by Jolie Day
A thin-nosed older man opened the door with a audible whoosh. He gave her a once-over to which Jessie propped her hand on one hip and waited patiently until he finished his assessment.
“Can I help you, ma’am?” He emphasized the “ma’am” with distaste.
“Yes...you can, I am here from the maid service,” Jessie crossed her arms across her chest.
He didn’t say a word; just simply opened the front door wider, allowing her to enter. She felt the judgment as soon as she squeezed by him. “Ass,” she whispered under her breath. She looked around the foyer, while she stood where he told her to wait. She fidgeted with her earring as she reflected on the last day. He had told her it had nothing to do with her size…had specifically told her that, and yet he had been banging her toothpick of a friend for two months. Suddenly, the earring fell apart and onto the floor. With a sigh Jessie leaned over trying to find the back. It was then that she heard someone clear their throat. She blushed and stood up, spinning around as she went. He stood there across the room from her. He was attractive with black hair and facial hair that was present, but not too long. He had dark eyes that made her blush as he looked her over. He finally smiled and held his hand out for her to shake.
“Hello miss I am the one who called for you. It’s nice to uh…meet you.” He glanced down at her. She felt the blush spread to her face. She had just met the guy paying her today and he had seen her bent over looking for an earring, she was humiliated.
“If you will head this way, I’ll show you what I need done.” He gestured for her to walk ahead of him down the long hall and she did. She was still embarrassed, but could walk and be professional from this point on. The hall T-boned into two rooms, which were a shambles with papers everywhere. It looked like an office and a bedroom. She was still taking in the mess when he came up beside her.
“I’ve been working in here the last few weeks; as you can see I need someone to clean up and organize the mess for me. What was your name again, dear?” he smiled at her and she felt like a school girl. He was attractive, but what was wrong with her?
“Jessie.” She smiled up at him and she noticed he was closer to her than he had been before. She felt like he was taking her measurements or something.
He reached out to shake her hand again as he said, “I am Derek, it’s nice to meet you.”
She took a deep breath. What was wrong with her anyways?
“I have hired you through the company for the day and perhaps tomorrow. I have to know you can be trusted. I have a lot of important documents in here and I need to make sure it is handled carefully.”
He took a step towards her and she felt the heat rush up into her face. After a moment’s hesitation he left the room whistling. Jessie stood still for a moment. What was that all about? She had a pretty good idea when someone liked her and her radar was equally good about people who were completely turned off by her size. This guy…she couldn’t figure it out. Maybe she was just tired. She took a quick inventory of the room to her right. It was filled on the right side with paperwork and boxes. She was typically used to cleaning as in dusting, mopping and all that. This was a whole new project. She took a deep breath and started with a box on top.
It was a mess, the undertaking took her most of the morning, but by lunchtime she was happy with her progress. She had categorically placed everything in order and now had three huge piles for him to decide what to do next. She wiped her brow and thought once more about where her life was headed. Nothing made sense anymore, but she was ok with who she was. Sure, she was not considered to be sexy in a typical way, but she had never been without someone. At the very least she was always surrounded by friends and did her fair share of dating. The sting of the situation was that she had truly believed in Jake, and all his pretty little lies.
She should have known something was wrong in the beginning. He had been too nice, too comforting to her when she needed him to be. He never seemed to blink once about her size, yet looking back now she could count on one hand how often they actually went out. She had never even met his family. He obviously had some issue with her, but none of it mattered now. She took another look around the now clean room.
“If he doesn’t like it, too bad it’s done now,” she whispered to herself.
“I am pretty sure he will like it just fine.” She heard the deep voice behind her. She felt the heat of her blush before she turned around to face him.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” she shrugged and gave him a smile. Once again he hesitated before he made a move. His dark and hidden eyes did not give her any indication as to what he might be thinking.
Suddenly, he moved across the room to take inventory of the work she had done and she took a moment to look at him once more. He was tall, taller than most men, and he was impressively dressed. He wore a suit that could have been tailor-made for his body alone. His body moved like a machine, even something as simple as a walk around the room, taking inventory of his files, he did with a fluid-like grace. He had olive-colored skin, exotic somehow. His eyes and hair were both dark and his eyes were the real gem. They were dark and mysterious. He was the type of man she enjoyed watching from afar when she had been single. Never in her league, but always fun to look at. She suddenly smiled to herself, but glanced up at him as he turned around to look at her.
“It’s quite a mess, isn’t it? I guess you can just sort out everything by date. Anything older than a year just bag it, I’ll shred it at the office. Do you need anything?”
She gave him a smile. “I’m fine, thank you. I will be done early though, should I head home after this?”
“No.” His response was quick, almost too quick. “I will have more to do…that is if you want?”
“Yes, that’s fine, I just wanted to plan. I mean, I didn’t want to come ask you...” She knew she was rambling, but for some reason she couldn’t control herself.
He headed back towards the door. “Don’t worry about bothering me. I’ll be in my office; to the left of the door you came in this morning. If you need me, that's where I’ll be.” He gave her one glance again. “Anything at all.” He left once again humming as he went.
