Serving HIM
Vol. 2
Chapter 1
Aleena
“Good morning.”
I nearly crashed into Dominic Monday morning. It was six-fifteen and I’d been awake since a little before five, barely able to sleep.
I hadn’t seen him since our oddly tense lunch on Saturday and, although I was certain I’d been imagining it, I could have sworn his eyes slid over me when I wasn’t watching, that they’d linger on my mouth, my breasts…lower.
When I all but toppled over in my attempt to stop our collision, his hands came up and caught my arms, steadying me. My heart gave an odd, hiccupping sort of beat as his hands fell away, without even a hint of a pause.
“Good morning, Mr. Snow,” I said, stepping back at the exact moment he did.
“Are you ready to get to work?” he asked, giving me a polite, distant smile.
It took me until we got back into the main room to realize that he was talking to me differently. There was no warmth in his voice, not like before. He wasn’t being cold, exactly, but it was definitely all business. Not even a hint of flirting.
I should’ve been grateful. The last thing I needed was a boss who felt like he could openly flirt with his employees. I didn’t want that. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a pang when I thought about how much I’d enjoyed his light, subtle flirtations up until now.
“We’ve already talked about how you’re welcome to use the kitchen,” he said as we headed down the steps to the first floor. “But Francisco is coming in today. If there’s anything you’d like to have ordered in, let him know.”
He paused and lifted a brow. “Be warned…you don’t want to use anything of his without letting him know. He’s temperamental.”
Francisco
. Mentally, I compared that name to the list I’d spent the weekend committing to memory. He was the chef who came in a few days a week. He spent the rest of the week at the main house—which, I now knew, was another property of Dominic’s.
Other staff here at the penthouse included Dominic’s household manager. She wasn’t exactly a butler, as Dominic didn’t like to have a lot of people invade his personal space here, but she managed the cleaning personnel and helped arranged any events that might take place at the penthouse.
There was also a chef at the house in the Hamptons, a groundskeeper who headed an entire crew of landscapers, a butler at the main house, a household manager at the main house, a crew of housekeepers…the list went on and on.
Each of the people in charge were responsible for hiring’s and firing’s, but they might occasionally reach out to the household manager, or if she wasn’t available, to me. That wasn’t likely to happen any time soon, but she wanted me to be prepared and she’d be introducing me over the coming weeks so I’d be familiar with all of them.
“Whatever you want to have on hand for breakfast, make sure you note it down. Lauren or Cisco will make sure it’s here, okay?” he said as he opened the refrigerator and took out an energy drink. “You need to feel comfortable here.”
I nodded.
“Obviously, here in the city, there will be more interaction between us since there isn’t a separate entrance. Feel free to entertain around work, but I do ask that, unless we’ve talked about it, you limit it to your quarters. I don’t usually have parties here, but I do bring home women from time to time and it could be awkward if we both had company in the same place.”
I tried not to think about my own fantasies of being one of those women he brought home. Or the pang I felt when I thought about him having sex with someone else.
“Since you have the guest house in the Hamptons, I don’t really care what you do there, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your work.”
I nodded again, acting like I was filing all of this away even though I was actually still trying to process everything that was happening. What he was talking about right now didn’t really matter anyway. I had one friend in the city and no romantic interest in anyone—unless of course I considered my bathroom fantasies. I wasn’t planning on bringing anyone back here or to the Hamptons anytime soon.
The sound of the door opening was followed by a quick and cheerful, “Hello!”
A grin flashed over Dominic’s face, one that brought a rush of heat to my belly and a knot to my throat. I wanted to see him smile like that when I greeted him.
And how silly was that?
Fawna appeared in the doorway and looked between us. “Well, the two of you are already up and moving.”
“You know me,” Dominic said, tipping his drink in her direction.
“Yes, I do.” She gave him a smile and then turned her friendly eyes toward me. “And Aleena…did you get settled in?”
“Yes.” Some of my tension faded away. “Mostly. I’ve gone over the paperwork you’ve given me, too.”
