Maid for Me (6 page)

“Look at your newest picture message,” Mina said.

Jaiden glanced at the image on the screen of his phone. He made a face. “Don’t tell me, this is another one of your scams to make fast money. Very childish. Red paint on a doll’s head?”

“
I’m sorry
, but I’m not a sicko. I will admit I desperately need money though. Listen, I can help you. This is a serious threat. It says death to the Daniels.”

“I know. I can read.” Jaiden tilted his head.

“Look, I can protect you from the person who’s sending the threat.” Mina hoped the way she flexed her biceps could convince Rich Boy.

Jaiden snorted. “Even if my life really is in danger, why would I need you to protect me? I have bodyguards and the security in the manse is flawless.”

“If you’re so well-protected, then how come I’m standing right here right now?” Mina jutted out her chin.

Jaiden scratched his chin. “A fluke. Bunion let you in?”

“Your butler thought I was the new maid and he let me in, no questions asked.”

“Then Bunion will be reprimanded. Thanks for bringing this back to me, but if you’re expecting a reward, then I’ll have to disappoint you.” Jaiden waggled his finger, taunting Mina as if she were a child.

Without a warning, Mina ran toward Jaiden and caught him in a headlock jujitsu-masters would be proud of. Like a pro-wrestler, she brought Jaiden down into a kneeling position. She twisted his arms behind his back.

“Hey!” Jaiden almost whimpered.

“Where are your bodyguards now, Rich Boy? Who’s going to save you?” Mina tightened her hold.

Jaiden could not believe a girl who looked like a marshmallow could take him down with such little effort. He struggled to break free.

Almost breathless, he said, “Alright, alright-let go of me, She-Hulk.”

“So you’ll hire me as your bodyguard?” Eyes brightened, Mina released Jaiden. He shot up to stand and looked at Mina as if she had an orange-sized wart between her eyes.

Jaiden massaged his aching shoulders. “Tell me why you need money so badly first and maybe I’ll consider.”

Mina bit her bottom lip, wondering if she should just tell him the truth. “I have to help pay off my mother’s gambling debts. Otherwise, she’ll sell our house and-”

“
You’ll live on the streets.” Sob stories-Jaiden had heard them all. In the past decade, his father had donated over a hundred million dollars to various charities.

“You look like you don’t believe me.” Mina crossed her

arms. The last thing Jaiden wanted to do was anger She-Hulk again. Looking at her fists, he had no doubt she could snap off his neck with one karate chop.

“
No, I believe you. How much debt is your mother in?”

Mina held up five fingers. “Fifty-grand.”

“
That’s pocket change.” Jaiden stroked his chin, studying the strange sassy female specimen before him again.

Why not buy a fifty-thousand dollar new toy?

To Jaiden, Mina looked like the perfect human shield and a fun new maid to torture. If someone really wanted to kill him, she could protect him.

“Alright, here’s the deal. I’ll hire you as my maid and bodyguard. However, you will only get one salary. It’s not much, but no one has complained yet.”

“I just want to be your bodyguard,” Mina said, hands on her hips in full teacup mode.

“Beggars can’t be choosers, Miss. Either you double as my maid or I’ll have you escorted off these premises.” Jaiden tapped his foot.

He’s right, Mina. Beggars can’t be choosers!
“Okay, but how much are you paying me?”

Mimicking Mina, Jaiden held up five fingers. “Five grand, paid weekly.”

“Really?”
That’s more than what most college graduates make in a month!
Mina could run into his arms and kiss him if she weren’t so shy. Before summer vacation would end, she would make enough to pay off her mother’s debts. Then she reminded herself she needed fifty-grand in a month’s time. Trying her luck, she asked, “Do you think I can ask for ten-weeks of salary in advance?”

Jaiden stretched his neck. “You want all fifty-grand in advance?”
How typical of a con-artist, scammer, and gold-digger wannabe.

“Yes, if that’s possible. My mom signed a loan contract agreeing to make a full payment in a month. Guess what the loan rate is? Twenty-two percent.” Mina dropped her shoulders.

Jaiden almost believed her. Lying through her teeth, she didn’t look away, twitch, or appear antsy. When the girl didn’t move around or pretend to be dead, she wasn’t that hard on the eyes as he had first thought she was, with her wild mop of hair in a thick ponytail, impish freckles across her face, and expressive almond-shaped brown eyes. Not one part on her body was man-made.

He imagined she would actually look presentable if she styled her hair and wore better fitting clothes.

Mina inched away from Jaiden. Boys usually didn’t stare at her like this. She placed her arms over her barely-there chest. “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing.” Jaiden tilted his head. “Just wondering how someone with such flabby arms could be so strong.”

Mina hid her arms behind her back. “They’re not flabby-they’re muscular. I once arm wrestled the entire football team at school and won.”

That one time, Mina had wanted to impress Kit. She challenged every member of the Uptown football team to arm wrestle her after she overheard one jock state how all the girls at school were weak and dainty. If Kit weren’t with her, she wouldn’t have the guts to confront of those burly jocks.

“Freakish,” Jaiden muttered. “Anyway, what’s your name, you can start by cleaning my room. I’ll have my breakfast in the gardens today. We’ll talk later about your salary advance.”

“Thank you so much,” Mina said with genuine sincerity in her tone. Then she held out her hand, palm facing Jaiden. “But there’s one thing I want to clarify. My name is Mina Lin, Jaiden. Not what’s-your-name.”

None of his other maids had addressed him by his first name before. Except his favorite maid—she was allowed to call him Jaiden. “Funny, you look more like a Mary Sue.”

“
Ha ha ha
.” Mina walked into his bedroom, eyes rolling like cheese-wheels. If she could stick Rich Boy and Alyssa in a cramped cell together, throw in an unhappy skunk, she would go to the local zoo to steal a skunk.

