Since she had cashed the check at Mr. Olander's banking branch she was able to open her accounts at two other local banks with cash. She held on to one hundred thousand cash. If Mr. Olander hadn't called ahead to prepare the withdrawal she would have had to wait for the money. Had she not been with a federal officer she may not have been able to open the accounts so easy. He had told her to deposit all of it, but she wouldn’t chance not being able to leave quickly if he changed his mind about not deporting her. She needed to be ready to run because she could not go back. Going back would be death for her.
"Over there is your private bath and over there is a small study area. The only kitchen is downstairs."
"It's beautiful." She smiled for the first time in what felt like ages. "Thank you. I will be the best maid, nanny, and cook ever." She stopped smiling abruptly, realizing what her mother had told her had so far been true. Nobody would give help for nothing in return. Mr. Masters had thus far asked nothing for himself, not even a cooked meal.
"Mr. Masters, will you be expecting me to..."
"No!" He said so abruptly she had to resist the urge to run to the mirror to look at her reflection.
"That is I'm not helping you for sex."
"Oh," she sighed relieved. He was attractive, but she didn't want her first time to be payment for anything.
"You just...I felt sorry for you that first day. And I know what can happen to women like you, those desperate to be in this country. I wanted to help. Olander has been trying to get my company since before my grandfather died and left it to me. I knew I had leverage to get in and assess the situation."
"I can never repay your kindness."
"And you'll never have to." He handed her a key to the front door before leaving her alone to settle in.
Chapter Two
Tayla came to a stop the minute she reached the kitchen. "Who are you?" Her face scrunched with inquisition; her nose crinkling and eyes narrowing.
"This is Nefertiti. She's going to stay in the upper room and be your nanny."
"I'm ten, not two. I don't need a nanny."
"Well you've got one anyway young lady."
"Sorry," Nefertiti shrugged.
"My dad is too protective."
"Father's usually are." She stepped from behind the counter. "My friends call me Ta-Ta or Nefi."
Drake grinned. Ta-Ta had a completely different meaning in this area of the world.
"I'm not sure I like either of those. Can I just call you Nefertiti?"
"Of course."
"Egyptian right?"
She nodded.
"Do you speak Egyptian?"
"We speak Egyptian Arabic in Egypt. And yes, I speak it."
"Cool. Do you speak anything else?"
"Of course. I speak five languages."
"French?"
"Yes."
Tayla grinned. "Great. I need help with French. Will you help me?"
"Of course."
"Cool. I'll be back down for dinner." She ran down the hall and disappeared around the corner.
"She likes you. That's good." He tossed his key on the counter. "She's a picky eater she might not like...what is that?"
"Rice with chicken. If she doesn't like it I also know how to make cheese and Mac."
"Mac and cheese." He looked at the concoction in the pot. It smelled good, but he hadn't seen chicken cooked that way before unless it was going in soup, and she was definitely not making soup.
"That's what I said, cheese and Mac."
He chuckled. He watched her move around the kitchen. She had a spectacular behind. He knew from the outfit she wore in the office that the front view was just as titillating.
He had no intention of bringing her home so soon. He wasn't sure he would at all. When he went to see Olander he had every intention of just assessing the situation, making a few phone calls and having an investigation started. When he saw how they treated Nefertiti, what Olander had planned for her, he had to act fast. Something inside him snapped and he had to protect her.
He had been attracted to her at first glance. He followed her, covertly, through the park and watched her. When he saw her crying he assumed she was having trouble with her boyfriend. He never imagined the story she told him.
"I won't tell Tayla how you came to work for me. I'll just tell her I met you at the park."
She agreed. It wasn't a lie. He had indeed met her in the park.
They ate dinner. Much to his surprise Tayla loved the boiled chicken. After tucking Tayla into bed he took the stairs up to Nefertiti's room and knocked on the wall before entering fully.
"Is everything okay? Do you need blankets or anything?"
"No. I'm okay. I haven't gone shopping for clothes in America yet. Is this enough money?"
"Jesus," he took the two bundles of cash from her hands. "That's too much." He pulled five hundred dollars out and tucked the rest in her case. "This is probably more than you need too." He started to hand the money back to her.
"Will you keep it for me to pay in the stores? I'm too nervous I'll mess up."
"Sure," he shrugged. "We'll get a fire proof safe tomorrow for the rest of that." He pointed to the case of cash. "Just don't run off talking about how much you have--"
"I won't." She smiled again. He liked seeing her smile. She had a smile that could light up a room. "Thank you again Mr. Masters."
"Drake," he insisted. "Just call me Drake. And you're welcome."
"If I mess up please give me a chance to correct? I can't go back to my country."
"I would never threaten to send you back. We’re not all bastards here in America." The poor woman had only been exposed to perverts and leeches. It was no wonder she felt fear of American men. Maybe she feared all men. He wondered what had driven her from her country, but he didn't ask. He wouldn’t ask. Her secrets were hers to hold until she was ready to talk.
"Tayla's mother died not long after our baby boy died. They've been gone from us three years now. It'll be good for Tayla to have a woman in the house on a full-time basis. Our other nanny was only here while I was at work."
