Chapter 17
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
Sia
Thankfully, I didn’t have to go without my phone for long. It was literally the only link I had to the outside world so I was appreciative that Lettie’s dad got my phone back to me by the end of the day. He had Sophia get it to me, but what was curious was the only contacts that were in there were Mr. Petrov himself, Val, and Lettie when I got my phone back.
I texted him asking about that, and he said Val had an issue at the wireless store. Apparently, he sent her to get the phone which made me laugh because she did say he treated her like his assistant sometimes.
Anyway, Val informed him the wireless people accidentally deleted all my contacts. It wasn’t like I had many. I mean, I basically had none but a few people I met through the years while growing up in the system. Actually, my lack of contacts was kind of pathetic, and the new ones I did have were from dating apps.
Of course those were gone now and something I couldn’t recall from memory. I was kind of bummed about that. I hoped eventually Mr. Petrov would let me out of this house so I could actually have a social life soon.
And get laid…
That’d been getting bad, the itch. I was human and needed it. I wasn’t terribly active in that department either, but I was well aware of the lack thereof since I only had my hand to do the job. I’d literally been getting off every night in the shower.
Mr. Petrov had been getting laid enough for the both of us.
I noticed something after that day at the pool, and that was all the women he brought through the house. Mr. Petrov apparently had an active social life and over the next few weeks, he seemed to have a new girl come through every night. Many of them wore designer silks and all of them were beautiful, mysterious…
I tried not to pay too much attention to them with the exception of the night I actually ran into one.
It was hard not to considering the way she looked.
The woman was filthy. She was still beautiful but dirty . Like grass and leaves in her hair and dirt on her face. She’d had it on her shins as well and her clothing had been torn. Her lipstick had also been smeared when I passed her in the kitchen.
She’d acted like she’d been in the most sophisticated of states when I spotted her through. Like all the dirt and leaves had been designer, and I’d been the one looking weird in my PJs. She had a glass of champagne in her hands, her look smug before she tipped her chin and strutted out of the room.
It’d been a very weird interaction, and I tried to put it out of my mind as I went to bed that night. I didn’t want to think about what she and Maxim had been up to.
I kept referring to him in my head by his first name more and more. I wasn’t sure why, but I was. I never called him that. Referring to him by his first name in person felt weird for some reason so I never did when we trained together with Polly.
He was in my head a lot unfortunately, too much. He was basically the only person I saw on a regular basis besides the household staff. Because of that, I thought about him a lot, and that was the only reason.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that.
I would keep telling myself that. Maxim was my employer, and I was his employee. Not to mention his daughter’s friend.
I kept myself busy with Polly on a Friday night. The two of us often chilled by the fireplace in the Petrovs’ grand living room. At least, I thought it was a living room. There were so many lounge areas in the huge manor.
Many times I found myself in the library. The Petrovs’ had a huge one of those too, and I was an active reader. I enjoyed getting lost in fantasy worlds, and it was easy to do in such an old and mysterious home.
Tonight, though, I was rubbing Polly’s back while going over my financial situation. I got paid weekly here, and my checks were adding up quickly. I could easily get myself a permanent place to stay for several months if the money kept growing.
I thought about my inevitable departure more and more lately. Especially since Maxim was doing so well with Polly. It’d get to the point where I knew he’d tell me he didn’t need me anymore, and I needed to be prepared.
“Staying in tonight, Miss Reynolds?”
His tease came from the southernmost corner of the room. It was a tease because I never went out anywhere. He didn’t allow it, and since my check-ins with the court could be done virtually over the computer, I really did have no reason to leave.
I opened my mouth to say something smart. He knew I didn’t leave, and I had a habit of shooting off at the mouth when Maxim was being a jerk. The words paused in my throat when he entered the room though, his hair slicked back and a tuxedo on his brawny frame. Most of his tattoos were covered but not all. The ones on his fingers were exposed. He appeared so clean-cut, handsome.
My mouth closed, almost forgetting he was the same man who silenced a dude forever and killed a guy point blank in front of me. I found myself fearing him less and less as I interacted with him every day, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
I sat up, pushing my hair back as he entered the room and the fireplace light glided across his body. Some of his tattoos could also be seen from his neck collar, and that only made him more fine.
Shut down those thoughts.
It was so weird I saw him as anything other than my friend’s dad. Granted, he was hot, but it was completely inappropriate. Then there was the fact that he was so dangerous.
I mean, he murdered a man.
Again, the fact I wasn’t thinking about that right away whenever we were together freaked me out a bit. I stood, and when Polly did the same with me, Maxim raised his hand.
“Sit, Polly,” he said, getting rather good at that. He smiled at her. “Can’t get any hair on the tux, can we?”
Him joking with her meant he was bonding with her, and even though she did sit down, he reached down and petted her. It was a few gentle pats, brief, but that was progress. He used to be so scared of her, but he wouldn’t ever admit that.
Now, he was a man with a dog, but there was also respect there. He respected her, and dare I say, enjoyed having her around. Anyone could see that even though he often tried to hide it. He wasn’t fooling me though, his smile warm on her before he stood.
