by Sable Sylvan
***
“... and so that’s what happened,” said Carmen, as she recounted the story to her boss, who was tapping her pen against her forehead as she sighed and listened to the story.
“You sure you got everything? No fairy godmothers or princes or dragons?” asked the woman, who was dressed head to toe in white collar clothes that looked out of place in the large office, which was filled with girls just like Carmen, girls wearing a black outfit consisting of black pants, a black top like a nurse’s but with white details on the collar and the cuffs, and a white apron, the only writing the faint silver logo of the company. The woman had the same logo on her lapel, but as a silver pin. The logo was also present on the nameplate on her desk, made of black wood and a silver plate, engraved with the name ‘Polly Jackson’, the logo etched to the right of her name.
“That’s right, that’s all that happened, but that’s why I was late for check in,” said Carmen.
“You’re supposed to call if you get this far behind,” said Polly. “But the scheduling system is definitely off, it shouldn’t’ve had you logged for so many houses today. You’ll get paid overtime, but next time, you should look at the schedule and if it looks like there’s something wrong with it, speak up.”
“I will,” said Carmen. “I’m sorry, it’s just that—”
“That’s the other thing,” said Polly. She looked over the schedule and looked at the name of the owner of the condo. A woman’s name was there, a plain generic name, and she remembered who that client was. That man. That man. “Don’t talk so much. You know we have two rules.”
“Yes, I know,” said Carmen.
“So what are they?” asked Polly.
Carmen sighed. Polly was her aunt and she could be really frikkin’ confusing. One minute, she said talk, the other, shut up. “Maids are to follow two rules with clients. First, the customer’s always right, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Secondly...don’t socialize with anyone,” said Carmen. “Even if they initiate. We’re a professional cleaning service and the maids must act properly. Stay out of the way, get the job done, be fast, and move on. We’re not paid to make friends.”
“Exactly,” said Polly. “And this...man, you met. Carmen. Trust me. You want nothing to do with him. So, as your boss, but also, as your aunt...I’m going to outright forbid you from talking to him.”
“But won’t it be rude if I just don’t talk to him?” said Carmen.
Polly rubbed her temples. Her niece could be so frikkin’ difficult. “Okay. Fine. Here. You can say one thing to him and one thing only. Repeat after me... ‘That’s nice. I need to finish cleaning. If you have any complaints about my work, please call my boss’.” Polly reached to the business card holder on her desk and handed a stack of at least a dozen cards to Polly. “And then, hand him one of these. If he has a problem with your work, he can call me. Just say that once, and after that, don’t say a frikkin’ word to this guy. Just get in, clean, and leave. The last thing I want is for my service to get a reputation.”
A reputation? Carmen had no frikkin’ idea what Polly was talking about, but it didn’t seem like the right time to ask. After all, wasn’t today’s lesson ‘don’t frikkin’ talk so much’? Carmen repeated the line her aunt had said. “If you have any complaints about my work...please call my boss. Got it.” Carmen put the cards into her apron.
“Carmen...I’m serious about this,” said Polly. “You do good work. You’re a loose cannon, but you get results. I want to see you do well, in whatever you do, and you’re majoring in business...so you need to learn when to keep your frikkin’ mouth shut. Trust me. I’ve learned to do the same.” Polly looked at the picture on her desk. It was her, at Carmen’s age...she was just as petite as Carmen, but curvy back then, with a smoother face and a wide smile that Carmen rarely saw on her aunt’s face.
“I know,” said Carmen. “You started this business out of your apartment when you were my age. You worked your ass off, put in the time and the elbow grease, and now...”
“And now, I’m more than just a princess...I’m an empress,” said Polly, standing up and walking over to the large window overlooking the floor, where girls were clocking in, clocking out, grabbing supply buckets, tossing out old materials in the proper bins, and getting into company issued cars like the one Carmen had parked before she was called up to her aunt’s office. The company was a well-oiled machine and every detail of the machine had its purpose. Although it had a hokey name, that name was memorable, and that meant people remembered it when they needed a maid service that was both “quick” and “fast” and specialized in “cleaners” rather than sending a sexy co-ed in a French maid costume to bend over and flash her parts at a horny old goat shifter. The bins? They allowed the company to recycle materials to get back deposits, and it meant they could send off the non-recyclable waste at a cheaper rate, because of a deal Polly had struck with the municipal waste management department. The uniforms? The colored hats the maids wore? They actually were based on what shift they were a member of, so that anyone who got back late was spotted immediately. There was a large office section closed off and soundproofed from the main floor, filled with people with headsets on. This was the customer service and sales team, that ensured that the business was always satisfying customers and always growing.
