Frat House Fling

1. Hailey

1

HAILEY

“Why do you want this job?”

The question was normal, but absolutely nothing else about this interview was. For one thing, the guy who’d asked the question was wearing a tight Henley shirt that outlined his biceps. He was sitting on a huge sofa that could’ve fit twenty of me. He leaned forward, forearms on his thighs, watching me intently.

The guy next to him leaned lazily against the back of the couch with his long legs straight out in front of him, his feet resting on a coffee table. The sun from the row of windows behind me hit his face, emphasizing his blond hair and tan skin. With his board shorts and sleeveless T-shirt, he was more dressed for the beach than an interview. And while the weather was warm this summer, we were nowhere near the ocean.

“Hailey?” That was the blonde one.

Right, the interview. Even in this unconventional setting, I needed to impress these young men. If I didn’t get this job… well, that was an alternative I couldn’t let myself think about. I had to get it, or I’d have no money and no place to live this summer. That knowledge made it hard to breathe, let alone form coherent answers.

But how? “It looked interesting,” I said, underplaying the fact that my friends had thought I was insane to apply. “And likely more fun than working a cash register or boxing up orders.” Those were both things I’d done in the past, but I didn’t mention that.

An eyebrow cocked at a jaunty angle as the blond one peered at me with vivid blue eyes. “We’re all about fun here.”

“So I’ve heard.” The words slipped out before I could help it, and he grinned. I thought he said his name was Grant, but I didn’t retain information well when I was nervous. And the way these two good-looking men had towered over me was enough to make any woman nervous.

“I bet.”

It was clear he knew the reputation this place had. I’d heard about the men of Rho Kappa Alpha since my first day on campus ten months ago. Even in a private college in a small mountain town—which was about as far as you could get from a party school—they had a reputation for going all out. The stories were wild: a wall of kegs, music loud enough to be heard halfway across campus, and nearly ever party ending with the cops being called or someone in the hospital. Or both.

Last year, some girls in my biology class had tried to get me to join them at a party at this very house, and I hadn’t even been tempting. My life consisted of studying and working, not getting my stomach pumped at the hospital. Or having some drunken frat boy try to corner me in this massive house.

And now I was contemplating working for these men.

And living in this house.

Both Bennett—he was the intense, uptight one—and his cousin were looking at me expectantly, so I elaborated.

“I like the fact that room and board are included.” That part was definitely true. “That way, I can save on money for housing for a couple of months.” That part was not, since I had had no money to save. And after today, no housing. I’d been unceremoniously banned from staying any longer in my friend’s crowded apartment, and I had exactly enough money for one night in a hotel. And that was tonight.

But it didn’t seem wise to advertise how desperate my situation was. Not these guys.

“Are you a good cook?” Grant asked as he stretched his arms behind his head. His shirt pulled against his sculpted abs—which was likely why he’d stretched in the first place. He wanted me to notice, and I had.

I looked away. “No complaints,” I said. In reality, I’d only ever cooked for myself and my grandfather, but he’d never criticized anything I made.

“What’s your specialty?”

My brain raced and my hands trembled slightly, so I clasped them together on my lap, hoping the guys wouldn’t notice. But that brought both their gazes to my legs, and I wished I’d worn a longer skirt and a looser shirt. But I’d borrowed the interview outfit from my friend Tori. She was the one I had been staying with until her roommates had ratted us out to their landlord. If I hadn’t left yesterday, she would’ve been kicked out, too.

Since I needed this job so badly, I’d dressed to impress. But I’d imagined interviewing at a table, not on a low sofa that had probably absorbed so much alcohol over the years that one birthday candle would set it ablaze.

Not that it was shabby looking. Nothing in the huge lounge was. Heavy wooden furniture. Top of the line sofas and chairs. A gleaming bar at one end of the room and a huge fireplace at the other. The men of Rho Kappa Alpha were the most powerful on campus. They were the sons of CEOs and senators. Outside this house, they ran the school. Aced their classes. Networked. And moved up the metaphorical ladder a person like me would never even begin to climb.

But inside this huge frat house? Well, I’d heard that they worked hard and partied harder. And that worried me, but it wasn’t like I had a lot of options at this point.

“What about cleaning?” Bennett asked.

That was firmer territory for me. “I kept my grandfather’s house clean for the ten years I lived with him.”

“But you don’t live there anymore?” Grant asked.