Perhaps it would be good for him too. Holding an adult conversation that wasn't about laws, criminals and procedures would do him some good.
He knew the moment Nefertiti told him her story he should open a file on Olander, but starting an investigation would ultimately mean she would have to go back. He couldn't do that to her. He hadn't planned on using his position to blackmail Olander, but he had. He couldn’t change that abuse of power and even if he could he wouldn't, not if it meant hurting her.
"You know I don't think I can call you Ta-Ta. It has a completely different meaning over here."
"I guessed it might. I saw a sticker on a car. It read, 'Save the Ta-Tas' and I wondered how they knew I needed saving."
"Had a little pink ribbon behind it?"
"Yes. You know it?"
He chuckled. "Um...some people call breasts ta-tas."
He watched her face. Her eyes moved from side to side as she thought about his words.
“Oh. That makes sense. Denis Grayson said nice ta-tas to me after I picked up his notepad. I couldn't figure out how he knew that was my nickname."
He felt a twinge of hate rush through him thinking about what she must have endured. Most of the torment she may not have even understood. Her English was excellent, but there were still those slang terms she didn't know.
"You can call me Nefi. My dad calls me that."
"Do you have a middle name?" Clearly Nefi wasn't getting his vote either.
"Isis."
"You're kidding?"
She laughed. "I was born in the desert near the Temple at Karnack. My parents are avid historian so they were out exploring when my mother's water broke. She should have been in the city, but my dad said she would never stay without a fight and he was too exhausted to fight with her. My dad delivered me right there. So they decided I must be a gift from the gods and so they named me Nefertiti after a great q
ueen, and Isis after an ancient goddess.
She laughed another one of those sexy laughs that had his hormones raging. "In Egypt it was not so strange."
"Egypt; is that where you're trying to avoid going back to?"
Her somber look told him he was stepping into private territory. He wondered if she would answer, but then she slowly shook her head no.
"My father was exiled from Egypt when I was sixteen. We went to Israel and that is where I have escaped from. I long for Egypt. Egypt is in my blood, coursing through my veins like fire through the woods. But it is not safe for my family there. I can never return."
He wanted to know more, but the sound of feet pattering up the stairs told him Tayla was near and this wasn't a conversation he wanted to have with her in earshot.
"I need a nickname for you," he changed the topic abruptly. "Nefertiti is just-"
"Too many syllables," Tayla plopped down on the floor and sat crossed leg.
"Well you two think of one and I will tell you if I like it."
Nefertiti turned down the bed while Tayla and Drake tried to come up with a nick name. She shook her head no to all of them and they readily agreed each was a bad idea.
"There's always Nefi," she grinned.
Tayla and Drake looked at each other. "Nefertiti," they said in unison.
"We'll let you get some rest," he took Tayla by the hand. "And Tayla will knock before entering next time."
Tayla blushed and gave a sheepish, "sorry," before saying goodnight.
"Back to bed young lady," he called behind her.
"Come tuck me in, Dad."
"I've already tucked you in once tonight," he mumbled. "She's strong-willed."
"Like you." Nefertiti smiled at him. If she didn't stop doing that he wouldn't sleep comfortably. He already wasn't standing too comfortably. He shrugged, said goodnight and left.
When morning came he realized he was no longer the first to rise. Nefertiti had already started breakfast by the time he woke up. She must have walked quieter than a turtle because he hadn't heard her pass his room.
"I start breakfast."
He watched her roll dough into small balls and placed them on the cookie sheet.
"You'll like these biscuits. They are very good."
He shrugged. All he wanted was coffee. From the smell of the kitchen she had already put some on. He liked his coffee, but he would try hers. He just hoped she made it strong enough.
"I have to drop Tayla off at my mom's. She spends one day a week there, but mother has agreed to take her today so we can—"
"Go shopping!" Her face lit up like a Christmas tree.
"I have to work tonight so try not to wear me out." He was on duty six until midnight. He couldn’t complain about the hours; it was the shortest shift he had worked in months.
After breakfast he dropped Tayla off and went back to pick Nefertiti up. She had insisted on staying to clean the kitchen. The first store had been Ross. She found several tops and bottoms there that she liked. She seemed to love everything she tried on. He was amazed a week worth of outfits cost fewer than seventy dollars.
"The stores at the mall are pricier," he cautioned. He drove her down to Orlando to the Florida Mall. JC Penny had been their first stop, and there she lucked out once again with the buy one get one half price sell they were running. He watched her pick up lingerie, underwear - lace concoctions and more sensible cotton creations. She bought dresses, pants, skirts, handbags and other accessories before heading to shoes.
"See anything you like," the salesman approached. Drake noticed her nervous impulse to shrink back. She was afraid of men, most men, but she hadn't been afraid of him...not at first. He noticed fear in her eyes in Olander's office, and outside, but then she started to have the same ease she'd had in the park.
"No," she quickly moved behind Drake.
"We're just browsing," he said. She had five shopping bags full of clothes she had paid for in the other department; he doubted they looked like browsers.
