“Think nothing off it. Like I said, you’re saving me the hassle of endless interviews trying to find someone.” I smile back and turn to leave. “I’ll leave you to unpack, shout if you need anything, I’ll be in my office down the hall.”
“Ok, thank you.” Unzipping a suitcase, she starts to pull out her clothes and sets them on the bed.
Making the short walk down the hall to my office, I enter and shut the door behind me. Thinking back to the last twenty-four hours, I chuckle. From a mundane meeting to having a new roommate, that’s quite a day.
Pouring myself a glass of water, I make my way to my oak desk and take a seat. Firing up my laptop, I sigh as I come back to reality. Far too many emails are waiting for me. That’s what I get for having the audacity to take a Saturday off from being the boss. Rolling my eyes, I get to work answering and deleting emails.
One from one of my partners, Paul, sticks out. He wants to meet tomorrow to discuss a potential site for a new hotel. I fire off a reply and look up when I hear a knock on my office door.
“Come in,” I say, seeing Mia walking in looking apprehensive.
“Sorry to bother you. I didn’t know if you wanted me to make something for dinner?” she asks, playing nervously with the bottom of her t-shirt.
“No, that’s ok.” Checking my watch I see I’ve been in here for a couple of hours. I tend to lose myself to my work. “How about I order us a takeaway? Do you have a preference?”
“I’d kill for a pizza.” She smiles, eyes lighting up at the thought and I wonder when she last had a proper meal. Emptying out her cupboards at the motel, it was mainly noodles and tinned ravioli.
“Pizza it is, pick a topping and I’ll order.”
“I’m not fussy. I just don’t like fish or seafood,” she tells me, and I nod.
“How about pepperoni?”
“Perfect!” She smiles one of her beaming smiles and I smile back.
Making quick work of ordering us some food on the app, I say, “Brilliant, it should be here in thirty minutes. I’ll give you a shout.” Nodding, she makes her way back out of my office and I watch her go. She’s too slender, probably from her lack of proper meals, and her clothes are worn, like she purchased them years ago and hasn’t been able to replace them. It makes me angry that this wonderful woman has been barely living, struggling to get by.
Chapter 6
Mia
Sitting on the insanely large sofa in the living room, I pick up another slice of heavenly pizza and shovel it into my mouth. I can’t remember the last time I ate this well. It is a treat.
“Enjoying that?” Jackson laughs, pouring us both a glass of water.
“Yes, sorry,” I reply in embarrassment, swallowing another greasy but delicious mouthful.
Chuckling, he says, “Don’t apologise. It’s nice to see someone appreciate good food.”
“Good food? I would have thought you’d be more a Michelin starred restaurant sort of man,” I say, looking up at him with a cheeky smile.
“Are you stereotyping me?” he jokes and I feel a bit bad because that is exactly what I am doing.
“Yes, sorry. That was unkind.” He laughs and shakes his head.
“I’m very lucky to lead the life I do, but takeaway pizza will always be a guilty pleasure of mine,” he says, smiling at me as he takes another bite out of his pepperoni filled slice.
“You’re a smart man. Pizza is the food of gods.” I tell him, licking my lips to make sure I don’t have pizza sauce around my mouth.
“Is that so?” He chuckles, taking a drink of his water.
“Mmhmm. Gods and royals, I expect. Decadent and delicious. Who wouldn’t eat it every day, given half the chance?”
Laughing at my admission, he grabs another slice and says, “True. I could live off of this.”
We enjoy a couple more slices in a comfortable silence before I break it.
“So, besides cleaning and cooking, what else am I meant to do with my time?” I ask him, looking around his vast home. It’s like a show home, it doesn’t look lived in at all.
“Whatever you want. So long as it is clean and the odd jobs are done, you’re free to do what you want with your time. I’ll pay you a set salary, regardless of the hours you work.”
“Seriously? That’s crazy. What if it’s spick and span and all I have to do one day is cook and vacuum the floors?”
“Then I will still pay you. It would only need that little work as you’d have kept up with it all,” he says, shrugging.
“OK, thanks.” This will take some getting used to. This job really does sound too good to be true.
“Don’t overthink it, Mia. You’ll earn your salary by cooking, cleaning and putting up with me as a boss and a roommate.” He grins, making me laugh. It doesn’t seem like much of a hardship.
“So what do you do when you’re not working?” I ask, grabbing a potato wedge and sitting back.
“I’m never not working,” he admits on a sigh, rubbing a hand over his tired face. “Being the boss is a lot of responsibility. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of perks, but you have to work hard.”
“I don’t doubt that for a second,” I say. “But do you never take a day off?”
“I haven’t for a long time. Something has always needed my attention, and I’ve had no real reason to take time off,” he admits, closing the now empty pizza box and sitting back.
“That’s sad. You must be exhausted all of the time,” I say, looking up at his tired expression.
“It certainly feels that way sometimes.” He chuckles. “But I do love my job, so I consider myself lucky.”
Smiling, I nod. I get that. It must be wonderfully fulfilling to have a job you love doing. My mother always used to say find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. Though, looking at Jackson, I think it’s obvious he puts the work in.
“I have an early meeting tomorrow so I’m going to turn in,” he says, standing and picking up the empty boxes.
“On a Sunday?” I ask in shock.
“Yep, no rest for the wicked.” He winks and I can feel myself blushing. “Help yourself to whatever you need.”
“Thank you. So very much. You have no idea how much I appreciate this opportunity,” I say in earnest.
“You’re welcome. Goodnight, Mia.” He smiles as he turns and walks down the hall to the master bedroom.
“Goodnight,” I say, watching him walk away. I have no idea how this happened but I feel like things are finally looking up.
Chapter 7
Mia
Jackson was gone by the time I woke up; there was an empty coffee cup in the sink and a crumb-filled plate on the side. Deciding to make myself useful, I unload the dishwasher, going through countless cupboards to figure out where everything goes. Once it’s empty, I put his dirty dishes in it. I get the bread from the bread bin and put a couple of slices of toast in for my breakfast. It feels weird helping myself, but he’s made it clear that I’m meant to.