“No.” He’d passed away five months ago. The house we’d lived in was a rental, and I moved out in February. Moisture flooded my lashes, and I looked away, trying to steady myself. The last thing I wanted to do was to cry in front of these polished, privileged men.

Looking anywhere but their direction, I took in the sheer size of the room. Dusting this common area alone would take hours. And the colossal house was three stories tall and likely had a basement. Probably upwards of twenty-five men lived here during the regular school year. Could I keep up with the work and still attend my classes? Then again, I had no choice. “How many guys are staying here over the summer?”

“Just a few,” Grant said, his blue eyes unfocused as he thought about it. “Six of us, really. Though others might stop by for a weekend or two.”

“Most of our brothers are traveling or interning this summer,” Bennett said. I frowned briefly. Grant was his cousin—how many other guys was he related to? Then I mentally kicked myself. He’d meant frat brothers. “We would’ve spent the summer in Washington, shadowing congressmen if it weren’t for the lectures.”

Bennett had a bossy air to him that made me think he was definitely the type to lecture. But it turned out that wasn’t what he meant.

“We’re political science majors,” Grant explained. “And there’s a famous Harvard professor giving a lecture series here this summer.” He didn’t sound resentful about not being in the nation’s capital doing rich kid stuff like Bennett did.

“What hours would I work?” I asked, trying to calculate how long it would take to cook and clean for six men plus whoever else showed up. It wasn’t like I had unlimited time this summer—people like me didn‘t have the luxury of having just one job. Plus there was my coursework, which always seemed to take me longer than my classmates.

“Well, you’ll be staying here, so you’ll be able to help out pretty much anytime, correct? Although not in the middle of the night, I suppose.” Bennett added that last part almost begrudgingly.

“We’re not going to work you 24/7,” Grant assured me with a lazy grin. He seemed more easy-going than his cousin, but neither of these men were on my side. Everything from their clothes to their posture to the way they spoke proved they came from wealthy, privileged families. And living in this huge house couldn’t have been cheap. The cars I’d seen parked out front were all top of the line.

“I’ll need mornings off,” I said.

Bennett’s face tightened, but it was Grant who spoke.

“For classes?” he asked.

His cousin scoffed. “Don’t be an idiot. No Langley student is going to take a job as a maid.”

Bennett’s voice was so confident that I hesitated to correct him. What he said was basically true. Students who could afford to attend a private college in an elite little town like Haverford weren’t hurting for money. Scholarship students, like me, were very rare.

But even among the rich and snooty classmates I’d had during my freshman year, the members of Rho Kappa Alpha stood out. They were the most powerful men among a sea of wealthy, upper class students.

What would they think of me if they knew I was a student who had nowhere to live? Who wouldn’t be able to pay for my textbooks next semester if I didn’t earn some money this summer? I didn’t want to work in a place where I was pitied and looked down on. Plus, I’d been turned down for jobs before. Most businesses in this ritzy mountain town didn’t expect students to also work, and both a bookstore owner and a restaurant manager had turned me down when they learned I was a student. Either because they thought I’d put my studies first or because they thought that a Langley student couldn’t possibly need a part-time job seriously.

“I’m not a student,” I said. The lie was surprisingly painful. I’d worked hard to get to where I was.

Grant smirked. “I knew it. Girls who go here know our reputation and steer clear. Well, except at our Friday night parties.”

Those parties were legendary all over campus, and not in a good way. I hoped, if I got the job, that I wouldn't be required to work them, but there was a more immediate concern. “I would need mornings off, though, because I have another job.”

That wasn’t the only reason I couldn’t work mornings. I had a class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. But I also walked dogs and provided pet sitting, and I’d painstakingly scheduled those appointments around my classes.

Grant didn’t look surprised that I had multiple jobs. Langley students seemed to instinctively know that I didn’t come from their world. “I think we can make that work.” He looked over at his cousin, and after a moment, Bennett nodded.

Clearly, Bennett was the boss. Literally. I’d looked up the fraternity online before coming here, and he was the president. Grant was vice president. That reminded me that I’d also prepared a list of questions.

“If I get the job, where would I be staying?”

Grant fielded that one. “A handful of brothers graduated, so you can take your pick of the free rooms.” He grinned. “That way you can make sure it’s clean before the new recruits move in in the fall.”

“She can have Edward’s old room on the second floor,” Bennett said, overruling his cousin. Though it didn’t dampen the relaxed expression on Grant’s face, his shoulders tensed.

“And meals?”

“They’re included,” Bennett said.

“If you cook them,” Grant added with a wink.

