Housekeeping Read online

  If I was honest, I wasn’t even surprised. I’d already suspected as much. For a man at death’s door to suddenly refuse to see his children was odd, and I’m many things but stupid isn’t one of them. I don’t know why I hadn’t demanded an answer before now, yet here I was, totally not shocked to be told I’d been made a fool of by my father. Again.

  Right then, I was well past super frustrated and somehow, I simply wasn’t in the mood to be smug that I’d almost guessed right. I was pissed off, righteously so, and in a move that I suspected mirrored what Trent did when he found out, I left everything where it was and walked out of the office.

  Trent didn’t call me back, not that I would have stopped if he did. He probably knew, so he didn’t bother.

  16

  Mason

  “For crying out loud, Dad!”

  I stomped down the hallway because I was fed up. Everything was one big mess and it didn’t seem to be getting any better. I didn’t need this stress in my life.

  How could the old man do this to me? To all of us! Whatever his reasons for lying, I was worried about him when I’d decided to go back home. It wasn’t like he never saw me around! Unlike Trent, the prodigal son, and Kevin, the wanderer, I went home a little too much considering I didn’t have to. Maybe that was the issue. I was a sucker for punishment. Then again it was more for the sake of Mom and Emily, but it wasn’t like I didn’t have time for Dad on those trips. I was at the mansion six month ago, and I’d stuck around for a whole two weeks.

  What more did he want?

  I’d acted like a fucking child, doing everything he’d asked, and for what?

  Fuck all!

  I quit rugby to learn the ropes of the business. I didn’t like it, but I went along anyway because he wanted me to. He had me going all over the place to take care of hotel dealings. He didn’t do that with Kevin. Or Trent for that matter.

  When I’d heard that he wasn’t well, I didn’t think foul play, but then again why should that have been the first thing that came into my mind? I pretty much put my life on hold just to come back for Dad. I was living at the hotel because I thought it would be better than sticking around the mansion. I hate commutes. I had my own home, though in another town where I would have rather lived quietly, as ridiculous as that sounded for me with all the parties I kept having and attending.

  Still, it wasn’t like I’d had intentions of living that way my whole life. No matter how angry I was with my dad. Besides, a part of me didn’t like the constant parties. All I did was get wasted and lose even more precious time.

  I fucking hated it, I suddenly realized. I hated all of it, staying at the mansion, even my suite room at the hotel was a waste. I’d grown up with money, sure, but the one thing they never tell you about mansions and huge hotel rooms is that the space is too big, too cold. A little too much like the boarding school for me to be comfortable, but then I’d scraped through that in the end.

  I made it to the elevator without meeting anyone’s gaze, then pressed the button to take me down to my floor. Once the elevator stopped, I walked quickly to my room and let myself in, then headed straight for the bedroom.

  “Ugh,” I groaned, closing my eyes as I fell backward onto my bed. For a moment I just lay there, then my eyes snapped open. Slowly, I sat up. “Emily…”

  Emily had been the one to tell me about Dad’s heart attack. I didn’t want to think that way of my sister, but she must have been in on the whole thing. More than angry, it made me feel disappointed in her that she couldn’t even trust me to tell me the truth. Then again, her shifty behavior suddenly made much more sense.

  “I’m not letting you off the hook so easily, little sister,” I muttered to myself, getting up.

  I picked up the keys to my car on my way out of the room. I didn’t bother taking anything with me just yet because I wasn’t sure exactly what my options were. I could always just leave. There was nothing wrong with quitting in the middle, right? Trent did it, even if he did come back. I might even do it if it meant Dad would meet me and explain things to me.

  The feeling of betrayal from my sister flared, and with it, indignation. It cooled down almost immediately because no matter what, Emily was my little sister. Hell, I was pretty sure it was Dad who put her up to the whole thing. Emily would never have come up with an idea like that on her own. Dad must have pushed her into it. That made more sense than my sister playing a trick on me with something as serious as a heart attack.

  I headed out of the hotel, then bee-lined for the parking lot. I unlocked my car then jumped into the seat.

  Several thoughts swirled in my head on the drive back. Why did Emily or Dad feel they’d been pushed to this point? I assumed there was a reason he faked being ill then refused for us to see him. I wasn’t sure if I even still wanted to know, considering everything.

  Everything was rushing around in my mind like a hurricane and it was making feel as if I was going insane. I needed to calm the fuck down. I couldn’t go on like this. I kept thinking about calming down one minute and then the next my anger would boil inside me like hot lava. It was as if I was a volcano ready to explode.

  I thought about Laura and her sweet body in my arms and it made me feel whole again. It worked for a while, but then I thought about the way things are between us and I got angry again. I needed to control myself. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed my sister. She picked up quickly.

  “Hey, Mason,” she chirped. “I’m in the kitchen right now, so can I call you back?”

  I could hear some sounds in the background that proved her story, but I wasn’t in the mood to be patient. I started to get angry once again, not because of Emily but because of Dad.

  “I’m home and I want to see you right now, Emily.”

