrance is located.

  I park my vehicle in the employee driveway and approach the side entrance, just as Nancy is walking out.

  “It’s 5:20, you’re late!”

  No shit, Sherlock. Does she have to be so snippy? She startles me and I am halfway convinced I'll be fired on the spot.

  “I’m sorry. I lost track of time and hit rush hour traffic. I understand if you want to fire me.”

  Nancy looks at me for a solid five seconds before responding.

  “Well, lucky for you, Mr. Price has been preoccupied for the last hour so he hasn’t realized your tardiness on your first day. I wouldn’t make this a habit. He will waste no time in replacing you if you do not give one hundred percent.” I nod my head in recognition and Nancy continues.

  “Leave your bag here. Once you are done meeting with Mr. Price we can come here to retrieve your bag and bring it to your room. Follow me and we will wait for Mr. Price in the waiting area.”

  We walk into the home and I find myself back in the same chair as earlier today. And just like last time, I’m waiting on Mr. Price.

  A few minutes later the doors to Sebastian’s office open. Out walks a beautiful woman who could be a Victoria’s Secret model. She has to be close to six feet tall and is unnaturally thin. She has golden blonde hair that almost reaches her waist and a perfectly proportioned face. Plump lips and straight white teeth, she could be on the cover of a men’s magazine tomorrow if she wanted to.

  She smiles at me when Nancy calls out to her.

  “Vanessa, wait. I would like you to meet Mia Dechino. She's the newest addition to our housekeeping family. She moves in tonight and starts on Monday.”

  I stand up and extend my hand to greet Vanessa, but she does not return the gesture. She looks me up and down and turns back towards Nancy.

  “She's the new housekeeper? You're kidding, right?”

  Nancy’s face hardens. I can tell that she doesn’t like to be questioned, especially not from the woman that is standing in front of me.

  “This is no joke, Vanessa. Mr. Price hired her himself. He seems very excited to work with her.” Nancy then turns her attention back to me and continues speaking.

  “Mia, this is Vanessa. She is our indoor gardener. She takes care of all the plants in the home and any other things Mr. Price may ask her to take care of. You can ignore her bitchy attitude. She doesn’t play nice when she feels a threat.”

  A threat? What could she possibly be threatened by?

  The room becomes silent so I decide to speak up.

  “It's nice to meet you, Vanessa.”

  Vanessa just smiles and then speaks to Nancy again. “Well, I guess Mr. Price’s tastes have changed. She is not the typical type of housekeeper he hires. I’m not quite sure she will fit in.” She glances at me one more time before she starts to leave.

  Right as she reaches the double doors to enter the hallway Nancy speaks up.

  “Oh, I don’t know, Vanessa. I like her. I think she is just what Mr. Price needs in a… housekeeper. She will be good for him. And you know what else?” She pauses and gives Vanessa a soft smile, “He demanded that Mia calls him Sebastian.”

  If looks could kill I would be dead. Vanessa looks like she has seen a ghost. She storms off and out of our sight. Nancy looks as happy as can be. It’s nice to know that she can genuinely smile if she wants to.

  The conversation between the two of them confuses me. There's a lot of hidden meaning in their words. I'm in no mood to try to decipher the conversation because right now Sebastian is walking towards me.

  “Mia!”

  I stand up to greet him and extend my hand when he does something I’m not expecting. Sebastian takes a hold of my shoulders with both hands and slowly kisses my cheek. He then goes to the other side and kisses that cheek. Instead of backing away, he moves his face in front of mine and stares into my eyes.

  I am lost. My body is unable to move.

  His thumbs are slowly moving back and forth across my shoulders. This is so unprofessional. I am already uncomfortable around the man and now he has to make the situation worse by invading my personal space. Even worse, I like it!

  I wish I could put up some kind of fight, but the truth is it feels good. His touch on my arms makes my entire body heat up. My face starts to blush and my heart rate increases. This man mesmerizes me and I have no idea why. I just met him today. I know very little about him and the little I do know I’m not sure I like.