She frowned for a second as she watched his back walking down the hallway. Was he flirting with her? He certainly was doing something, but either she was losing her mind, or she was so preoccupied with her own stuff she was just being wishful. That was the likeliest of scenarios. Given what she had gone through lately, she was just looking for something to be hopeful about. This was not the thing she needed to be focused on. Even on her best day, he was out of her league. She needed to stay focused, but he was a huge distraction.
Derek shut the door behind him with a smile. She was a handful, he could tell just by looking at her. Looking at her had been the best part of his day really. There was something about her that set his blood to boil and he wanted to know what it was. She wasn’t his usual type, but then he loved women, all women. He usually found himself intrigued by a leggy blonde or a brunette. Jessie was neither of these things. She was a redhead, and her curvy body suited her, and him, just fine. He had spent a better part of the morning wondering if she was single or not. He rarely found himself in a position that left him wondering, he also rarely found himself unable to figure things out.
As the CEO of a branding company, he was a busy man, with a busy life. He enjoyed getting what he wanted,when he wanted it. He toyed with the idea of showing Jessie his private room; perhaps ask her to clean in there. He smiled to himself. After a second thought, he felt his pants tighten a little more. He could picture her in there, bound up and naked. He shook his head to clear the image from his mind. He leaned forward and moved the cursor around on his computer again and the screen lit up. He watched her dig through another stack of papers. She leaned over as she did it and he was once again reminded of how sexy she really was. She had no idea how desirable she was, that was part of the appeal. Most women he dated or “entertained” knew they were sexy; it ruined it
some for him. No, Jessie was definitely unaware, and he liked it. He thought about how to open the door and he smiled as he set out to run a quick errand.
He was back sooner than he expected. He set up the room next to his and looked down at his display. He had decided to buy lunch and get in her head a little more. She was an enigma to him and he wanted to make her feel at ease with him. Quite simply, he wanted her. He took the long strides down the west wing until he came upon the room she was working in. She looked up at him and stood quickly.
“Mr…Derek, hello, again. I’m afraid I’m not nearly as through as I had hoped,” she wiped her brow with her hand.
“That’s ok, actually I was coming to get you for lunch. I took the liberty of ordering us some food.” He flashed her another one of his smiles and turned to leave, beckoning her to follow him.
She did so and frowned slightly. “You didn’t have to do that, really,” she brushed the front of her uniform off, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.
They made their way into a smaller room where he had set things out. He helped her into a seat and she smiled at him. They dined and chatted casually. She was surprised to learn that he was the CEO of a branding company.
“That surprises you, why?” he leaned back and asked.
“I don’t know, you seem to be more like an investor of some kind or something, I guess.” She took a sip of her water.
“An investor? Really?” He arched an eyebrow at her for a second. “Here I thought my good looks were leaving an impression on you.” He gave her an exaggerated smile and she laughed lightly.
“How do you know they aren’t?” she flirted back with him. What could it hurt? He was a nice enough guy and he was definitely flirting with her. Maybe this was exactly what she needed.
“Really now, I wanted to ask…do you have a husband at home, a boyfriend perhaps?” He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the table and staring intently at her.
She sighed for a moment. “No, I don’t have anyone,” she whispered it and watched the expression on his face change for a spilt second before he smiled at her.
“Good, neither do I. Perhaps we can enjoy each other’s company from time to time. Lunches or perhaps dinner sometime?”
“Yes, I’d like that.” She took another tentative sip of water. The sexiest man she’d ever met had just asked her out. She was afraid she would blow it so she took this opportunity to clean up some so she could get back to work before she said anything she would regret.
He stood with her and helped her clean up. The conversation picked back up once again and they chatted about the weather lately. When they had finished he let his hand on hers still linger a second longer than before. She felt it and her heat started to beat faster. She looked up at him and he smiled at her. All she could think was that she needed to not blow it with him. Even if he was a playboy and wanted to use her body for his own pleasure, that would be just fine. She felt him move and by the time she looked up his mouth met hers. It wasn’t a hard or angry kiss, it was simple enough. He nipped at her bottom lip and she felt the familiar heat rise once more. His mouth was demanding…almost controlling. Finally, she broke the kiss. She looked up at his dark eyes and knew that she was more attracted to him than she should be. She almost felt bad for him in that moment. It wasn’t right, taking advantage of this sexy man to soothe her hurt ego. She pulled away from him.
“I should get going.” She made her way to the door never making eye contact. She was afraid it would propel her straight into his bed. She felt his hand move gracefully over hers.
“What if I don’t want you to go?” he leaned over and whispered it into her ear. She felt a shiver run through her.
“I have to really.” She made her way to the front door and moved to walk outside. It was then that she looked at him again.
“Tomorrow then.” It was a statement more than a question. He gave her a hooded look and she knew the net day would be special somehow. She fumbled with her keys in the car before finally getting it to start.
