Chapter Six:
Pretty Creature
Zeppelin
Six am, I repeated, glancing around at my hotel room at the mess I’d created that morning. How I’d managed to put on two different shoes and drive all the way there without realizing was baffling, but it made a little more sense when I thought about how distracted I’d been.
I still couldn’t believe I had somehow found a way to screw up a one-night stand. How did one even do that? The rules were simple: go home together, sleep together, then say goodbye and pretend it never happened. Only Caffrey wouldn’t ever forget what happened last night, not after I made him babysit me and then made him feel like I was accusing him of something horrible. As bad as I felt, I pushed all thoughts of that disaster aside and put on a brave face.
Tomorrow, I’d be moving into a mansion with men I didn’t know. The thought made me laugh out loud and wonder what Caffrey would think of that life decision — but there was no going back now. I wasn’t going to give that Sterling guy the satisfaction of pushing me out of this job, even if something in my gut told me he’d attempt to. As hard as I tried not to take it personally, I couldn’t help it.
He called me a fucking creature, how the hell else am I supposed to take it?
I knew this went a lot deeper with his father, but the fact that the deliciously tall, black-haired, blue-eyed, blindingly handsome fucker wanted to just put his father in a home was gross. If I had it in my power to help Charlie avoid a nursing home, then I would do all I could. The poor man just wanted to be comfortable, and what kind of son would ignore his father’s wishes, especially when his father looked so good for his age?
I glanced at the job listing and duties one more time to see exactly what Charlie was looking for and felt more confident. It seemed like he mostly needed company, and being good company just so happened to be one of my specialties. I Googled how to properly give someone a sponge bath just in case, downloaded the best apps to keep track of prescription pills, found an amazing website for healthy meals, and when I closed my laptop that night, I knew I was ready.
Even if packing was a nightmare.
How I managed to accumulate so much stuff in a couple weeks was beyond me, but I got most of my belongings in my car before the sun went down and then took a long, relaxing bath. Who knew when I’d get to take another one?
~
THE NEXT MORNING, Iwoke before the sun. I knew it was nerves, but as I slipped into some comfy black leggings, excitement began to set in. I finally felt like I was beginning the next chapter of my life.
I chuckled to myself as I slipped on my bright rainbow Crocs — I may not know Sterling well yet, but something told me he was going to hate these shoes.
But I wasn’t wearing them for him. Charlie was going to love them.
Once my red blouse was on and my hair was done, I thought I looked like an actual human. You’ll still be a creature to him. “Fuck off, demon. At least I’m a pretty creature.”
I drove through Dunkin Donuts to get our coffee, grabbing us some snacks just in case Charlie was hungry too, and still arrived ten minutes early. Everything was going great right up until the second Sterling opened the door in his perfectly-pressed navy suit and I felt all those insecurities from the day before rush back.
As expected, his eyes were glued on my shoes, but that only helped give me the courage to speak. “Hello, Mr. Bishop. I had a feeling you’d be here, so I grabbed you a coffee and a breakfast sandwich too. Yours is just black, I didn’t want to mess it up and get it too sweet. Oh, and would you look at that? My shoes match.”
I walked past Sterling Silver with a smug smile and searched for Charlie, but I was assaulted the moment I rounded the corner for the kitchen. A giant mass of grey-and-white fur, sharp claws, and a long, wet tongue nearly knocked me on my ass. Must be the dog I heard during the interview.
“God damnit, Carl!” Sterling yelled, tugging him off me by his collar. “Sit down.”
The husky obeyed instantly, panting with his tongue flopping out of his mouth as I tried to contain the bag of food and styrofoam cup holder. “Well good morning to you, Carl. Sorry I don’t have a snack for you too, Sir.” I rushed to set everything down on the kitchen table and then bent over to give Carl a proper greeting. “Oh, you just want lovin’, huh, big guy?”
Sterling watched as I pet Carl’s ears, then checked his watch. “Dad needs to eat on a schedule and take his pills. They’re already sectioned off, so all you need to do is give them to him twice a day. Seven in the morning and seven in the evening. My cell number is on the fridge, as is Oliver’s, but don’t call him unless you’re unable to get ahold of me. Understood, Miss Bryce?”
“Understood.” I rushed to wash my hands, then handed Sterling his small breakfast. “I already have your number by the way, you called me yesterday. I’ll put Oliver’s in there as well in case of an emergency. Do you want me to check in at any point in the day?”
He nodded once, tapping his fingers on the counter. “Yes. I’d like to hear from you when he’s eaten and taken his meds, and if anything out of the ordinary happens. My work schedule is erratic at best, but I’ll try to give you a heads up if I’m going to be unusually late. Do you need a tour, or will you be able to find your way around?”
“I’ll find my way. Quick learner and all that.” I plopped in a chair and took a bite of my sandwich, noting how tense my new employer was and wondered if that was just who he was as a person. “Relax, Silver. I’ll take good care of everything.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
“I said I’ll take care of everything, especially Charlie. You don’t have to look so stressed, that’s all.” I couldn’t figure out why that offended him but it was very obvious that it did.
“Fine. There’s a stack of papers on the coffee table in the living room that my father failed to have you fill out yesterday, so see to it that you have those completed by the time I get home. Information about your salary and benefits will be in there, as well as the information I need to set up your direct deposit. You will not have to pay rent or utilities here, but if you want streaming services we don’t already subscribe to, that’s on you. If you need time off for any reason, it goes through me, not Charlie, since I’ll have to rearrange my schedule to be here. Understood?”
This man hates me.I honestly had no idea what I did, but when he spoke to me there was a look in his eyes I couldn’t place — like I was a child with no common sense at all or a person that crossed him in some way. But I wasn’t here for him, and I’d have to learn not to take this so personally. “Understood,” I replied simply, deciding the less I opened my mouth around Sterling, the better.
“Good.” He shifted then rocked his weight from one foot to the other in the first sign of awkwardness I’d seen from him. “Will you be bringing partners here?”
“Partners?” I nearly choked on my coffee, the thought was so laughable. “Yeah, no. No partner for me in this century. Maybe I’ll have better luck in the next one.”
The fucker had the nerve to relax. “Then I’ll look forward to hearing from you in an hour. If there’s an emergency, call me, don’t text me. He has no known food allergies and he’s relatively self-sufficient, but he can’t climb the stairs on his own and don’t let him convince you otherwise.”
“Got it.” I set my cup down and blurted out a question before I could stop myself. “What if I had... the partner thing. Is that allowed?”
“Judging by your tastes? No.” He straightened his tie and reached for the coffee I’d brought him, then headed for the door. “I expect to hear from you by 7:05, Miss Bryce. No later.”
Carl followed him, barking loudly and jumping around which prevented me from stopping him or saying anything else before he walked out the door, and left me glaring at where he left. The audacity of that fuck.
He absolutely noticed me at the bar, but what did he have against Caffrey? Instead of texting him to ask or dwelling on him any longer, I padded off to find Charlie with his coffee in tow.