Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Gina
My heart races, and I immediately take a step back so that Hunter can't see me.
I don't even know what to think. I feel like I'm on a twenty-second roller coaster as I realize that he is on the Waverly property.
Just like me. I don't even want to think what it means.
I don't have time to analyze why I was salivating over Hunter. I hurry back to the corridor and close the door behind me. I look back towards the front door and debate just making a run for it. I have nothing to lose at this point, aside from maybe my job, but how long am I going to be able to keep it? If Hunter tells my new bosses that I’m a liar, wouldn't that immediately make me look suspicious?
I mean, he met me in a bakery pretending to be in the FBI.
Now, I am here, working for the same boss as him.
That isn't going to look good. Plus, I feel even more overwhelmed.
How am I supposed to do my job if he is also working here?
I am still standing there, debating whether or not to run out, when I hear a door open. I freeze and look up.
"Oh, I was just about to look for you." Preston steps toward me and rubs his tummy like Winnie the Pooh. "I don't suppose you've made that PB&J sandwich for me yet?"
"No, sir. I wasn't exactly sure where the kitchen was and—"
"Oh, dear me," he says, looking flustered and disappointed. "I am so sorry. I absolutely forgot that you have never been here before. My, my, what was I thinking? I suppose you will need a tour?"
"No, sir. Unfortunately, I have no idea where anything is." I want to add, including my room, but I don't think that now is the right time to mention that tidbit.
“So, you don't even know where we keep the peanut butter and jelly or where we keep the bread, do you?" he asks, like we haven't already established that information, and I can feel the irritation rising in me. I know I can't show my annoyance, so I offer him my best fake pleasant smile.
"No," I say, shaking my head. "I know where nothing is. I don't even know where I'm sleeping." The words slip out. I couldn't keep them in.
He puts his hand to his mouth and gasps, and I wonder if this is some sort of weird test or theater production. This is not the first time today I've been taken aback by the characters in this household. "I'm so sorry, Gina. You must think that I'm an absolutely awful host."
"Well, you're not my host. You're my boss. And no, I don't think that you're awful. I—"
"Follow me. Let's go to the kitchen, and we'll get something to eat, and then I'll have Cook show you to your room."
"Thank you," I say. I follow him down the corridor, and we make a sharp left. I gasp as we step into the largest kitchen I've ever seen in my life. I see a young girl cutting carrots, and she looks up, her soft features confused at seeing us standing there.
"Good afternoon, Janina."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Waverly," she says, though she doesn't stop cutting. "What can I get for you?"
"Oh, no, no, nothing. Don't bother yourself.
I know you are helping my wife and her group.
This is Gina. Gina is actually going to be writing the biography of how Mrs. Waverly and I met and fell in love.
I'm just showing her where the kitchen is, and she's going to make us a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with some bananas because we're both feeling a little bit peckish, aren't we? "
"Hi, Janina," I say, holding my hand up. I am slightly nervous that I'm not going to remember anyone's name tomorrow because I've already met way too many people, but I'm not going to worry about that right now.
"Hi, Gina. Feel free to help yourself. Cook and I don't mind, as long as you clean up after yourself." She grins. "And are you sure you're meant to be having PB&J sandwiches, Mister Waverly?"
He gives her a look, and she giggles uncomfortably. "Sorry. I'll keep my mouth shut. You know where everything is?"
He turns to me with a smile. "Yes. So the peanut butter is in the butler’s pantry…
. Do you know, Gina, that when I very first met Enid, she was leaving a bakery, and she had a bag of jelly donuts.
One of them was a raspberry jelly donut, and she let me have a bite, and it was love at first bite.
" He grins, lost in memory. "I don't know if it was love at first sight with Enid or with the donut, but I will always remember that day. Love is a strange thing, isn’t it? Enid wasn’t the only woman I ever loved, but she is the Juliet of my story. "
"So, where's the bread and the plates?" My phone starts ringing, and I quickly grab it from my bag. "I'm sorry, I'll silence it."
"Feel free to take the call. You know what? I'll grab the ingredients, seeing as this is your first day, and I don't want you to think that all I expect you to do is work. Take the call, and I'll be here."
"Thank you," I answer the phone, and I see it’s Emma. "Hey, Ems. How’s it going?"
"That's what I was about to ask you."
"Yeah, it's really great," I say, though that's not quite true.
"Why is your voice so loud? Is it an absolute hot mess?"
