The Boy Who Has No Faith (Soulless 5)

I was tired and just wanted to go to bed, but I forced myself up and guided her down the hallway. My office was large, with a big desk against the window and a few shelves on either side. There were also extra tables, which were covered with papers and parts.

She looked around her, her arms crossed over her chest. “It’s…messy.”

My hands slid into my pockets, and I stared at her.

“We’ll put your things in here for the meantime, and I’ll make sure she doesn’t come in here. Then we’ll work on getting all of this organized and locked away. Diane is a very sweet woman. She retired from her previous profession and wanted a simple job to keep her mind going. She’s harmless, I promise you.”

“You shouldn’t make promises you can’t enforce—and you can’t enforce other people.” I left my office and returned to the main room.

She followed me and moved to the dining table where my paperwork sat. “Are you going to bed after this?”

I nodded.

“Then let’s put everything inside so you don’t have to worry about it in the morning.”

Instead of arguing, I just did it. I gathered my things and my laptop and placed them in the office.

“I’ll have a safe installed tomorrow as well.” She followed me then joined me back in the entryway. “I’ll run to the grocery store and grab a couple things tomorrow, based on what I’ve seen in your pantry and fridge. But how about we just try the chef for the week? Imagine coming home from work and your dinner is already waiting for you, and it’s exactly what you want.”

I didn’t want to do any of those things, but I couldn’t resist anymore. “Fine.”

“Cleo gave me a key. What time do you leave in the morning?”

“Seven thirty.”

“Alright. I’ll let myself in afterward and take care of everything. I really think you’re going to like it.”

Probably not, but whatever.

“I noticed you don’t have an alarm system.”

I stood in the living room with my hands in my pockets, waiting for a question to follow the statement.

“If you’re so concerned about your work, why don’t you have one?”

“I don’t have the time.”

“Alright. What if I get that installed for you tomorrow?”

I didn’t have a lot of faith she’d be able to get all of this done tomorrow by the time I got home, but I just went with it. “Fine. Just be gone by the time I get home.”

“And what time is that?”

“Six or seven. It’s different every day.”

“I’ll have the chef put your meal in the fridge, and you can reheat it.”

I’d rather heat cold food than have to deal with a live person coming into my space after a long day at work. “No one has a key but you.”

“Of course.” She gathered her things from the couch and held them against her chest with one arm. “We’ll start with that tomorrow and go from there. Have a good night, Derek.” She let herself out without looking back at me. Once she got what she needed, she was out of my hair immediately.

I was glad the conversation was over.

Twelve

Emerson

Cleo issued me a debit card that allowed me to take care of his expenses, like the housekeeper, alarm installers, and so on. It pulled the money from an account that didn’t have a ton of cash inside, so I could take care of errands without having access to the rest of his money. I was surprised he didn’t want a driver or a chef but he gave me a card with his money on it.

Cleo must be really persuasive.

I got there shortly after he left and let Diane inside. I asked for her phone like he asked, and I did a quick scan of the penthouse to make sure there wasn’t anything important left out, in case he forgot. I had Diane sign a lot of legal paperwork that would make anyone scared shitless to steal, so I wasn’t worried about it. He probably had valuables in his nightstands, but I didn’t dare cross the line and look.

It was hard to take care of someone and earn their trust at the same time. It made it more difficult for me to do my job at full capacity, especially since I was learning as I went, on top of it.

Diane took a look around. “Oh wow… This place hasn’t been cleaned in a while.”

I never wanted to offend Derek, but his place needed a deep cleaning. It wasn’t a pigsty, but it did have a smell to it, and I could see the dust on all the tables in the morning light. His condo was nice and spacious, but it looked like a typical bachelor pad.

“How big is it?”

“Like ten thousand square feet or something.”

“Then I’m going to be here all day.” She dragged her vacuum with her down the hallway, along with her bucket of cleaning supplies.