Chapter 4 #2
“Oh,” I said, looking down quick so that she’d hopefully miss the big smile that gave me.
Still dumb, since it was a crazy fantasy to think he might want me the way I’d been imagining just because he’d been so nice to me, but I couldn’t help being at least a little bit happy that he wasn’t already taken. Or at least, not by her.
But maybe she’d know if he had a girlfriend? Or… or a boyfriend?
No, I couldn’t ask that. But another thought occurred to me, and I looked back up.
“Wait, you said he sent you here with… with paperwork, so you already knew I wasn’t his ‘special guest.’ I’m just going to work for him.”
For the week, at least. But that should be enough time for me to figure out what to do next, right?
The thought made my stomach hurt, so I quickly shoved it away. There’d be plenty of time to panic some more later. Or, better yet, actually come up with a plan on what the heck to do with myself now that I was really and truly on my own.
“I do know you’re going to work for him,” Andrea said, pulling her mug of coffee away from the machine and stirring some sugar into it.
She held it under her nose, breathing deeply, then smiled at me.
“I also know that when I asked about your onboarding and which business you’d be employed at, he almost bit my head off.
He’s the one who called you his special guest, and I’ve got a long list of things I’m supposed to make sure we get set up for you. ”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, startled. I had no idea what onboarding even was, but I felt bad if I’d somehow gotten her in trouble.
She waved my apology away. “Are you kidding? I’m already fifty shades of invested in this little story, Mr. Da—Dash. It’s gotten my Monday off to a great start. Now, do you want a cup of coffee before we sit down and get started?”
I shook my head. I’d already had the chocolatey one that Callum had bought me.
“What sort of things are you supposed to set up?” I asked, following her to a set of tall bar stools at the counter.
She pulled out a tablet. “First, he wants to make sure you’re charging your phone, and to make sure I input relevant numbers into it.”
I pointed to my phone. It was only at 3% so far. Even with the fancier charger, it wasn’t really a surprise. I’d had it since I was fourteen, so the internal battery was super old.
Andrea frowned, then nodded sharply and made a note on her tablet. “Okay, I’ll add getting a new one to my list.”
“What? A new phone?” I shook my head, twisting my hands together. “Why?”
She rolled her eyes, but grinned at me. “Honey, that thing looks older than you do.”
“Well, it still has minutes left,” I mumbled, embarrassed.
She patted my hand. “It’s a condition of your employment, Dash. Mr. Moore is going to want to make sure you have something reliable so he can reach you. The new phone will go on his plan, but you can keep your number if you’d like. Now, the next thing on my list is a new wardrobe.”
“Like, clothes?”
I squirmed in my seat when she nodded. Callum hadn’t pressed me about my situation while we’d been in the car, but I guess he’d figured out at least some of it.
“I can just wait until I get my paycheck,” I mumbled, which reminded me. “Um, do you know if there’s a washer and dryer in here?” I plucked at my shirt, trying not to cringe. “I have to work later today, at my other job, I mean.”
“Oh?” Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “Where is that, and what time do you work?”
I told her, and she gave another one of those brisk nods, tapping away at her tablet for a moment. “Got it. Paul will be by to pick you up before your shift.”
“Who?”
She dimpled at me again. “Mr. Moore’s driver. I believe you’ve already met him?”
“Oh, yeah.” I just hadn’t gotten his name. “But I don’t need him to… um, I can just take the train?”
I just had to figure out which one. I didn’t know this part of the city at all.
“You could,” Andrea agreed, raising an eyebrow. “But Mr. Moore did instruct me to take care of you on his behalf, and you wouldn’t want me to get in trouble for not doing my job, would you?”
“No! Of course not.”
“Good,” she said briskly, grabbing her tablet again.
“Now, about your clothes. Why don’t you give me your sizes, then go hop in the shower.
Mr. Moore has several robes, and you can wear one of those until we get your uniform laundered and some wardrobe basics delivered to start with.
You can choose a more personalized selection later. ”
“Is this… is this how house sitting normally works?”
She grinned at me. “Not in the slightest! It’s what makes you so interesting.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what that meant. “Does it come out of my paycheck?”
“Nope! Mr. Moore was very clear that these are business expenses and that he expects me to ensure that you have absolutely everything you need.” She’d been tapping on her tablet the whole time, and she spun it around to show me an online shopping cart page. “What am I missing?”
My eyes widened. “I don’t need that much. Is Callum married?”
I don’t know why I blurted that out, but it made Andrea dimple at me again.
“Not married, and while he certainly doesn’t share everything about his personal life with me, as far as I know, he hasn’t been involved in a personal relationship for quite a while.
” Something buzzed in her bag, and she plucked out a phone to check it, then looked at me again.
“He’ll be in meetings all day, but is reminding me to make sure his number is in your phone by the time he’s done. ”
I checked it. It was at 9% now, which should be enough to turn it on, at least.
I did that, and Andrea quickly inputted a few contacts, winking at me when she saw my confusion. “I put mine in there, too, along with Paul’s and the number for the building, in case you need to reach the doorman.”
“Oh, will he let me back in after I’m off work?” I asked, chewing on my lip. I hadn’t thought about that.
She told me he would, showed me around the apartment, said she’d handle getting my uniform clean in time for my shift at La Vigneta that night, and insisted on giving Paul, the driver, my work schedule for the whole week so he could take me there and back again.
By the time she left, she’d also had a whole bunch of nice clothes delivered for me and transferred everything on my phone to a shiny new one that showed up.
What she never did get around to doing was telling me what exactly I was supposed to be doing to earn all of this, but she’d said Callum would call me tonight, so I guessed I could just ask him directly about my actual job duties…
and if the flutters I got in my belly at the idea of hearing from him were still based more on my stupid crush than on more responsible things like wanting to figure out how to be a good employee for him, no one but me ever needed to know.