Polly sighed and turned back to Carmen. “And Carmen...do you want to be a prissy princess playing dress up...or do you want an empire?” asked Polly. “The world of glittering dresses and designer shoes...it’s not for us. But this world? This is the world we were born into, and this is the world we can conquer and lead. This is your future. You know that.” Polly put a hand on Carmen’s shoulder. Carmen looked at her aunt’s hands. They were wrinkled and callused from years of working with harsh chemicals, back before the maids regularly wore gloves, but on those fingers were jewels on wrings that Polly had purchased for herself. She hadn’t needed a man to buy her baubles. She’d bought herself the world, and sold it back, ten times over.
“I understand,” said Carmen. “I promise.”
***
“...and so that’s what happened,” said Aiden, to the men gathered at his condo. On the sofa were two of the most powerful men in Seattle, his brothers, Jasper and Charles Dixon, who had recently found their mates. In arm chairs, his cousins, Cedar and Aspen Asher, who may as well have been brothers given how far their families went back. “And now, I have no frikkin’ clue how to handle this.”
“Flash her your equipment, that should do the trick,” joked Jasper.
“That won’t work, you know,” said Charles, running a hand through his naturally dark navy locks. “You’ve got to romance her. Chicks dig that.”
“Women love it,” corrected Cedar. “And what you’ve got to do is treat her...like a real woman. Listen. She’s not exactly...”
“From our world?” said Aspen tactfully. “Exactly. She’s a human, and she’s a working class woman at that. She’s not going to be won over the same way that, say, some uptown cat shifter looking to be a trophy wife will be won.”
“So take it slow,” said Jasper. “Take her down to the cabins.”
“I don’t exactly think that’s going to happen,” said Aiden. “I only see her once a week, for an hour. Scratch that. I’ve only seen her this one time, and that was just an accident. I just happened to come home an hour earlier than usual, and she was working an hour later than usual. I had my secretary schedule the service so I wouldn’t run into anyone, but...”
“But then fate decided it was your turn to get hitched,” said Jasper.
“Hitched?” said Charles. “Hey, nobody’s talking about marriage here.”
“The crazy thing...I just might be,” said Aiden. “I’ve never met a woman who made me feel this way before. Heck, I’m talking about her with you lot, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, that means it must be serious,” said Jasper. “So what’re you gonna do?”
“Obviously, I’m gonna start coming home ea
rlier, and hope she’s still assigned to this condo,” said Aiden. “But I’m thinking...”
“Don’t tell us, just, do it,” said Jasper. “You gotta trust yourself...and more importantly? Trust your bear.” Jasper put his fist to his chest and beat it.
The other men did the same thing and all agreed. “Yeah, trust your bear,” said Cedar. “I know I did...and it’s the smartest damn thing I ever did do.”
About The Author
I’m Sable Sylvan, and the only thing I love more than reading hot paranormal romances is writing down my fantasies and sharing them with readers like you. My heroes are strong alpha male shifters who can be grizzly and gruff at times...but when it comes to their mates, they turn into absolute teddy bears. The curvy heroines in my stories are strong, sassy women, and that’s why the bear shifter men who love them will do anything for their fated mates.
My books are available exclusively on Amazon, so check out my author page at www.amazon.com/author/SableSylvan to check out my full catalog anywhere, anytime. All my books are available for FREE under the Kindle Unlimited borrowing program (it’s like Netflix, but for books). If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review on its page!
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Bear-y Spicy Fairy Tales
Goldilocks And The Three Bear Shifters
Little Red Riding Bears
Three Grizzlies Gruff
The Shifter Princes
Shifterella And The Billionaire Bear
Beauty And The Billionaire Bear
Sleeping BBW And The Billionaire Bear
Rapunzel And The Billionaire Bear
Seattle’s Billionaire Bears
Rumpled Bear Skin
Blue Bear
The Bear Prince
The Little Bear Maid (coming soon!)
