The Boy Who Has No Faith (Soulless 5)

“This wasn’t my idea.”

She flipped to a page in her notebook before she lifted her stare and looked at me.

“My…” I shut my mouth once I realized what I was about to say. “Cleo is the one who set all of this up. She propositioned you before she even told me about it.”

“Oh…” She stilled, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. “I’m sure she wanted to see if you would even be willing to put up with me before talking me into it. I’ve told her many times that I don’t want an assistant. I don’t want someone in my personal space when they don’t belong there.”

“Well…” She gave a forced smile. “This should be fun, then.”

I stared at her, distracted by the calculations I had been working on before this meeting. I was also tired because I hadn’t slept much the night before. I was working on my lesson plan until two in the morning and didn’t even realize how late it was at the time.

She took a minute to focus her thoughts before she spoke again. “My desire for the position doesn’t change. In the limited time I’ve been around you, I’ve gathered how committed you are to your work, to educating the next generation of engineers, and if I can help you in any way I’m able, it will be an honor. The more time I save you, the more time you have to devote to what you care about…and will just make you happier in general.” It didn’t matter how bleak my attitude was, her strength continued to shine through. She had a much more positive outlook on life than I did. She had to be made of something pretty tough to see through my bullshit and find something redeemable underneath.

I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I didn’t.

She didn’t let the silence linger, as if she knew there would be no heartfelt response. “I did a rough draft of the things I’d like to implement around here. It’s just an outline, but it really demonstrates how much time I can save you.” She opened her notebook and turned it to me so I could see her notes. “With housekeeping, I can keep this place cleaned and organized—”

“I don’t want some stranger organizing my things.” I’d lose my fucking mind knowing some random woman was touching my paperwork every day when I was out of the house. “There are a couple things I will not compromise on. That’s one of them.”

She kept an impassive expression, not reactive to my outburst at all. She had a couple freckles on the tops of her cheeks, like they were hand-painted with a brush. They were perfectly placed and symmetrical. “I meant in terms of your bath towels, soap dispensers, liners in your drawers in the kitchen, et cetera. I haven’t actually seen any part of your home except this room, but I suspect you aren’t as organized as I’d like you to be.”

I didn’t take offense because it was absolutely true. I didn’t waste my time organizing things because I had much more important things to worry about. My desk at the office was just tables of schematics, calculations, and drawings everywhere. I was the least organized person on the planet—and my mind was just as disorganized. If I didn’t do that at work, I definitely wouldn’t do it here.

“So, do I have your permission to do that?”

I nodded.

She made a note. “And for the record, I will never touch anything in your home you don’t want me to touch. I respect your privacy, Derek.”

I didn’t have anything personal to hide, so that wasn’t the problem.

“So, I’ve contacted a housekeeper. I’ve interviewed her a couple times. She seems like a good fit—”

“You have no way of knowing that. You don’t have the experience.”

Her temper didn’t rise at the insult. “I don’t. That’s why I’ve asked Cleo for approval.”

So, my mom was hovering over her. That made me feel better. “I still don’t want someone in my penthouse when I’m not here. They could steal my work.”

“Do you have a safe?”

I shook my head.

She cocked an eyebrow. “You’re worried about people stealing your work, but you don’t have a safe?”

All I did was stare.

“How about we get a safe, then?” She scribbled it in her notebook. “We can put everything of importance in there whenever the housekeeper comes. Problem solved.”

“I’m not going to spend the time putting everything away every day. Plus, I have too much stuff to fit into a safe. It’s not just what’s on the dining table, but everything in my office.”

“Alright.” She lowered her pen and chewed the inside of her lips as she thought of another suggestion. “What about a filing cabinet? One that locks?”

The thought had never crossed my mind.

“We can put the filing cabinet in your office and store everything in there.”