“Please tell me you didn’t spend your entire weekend working.” She
tsked
under her breath.
“No.” I glanced at Dominic and then back at Fawna. “I was able to get some shopping done as well. I needed to expand my wardrobe.”
“Ahhh…yes. That was actually going to be on the schedule for today.”
“I…” I blinked. “What?”
Dominic folded his arms. “Your wardrobe. I told Fawna I wanted her to take you shopping.”
“I’ve been shopping,” I said. I gestured at the neat black suit I wore. I knew they couldn’t find fault with it. It was Chanel. It cost two hundred dollars…
used
. There wasn’t anything wrong with it.
Dominic opened his mouth, but Fawna held up a hand and stepped between us. “I see you have. That’s a lovely suit, Aleena. It’s very flattering.”
I angled my chin up, fighting the urge to glare at the man standing behind Fawna.
“You’ll need more than one or two nice pieces for the job as my assistant, Aleena,” Dominic said, his voice flat.
“I can buy my own clothing,” I retorted.
Something that might have been surprise flashed through his eyes.
Fawna, ever the peacemaker, cut in again. “Aleena, perhaps you’ll allow me to look at your wardrobe. I have a good idea what you’ll need—I’m sure you can agree there.”
“I…” I stopped and then nodded.
“Wonderful. And if you are amenable, then you’ll allow Dominic to help you with your…wardrobe expansions.” She winked at me. “After all, you understand that your appearance reflects on Dominic and the Winter Corporation, yes?”
I fought the urge to grit my teeth as I mentally counted to ten, then back. Finally, I looked from her to Dominic. “I don’t believe in letting somebody pay my way,” I said quietly. Then I looked away. “But fine. I’ll let you buy a
few
pieces. Enough to last me a few weeks. After that, I’ll start buying a piece a week with
my own money
.”
“Aleena, it’s not like I can’t afford—”
“Perfectly reasonable,” Fawna said, interrupting Dominic.
Chapter 2
Aleena
I was
exhausted
.
The past week had been a whirlwind of work, shopping, work, studying, work, and more work.
I don’t think I spent so much time cramming since college.
I’d committed a ridiculous amount of material to memory—it wasn’t something I talked about, and I didn’t like to, either. At school, I had noted how people reacted when they figured out my talent—they didn’t like it. But my memory was phenomenal. I’d never had to note orders down at any of the restaurants where I worked. I just repeated them back once and I had them nailed.
Something a little more complicated required me to write it down, but once I did, it was stored in my memory. So my work-around was to take Fawna’s notes and write them down, organizing them in a way that worked better for me.
Now I just hoped it came in handy.
Fawna wasn’t here.
She was spending the weekend at the hospital with her little grandson and…oh, my, goodness. What a
cutie
. When I’d asked about him, she told me that she’d love to take me up to see him so that was how I’d spent my Friday night, visiting with her and tiny little Eli.
He was so small. I’d seen dolls bigger than him. His wizened little face had stared up at us with somber eyes.
Pushing aside the thoughts of Eli and Fawna, I focused on the house that had just come into view. I almost had to pick my jaw up on the floor and I amended the term. That wasn’t a house.
Mansion, I guess.
It was massive. Five families could have easily fit in there and I had no idea how many acres of land the house sat on. The attached garage could probably house ten or twelve cars.
The car came to a halt in front of a smaller house. Smaller compared to the other house, at least.
“Maxwell?” I asked quietly.
The driver of the car glanced into his mirror as he put the car into park. “Yes, Ms. Davison?”
“Is this…” I paused and cleared my throat. “Would this be the guest house?”
“It would.” He smiled.
I didn’t let myself gape.
Okay, I’d known Dominic was rich, but suddenly,
rich
was taking on a whole different meaning.
I opened the door and received a censuring gaze from the driver. “I can open the door, Max,” I said.
“So can I and I’m paid to do it,” he countered.
“But I feel silly letting somebody open a door I’m perfectly capable of opening myself.” He looked as though he wanted to argue, but then he finally just sighed and shook his head, a faintly exasperated but amused smile on his face.
