“Here’s the guest room,” he said, opening the door to a huge bedroom.
“This is the guest room?” I laughed. “It’s huge! Shawn and I rented a house and you could fit most of it in here.”
“Well, I had this place custom built. I wanted all the rooms to be spacious, y’know? It lets the air circulate better, I think,” he said. “Let’s unload your car.”
“I don’t want to be a bother,” I said, feeling a little overwhelmed. “This can’t last that long, so I might as well leave most of it in the car.”
“Oh, don’t be silly,” he said. “This isn’t going to be over in a few days. They’re saying it’s a worldwide pandemic; I think you might be here a few weeks. Besides, it won’t take long.”
A few weeks? Wow. We were definitely going to get to know each other!
After we unloaded the car, I decided to change out of my work clothes. Julius did the same, disappearing for a bit. I put on a sundress and restyled my hair a little. I wanted to look good, but not too sexy. I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression.
Then again, what impression was I going for? I mean, I was super attracted to him. Quite frankly, it was the perfect time to make a move. What his intentions were was the question. What if he’s just being nice?
‘Oh, what if he’s religious?’ I thought, wrinkling my nose. ‘Then I could end up really offending him. I don’t want to lose my job. Wait. Did I see any religious stuff in the house? No. Religious guys always have that kind of Jesus stuff hanging up, right? He’s probably just normal. Or gay. Wait, is he gay? Is that why he throws all the swanky parties? Or am I over-thinking this?’
“Knock-knock.”
“Come in.”
When he opened the door, I could smell something delicious. Someone was cooking in the house. Did he have a private chef that he didn’t introduce me to? No, that would be silly, to make someone work when he had sent everyone at his business home.
“Dinner will be ready in about five minutes, okay?”
“Great. I’ll be right out,” I said.
He smiled and backed out of the room. My mind was racing. What was his angle? Who was Julius Lamb? If he was gay, I would probably know, right? Surely, he would’ve had a boyfriend by now; a successful guy like this is a catch.
Let’s assume he’s not gay. Then, why is he alone? Bad divorce? Emotional issues? My mind was all scatterbrained, probably because I was hoping he’d slip off my sun dress and ravage me on the floor of his kitchen.
“Oh, God,” I said aloud, stopping myself from leaving the bedroom. “I think I need a cold shower. Let’s wind this back.”
‘Okay,’ I think. ‘He sees me crying. It’s an emergency, so he offers me a place to stay. As far as I know, up to this point, he’s just being a good guy. He’s my boss, and he doesn’t want to see one of his employees on the street.
Crap, he might see me as his daughter! Ugh! That’s not what I want! Maybe I should sex it up a bit. Put on more eyeliner.’
I went into the bedroom’s private bathroom to doll myself up, but stopped myself. What was I doing? I couldn’t go down there looking like I’m ready for a night out in Manhattan. What kind of message would that send?
Obviously, if he intended to have his way with me, he was already attracted. He was just waiting for the right moment.
Walking into the hall, I started to head for the kitchen, but slowly. Normally, I’m not a snoopy person, but I needed to know more. I crept around the house, looking around. He had shown me most of it, but perhaps I could learn more.
Creeping into his bedroom, I could see he had a king-size bed. That didn’t mean anything; if I were rich, I’d want a big bed too. And it’s not like he does the laundry; he probably has a maid service. Surely the bathroom would have answers.
Making sure he wasn’t walking around looking for me, I slipped into his bathroom to look around. Standard stuff: razor, shaving cream, aftershave, toothbrush — all high end, of course.
He had a big closet full of clothes, but it wasn’t like he was a clothes hog. I mean, he was rich. If you have the room, why wouldn’t you have a big closet full of nice things?
There were no pictures of ex-wives, ex-girlfriends, or kids anywhere. There was a picture of an older couple, probably his parents. Jeez, this was actually kind of boring. Was Julius just a normal guy with money? I thought rich guys had to be eccentric.
There was one odd thing. There was some kind of leather harness under his bed. I assumed it was for a pet or something. Maybe he had a pet and lost it. That would be so sad! Maybe that’s why he invited me over and has been feeling lonely.