2. Meeting Mr. Boss

Chapter 2

Monday morning found Rebecca pulling her handbag forward, holding it tightly as she walked up the marbled stairs to the front door. Lily was right. This part of the city was home to some of the big names in all industries. The houses were all huge, with perfectly manicured gardens, driveways that go on forever and cars that she could only dream about being in let alone driving. As she drove her beat-up Ford Taurus through the road, she had kept an eye out for a policeman to stop her and tell her that her car wasn't worth driving through the roads on that neighbourhood.

When shefinally pulled to a stop at the address she was given, her mouth hung open for a few seconds. The house was just as huge as the rest, just as perfectly taken care of and it had two flashy cars parked outside. Running her hands down her new pair of jeans, Rebecca took a deep breath and made her way up the remaining stairs. After ringing the bell, she moved back a step, swinging on her heels and waited for the door to open.

When for about two minutes, there was no response, Rebecca rang again. This time she heard a squeal of laughter and some running steps. She moved back again and waited. When the door opened, she could not stop the gasp that escaped her lips. There, by the door, stood a well built man in only his denim bottom which was halfway opened, revealing a line of soft looking hair that disappeared below the two buttons that were still closed. Her eyes travelled up, taking in the muscled stomach, arms and the perfect tan. Travelling higher, Rebecca encountered a firm mouth, which at the moment had a lopsided smile on it, before her brown eyes collided with blue ones.

“Yes?” his voice was deep with irritation.

“I-uhm,” Rebecca blushed gently as she moved from side to side. She was not expecting this. The most of a male body that she had seen were the few boys that she had gone swimming with at the lake during summer break back in high school. She had met up with a few muscled boys in college, but none of them came close to this! Taking a deep breath she tried again, “my name is Rebecca and I am here..” before she could finish the door opened wider. The first thing that Rebecca noticed was the bare legs, before she noticed that the woman wore what must have been the man's shirt. A deeper blush found its way to her cheeks as she got the picture of what she must have interrupted.

“Who is this, Jer?” she asked as her brown eyes took in Rebecca. She turned to the man, placing her hand on his chest, her fingers drawing patterns, all the time her eyes on Rebecca.

“I-I'm so sorry. My name is Rebecca, I was sent by Amanda for the housekeeping job for Mr. Jeremy Martenson. I could always come back later.”

The lady laughed, “she called you Mr.” she turned to him, “isn't she the sweetest?”

Jeremy frowned, “aren't you a little young for housekeeping job? What are you, sixteen?”

Rebecca shook her head, “I am twenty-two, sir. And I can do this, I really need the job.”

Jeremy turned to the woman, “can we take a rain check, Shona? Seems I have to babysit.”

Rebecca narrowed her eyes on him, thankful that he was busy eating the face off Shona to notice. She turned away, embarrassed with the way they were fondling each other in front of her. “You know, I could always come back at a time well suited for you,” she supplied, her back to them.

Shona laughed, “we are embarrassing the little girl!” She collected her keys and clothes from somewhere behind the door before walking to the flashy white Porsche. Rebecca noticed that she still had on the white shirt.

“Well, are you going to come in or what?” Jeremy opened the door wider, taking in the scared looking girl with little interest. He had a meeting with his managers in an hour's time so he was short of time. Closing the door behind him, he walked past the girl who was standing by the hallway. “I'll show you around real quickly as I have to head out in a few minutes. I take it you know what I want from you?”

Rebecca shook her head, “apart from the usual housekeeping duties, I am not sure what else you will require from me,” she replied truthfully.

Jeremy stopped and turned to her. “Is this your first job?”

“Yes, sir,” Rebecca nodded. “But I am a quick learner and I'll do all that you ask, sir.”

“Stop calling me sir,” Jeremy rubbed the bridge of his nose. “That's my dad. Call me Jeremy, mmh?”

“Ok, si-I mean Jeremy,” Rebecca corrected herself. “I promise you that I will work hard.”

Jeremy took a few seconds to study the girl. Now that he was closer she did appear to be more than the sixteen years that he had first thought, though she looked younger than the twenty three years that she claimed she was. Her brown eyes seemed to be begging him for the opportunity to work. “You keep saying that. Alright, I am giving you a shot, but three mistakes and you are out. Agreed?”

Rebecca nodded, tightening her grip on her handbag. “Agreed.”

“Good. Now, I'll need you to keep this place clean at all times. I usually order my grocery on Wednesday but that will also fall into your line of work. My clothes are sent to the cleaners on Saturday, collected on Sunday. I will let you know as if I would like to have dinner ready and for how many people by 3pm in the afternoons, I'll leave the decision on the menu to you. My offices are on the top floor, as well as my bedroom. There are two guestrooms on this floor, including the sitting, dining and all the other rooms that you will find. The kitchen is on your far right down this hallway.” Jeremy took a left turn. He opened the door to a huge semi attached sitting room. “This will be your apartment. There is a sitting room, and bedroom, big enough for you I hope. For the times you want to disappear.”