My stomach clenched that I really would be leaving this house soon, and I didn’t know why. I mean, I really shouldn’t want to be here. I was nothing but an employee, expendable. I chewed my lip. “So, I see you’re going out tonight.”
“Yes, to an event. I’ll probably be returning late.” I noticed he didn’t have a date on his arm, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have one.
And why do you care?
Not caring, I folded my arms. “You know, I might go out if my owner said I could.”
I said this with some sarcasm, and my jokes with him certainly were inappropriate. I didn’t like being told what to do, and though I abided by his rules, I often voiced how I didn’t like them. They often came out as jokes or something smart.
Again, not appropriate.
I found myself often testing this man who employed me, and the thing was, he rarely shot it down. If anything, I saw something electric hit his eyes whenever I did, and that often sent activity between my legs just like that day I spotted him naked at the pool.
I kept testing both of our boundaries, Maxim’s grin wiry as he looked at me. I wasn’t nearly as fancily dressed but for some reason my exposed shoulders caught his attention, my thighs in my terry cloth shorts that paired with my tank top… His head tilted. “I think you and I both know you can get anything you want around here. Like how you tested the estate’s boundaries when you took Polly on a walk through the vineyards the other day.”
Of course he knew about that. I grinned. “What can I say, your staff likes me.”
I had a lot of time to get acquainted with everyone here, and he was right. If I wanted, I probably could go out. Attended, but I could. I walked right past his people when I walked Polly and all they did was smile and shake their heads at me before following along. I could go places if I wanted to.
I think maybe I was scared to, that Maxim would actually let me and once he did, the next move would be him telling me to leave.
Maxim’s expression changed. I didn’t know why, but something had his eyes narrowing.
“Maybe you should FaceTime with Lettie,” he suggested, and I shook my head. I normally did chat with Lettie, but with her being in school I didn’t want to bother her.
“It’s Friday night. She should have a social life.” I sat on the arm of a couch, happy when Polly got up and went to Maxim instead of me. He didn’t deny her, petting her again, and I hated to admit it, but I loved seeing him with her. He’d really let his guard down and their sweet interactions were becoming the highlights of my days here.
That and Maxim’s nightly swims.
It was terrible, but I still watched him. I mean, he did it right within view of my window, and I couldn’t help it. I blamed it on the fact that I hadn’t gotten laid lately, and Maxim was nothing but a visual object I saw before going to bed at night. And if I happened to put my hand between my legs as I fell asleep…
I knew I was a terrible person for this, and probably would be going to hell. I always felt super guilty whenever I did it since he was my friend’s dad, but at least Maxim was never around after my fingerings for me to face that guilt. He always seemed to be gone the mornings after. He’d go into work early or have some other engagement.
As if he knew what I was thinking, his eyes smoldered in my direction. The connection was brief before his attention transferred to Polly. At one point, he tried to stop petting her, but she wouldn’t let him. He laughed. “I will say, Miss Reynolds, you are a miracle worker. I believe this dog actually likes me.”
And he liked her. I laughed too. “That’s all you. You did the work. Showed up and trained with her.”
“Yes, but without your instruction it wouldn’t have been possible.”
He was doing that more and more lately: being kind. I never thought I’d see it. Especially in my direction.
“You’re good with dogs, but also with people,” he said, standing. “I’m honestly surprised you’re not attempting to do any classes while you’re working. I wouldn’t mind if you did. You have a long road to becoming a doctor, and you might as well get started with some of your prerequisites now. There’s a local community college here. I can speak to someone about getting you set up.”
I was surprised he offered. Again, being kind.
I rubbed my arm. “That’s okay. I’m in no rush.”
I really wasn’t, my eyes averting.
“Well, when you’re ready I’m sure you’ll shine. You have a gift of putting things back together that’s for sure. You’ll make a great surgeon.”
I didn’t know what he meant by that, and by the time I glanced up, he was looking away.
“Anyway, don’t stay up too late,” he said, teasing again. I probably wouldn’t. Actually, I’d probably retire soon after taking a bath.
I mean, I had enough bath products. I came back from a walk with Polly with a closet full of stuff. There was stuff for a bath yes, but also stuff for my hair. There were shampoos, hair lotions, and all for black hair. The bath products had also been for medium and darker skin complexions.
I’d been shocked seeing it and mentioned it to Val in passing. She often circulated the house and said she’d had Sophia buy things for me, but this had been at the request of Maxim himself. He apparently asked Val what I needed after I requested the silk pillowcase. I got that the next day of course and the bath and hair products came soon after.
This had been the first instance of outward kindness he’d showed toward me outside of what he’d done at the bar, and I think that was why I hadn’t been able to get over this little feeling I got whenever he was around. My stomach would do things, a flutter or something.
It came back when he nodded at me before leaving the room. He left Polly and me to our own devices, and I really needed to get over this little crush I had on a man almost twice my age.
Because that was all it was.