Drake stepped aside just enough to look at her. "You need shoes."
"Another store?"
"Okay."
She picked up bags and he picked up a few. Payless had some boots and shoes she liked. Then she found a few pair in Sears. The real spender was when she splurged on a hundred dollar pair of pants in Cache.
"Eighty-five left," he said.
"I got so much."
She had. He had to admit even he was surprised. She had enough clothes and underwear to last a few weeks without needing to wash.
"I buy something for you."
"No. I..."
"Come on," she pulled him by the arm. A few men passing by snickered and he heard one say something about it being worth it if he could "hit that" every night. Yeah, he imagined any man would let Nefertiti drag him around a mall for one moment of those sexy legs wrapped around him. He was being dragged with no such reward in sight.
She picked out a silver and blue tie and pocket puff.
"This will go great with your suits."
He checked the price. "No." He knew the cost was higher than he wanted her to spend on him.
"Yes." She took it to the counter.
"Seventy-five forty-eight," the clerk announced.
This time she pulled the money from her bra.
"Hey?"
"I like to be prepared. Besides, what's left out of my shopping allowance is for your time and gas."
He started to protest, but she cut him off.
"Twenty left and I'd like to get something for Tayla."
"Nefertiti," he warned in his lawman tone.
"Last store; last purchase; I promise."
Once back in the car he tried to give her her money back but she looked at him pleadingly and said so sweetly, "Please, do not deny my gifts," that he had no choice but to comply.
Chapter Three
Drake heard the high pitched scream and it shook him from his bed. He ran to the hall as another loud yell pierced the darkness of night. The words were Arabic; it wasn't Tayla screaming. A second later Tayla emerged from her room.
"Dad?"
"It's okay. Go back to your room."
He rushed up the stairs to Nefertiti's bedroom. The covers were mangled, half on the bed, half off, and she was fighting, struggling in her sleep. He ran to her bed and grabbed hold of her upper arms. She continued to scream in Arabic until he shook her awake.
"It's okay."
She went into his arms, shaking ferociously and crying, uttering words he didn't understand. "Shh..." he mumbled as he held her in his arms. "It's just a bad dream. You're safe."
"Dad?"
"Go back to sleep, Tayla. She's okay. Just a bad dream." He wasn't sure his words were entirely correct. She, despite his reassurance, still shook violently in his arms. She still sobbed words he didn't understand. He was thankful Tayla had listened and returned to her room. He knew what seeing Nefertiti like that was doing to him; he could imagine what worry Tayla must have felt. His insides were twisting; his heart racing. He wondered what nightmare had shattered her sleep. Was she haunted by something that happened at Olander's company? Or was this something from her distant past?
He knew little about her. He needed to know why she left Israel, why her father had been exiled from Egypt. He would ask her the questions, but not tonight. Tonight he would simply hold her.
He could feel her silky skin and hair against his bare arms. The thought of having her panty clad body underneath him, long legs wrapped around him sparked a fantasy worth a triple X rating.
He needed to focus. Now was not the time to want carnal knowledge of this woman.
It was a long while before she settled down and even longer before she shifted out of his hold.
"I'm sorry."
"You want to talk about it?"
"No," she shook her head. "I just want to forget."
Whatever it was he was sure she was long from forgetting.
"I didn't mean to wake you both."
"You have these nightmares often?"
"This one I haven't had in awhile. I'll try not to..."
"Shh," he brushed a strand of hair from her face. "You can't control what you dream." He couldn't stop his fingers from stroking her shoulder. She was soft like silk, rich like chocolate. It took all his strength to keep from pressing his lips to her shoulder. "You are safe here."
"I know. I'm sorry...I just come damaged."
"You're not damaged. We all have a past. We all have baggage weighting us down. You're human. Don't ever forget that."
She looked in his eyes. He could see the moisture still misting her eyes.
"I won't," she said and he believed her.
"Now, let's fix this mess so you can go back to sleep." He helped her out of bed before gathering the pillows off the floor.
Together they made the bed and for a moment it reminded him of when he and Natalie, his wife, had made the bed together. He would work on one side, tackling the fitted sheet, as she worked on the other. Usually it took them three tries before they conquered the beast. Nefertiti didn't seem to have a problem. She was an expert, turning the sheet the right way on the first try. She was a maid, so he shouldn't have been surprised. She was efficient in all areas, but still, he had his suspicious that she was more in her country. It didn't take five languages to be a maid.
"What did you do before this?"
"Back when I was in Egypt I went on digs with my father, and worked in the museum once or twice a week. In Israel I just worked in the local museum three days a week. Then I lost that job and I tried to get another, but..."
"But what?"
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "But then I come here to America and I become a maid."
"She said no more. As much as he wanted more information he knew she would share nothing more of herself tonight. No, he would have to be patient. Each day he would push just a little more until he had the information he needed. She wasn't a criminal. Interrogation tactics would only make her afraid and cause her to close herself off to him. He tried to remind himself to remember that fact.
"Do you like being a maid?"
"I like it here, but I did not like it when I worked for Mr. Olander."
Maid for Hire & Educating Australia Page 2