At the stairway, Jaiden bumped into Bunion who led a six-foot tall blond woman up the stairs.

Bunion panted. “My Young Master, I have made a terrible mistake. This here is your real new maid, Miss-”

“Mary,” the real maid said. Her voice was deep and gruff like a manly man’s.

What’s her name
was definitely a better choice as Jaiden’s maid, even though he doubted she had any experience as a maid. Contrary to his belief, Mina cleared up the mess she had made in his bedroom in no time before expertly making his bed and fluffing his pillows.

“Please show Miss Mary out the door, Bunion, and compensate her for her traveling expenses. I’ve already decided to hire the other girl.” Jaiden gave Mary an apologetic look. He patted Bunion on the shoulder. “Next time you let someone in, double check her credentials first.”

Bunion dropped his head in shame. “Yes, Young Master.”

Jaiden grinned, disappearing downstairs. Bunion apologized to the real maid and led her out the manse. The maid shook her massive fist and cursed in a foreign language before stomping away.

Through the sliding glass door in the dining room, Jaiden walked to the gardens next to the waterfall pool. He sat by a round white patio table and looked at the doll head picture again, mentally making a list of suspects who could have sent the threat. Jaiden prepared himself for a long list-both he and his father had plenty of enemies in the Uptown.

Could it be the leader of the Packer’s Union, who constantly protested against his father’s decisions and budget cuts? Or supporters of the celebrity candidate who had lost the race for Comptroller last November?

Who could it be?

Jaiden decided he would give his phone to his private detective later.

His new maid jarred his thoughts ten minutes later when she set a second breakfast platter down on the table with a clang. She removed the silver lid and stood next to him like a cyborg.

Jaiden arched his neck. “You’re done cleaning my room?”

“Yup. I just need to vacuum a bit.”

Jaiden looked at his breakfast. “You know, I don’t stir my own coffee. The avocado must also be sliced into perfect cubes.”

Mina stirred the coffee with a silver spoon. “Do I have to use a ruler and measure the avocado cubes so they’re perfect squares?”

“That would be nice and very professional of you.” Jaiden beamed.

Mina cut the sliced up avocado into un-perfect cubes and jabbed a fork into a cube, handing it to Jaiden. “Do I have to feed you your breakfast too? Bring you a bib?”
Wipe your butt?

“No. Just bring me the morning paper.”

Mina saluted Jaiden. “Yes, boss.” Having made a mental-map of the mansion earlier, Mina navigated the place with ease. She found the newspaper rolled up in the front lawn. When she picked up the paper, a knife dropped out.

She bent down and grasped the handle. The blood-covered blade glinted. Mina wrapped the paper around the knife and brought it to gardens. She removed the knife and showed it to Jaiden.

Jaiden stared at his fiendish maid brandishing a bloodied knife at him. His young life flashed before his eyes.

Mina dropped the knife on the table. “I found this in the newspaper. I told you-it’s a serious threat. Are you going to call the police?”

Jaiden’s voice cracked when he said, “No. I’ll hire a private detective. If I notify the police, the paparazzi will be here and the whole world will know.” As a political figure, the less the public knew about Jameson Daniels’s problems, the better.

“Put the knife and my phone in two separate plastic bags for me and leave them in my bedroom.”

“Okay.” Mina hurried into the kitchen and retrieved two Ziploc bags. Back in the gardens, she placed the phone and the knife into the bags. She carried the bags back upstairs to his bedroom, working up a sweat, before planting herself beside Jaiden again.

“What else do you need, Boss?”

Jaiden grinned, admiring the way Mina worked so efficiently, though he would never admit it.

“Have the White Piano Room spotless in half an hour. I have a guest to entertain shortly.”

“Okie dokie.” Usually, Mina would not be so subservient. Jaiden Daniels, however, was her ticket to saving her house. She had to show him he would not regret hiring her. As much as she hated being bossed around, she knew she had to suck up her pride and deal with whatever Rich Boy threw at her. How else would she be able to make so much money in so little time?

She tapped her forefingers together. “Before I go make the White Piano Room spotless, can we talk about my salary advance?”

Jaiden dabbed the corners of his mouth with a beige silk cloth. “You’re still in your probation period. Ask me again later. I would like to finish my breakfast alone if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, Boss.” Mina rushed back into the manse, like a hummingbird with endless energy. Hopefully, by showing him how well she worked, her probation period would last just one day.

After gathering cleaning materials, she made the White Piano Room sparkling clean, starting with the concert-hall-worthy white piano. She wiped down each key until they reflected sunlight from the window.

She pressed a piano key down by accident. The sound it made reminded her of Kiterin.

If I knew how to play the piano, would Kit choose to be with me instead of with Alyssa?

She imagined herself playing the piano as Kit played the violin-the music they played together would be as beautiful as their love. She could see Kit now, lying atop the piano like a happy cat, admiring her play.

“I wish.”

Sighing, she moved away from the piano to clean the rest of the room. She added fresh water to the flower vase, vacuumed the carpet, and even dusted the walls.

Exactly half an hour later, Jaiden walked into the room. Mina had finished cleaning everything a minute ago. Jaiden examined his piano before he sat down. He placed his hands gently above the center of the keyboards, closed his eyes, and played a mellifluous piece. When Kit played the violin, he played with his heart. When he was melancholy, Mina could hear it in his violin. Listening to Jaiden play, Mina had the very same feeling. Mina could tell something troubled him from the way he moved his long fingers fluidly across the keyboard.

Of course he’s troubled-someone out there wants him dead.

Jaiden continued to play the piano, pouring out his heart through his fingertips, as if the world and time around him had stopped.