“Wait,” Rebecca stopped, a frown on her face. “What do you mean by my apartment? I am to stay here with you?”

Jeremy turned to her, his blue eyes challenging, “of course. Do you have a problem with that?”

Rebecca gulped and shook her head, all the time running a scene when she tells her mother that she will be living in the same house with a young-hot-blooded man. Swallowing a groan, she gave Jeremy a tight smile, “no, it'll not be a problem, though I ask that I move in tomorrow as I was not aware of my need to stay here. I'll have to explain this to my mother.” When Jeremy continued staring at her, Rebecca bit on her lower lip, “is that ok?”

“I was waiting for you to tell me that you'll also need to explain this to your boyfriend as well,” Jeremy raised an eyebrow at her. “I take it there is no boyfriend to explain this situation to?” He smiled when he noticed the faint blush covering her cheeks, “well, that answers it. Fine, you can move in tomorrow.” He said as he turned on his heels and headed back in the direction they had come from.

“Thank you,” Rebecca said, trying her best not to show her relief or embarrassment. Trying to explain to her mother why she was not able to head back home that evening through the phone was not going to end well. It could have ended in a number of ways, each one more frightening than the other. She quickly followed him, slightly jogging to keep with his long strides.

Jeremy stopped suddenly and turned to her, his hands went automatically to her arms to steady as she bumped into him. “Are you always so-,” he frowned as he searched for the word he wanted to describe her with, his hands still on her arms. “Proper?”

Rebecca frowned, flustered at having run into his back. But that was not her fault, he stopped suddenly knowing that she was behind him following.. “P-proper?”

“Formal? Stiff?” Jeremy shrugged as he let go of her arms and placed his hands on his hips, regarding her with his blue eyes.

Rebecca frowned, “I am not stiff!” she exclaimed vehemently. Jeremy just raised his eyebrow at her, prompting her to add, “I am a bit nervous, that's all.” She told him truthfully.

“Right,” Jeremy nodded his head slowly, saying the word as though he did not believe her. Before he could say anything else, his mobile phone started ringing. Removing it from the back of the low riding denim jeans he was wearing, he answered with a touch on the screen, “hi, Kelvin. I'll be there in fifteen.” Cutting the connection he replaced the phone back into his back pocket.

Rebecca stepped away from him, her hands going behind her back as she waited for Jeremy to finish with his call. Her eyes kept bouncing around, hitting anything but his torso, or the bunched up muscles as he held the phone to his ear.

“Listen,” Jeremy glanced at his watch. “I have got to bounce. You do your thing.” He turned around, continuing with his walk. By the stairs going to the top storey, he stopped, “When you are done, close up and I'll see you tomorrow. I'll leave the alarm codes by the table over there.” He pointed to a small table by the door with his chin, before he started going up the stairs. By the third step he stopped,”'before I forget, George, the gardener will be here around eleven, so don't go panicking when you see him.”

Rebecca bit her tongue to keep from replying him; instead she nodded her head once.

Jeremy broke into a chuckle, “stiff!” he ran the remaining stairs, not waiting for her to say anything.

Rebecca just stared after him for a few seconds, before shaking her head and walking towards the kitchen. She had figured she could start there, as she had spied a pile of dirty dishes during Jeremy's fast tracked tour.

Depositing her handbag on one of the breakfast stools by the kitchen island, she quickly set to work, collecting all the dirty dishes, rinsing them before she fed them into the dishwasher. She found the surface cleaner, making sure she had all the kitchen surfaces cleaned before she cleaned the floors.

Remembering all the tips her mother had given her together with experience she had gained looking after the house while Emma was at work, Rebecca worked with an easy speed, leaving only cleanliness behind her. Jeremy had called a goodbye and a reminder of the alarm codes as he made his way out of the house, so she felt comfortable enough to move around the house.

Making a quick work on the lounge areas, Rebecca took a quick rest before she made her way up the stairs. The first room, which turned out to be Jeremy's home office was clean, she just needed to dust a bit. As she walked around the office she appreciated the sophisticated decoration in the room. The room was very masculine, grey painted walls supported by dark wood furniture.

Rebecca moved to his desk, running her hand on the leather covered chair. Bending over, she studied a framed picture of Jeremy with what Rebecca figured were his parents, a couple which looked to be in their late fifties. Humming gently she continued with her dusting before she went out and closed the door behind her.

The final room was Jeremy's bedroom. Rebecca walked slowly towards it, picturing what it might look like. The whole house was impressive, though a bit macho for her taste. She had already run plans to change that by buying vases and bringing in fresh flowers the next day.

Reaching for the door knob, she turned it and walked in. “You have got to be kidding me!”