"It is a really nice day today."
"What are you talking about?"
"No, I don't know if it's going to rain."
"Are you okay, Gina? What are you talking about?"
"I am with Mr. Waverly right now," I whisper under my breath.
"Oh my gosh. Sorry. I totally should have gotten that. So, it's going well?" She starts giggling.
"I haven't been here very long, but actually I do need to come back home and pick up some stuff that I forgot to grab." I look over at Mr. Waverly. "Do you mind if I just drive back and pick up some stuff? I'll be back in a couple of hours."
"No, of course not. So do you not want the PB&J sandwich after all?" He stares at me thoughtfully.
I stare at him, not sure what to say. Is he joking? I never wanted it in the first place.
"I'm okay, actually. If you don't mind, I'll rush back now. My best friend said a package came for me." I hate the fact that I'm lying, but I need to get out of here ASAP.
"You go ahead. I'll see you in a couple of hours."
"Sounds great. Thank you." I hurry out of the kitchen and back down the corridor, almost running. I run through the front door as if death itself were chasing me. As the door behind me slams, I let out a long sigh of relief. I can finally breathe,
"Emma, I think I'm in the twilight zone. It's like a madhouse in there."
"Why? What's going on?"
"Let's just say that everyone here is just crazy."
"What do you mean, crazy?"
"So, when I arrived, there was this weird older lady who just happens to think she's psychic, and she had this cute dog that doesn't like to listen."
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"She thinks she's the best poet in the world and that Shakespeare talks to her."
"What do you mean, Shakespeare talks to her?”
“I mean, William Shakespeare came to her in a dream and told her she’s one of the best living poets.”
“No way, what? Did that really happen?”
“No, of course, he didn't," I say, and Emma starts laughing.
"Also, she's not a good poet. And when she was introducing me to the rest of the writing group, she kind of made up this poem on the spot, and it was absolute shit.
" I pause. "I mean, I feel really bad now for saying that. She was friendly."
"Gina, it's fine. It's not like she's going to hear you. And what do you mean by writing group? I thought you were the only ghostwriter there?"
"Girl, turns out that Mrs. Waverly likes to write, and she's got this ragtag group of individuals that come together to write. Like one guy who was in the Navy, and he’s maybe some sort of fisherman, and then these two college kids that look like they are being held hostage, and this Casanova-looking dude who I’m pretty sure was trying to hit on me. ”
“Oh,” she says, laughing. “What made you leave? Didn’t you just get there?”
“I just feel overwhelmed. As soon as I got there, I met Amethyst and Bear—the dog, by the way—and then Mr. Waverly was like, ‘Can you make me a PB&J sandwich?’ And then the worst part—"
"Girl, do not tell me that he propositioned you."
"What?" I say as I get into my car and start the ignition.
"Did he try to hook up with you?"
"No, of course not, Emma. Really, get your mind out of the gutter."
"Well, what happened? You are making it seem really bad."
"It was worse than really bad."
"Shit, girl. Tell me."
"Guess who also works for the Waverlys."
"I don't know… Wait, not Patrick."
"What?" I say, my mind blank as I drive down the long driveway. "Who?"
"What do you mean, who? He was your long-lost love for so long."
"He was not my love, girl."
"He was about to propose to you. Let's be real."
"He was not about to propose to me because he loved me. He probably thought I had that trust fund, and he was hoping to get his greedy little paw on it, even though I have shit. It's. Hunter."
"Hunter," she repeats slowly. "Like someone who hunts deer or—"
"No, girl. Hunter. The guy who stole my cupcake, that I saw at the bookstore, that was there when Patrick was fucking that bimbo, and I caught him."
"Oh, the cute guy that you can't stand."
"He's not cute. Well… I mean… okay, he's kind of cute. He was in the yard, gardening with his shirt off, and before I knew it was him, I was definitely thinking, This is a man I might like to bang. But then he took off his sunglasses and moved his cap to the side, and I realized it was him."
"Shit. What did he say?”
“He didn’t see me. He doesn’t know I work here.”
“So, what are you going to do?"
"I'm feeling like I should just quit and not come back."
"You cannot just quit and not go back. I thought you were going to use this as an opportunity to get an inside story on the most powerful and rich family on the island."
"Girl, I'm not going to lie, the Waverlys seem eccentric. I would never believe they were billionaires if I didn't know they were. Preston Waverly seems like he's out of it. Enid doesn't seem much better."