  The tone of my voice must have been enough to clue her in that this was something serious because she didn’t come back with a refusal. Usually, she’d tell me to wait for her.

  “Where are you?” she asked with a sigh.

  “I’m at the front door. Just tell me where to meet you and I’ll go there. Or you can come pick me up in the foyer.”

  “It’s fine. Just head over to the lounge, all right? I’ll be there soon.”

  I hung up. Though we had more than one lounge in the mansion, besides the large living room we also had, I knew the one she meant. I headed over there, then picked a seat and slumped into it, folding my arms across my chest.

  Emily showed up just moments later, and I frowned at her, not bothering to get up to greet her properly. She didn’t look like she’d expected it anyway. She had her hands clasped in front of her meekly, her head tilted downward, and an uneasy expression on her face.

  “I’m not going to scold you or anything,” I said, scowling. “I just wanted to get the news from you directly. I don’t know why I had to wait for Trent of all people to tell me about this, Emily.”

  She had the grace to look contrite, a grimace crossing her face as she took the seat across from me and hesitantly met my gaze.

  “Just how mad are you?” she asked.

  “Enough to consider tugging your hair right now. I haven’t done it since we were kids, but it’s not like I won’t smack you.”

  Her eyes widened a bit, and it was almost funny watching her hide her hair with one hand, and her cheek with the other.

  I was still too mad to appreciate it.

  “I swear it wasn’t my idea,” she said, shaking her head quickly. “Dad was the one to bring it up, saying something about being lonely. I didn’t want to do it, but he was so insistent, and it’s Dad, so I couldn’t exactly turn him down.”

  I let out a sigh and she stopped talking immediately.

  “I could guess that Dad was the one to put you up to it, Emily, you don’t even need to tell me that. I just don’t like how you went along with it anyway. Do you have any idea how worried I was? Hell, how worried Trent must have been to come back here? What you both did was so wrong, I don’t even know where to begin.
”

  “I know,” she said, her voice small. She looked down at her lap, her hair falling over her shoulders to cover the sides of her face. She played with her fingers in her lap, looking every bit the chastened child. “I know I should have done something to stop him from doing something so ridiculous, at least. He did seem to mean it when he said he was lonely, and that he wanted you guys all to come home. Of course, once you all did he couldn’t exactly see you…”

  No, he couldn’t. Not without blowing his cover. Or maybe, he just wanted to prolong the inevitable so we would stick around longer.

  “It’s okay, Emily,” I said, my voice growing softer. “I forgive you for going along with Dad’s whims, just promise me you’ll never do it again. Dad’s a grown up and he should act like it, not put you in awkward situations like this.”

  “I agreed to it in the end, so it’s not like the blame only goes to him, you know. Don’t worry. There definitely won’t be a second time.”

  She looked up at me from under her lashes, looking a little hopeful. I sighed, then opened my arms to her. Immediately, she beamed and jumped up, then rushed over to me. She sat down beside me and hugged me from the side, burying her face in my chest. I couldn’t help but chuckle because we hadn't been in this position for quite a while.

  “I love you, sis,” I said, burying my face in her hair. “That won’t change just because you make a few stupid choices here and there, but please next time, try to be a little more considerate of other people. Don’t just listen and do whatever your old man is telling you to. You’re a grown up now.”

  “I know,” she said with a sniff, pulling back, though she was still smiling. “Those days are definitely behind me, I promise.”

  I wouldn’t hold her to that promise, though. Dad could be pretty persuasive when he wanted something.

  “I wonder if I should go back to the hotel,” I sighed, leaning back against the seat.

  “You could always stick around, at least for today?” she suggested. “Mom is around somewhere, and she misses you. Why don’t you hang out with us?”

  I pursed my lips. “Is Dad around?”

  She shrugged. “Nah, I think he headed out at some point to look for Trent over something important. He left a while ago and he hasn’t come back yet.”

  That meant he’d probably gone to the hotel. Which meant, there was no point in me going back there anyway, because I wanted to avoid him for a little bit longer. I could always wait to confront him when he came back.

  “All right,” I conceded. “I’ll stick around.” Then I grinned at Emily. “And what is this I hear about you being in the kitchen, huh? Are you still trying to be a chef, or were you lending the staff a hand? Haven’t I told you plenty of times about hanging out with the help?”

  “But I like it,” she said, frowning. “And it’s not like I have anything better to do around here. Did you know there was a girl my age working in the kitchen? I had no idea!”

  “Imagine what it must be like for her! You’re dressed in your usual designer gear and looking like you’re about to go to some high-class party. The person who sees that…”

  Wasn’t going to be particularly happy about it. The truth of my own words hit me. I was pretty much doing what my sister was doing, or at least trying to, and going about it all in the wrong ways. I’d been sending gifts to Laura, expensive shit I thought all women would love, but I forgot I was rubbing our different statuses in her face with such thoughtless gifts.

  No wonder they were all returned! I must look like an idiot to take this long just to realize.

  Shit!

  Would she even let me try to make it up to her?