“Groceries are delivered once a week,” Bennett continued. “But we had a barbecue over the weekend for some of our classmates, so we’re running low on supplies. You’ll have to do some shopping to tide us over.”

My stomach sank as I contemplated that. I doubted that these men got their food from the few reasonably priced grocery stores like I did. “How much food would I need to get?”

Grant studied me and guessed at the issue. “Don’t worry. Just save your receipts and we’ll reimburse you.” He grinned, elbowing his cousin. “We’re good for it.”

Bennett looked amused. They probably had enough money to buy a new car every semester—but I sure didn’t.

“I, uh, don’t have very much extra money in my account right now.”

Grant’s eyebrows shot up. “Have you considered getting a trust fund?” He and Bennett laughed, and I wanted to sink through the floor. Plenty of people in northern Georgia were hurting for money—just not anyone who could afford to go to a private college like Langley University.

Bennett waved off my concerns. “We can front you the money. If you get the job.” He added that last part as if I had interviewed here for the sole purpose of stealing their grocery money. The thought nearly made me laugh out loud. His family likely had a fleet of lawyers—I didn’t even know any.

“When will you make your decision?” I asked.

“We’ve talked to a few girls already. You’re the last,” Bennett said. Which didn’t really answer my question. My heart pounded faster in my chest. It was a strange sensation to not really want something but to need it so damn badly.

“Are you sure you want to work here?” Grant asked, as if he’d read my mind. “We can be… a bit much.” His voice was casual, but his eyes were serious.

I had no doubt that if the other four guys living here this summer were like these two, it would be a bit much. Or a lot much. Hell, cleaning the frat house alone seemed like a full-time job. But I was out of options. “Absolutely.”

Grant studied me for a moment longer and then turned his blue eyes on his cousin. “I think she might work out.”

I turned to Bennett. He and Grant looked so similar. Same blond hair, but Grant’s was a little lighter. Both tall, but Grant was a little taller. It looked like Grant was the original, and Bennett had been copied from him in a slightly smaller size.

But still, Bennett was the boss, and his forehead creased as he mulled it over. “Can you start immediately?”

“Yes.” I had to be careful not to shout the word. “The sooner the better.” That was easy to say when another night into the hotel I’d checked into this morning would all but bankrupt me.

Bennett seemed to be trying to look straight into my mind, as if trying to ascertain my true intentions. After an agonizing minute, he said, “Yes, we’ll give you a try.”

Relief filled me. Never mind that Tori had warned me that this wasn’t a good place for a woman to live. My friend Naomi had told me that, too. Hell, even the little voice in the back of my head, the one that had reminded my childhood self not to run with scissors, had told me that.

But what choice did I have?

“Thank you,” I said sincerely. But then I reflected on this phrasing. “A try?”

“Yes. We have to know if you’re a good fit.”

Bennett’s words made sense, but something about the glance he exchanged with Grant struck me as odd.

“Only one way to know, right?” Grant added.

“Right.” Bennett stood up and Grant pulled his long legs in to let his cousin pass by. The fraternity president towered over me as he walked away, and Grant was even taller than he was.

They were intimidating, there was no doubt about that. But… that didn’t necessarily mean that this wouldn’t work out. Despite the frat’s reputation, this had been a fairly normal interview. Sure, Bennett and Grant didn’t seem to understand the reality for working class people, but neither did most of the residents of this town.

All in all, they’d both been fairly professional. Sure, I’d caught them looking me over a few times. Grant, in particular, seemed to like my legs. But it wasn’t like they’d been ogling me. So maybe the frat’s reputation had been exaggerated. Bennett and Grant weren’t going to be my best friends, but that was okay. They were my employers. There was no rule that said that fraternity brothers couldn’t be good bosses. They couldn’t all be horny party boys.

Bennett returned carrying a leather garment bag. Grant sat up straight, looking eager. “Time to see if you’re a good fit,” he said again.

“What do you mean?” I said uneasily.

Bennett unzipped the garment bag, letting it fall heavily to the floor. He balanced a hanger on one long finger.

I blinked, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. Black fabric with flashes of white hung from the hanger. There were puffy sleeves with white lace on them. White lace lined the top of the bodice, as well. And the skirt? It was fluffy and short, almost like a ballerina’s tutu. Black fabric sat on top of layers of white ruffles.

“W-what is… that?” My voice came out in a hoarse whisper as the knowledge hit home. It was a French maid costume.

“Your new uniform,” Bennett said.