Chapter Seventeen
Chapter
Seventeen
Beulah
Last night, my dreams were vivid. When I walked into the kitchen with pancakes and sausage for Jasper, I began blushing. I wondered if he’d bring the girl with him to breakfast, but he hadn’t; he was alone.
“This smells amazing,” he said as I lowered the plate on the table. He was texting, but he stopped to look at me, and I felt as cheery as my fatigue would allow.
“Thanks,” I replied, my cheeks still warm. I quickly turned away so he wouldn’t notice. Then Jasper engaged in conversation.
“You okay this morning?” he asked before I could leave the room.
“Yes.”
“Late night at work?”
“Yes.”
He chuckled. I was behaving like a zombie. “Okay, well, I won’t keep you.”
I tipped my chin and hurried out. I felt silly, looked silly, was silly. When I got to the kitchen, I sighed in frustration and leaned against the bar. This wasn’t going to work. I had to get past that dream. Past my attraction to Jasper. He was helping me, which I didn’t understand, especially from someone who looked like him and had everything one could imagine. I must keep my feelings straight. I was grateful to him for my jobs. That did not mean I liked him.
Rolling my eyes, I listened to my thoughts, my ridiculous, dramatic ponderings. A day with Jasper being charming and nice, followed by an erotic dream, most likely inspired by what I’d witnessed at work, had me in a mess of emotions.
Jasper cleared his throat, and I jumped, spinning as if being mugged.
“I was wondering if you’d like to have breakfast with me. It’s lonely in there by myself.” He was carrying his plate in one hand and clutched his coffee in the other. He sat them both down on the bar.
Bad idea. “Where’s Stone?” I asked, thinking spending time with Jasper was unwise.
“Gone already, he went running before going to work. I think he. . .”
“. . .Stone works a job?” I blurted out.
“Yeah,” he chuckled. “Several.”
“Oh,” I replied trying to wrap my head around that. He was always with Jasper. I hadn’t thought he had any responsibility.
“Why don’t you eat the food you made for him and let me enjoy your company? Please,” he added, “it’s, like, cavernous in there, and the room is swallowing me whole.”
The way he tilted his head, the glint in his eyes from the morning sunlight as it streamed through the windows on his face, made it hard to say no to Jasper. I agreed by nodding my head. I could do this and not think about my dream. I hoped.
“Okay, can I get you more coffee?”
“No, I require your company.”
He required my company? Okay then.
I went to the cabinet, got down a plate, and put half of the portion I’d made for Stone as a serving for myself. Jasper watched me do it. Feeling his gaze made me nervous.
“What time did you get in last night?” he asked in a tone of concern.
“Three,” I responded before placing my plate next to him and taking a stool.
“I hope you’re taking off tonight. That’s two nights in a row. You need rest. Your body will rebel.”
I hadn’t spoken to Carey last night. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to the manager. Afraid I’ll have to go in.”
“Call him, Beulah. He’ll understand.”
I could do that. “Okay,” I replied. “It’s busy when I get there, so finding time to talk is hard.”
He didn’t say much more in the next few minutes as he ate and drank his coffee. I took that time to plan what I’d say to Carey over the phone.
“Portia left last night. Said she was going to stay with a friend in the Hamptons for the rest of the summer. You won’t have as much work to do in the house. If you can get in more hours at the office, that’s okay with me.”
I stopped with my fork midway to my mouth. Portia left? “She left?” I asked.
“We don’t exactly get along,” he said.
“That’s why she left?”
He shrugged. “Don’t know. Don’t care. Less bullshit for me to deal with.”
Would Jasper also leave? How long would the filing job last? What then? What if my being here was no longer needed in the future?
“I want you to stay here, hell, Beulah, I need you to stay here. I don’t have time to find someone dependable and trustworthy to live in this house. To take care of it, whether she’s here or not. Portia’s not a concern. You have a job here.”
He was reading my mind again.
“You’re good at that,” I finally said.
“I’m good at a lot of things. You need to be more specific.” His tone was teasing, but I wondered what things he was referring to.
“Knowing what I’m thinking.”
“You have very expressive eyes.”
He paid close attention. He was the only one ever to tell me that. Guys had complimented my eyes before but never said anything like that. Jasper was being kind. That made it hard to remember that I shouldn’t lean close to smell his cologne or study his varying smiles. The way they were all different. I also shouldn’t admire the way he looked in his clothing. If he caught me doing those things, I was sure these jobs would end.
I took one last bite and stood up. Making myself indispensable around here would create job security. Crushing on Jasper would not. “I’ll get to work upstairs and then be at the office by eleven if that’s okay?”
“Yeah, that’s good, sounds great.”
“I’ll also do a deep cleaning in the pool house this morning.”
He didn’t respond, then finally said, “Yep, that’s good. . . though, Beulah. . well, I’ll be moving into my room inside the house today. But while Stone is here working with me, he’ll need to stay in the pool house. You don’t have to stock the kitchen for him.”
So, Stone worked for Jasper? That seemed odd. Stone didn’t appear to be the sort that would work for anyone.
“Okay, I’ll go make sure your room and bathroom are ready for you.”
He smirked. “Why are you so nervous?”
That was the million-dollar question. One that wasn’t going to be answered. I shrugged and replied, “I’m not.”
He didn’t look like he believed me. “I like it. It’s cute.”
Why, oh why, was he doing this? It was embarrassing enough as it was. I diverted my eyes from his view. Now he couldn’t magically read my thoughts and see last night’s naughty dream.
I then heard his stool move, and I knew he was leaving. Thank God.
“I’ll see you at work,” he said.
“Yeah, see you then,” I replied without turning around. I lifted a hand as if to wave, which was stupid but all I could manage. Today, everything I did was stupid, and I was becoming more foolish by the second.