“Ah, Miss Jackson. How’s the French life treating you?”
I snorted. “Busy. I’ve taken on a temp job at the château. Mr. Malveaux hired me on as a housekeeper.”
He spoke to someone in background, laughing loudly in my ear. Did he even hear me?
“Glad to hear that, Miss Jackson. How temporary are we talking here?”
“That I don’t really know. I think he said three months, but I don’t know if that’s just how long she’ll take to come back, or if they’ll need me after that. The point is I’ve given myself a little bit extra time to find something else and I just thought you should know.”
“I appreciate that. I’ll go ahead and update your file then. Was there anything else you needed to let me know?”
“Nope, that was it. So… How are you doing?”
“I’m doing pretty good. I’m actually pretty busy at the moment, so I’m going to have to let you go. If you need anything else don’t hesitate to call.”
“Oh. Okay. No problem. See you in two weeks.”
“See you then,” he replied, the line going dead immediately after.
Geez, I thought. I guess he really does have a life to get back to.
I felt like throwing my phone against the wall, but I refrained, knowing it was my only possible line out. It wasn’t that I was angry with Agent Wilson, it was just my situation was frustrating. I had a life of my own back in New York. It wasn’t much, but it was mine...
On the other hand… I had to admit that I was lucky to have gotten out of it completely unscathed. At least physically, that is. I could be six feet under, but instead I’m lying on this lavish bed far from anyone who could hurt me.
Things could be worse.
I kept repeating a mantra in my head as the days passed by. Be thankful for what you have, Amira. You’ll make a new life for yourself… A better life.
It was a dream, but it made me feel a bit better when I was busting my ass to try and clean a stubborn scuff mark off of the floor.
I was pretty thankful that Marie had finally lightened up on me somewhat. At least she wasn’t barking orders anymore, and I finally got to meet her husband, Alain. He was the sweet to her sour it seemed. When the two of them were together you could still see the love they had for each other…
Alan let me tag along with him for a couple of days, which was almost like a vacation in comparison to his wife and her duties. He was a very chatty old man, telling me stories about his childhood spent playing along the banks of the Rhine River. I knew nothing about fishing, but I was very interested in hearing what he had to say about it. I could see why Marie loved him so; he was utterly charming, and always smiling and winking at you as if he was sharing a secret. Heck, for a seventy-something-year-old man, he was very handsome too. I bet he was a real looker when he was younger.
I was helping him pull some of the weeds in the main garden when my cell phone rang in my pocket. I blushed, not really wanting others know that I had it with me at all times.
“Go ahead and answer it, ma chère.”
I mouthed my apologies to him, flipping open the ancient phone to answer it. “Hello?”
“I do believe it’s time for a little break. I have a small surprise for you in the kitchen,” Julien answered, taking me by surprise.
I bit my lip, trying to hold back from smiling as widely as I wanted to. Get a hold of yourself, woman!
“Oh… Okay. I guess I’ll be on my way then.”
“I’ll be here waiting.”
I took in a deep breath, hanging up the phone and shoving back into my pocket. Did that really just happen?
“Alain? Mr. Malveaux just requested for me to meet him inside. I’m gonna go ahead and take my break right now, if that’s okay.”
He shrugged, gesturing for me to go on. “Go ahead. There will be plenty more for when you come back,” he laughed.
I looked around, realizing just how right he was. “Gardening sure is hard work, isn’t it? It wasn’t something I ever had to do back in my old job.”
He rocked back on his heels, also taking a good look around. “Yes. Gardening is hard work. But good hard work. Good for the soul,” he replied, putting his hand over his heart.