Good gracious. What was wrong with her? She could easily lose her job for even flirting with the customers. Much less kissing them! She couldn’t afford to lose her job as well as a boyfriend. At least with Jake he was paying some of the bills. She looked up at the mansion once more. Derek was an eccentric man, mysterious and as much of a moral dilemma as she was facing, she had enjoyed the time they spent together today. He asked about her, something no one rarely did anymore. She made her way home and tossed her uniform into a wastebasket by the door. A minute later she stepped into a hot shower. She wanted to stop wondering about it but it was definitely hard to not imagine what he would do to her. She chuckled to herself, she was losing her mind! She spent the rest of the day cleaning, and being lost in thought over the situation.
The next day came quickly and she found herself once more on his doorstep. This time he answered and gave her a smile. He led her back down to another room where he let her do regular cleaning for the day.
“Thank you,” she smiled shyly at him.
He touched her chin with his fingers. “Do you even have a clue that you’re beautiful, Jessie?” He felt more like himself today, more in control. Being direct was a part of that.
“What?! Don’t be silly.” She swatted at his hand and moved into the room to start cleaning. She felt his hand on hers tighten then slide down to her wrist. He held her tight, but not uncomfortably so. She couldn’t move and he pulled her back towards him until her back was against the wall.
“Oh Jessie you have so much to learn.” He kissed her again and this time she let herself go some. It was a deeper kiss than before and she enjoyed the thrill it gave her to feel his mouth on hers. She relaxed and he must have felt it because he released her wrist and pushed his hands into her hair instead. He deepened the kiss even more and her head was suddenly buzzing in circles from the pressure. He pulled away from her and looked down into her face, tracing her lips with his thumb.
“I’ll be back shortly, I have a meeting. Then I’d like to talk to you.” He made his way out of the room and headed to the office. She was getting to him quickly. He was usually able to stay in control at all times, but today had been harder to stop than normal. He knew now more than ever that he wanted her. He wanted to show her his room, and conquer her body until she begged him for more. He shifted in his seat. He needed to work, to distract himself. He made his way up to the office just in time to meet one of the partners. He was suddenly all business.
She touched her lips with her fingertips; he was definitely something. She went back to cleaning, silently wondering what he wanted to talk to her about. She knew he wanted her. It was obvious in his actions. What she didn’t know was if she could give him her body without any emotional connection. She really didn’t know what he wanted. She knew today would bring her some clarity.
The afternoon passed by quickly and by 5 o’clock she was concerned about what to do next. She received a message from the butler.
“Mr. Jameson sends his regards. He will be unable to come back this evening but requests that you come in tomorrow again.”
“Ok…thank you for letting me know.” She gathered up her things and made her way down the hall to the front door. This day had certainly been interesting.
She fell into a fitful sleep that night. Her mind wanted to roam, to think too much, and hurt too badly. Even now his things were gone, every trace of him disappeared as if he had never even been there. At least he had the decency to move everything when she was working. She walked to lie in her bed and sneezed. She suddenly felt horrible.
It should have been a great day. She thought about nothing else as she pulled another tissue from the box by the bed. He wanted to talk to her, that’s what he’d said and she was in bed sick. She felt another sneeze coming on and she sighed. There was a part of her that wanted to cry more than anything. She had lost her boyfriend and best friend and gotten kissed by the sexiest damn man alive all in the matter o
f a day. Now she was two days into the flu, and no one around to even talk to. She heard a knock at the door and she made her way there slowly. By the second knock she was frustrated.
“Ok, Ok, I’m coming, just hold your horses.” She finally managed to open the door a crack. There stood the butler from Mr. Jameson’s estate. “Can I help you?”
He cleared his throat, obviously unhappy with the predicament. “Um yes, Mr. Jameson asked me to bring you this.” He handed her a large bag and she took it from him before he gave her a slight bow and scurried off, as if he could be contaminated at any moment.
She rolled her eyes and sat down on the bed with a thump. She peered in the bag. There was a large carafe of soup, a box and a letter. She chose to read the letter first.
Get well soon, until then text me.
I still have much to show you!
D
She couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face when she read the note. He was a mystery to her. She opened the soup and it smelled heavenly. She ate her fill and sent a text to the number he had listed on the note.
Thanks for the soup.
Within seconds she got her reply.
Good Girl, you messaged me, you listen well. That will come in handy.
She scrunched up her face for a second and then put her phone on the bed. She opened the box next. In it were handcuffs and a black mask made of black silk. She felt the coolness of the silk on her hands as she held them in her hands.
Nice mask
I’m glad you think so…we will see.
She smiled to herself as she felt a coughing fit coming on. She snuggled down into bed and continued to message him back and forth until eventually, she fell asleep in the early hours of the morning. The next morning she was still sick. She could hardly manage to go far from bed, she decided she needed just one more day in bed and she would have to be on the upside of whatever ailed her. She grabbed her phone and sunk down low into the comforter. At least she had him to play with all day, even if only via text message. It had to get better tomorrow right?
