3. Noah #2
“You know that’s not the only reason I married you… what he carries in his pants is.” She lowers her voice slightly at the end, but not enough. I think she may have had a little too much to drink.
“Minnie…” he says again with a warning tone.
She looks over at him, smiling above the rim of her wineglass. “You can punish me later, Big Guy.” She blows him a kiss, then giggles. Yup, definitely one glass too many. Her attention turns back to me, while mine stays glued to the blue and pink-haired goddess sitting alone on the couch.
From this angle, it appears as if she’s watching the kids play.
But if you pay close attention, you can see the slight blue reflection on the piercings along her ear, meaning she’s looking at her phone discreetly.
Whatever those texts are, she clearly doesn’t want people finding out about them, which only makes my need to know who they’re from stronger.
“So… here’s the thing. I convinced Ronnie to give it a try for a week. But you two are going to have to convince her on your own to stay on board. And maybe try and not trash the whole place every day,” Cecilia whispers.
“I’ve heard some things that I would prefer not to repeat. But if every time she comes over, the place looks like a dump, she’ll quit. So, maybe make a little effort.” She bumps her shoulder into mine—well, tries. That woman is so short that she hits closer to my elbow than my shoulder.
I work my brain to try to figure out what exactly she could be referring to. Yes, the place was filthy, but I didn’t think it was that bad. I finally just nod my head. “We will.”
“Good! I hope it works out. And not just because you guys will finally have a stable housekeeper, but it might also give Ronnie a chance to see that you both aren’t the big perves you pretend to be. That you’re actually pretty freaking great humans.” She winks and walks off to her husband.
I take another sip of my drink, contemplating my next move as I look around at our friends, finding that none seem to have noticed Veronica’s absence. I push off from the wall I was occupying and walk over to the couch.
I stop at her feet and wait. She’s so engrossed with whatever is on her phone that she doesn’t notice my presence. She chews on her lip, hand squeezing her phone so tightly that it looks like it might fold in two.
“Can we talk?” I ask softly.
I think this is a good time to discuss this new situation between us. It’s not like I can call her or anything, since I don’t have her phone number, unlike Gabe, who had to snoop through Emma’s phone to get it.
I know I could ask one of the girls, or even the guys, to give it to me. But I’d rather wait until she hands it over herself, giving her as much control as possible. I have a feeling it’s something that’s important to her. Control.
She jolts in her seat, a quick flash of fear in her eyes before it disappears, and she rights herself. She presses her phone to her chest swiftly to hide the screen from my sight. “I guess we should.” She smiles tightly.
I take a seat next to her, and she doesn’t move away. “Let me guess—you’re here to convince me to keep working for you guys.” Veronica smirks as she puts her phone away.
“That is the plan. I noticed everything you did in our home, and I’m impressed. You’re really talented,” I tell her truthfully.
“I know,” she says with pride.
I chuckle and shake my head. I knew she would say that. “Look, I know we aren’t the cleanest people around, but we’ll try to keep it decent and not overwhelm you. But we really need you; no one else wants to work for us, and we’ve practically been blacklisted from every cleaning company.”
“I can’t imagine why.” She gives me a knowing look.
“So, will you consider staying on longer than the week trial you agreed to with Cecilia? We’ll pay you double.”
“I don’t know. That depends on you two.” She raises a brow.
“How so?” I frown.
“Well, can you guys manage to behave while I’m around? No sexual comments or jokes. No cornering me or getting handsy while I’m working. And for the love of God, if you bring home women, put your condoms in the trash. I should not be finding those lying around all over.” She makes a disgusted face.
I laugh. “So, that’s what Cece was referring to.”
“Yes. I had to share my traumatic experience with someone.”
I nod. “Okay, I think we can work with your requests.”
“You sure about that? Will you put a leash on Gabe? He’s the one who I’m most worried about,” she says with a pointed finger.
“I’ll get a handle on him. Don’t worry,” I promise as I finish my drink.
She watches me finish the contents of my glass with a frown. “You shouldn’t drink that shit.” There’s a bite to her tone as if she has a personal vendetta against the Scotch.
“I know.”
Her curious eyes find mine. “Then why do you drink it?”
I shrug and sigh. “Because it helps take the edge off.”
I can tell she wants to question some more on the subject but decides to drop it. Although she doesn’t lose that worried expression on her face.
I place my arm over her shoulders, slowly bringing her into my side. “You don’t need to worry about me, Kitten,” I whisper close to her hair. I want to kiss the top of her head, show her a sign of affection. But I’m not sure she’d appreciate that, so I refrain.
Gabe suddenly shows up, plopping himself on Veronica’s opposite side. His hand immediately comes down to grab her thigh, half over her thigh-high stocking and exposed skin. Her skirts are always pretty short, but sitting down, her legs are practically fully exposed.
“Hey, Vixen. Thought you could sneak off without us noticing?” He grins at her.
I feel her body grow rigid when his hand connects with her leg. It’s momentary but still noticeable. He must have felt it too.
“I told you to stop calling me that,” she snaps at him but doesn’t attempt to take his hand off.
“Not a chance. It fits you so perfectly… just like we would.” He winks.
She rolls her eyes. “Ugh! See, this is exactly what I mean.” She pushes his hand off and shrugs my arm off her shoulders before standing.
She turns to face us and points a finger at me. “Control him. I’m leaving, but I’ll be back tomorrow. Your place was such a dump, I didn’t manage to finish everything before you got there,” she bites out.
I stand from the couch, bringing my body closer to where she’s standing. Just how I like it. “Do you need a ride?” I offer.
“No, my car’s outside. And even if I did, I wouldn’t be getting in a car alone with either of you.” She spins on her heels, kisses the children’s heads, then marches over to wish goodnight to the rest of the group.
“Fuck, I love when she gets all feisty like that,” Gabe says, watching her walk away.
“Yeah, well, you’ll have to tone that shit down if you want her to stay,” I rebuke him.
“What did I do?” he asks, acting all innocent.
“Maybe stop being so handsy and flirting with her all the time. She’s already made it clear many times that she’s not into that. Try being nice and helpful instead, it might win you some points.”
He leans back against the couch, stretching both arms wide along the back.
“Ahh, I see. So, you’re allowed to touch her and flirt with her, but I’m not?
What’s the matter, Noh? You scared I might actually have a better shot at her than you do?
” He smiles devilishly. I know he’s just trying to get a rise out of me, but it won’t work.
“No. I want you to try and be fucking respectful from time to time. No one wants to work for us, and now we finally have someone willing to give us a chance. I’m telling you not to fuck it up,” I scold him.
“Don’t you worry. I’ll be on my best behavior.” He grins brightly with a hint of mischief. “She’ll be falling in love with us by the end of the week.”
“Did you suddenly become a magician or something?” I scoff. It will take a miracle for that to happen, and certainly within a week.
“No, I just have a lot of hidden talents she hasn’t seen yet.”
God, I don’t even want to know what they are.