  One thing I know for sure? This cocky, arrogant man is going to be my kryptonite.

  Yes… I just used a Superman reference and I don’t care. Miles would be so proud of my Superman knowledge right now.

  Miles. That thought brings me back to reality. I take a step back from Sebastian and he releases his grip on my shoulders.

  “Hello, Sebastian.” I need to stay professional.

  “I’m so glad you were able to make this transition so quickly,” he says as his hands lower to his sides. “I want you to become familiar with the property. This will be your home, too, so I need you to settle in before I put you to work next week. Why don’t you follow me into the office and we can get your paperwork done.”

  He turns and walks back into his office. His backside is perfect too. Even in his suit I can see the muscles in his shoulders and his tight butt. I need to get it together.

  I follow behind him, but Nancy stays in the room that I will permanently be referring to as the lobby.

  I sit down in front of his desk while he walks around it and grabs some paperwork from a drawer. Instead of sitting behind his desk, Sebastian walks back to me, handing me the paperwork.

  “I can give you a cliff note version of the employee contract if you like. That would save you some time and all you would need to do is sign where the tabs are placed.” He may be the sexiest man I have ever seen, but that doesn’t mean I trust him. I give him a look to show him as much.

  He raises his hands in surrender. “Or, if you prefer, you can read all the boring terminology yourself. My way would have taken five minutes but, hell, if you want to waste an hour of our time I won’t stop you.”

  Instead of acknowledging his sarcasm I decide to start reading the contract in front of me. Everything seems pretty fair and looks to be at the employee’s best interest. All medical expenses covered… three weeks paid vacation…. retirement plan… disability coverage. If everything I’m reading is true, Sebastian looks out for his employees. He is a great employer.

  Great. I really need to hate him, but he’s not going to make this easy.

  I start to lose focus around the sixth page. I wish I could say it's because of the legal mumbo jumbo, but that would be a lie. It has to do with the arrogant jerk that is leaning against his desk. His legs crossed, his arms folded against his chest, and his eyes glued on me.

  I can feel the heat from his stare burning into my skin. Every few minutes he adjusts his legs and his thigh ru
bs against mine. It's distracting. Especially since an electric charge seems to go off in my body every time we make contact.

  I have never been this attracted to a man before. The last time I had feelings even remotely close to this was in sixth grade when Bobby Hall and I were locked in a closet for seven minutes in heaven.

  My best friend, Chelsea, arranged for it to happen because she knew I had a crush on him since the beginning of the year. I thought those seven minutes were magical. It was my first kiss and Bobby wasted no time getting his tongue in my mouth. Neither of us knew what we were doing, but I left the closet that day thinking Bobby Hall was a God.

  Shit! Now my mind is on Bobby Hall who I haven’t thought about in ten years. If I can just focus on these forms I can get this over with.

  A few minutes later it's official.

  I've read the same sentence a good fifteen times. I should have just let Sebastian give me a quick overview of what is on these papers. I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of doing it now, but I also know there is no way in hell I am going to be able to finish.

  I pick up the pen from his desk and start to sign by the tabs on each page. Sebastian stands up straight and watches over me while I sign my life away.

  Okay, maybe that is dramatic. This is just a job. The minute I let a job be my life there will officially be no hope left for me.

  When I get to the pages I haven’t looked at, Sebastian speaks up. “Don’t you want to read over what you are signing?”

  As a matter of fact I do, but your presence is distracting me!

  “From what I have read so far this seems like a very fair employment contract. I have decided to trust you as my employer and sign the rest under good faith. I don’t believe that you would stir me wrong.” Sebastian smiles at my words. I’m not about to tell him that I actually have no trust in him, but his presence alone makes my mind turn to jelly.

  When I finish signing the final page I hand it over to him. Our hands touch and I feel the tingles that are becoming more familiar to me. Sebastian’s eyes look towards our hands and then he looks up to me. He is quiet for a few moments and then he speaks in a low voice.