As Maxwell took my bags out of the trunk, I automatically reached for one. He gave me one of those stern looks that some older gentlemen can give without being condescending. According to the files Fawna had given me, Maxwell had been driving for the Snow family since he was nineteen and had followed Dominic when he’d moved out. I’d seen Maxwell with Dominic and it was clear there was a tight bond between them.
“Do you want these in the master bedroom, Ms. Davison?” he asked as he followed me to the door. This time, I noticed what I hadn’t before. Maxwell was British.
“Ah…call me Aleena, please?” I gave him my best smile as I thought it through. I hadn’t realized there was more than one bedroom. “Use the master bedroom, please.” Why not, I figured. I was the only one staying here, right?
“Of course.” He disappeared down the hall to the right and I made a mental note. When he returned, he asked, “Will there be anything else you need from me? Mr. Snow said to let you know there are some nice shops nearby if you’d like to go shopping.”
Shopping…
I made a face and although I could have been imagining it, I thought I saw Maxwell hide a smile. “I’m tired of shopping, Max.” I paused and then asked, “Do you mind if I call you Max?”
“No.” A faint smile crossed his lips. “My wife used to call me Max.”
“You’re married?”
Now the smile on his lips took on a sad slant. “I was, yes. She died a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.”
Looking away, I brushed my hair back. “I think I’ll get familiar with the property, meet the staff inside the house before I worry about the shops in town.”
After Maxwell had left, I wandered the guesthouse.
It was nearly as big as the entire penthouse. I had never imagined I’d fall into anything like this. It wasn’t
mine
and I knew this. It was mine for now, though. And I still couldn’t figure out how I’d lucked into this. That was what it felt like—I’d lucked into this.
The guesthouse had a living room with a deluxe flat screen TV and long, low sofas that were more comfortable than anything I’d ever known.
There was a separate dining area that was far too formal. One look into the kitchen told me that I’d be spending most of my time eating in there. The kitchen made me want to jump around and clap my hands. And somebody had stocked it. I couldn’t help but smile when I peeked into cabinets and the fridge. I had a feeling whoever the somebody was had a direct line straight to Fawna. Somehow, the things I tended to eat were already on hand,
My exploration revealed a linen closet, a laundry room and then a spare bedroom—it was lavish and luxurious, but I knew it was the spare bedroom because it was down the left hallway.
If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought it was the master bedroom. With the dove gray walls and rich maroon accents, it was almost too beautiful to be real.
But then I found the master bedroom.
It looked like springtime.
Pale green walls, the carpet a sea of blue. Both colors twined in the bed set. When I stroked my hand down it, I was almost certain that it was real silk. Upon closer inspection, I saw that walls weren’t simply green, but hand-painted.
Tiny little swirls of green on green.
The king-sized bed looked like living trees rising up out of the carpet, spiraling up, the branches as perfect as if they truly were tree trunks.
Oh, yeah.
I was sleeping in the master bedroom. If I had my way, I’d never
leave
here.
Moving deeper into the bedroom, I found myself touching everything. There was no obvious place to store my clothing so I went to open one of the paneled doors and when it swung open, I stepped back, gasping in surprise at the TV there. It was almost as big as the TV out in the living room and one of those curved screens I’d seen advertised recently.
Wow.
I didn’t think anything could top that bedroom, but then I slid open the final set of louvered doors and this time, I couldn’t stop myself from gaping.
The bathroom was indescribable. Pillars surrounded the sunken Jacuzzi tub. On the far side of the bathroom, there were as a glass-in shower big enough for a party of five.
The toilet was enclosed and set apart from the rest of the room and to my delight, there was a padded vanity with a lighted mirror.
I felt like a frickin’ princess.
Maybe the castle wasn’t mine, but I still felt like a princess.
***
I had keys to the main house.
With those clutched in my hand, I made my way up to what I was now calling the
real
castle—at least in my head.
But I didn’t have a chance to use them. I’d followed the path that led from my guesthouse up to the main house and by the time I got there, the door opened.