  17

  Laura

  I felt weary when I walked into work that day. I knew that another present was waiting for me and I didn’t want it. I needed to get him out of my mind but he wasn’t going to let it be, so I did the right thing and sent them back. Every single parcel had been returned.

  The first gift had come as a surprise. This large, ostentatious display of flowers. There were several roses of exotic colors, and other flowers I didn’t even recognize. The humiliating part was receiving it in front of the staff lounge, so plenty of people got to see.

  No name came with the gifts, but I knew who they were from. There was only one person I’d been with who had the kind of money to keep buying me things like this.

  Mason.

  He probably kept his name hidden so the others wouldn’t talk. The problem was while they weren’t talking about Mason, they sure talked plenty about me and how lucky I was to have seduced some rich guy.

  As if!

  I didn’t know why he was so interested in me. I’d figured the one night between us would have been enough. He didn’t seek me out for a while, and I assumed everything was okay, but then the gifts started, and I wondered if avoiding him pushed him to try this.

  After the initial surprise of the gifts and me sending them back, I hadn’t known how to feel. There was anger, resentment, all sorts of negative emotions whirling in my chest once I realized that this was his new tactic to try and get me to see him. Above everything else was a disappointment. One minute I felt as if I was getting to know him and that the relationship I’d never envisaged having was slowly becoming my reality.

  There was one question that kept entering my mind, how did Mason see me?

  It had plagued my mind, almost become an obsession like Mason sending the gifts. It shouldn’t matter, considering we were nothing to each other anymore. I couldn’t help letting it get to me. It had taken some time for me to work through my feelings after that first gift, and in the end, I’d locked myself up in a bathroom and cried my eyes out for half an hour before going back to work.

  Ever since that first time, every single darn time I received one of those gifts, I would break down and cry again.

  It had been a week and I was tired of crying. I was also getting sick of the rumors flying around. I didn’t snag some rich guy. It was just a spoiled child who probably saw me as one of his toys that wanted to get away, and he was doing this to try and stop that from happening. If anything, it just cemented the fact we really couldn’t be in a relationship together. I wouldn’t accept even a fling. Because that just wasn’t me.

  Not that I would ever let the bastard know just to what extent he could affect me, that he could bring me to tears with an expensive gift.

  I’d never asked him for one anyway, so why was he sending them? It was a poor choice if he thought it would change my mind. If he’d clued into the fact I was avoiding him, he could have just respected that.

  He probably didn’t even know how his treatment seemed to outsiders. I mean, I was a maid, and I’d always grown up not having much. What did he expect, that I would wear designer clothes as I walked down the street? I wasn’t nearly so ashamed of myself that I thought I needed a wardrobe change. I couldn’t wear the expensive jewelry he sent me while working. That would only lead to stares and questions I’d rather avoid. And the candy… for the sake of my health, I couldn’t eat it. And just seeing them so intricately packaged, I could only guess at the price and the lavish tastes, they didn’t suit me even if I did eat them.

  Mason was treating me like his mistress. I wasn’t some man’s trinket. I was a human being, with thoughts and emotions; not someone who’d fall all over a man for expensive gifts. I was pretty minimalistic. I’d always lived on a budget and I didn’t see any shame in it. It was my life, after all.

  I didn’t wear a lot of jewelry to begin with, not unless I had a date, and then it would be a simple pair of earrings and a necklace, maybe a bracelet and some rings. I had quite a few, and all of them had been left to me by my mother. I was lucky enough not to have lost them with all the foster houses I’d been through, and I treasured them too much to replace them with anything else, even if that ‘anything else’ probably cost way more than my entire jewelry collection.

  I didn’t collect trinkets like the starlets he was proba
bly used to having on his arm and inviting to his parties. They might appreciate receiving something from him, but if it wasn’t something I could reciprocate, then it was going to make me feel uncomfortable. No matter how young, good-looking and rich he was, I wasn’t going to stand for being treated like one of his conquests either.

  Thankfully, when I made it into the staff room, there wasn’t anyone waiting for me to come in to deliver some new gift. There were plenty of staff milling around just watching the door like they wanted to check out what else was coming, as if it was any of their business. I understood how sensational it was for them though. Nothing like this ever happened in the time since I’d worked at the hotel. I wanted to crawl under the table just to escape their stares, but then I saw an inviting face and immediately felt some relief.

  “Jessi!” I hurried to join her on the seat, sticking close to her side for moral support.

  “Hey, Laura,” she said, keeping her voice casual, and even throwing an arm around my shoulders to pull me closer. I shot my friend a grateful smile. “Thank goodness you came early. I was worried you’d get here late and your drink would already have cooled down by then.”

  I looked at the table in front of us, and for the first time noticed that there were two mugs on it and a plate of pastries. I reached for one, feeling grateful my friend was a really good pastry chef. We dug in, and I felt just a little lighter because of it.

  “Do you mind telling me what’s going on?” she asked, keeping her voice low.

  Thankfully, there hadn't been any gifts coming in, and before it got too late to clock into work, other staff started disappearing and going to their jobs. I still had some time left, and I couldn’t help but sigh as I noticed the room was nearly empty.