Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
“Oh, okay. Um… what day works for you?”
A shiver ran over me and my senses went on alert. I’d come to think of the feeling as my battlefield sixth sense, the one that told me I was stepping into danger. What sort of danger could come from Mr. I’m-On-Sabbatical? “I’ll actually be working for some clients in the area tomorrow. Would tomorrow morning at nine work for an estimate?”
“Yes. That works. I’m looking forward to it. To… um… meeting you. I mean, to finding out about the service. The cleaning service.”
I swallowed my laugh. It wasn’t a great idea to insult a prospective client. “Great. See you then.”
As I drove to my next job, I reviewed the phone call in my head. Jeremy had every reason to be flustered. He’d probably lost someone close to him, and he’d just moved, too, but he hadn’t sounded overwhelmed or grieving, he’d sounded nervous.
I shook my head. I was being ridiculous, wasn’t I? At least I only had to wait until the next day to find out more about him.
4
Connor
Iturned into Jeremy’s driveway at five minutes til nine. I’d guessed right. It was the large green house I’d been thinking of. Someone had told me it had been the mill owner’s house in the early nineteen hundreds, when the neighborhood was a mill village. That seemed likely. It was certainly the largest house on the street, even including those with additions.
No doubt, my rattly old Dodge truck looked out of place sitting in the circular drive with the perfectly manicured lawn stretching toward the street on one side and the beautiful old house on the other. But I wasn’t going to worry about that. Money coming into the business was what mattered, and a one-time clean of a place like this would be a high-dollar job. If we got to do multiple jobs here, all the better.
I cut the engine and took a deep breath. I had that feeling again: the prickle along my spine that told me something was up, something I wasn’t going to like. I stepped out of the truck and rolled my shoulders, trying to shake the feeling off, but the sense of impending doom didn’t go away. I fought the urge to crouch down, use the door as a shield, and pull the weapon I no longer carried. What the hell was wrong with me? There was no danger here. The scariest thing I was going to run into in this neighborhood was a frantic hipster who’d forgotten to buy his kombucha and kale.
Frustrated with myself, I slammed the driver’s door and beeped the lock before realizing I’d left my clipboard inside. Fuck! It was going to be that kind of day, wasn’t it? Once I’d checked to be sure I had all the paperwork I needed, I relocked my truck and marched up the steps to the door. As I knocked, I naturally held myself at attention. All those years of training weren’t shaken off easily.
Jeremy
Shit! Someone was at the door. I’d been certain I could finish breakfast before the cleaners came but here I was, covered in toast crumbs and only halfway through my eggs. I gulped down a last sip of coffee as I brushed myself off with my free hand. Then I ran toward the front door, not wanting to keep the man with the alluring voice waiting. Unfortunately, I’d forgotten how slick the hardwood floors were. I tried to slow myself, but it was too late: I went into an uncontrolled skid and landed against the door with a bone-jarring thud.
“I thought I was supposed to be the one knocking,” the man on the other side said, his voice just as low and rich as it had been on the phone.
Great. I’d already made a fool of myself in front of Mr. Sexy Voice, and I hadn’t even seen him yet. With a sigh, I opened the door. “Sorry. The floor’s slippery, especially if you’re…” I glanced down. Fuck. My feet had been cold, so I was wearing socks David had given me last Christmas in an effort to brighten up my life. They had roosters on them and said, ‘check out my cock’. What a first impression. Why hadn’t I thought to change?
I looked up and for the first time, truly saw the man on the other side of the door. He’d said his name was Connor, right? Damn, he could wear cock socks, or anything else, and still make a good impression. Better yet, he could wear nothing at all. His light brown hair was buzzed, emphasizing the firm line of his jaw, and his eyes looked like burnished gold. While he wasn’t significantly taller than my five foot eleven, he held himself in a way that made him seem much larger, and he exuded confidence.