Page 3 of Maid for Daddy

“It’s like a fairy tale land,” I whisper as the taxi drives by the stately mansions in this neighborhood that I never knew existed.

Just three states from home and it feels like I’m on another planet. This doesn’t look like the kind of place anyone in my father’s circle would live in. It doesn’t seem like the kind of place that murderers would live in either, but I don’t know much about the world. I’ve spent most of my time since graduation in my room with my nose in a book.

My neighborhood in New York isn’t a safe place for a girl to go out alone. Once, a man followed me for eighteen blocks, yelling obscenities at me the whole time. If I hadn’t happened upon a police officer coming out of a deli, who knows what else he might have done to me?

“Do you have family out here?” the taxi driver asks.

“No, I’m coming here for a job…as a housekeeper.”

“You’re a housekeeper? You don’t look like one.”

“I’m not. Well, I wasn’t until now I guess.”

“You look like a college girl.”

“I should be a college girl.” I sigh. My teachers were so proud of me. I won a full-ride scholarship to the School of Visual Arts, but my father wouldn’t let me go. He sent me out here instead so I could clean up after some mobster and his family and save his hide.

“This is the place,” he says.

I strain to see out the grimy taxi cab window.

He pulls up to a gate where a man in a neatly pressed uniform comes to the window. They speak for a moment, and then the man returns to the guard shack and opens the gate. We roll slowly up a driveway surrounded by a finely manicured lush landscape on both sides.

As we continue for what feels like miles, I begin to imagine Alice and the rabbit having tea under a shady tree. How can anyone bad live in a place like this? This is heaven.

Should I ring the bell or turn tail and run? It would be a long walk. My father only gave me enough cab fare for a one-way trip.

“Take a breath. You have to calm down,” I tell myself as my quivering fingers reach for the bell.

It takes a moment before a terrible rumbling comes from inside the house. The door flies open, and I nearly leap in the air expecting a herd of wild animals to stampede by. To my surprise, there are no elephants or buffalo at the door.

There’s just one man, but he’s the largest man I’ve ever seen. A solid mass of muscle standing a good foot taller than me, with soulful brown eyes and perfectly quaffed jet black hair. With this mansion and that face and body, I won’t be surprised if I’m at the wrong house. This man looks more like a movie star than a mobster.

His eyes narrow when he sees me, and now I’m paralyzed with fear.

As he talks to me, I realize two things. First, I’m not the reason for his anger. Second, he has no idea who I am or why I’m here. I can use his confusion to my advantage or make up some story about how this is all just a misunderstanding and run for my life. I can, but I don’t.

There’s something about him that makes me feel at ease. There’s a bold ruggedness underneath that pressed suit, so I don’t know why I feel this way. Something tells me I might be safer with him than I ever was with my father.

He’s confused by my presence in his house, yet he still exudes a confidence that’s sexier than anything I’ve ever seen. He’s well-dressed and smells like expensive cologne, but I see his muscles bulge under his white dress shirt. I bet he can break me in two without breaking a sweat. I might be crazy but knowing that makes him even more attractive. I wonder what the rest of the family is like. His wife must be a goddess.

Once we both figure out why I’m here, he shows me to my room.

My eyes bulge out of my sockets because holy cow, it’s bigger than the entire apartment I share with my dad. It has a sitting area, a kitchenette, an enormous four-poster bed, and a huge bathroom complete with a jetted soaker tub.

I find myself feeling very conflicted. I thought that being essentially sold into slavery meant living in a shack behind the main house and sleeping on a bed made of hay. Not even in my wildest imagination did I think that the most handsome man in the world would provide me with a fancy suite like it was nothing to him. I guess people with money take these things for granted.

I pace a path across the lush carpet as I contemplate my next move. Stephen told me to meet him outside. While I wouldn’t dare disobey him, I need to prepare myself for our next meeting. I need to find out a bit more about his family as well as what he expects from me.

By the time I reach the veranda, the sun has begun to set casting an amber glow across the emerald grounds. The perfectly manicured landscape is a pristine canvas of topiary, flowering plants, and cobblestone pathways. In the center lies an infinity pool guarded by an enormous, winged gargoyle made of stone. I look out in awe and wonder if I’m really standing here. Did I fall asleep in the smelly taxi and dream this whole thing?

“You made it. Let’s take a walk.” Stephen gets up from his chair and takes my arm again.

I expect that this is normal for him, but it’s a level of intimacy I don’t normally experience. It’s giving me butterflies in my stomach.

“I thought I’d show you the grounds while it’s still light. We can tour the inside of the house after dinner.”

“It’s very beautiful. How many people live here?”

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