Maid for Martin

Maid For Martin

Kindle Version

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales or events is not intended.

All licensed products mentioned in this work are trademarks of their respective companies.

Mary C. Findley, editor

Copyright @ 2012 Samantha Lovern

Fury Publishing all rights reserved

All rights reserved.

Cover image adapted from photographs from

Fenias's Photography @ Dreamstime

Sandra Cunningham @ Depositphotos

Contact Samantha Lovern

www.samanthalovern.com

Where Romance Comes To Life

ISBN-13: 978-1477631515

ISBN-10: 1477631518

Maid For Martin

Chapter 1

Maids 101

Randi Sanders stood by her smoking pile of junk, tapping her foot, trying to clean the oil off her hands. When the cabby slowed and stopped she got in.

“You can’t just leave your car here, they’ll tow it,” The man chimed as she closed the door.

“That’s fine with me. I need to get to 5th and Washington ASAP. If you get a speeding ticket on the way I’ll pay it.”

“Sure you will, and my name’s Elvis.”

Randy reached into her pocket, pulled out her last hundred dollar bill, and held it out where the cabby could see it. “You get me there before two and this is yours, Elvis.”

The man didn’t bother looking at the clock. He did a u-turn on the four-way street and gave the old cab the gas. "Elvis" didn’t bother with the usual chitchat, but while they sat at a light he held up his card. “You ever get in another jam, call me. I’ll go just about anywhere for the right price.”

Randi took the card, pushing it into her pocket. “Good to know, since old Betsy just died.” Neither of them said another word until the cabby double-parked long enough for her to slide out in front of 5th and Washington.

He was about to say something about his being late, it was two after two, but she cut him off. “Close enough, Elvis, thanks for trying.” She dropped the bill in the seat and took off, barely hearing the cabby thank her as she slammed the car door shut.

She ran down the street to the Maids 101 entrance. The bell rang as she entered and Nancy Dials spoke without looking up. “You’re late.”

“I know. Couldn’t be helped.”

Nancy finally looked up and leaned back in her chair. “What in the world happened to you? You’re a mess.”

“The car finally died. When something like that goes wrong, dad always just raises the hood, wiggles a few wires, and it comes back to life. All I did was get dirty.”

“Dirty isn’t the word. You have oil on your pants, your shirt, and a bit on your face.”

“I didn’t have time to clean up. I’m late as it is.”

“Not too late. You’re my only hope today. Take this application and go on in. I’ll excuse the tardiness, but you have to get some dependable transportation.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Randi held out her right hand -- it was mostly clean -- and took the paper.

“Don’t take time to wash. I need someone this evening.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Randi took the application to work for the Martin Taylor household and walked into the testing room.

The seats reminded her of going back to school. Maids 101 didn’t want their applicants looking over their neighbor’s shoulder during the testing so they’d picked up some chair-and-desk sets from the local flea market.

Five maids had showed up for the positions that were to be filled. Randi moved to a desk and sat down. As she glanced around the room, some of the girls gave her a dirty look. Most of them knew her, and knew she almost always got the best jobs.

Every time the option to clean a new house came available the maids would be asked to fill out an application. It would have random questions about the applicant. 101 wanted to know if you knew the actor personally, if you were a fan, or if you’d heard of the person in question.

The point was to see if the maid hired for the job could and would be able to act in a normal manner around the actor. As Randi looked at the other applicants, she thought back to the girl that was fired last week.

She'd been placed in Pitt's house, knowing very well who he was. When Brad came walking in she freaked and started asking for his autograph. She was asked to leave and taken to the Maids 101 office. They reviewed her application, realized she lied, and canned her butt.

This job paid 'way too much for Randi to even think about doing something like that. She hadn’t watched TV or read any entertainment magazines in the last five years. She enjoyed her job and was planning on keeping it as long as possible.

Whenever anyone started talking about their favorite TV show or some new Hollywood actor she would leave or ask them to change the subject. It wasn’t the easiest thing, but if you didn’t know someone as an actor, it was easier to treat him or her as someone that was not famous.

Fortunately, she’d been raised in a strict home and she hadn’t watched a lot of TV over the years. She was perfect for this job and thanked her lucky stars that she'd found it.

As she looked over the list, she studied the shows and movies the actor Martin Taylor had starred in. She tapped the pen on her chin. None of them rang any bells. She filled out the paperwork and rose from her chair. One of the other candidates, a new hire, spoke up.

“You’re done already? Is there some part we can skip? I’m Brandy, by the way.”

Lori Jensen spoke before Randi could answer. The two of them didn’t get along at all. You could hear the sneer in her tone. “She’s one of Nancy’s pets. She’s a religious zealot. She never watches TV or anything . . . boring.”

Randi looked at Brandy. “I don’t go to church, nor do I consider my family advocates against TV in general. Mom and dad just thought it was unhealthy to sit in front of a box for hours on end. I’ve also filled out several of these. I don’t watch TV or keep up with the glamor of Hollyweird so I can skip through most of the form.”

“Whatever,” Lori said, going back to her paper.

Randi ignored Lori and smiled at Brandy. “Also, I advise you not to lie. Nancy has been known to pull out the old lie detector now and then.” Randi ignored the dirty look Lori gave, turned, and walked into Nancy’s office.

She knew if they did a random test on her that she'd pass. This Martin dude was no one to her. She stood waiting for Nancy to look over the papers, thinking that this money would have to go toward new transportation.

It would be a weekend stay-over situation for a family gathering, and if she played her cards right she could end up with a permanent position.

The gig would pay well, and she could use the money she’d make on a bike. She loved to ride and it would be cheaper than a car. A Harley would be nice. An image of sitting on the back of a newly-shined baby-blue Harley formed in her mind as Nancy spoke.

“Everything looks in order. It's been a while since we tested you.” Nancy looked up, her red hair pulled into a tight bun. Nancy also had the bad habit of tapping her pen on her chin. She looked from the paper back to Randi. “I'm not going to waste our time. You've never caused us any issues in the past five years . . . don't start now.”

“I won't. When do I leave?” Randi asked. “I need to go home and get cleaned up.”

“Not so fast. I need to know a few things first.”

“What don't you know about me already?”

“Are you dating anyone? This Martin is a handsome fellow and one of the requests was that the girl be homely, or dating, and you're not. In your file there's nothing about you having issues with being harassed. Mr. Taylor has a 'woman friend' and she's been known to be the jealous type.

“If she starts cursing or yelling – I need to know that you'll take it, that you won't fly off the handle.”

“No problems there. She can call me any name in the book. I won't care. I'll pull my hair up and find some ugly glasses. I can ugly down if the need arises.”

Nancy laughed. “You do that, and if there are no issues over the next few weeks—”

“Weeks? I thought this was a weekend deal.”

“It was,” Nancy began, “but we got the request an hour ago. The get-together will start Friday and go until New Year's Day. The Taylor’s are planning for family to stay over, and decided they could use the extra help. Are you still in? I really need you to do this.”