Faith served the twins their breakfast, a perfectly balanced meal she’d prepared as
per Eve’s instructions, then sat down and drank her coffee while the family ate breakfast. They chatted animatedly as they did. Even Eve seemed to perk up. Despite her strictness, she wasn’t an uncaring parent. And despite the kids being absurdly well behaved, they seemed happy and healthy.
It made Faith miss her own family. She wondered what they were all up to. It had been a while since she’d heard from her sister. She was getting worried.
When the twins finished their breakfast, Eve sent them upstairs to brush their teeth. Faith began clearing the dishes from the table.
“Make sure you get the kids to school on time,” Eve said. “When they were with Harrison last week, they were late two days in a row.”
“I will.” School didn’t start for another forty-five minutes. They had plenty of time .
“And don’t forget, they have Spanish lessons this afternoon.”
“Okay.” Faith had already memorized their schedules, which Eve had given her on day one. But she still insisted on laying everything out every single morning. She managed Faith just as much as she managed her kids.
It was frustrating, but Faith tried not to hold it against Eve. Eve was working full-time and almost single-handedly raising two kids. Faith didn’t know what the situation was with her ex-husband, but it didn’t sound like he was much help in that department.
“Now, I need you to run some errands for me,” Eve said.
As Eve continued to list off instructions, she took off her glasses and wiped down the lenses. With her glasses off, Faith could see all the colors in Eve’s eyes, a mesmerizing swirl of greens and browns.
What lay behind those eyes of hers? Eve’s face was the kind that gave nothing away. Faith found it equal parts frustrating and intriguing. She was like a puzzle to be solved. Was there more to Eve than the proper, boring facade she presented?
Eve replaced her glasses on her nose, breaking the spell. She stood up. “I need to get to work. Call me if you need anything. And make sure everything I asked of you gets done.”
Faith nodded. It was going to be a long day.
Faith opened the trunk of her shiny new car and grabbed the bags of groceries inside. She’d finally finished the long list of errands Eve had given her. She still had a few hours before she had to pick up the twins, but she had plenty to do around the house.
As she carried the groceries to the door, her phone rang. She put her bags down and picked up the phone. It was Eve.
“I need a favor,” Eve said. “My pen leaked on my blouse. I have a meeting in a couple of hours. Can you bring me a fresh one?”
“Sure,” Faith replied.
“Just choose something from my closet. My work clothes are on the left.”
Faith took the groceries inside, packed everything in the fridge, then headed toward Eve’s bedroom. It was at the back of the house, along with a set of rooms that Eve reserved for her use only. The twins weren’t allowed in this part of the house, so Faith hadn’t seen it yet.
As she walked down the hall, she saw that Eve’s rooms were off-limits to the twins for a good reason. They were even more pristine than the rest of the house and filled with all kinds of valuable, breakable furniture and decor. There were a few pieces of art on the walls by artists whose style Faith recognized from her art school days.
She walked further down the hall, spotting a sun-filled office, a huge bathroom, and a small lounge room. At the end of the hall, she came to a bedroom. Eve’s bedroom. It was as luxurious as all the other rooms, and it was just as neat. The large bed looked like it had never been slept on, the crisp white sheets on it pulled tight. Eve’s walk-in closet was on the other side of the bed.
Faith tiptoed into the room, afraid to disturb anything. She entered the closet and turned on the light .
Wow. The closet was the size of Faith’s entire bedroom. All around her were endless racks of clothes and shelves of shoes. There was a full-length mirror surrounded by lights and a mannequin on which a simple black dress hung. A small dressing table held an array of jewelry.
Faith walked around the room, examining everything. For someone as fashion-mad as Faith, this was heaven. Although most of Eve’s clothes weren’t to Faith’s taste, everything was stylish and finely made. She reached for a woolen pea coat, stroking it gently. It was delightfully soft. She wondered what it would feel like on.
No. Focus . She walked over to the rack on the left. Just as Eve had told her, it held all work-appropriate clothes. There were a dozen near-identical cream and white blouses, as well as pantsuits and skirts in various shades of black and gray. Judging by how well everything Eve wore fit her, each item in the closet was tailor-made for Eve’s body.
Not that Faith had noticed her boss’s body.
She pulled out a blouse at random. It would go well with the pantsuit Eve had been wearing. She found an empty garment bag and slipped the blouse into it.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something tucked away at the other end of the wardrobe. It was a bright blue sequined cocktail dress. And it was scandalously short.
Faith flipped through the pieces next to it. There were a few more cocktail dresses, most of them more modest than the blue one, as well as some evening gowns. One of them was a stunning piece, a long black dress with a structured bodice. On the floor beneath the dresses, almost hidden by the long skirts, were two pairs of stiletto heels with red soles.