  “You felt that, too. I know you did.” His hand lingers on mine and he has no intention of removing it.

  This is the moment of truth. My acting abilities need to come out right now because I cannot show him that he affects me.

  I take a deep breath before responding, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Liar. I am officially the biggest liar.

  I drop my hand from his and wait for him to move. He smirks at me and then goes back around his desk and places the papers back in his drawer.

  “I will have Nancy make copies of the contract and give them to you. If you ever decide to finish reading it and have questions just let me know.”

  “I will, thank you,” I say to him. I’m grateful he changed the subject.

  “Nancy will show you to your room. I want you to get to know the other ladies you will be sharing the employee quarters with. Everyone gets along for the most part. Just beware of Vanessa because she can be difficult. Most of the girls just ignore her as best they can.”

  Huh. So everyone is aware of her bitchy demeanor.

  “I can see that. I caught that from my brief encounter with her before I came into your office.”

  “She started with you already?” Sebastian doesn’t look pleased.

  “Oh, yes, she was darling. She made it clear she doesn’t want me here. She was pretty shocked that you hired me as a housekeeper. Apparently, I am nothing like who you usually hire. Like I said, she was darling.”

  “Well, just ignore her and eventually she will forget that you are fresh meat,” he pauses briefly, looking at me like he is trying to decide something. “I will be eating dinner at eight tonight and I would like you to join me.”

  I guess I know what he’s trying to decide.

  He must be on something because I am not having dinner with him. I already feel like my body wants to cross lines that cannot be crossed. Being in a room with him for a long amount of time won’t be a good idea. I will end up doing something I’ll regret.

  “Mia? You zoned out there for a minute.”

  I look back up towards him to show him that he has my attention.

  “Like I was saying, I want to get to know you a little more. I need you to be comfortable with me once you start working here. I look at my employees as my family. I like to treat my family well.”

  He starts walking back around his desk until he is a few inches from me again. He is still wearing that smirk and I’m dying to know what is going on in that head of his.

  He lightly runs his tongue across his lip and I swear I let out a moan. A moan!!!

  Please, God, don’t let him have heard me. How embarrassing. If he only knew how inexperienced I am. How screwed up my sexual past is. I can tell you one thing, he wouldn’t have asked me to join him for dinner if he knew.

  That could be the key to getting this back on track to a professional relationship. He wouldn’t show any interest in me if he knew my past.

  Wow, I am full of myself. He is just being polite by asking me to dinner. I am a new employee. He just wants to get to know me because he looks at me as family. He said so himself.

  I am trash… I am dirty… I’m used goods. He can probably see right through me.

  Get. It. Together.

  “Dinner would be nice. Will your wife be joining us?” Short and sweet, keep it short and sweet.

  “No, Mia. Darcy is my wife on paper only. She broke our union long ago. You may see her occasionally and if she needs something you will do it for her, but I am your employer. She has nothing to do with us. Understand?”

  Us… two letters… one word. He means nothing by it, but I like the idea of it. I shouldn’t like the idea of it.

  “I understand,” I say timidly.

  He clears his throat, “Okay, it’s settled. Nancy is waiting for you on the other side of the door. Once you’re in your room you should unpack your things and relax. Someone will be down at eight to get you.”

  I nod and turn to leave when he speaks again, “And wear a dress, Mia. I will always expect you to dress your best when I request your presence.”

  I’m not even going to acknowledge that one.

  One minute Sebastian has me melting at his feet, the next I am ready to wrap my hands around his throat. He is a control freak. That is the only way to explain it.

  I meet up with Nancy and she gives me a quick tour of the employee quarters. When we part ways, I go back to the room she has assigned me. I guess it is my room now.

  I still have an hour and a half before dinner so I decide to pull my book out and start reading. I need something to distract me from the potential disaster of the dinner I am going to tonight. One thing I know for sure...

  I am wearing a pantsuit.