The Boy Who Has No Faith (Soulless 5)

I studied her stare and saw the sincerity on the surface of her eyes. I saw a woman who was selfless and considerate. When my mother said Emerson was like me, she was probably right. She didn’t seem like a deceitful person at all.

“I don’t expect you to trust me right away. But I hope you know that I’m a decent person.”

I should apologize for being so cold and unkind, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

She didn’t wait for it to happen. She turned back to her notebook and moved on. “Is there a reason you don’t want a driver?”

“I don’t trust someone else with my life in their hands.”

“Well, you risk that driving yourself.”

“I’m a good driver.”

“But other people aren’t. Someone could run a red light at the wrong time, and then it’s over. Instead of shutting everyone out because you’re scared—”

“I’m not scared. All the people out there are idiots.”

“Still, it would make your life easier if you let these people take care of you. What’s next? You don’t want a personal chef because they might give you food poisoning?”

“Actually, yes.”

This time, she rolled her eyes. “Now I understand why Cleo was so adamant about me taking this position.”

I stared at her and waited for an elaboration.

One never came.

So, I was forced to speak. “Why?”

She turned her gaze back to me. “Because you’re so uptight. You’re a billionaire, and you don’t enjoy it at all. You do everything the hard way, obsess over things that will probably never happen. If you embraced any of these changes, you would be much happier, much more relaxed. No one would not hire a private chef because they’re afraid of food poisoning. I mean, who says that? No one would not hire a housekeeper because they’re afraid they’ll steal their work—”

“This is something you don’t understand.” I raised my hand and silenced her. “I have a lot of projects at my company, and anyone would kill to take my work and get a patent before I do. I do more than just aeronautical engineering. I work on big projects here on the ground too. My mind is worth more than all the money in the goddamn world.”

She listened to every word and kept her poise even though her eyes fired off slightly. “Fair enough. But we can still improve your life dramatically. So, let’s do the driver.”

I sank back into the couch and sighed.

“We’ll do an SUV.”

“Why are you saying we?”

“I assumed I would accompany you sometimes.”

“Why?”

“Well, if you’re teaching a class, I can assist you with that.”

“Trust me, you couldn’t assist me in my lectures—”

“I meant organizing your paperwork, handing out assignments, taking appointments with the students, things like that.”

“A TA?”

Her eyebrows furrowed.

“Teaching assistant.”

“Ohh…yes.”

“I don’t need that.”

Now her eyebrows furrowed in anger. “Derek, I want you to do something for me.”

Unlikely.

“I want you to give me a real chance. I want you to give this a hundred and ten percent like you do with everything else. Because I want this relationship to be successful, and if you’re this pessimistic about everything, you’re basically setting me up to fail. I understand you’re a difficult man, set in his ways, and I can deal with that. But you can’t put roadblocks everywhere. I know I’m not a super brain like you, so my intelligence is laughable in comparison, but what I lack in intelligence, I make up for with grit. I don’t quit. I don’t give up. I find a solution when there is no solution. And I am of above-average intelligence. I went to NYU for an undergrad degree in literature and got my master’s in publishing at George Washington University. Again, I’m not a rocket scientist like you, but I’m not an idiot either. So please, just work with me here.” Whenever she made her speeches, her blue eyes lit up with this glow, this power that came from within. She had a woman’s voice, but it had a deeper tone than most, like she was ethereal or angelic. She had confidence that most people lacked, but she wasn’t arrogant…like I was.

“Alright.”

She released a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

I looked away, stared out the windows that showed the darkness outside. My hand moved to the armrest, and my fingers dragged against the fabric.

“When should the housecleaner start? I think that’s a priority.”

I shrugged.

“Do you want to organize everything first?”

“I don’t have time this week.”

“Alright. I’ll have her start tomorrow.”

The idea of having some stranger in my home gave me a rush of anxiety. “That’s not going to work.”

“What if I’m here while she cleans?”

“She could still pull out her phone and take photographs.”

“I’ll take her phone when she walks in. How about that?”

That made it a little better.

“How about this?” She set her stuff to the side and got to her feet. “Let’s take a look at your office.”