Surprise Bidder

“You had every right to wake me,” I tell her.

“No, ma’am.” She shakes her head. “I would never.”

“Well, I sure hope you’ll wake me if the apartment catches fire.”

She gives me a confused look. “Um… I guess.”

I smile. “Relax. I don’t think that will happen. Something tells me this place has its own fire suppression system or something. Anyway, don’t call me ma’am. I’m Leah.”

I offer her my hand.

She reluctantly takes it. “Giselle. I’m your personal maid.”

My eyebrows go up. “Really? I have a personal maid?”

She nods.

“Wow.” I lean against the wall. “And not so long ago I didn’t even have my own toothbrush.”

Giselle looks shocked.

“Just kidding,” I tell her. “I had that. I didn’t have much, though.”

She purses her lips like she wants to say something but she’s not sure if she should. I get the feeling I’m making her uncomfortable. I should probably leave her alone and let her work. But I’m new here and I feel alone right now, especially with Gavin acting like such an ass. I could really use a friend.

“You can keep doing what you’re doing,” I tell her as I sit on the stool by the door. “I’ll just sit here. I hope you don’t mind. It’s just that it feels nice to meet someone close to my age.”

“It’s okay.” Giselle kneels on the carpet and continues fixing my clothes.

“How old are you?” I ask her.

“Twenty-five.”

I nod. “I’m twenty-two.”

Her eyes grow wide behind the lenses of her glasses.

“Yup. I’m twenty-two and I’m two months pregnant.” I touch my belly. “What on earth was I thinking?”

“Did you have a boyfriend?” Giselle asks.

I smile in spite of the question because it’s the first she’s asked about me. “No. Can you believe it? I had sex for the first time with a man I didn’t know and I ended up pregnant. Stupid.”

Giselle frowns. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked such a- ”

“No, it’s okay.” I kneel beside her and hold her arm. “I’m glad I have someone to talk to. And you can talk to me, too. It must be hard having to just quietly work by yourself all day. I know because I used to work as a waitress and I tried to focus on my work, keep my mind busy, but it felt better when I would talk with the other waitresses, even the kitchen staff. It made the work a little lighter.”

She gives a slight smile.

“Of course, some of them were hard to approach, especially for someone shy like me, and even then, some weren’t nice, but yeah, it helped.”

Giselle grins. “You don’t seem shy to me.”

I shrug. “Maybe it’s because I see a kindred soul.”

I hold her hand.

“I know you think that you and I are different and that you work for me, but I would really love for us to be friends. Do you think that’s possible?”

For a moment, Giselle remains still. Then she nods and her lips form a smile.

“I’d be happy to be your friend, ma… I mean Leah.”

“Thank you.” I give her a hug. “You have no idea how much better that makes me feel. I mean, I’m all alone here in this big… sterile apartment.”

She laughs at that word. I love the sound.

“You’re funny,” Giselle tells me.

“I am?”

No one’s ever used that word to describe me before.

She nods. “You’re not at all what I thought you’d be. I thought you’d be selfish and vain and… perfect, like a doll or a princess.”

“Perfect?”

“Because Ms. Jensen said you were a prize or something.”

I shrug. “Well, as you can see, I’m not perfect.”

“And I thought you’d be mean,” Giselle adds as she folds one of my shirts. “Ms. Jensen said the last one was mean.”

My eyebrows arch. “The last one?”

Giselle stops. The blood drains from her face.

“Shit.” She clasps both hands over her mouth. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t supposed to tell you. Ms. Jensen told me not to. Please don’t tell her.”

“I won’t.” I take her hands off her face. “I promise.”

She lets out a breath of relief.

I, on the other hand, am worried. I didn’t know there was someone before me. I never even considered the possibility.

Another prize. But if Gavin already had one, why get me? Are men allowed to have two prizes?

No. Giselle said “the last one”, not “the other one”, which means she’s not here anymore. Why? Did she have her second baby and leave already? No. Something tells me it didn’t end that well. Otherwise, why keep it from me?

“Do you know what happened to her?” I ask, unable to restrain my curiosity.

Giselle shakes her head. “I’m sorry. I’ve only been here a few months.”

Which means she’s been gone longer.

She takes my hand in both of hers. “Please don’t tell Ms. Jensen.”

I don’t even know who Ms. Jensen is. The housekeeper, I guess. I suppose she knows what happened, too, but no, I can’t ask her and get Giselle in trouble.