The Billionaire’s Housekeeper

“I gotta say, you’ve done an excellent job of keeping the press away. If Paul hadn’t told me, I would have found out on the cover of some gossip magazine. How humiliating would that have been for me?” Julie pouted. All of her actions were fake. There wasn’t a drop of sincerity on her face or in her voice. She sounded like she was toying with them, and Rita didn’t like that at all. She wanted to tell Julie to leave, but she still didn’t feel like it was her place to. She kept her mouth shut and squeezed George’s hand.

“Go home, Julie!” the voice startled Rita. It was Anne. She had come back and was now standing at the door behind Julie. Julie scoffed and turned around to face Anne. “You have no business in this house or with these two anymore. Save yourself the embarrassment, and just go home.”

Julie looked like she was about to protest, but she turned again to look at George and Rita. She saw the two of them, still in their wedding clothes and her eyes moved down to the two of them holding hands. She looked defeated and almost sad, that was the first real emotion she had shown since coming to the house. It disappeared immediately and she sneered at them.

“Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you, Rita. I’ll be back. I left some things in the house, and I’m going to call someone to pick them up in the next week. I’ll be out of your hair, and you both can ride off into the sunset together,” she bowed dramatically and picked up her fur coat. She flung it over her arm and started to make her way inside and off of the lanai.

“Julie one more thing,” Anne Ainsworth said. She pursed her lips with a look of annoyance. Julie didn’t speak, but she paused to wait for what Anne had to say to her.

“I’m going to need your keys…”

*****

Rita was trying to get used to all of the changes in the last two weeks. She was too nervous to turn on the TV or read any newspaper or magazine. She was sure the press had been talking about her secret garden wedding with George Ainsworth, and she didn’t want to know about any of the stories they could have possibly concocted.

She was now living in the mansion, but sometimes during the day, she found herself wandering back out to her little cottage and sit outside to just enjoy her little space. The cottage was where she knew the most. Being in a huge mansion and locking herself away in her guestroom felt isolating. Being at her cottage felt a bit more freeing to Rita. It was a place she felt was her own.

Rita continued with her work, and kept the mansion as clean as she could. That somehow made George uncomfortable. He knew that their marriage arrangement was temporary, and strictly to help Rita sort out what had happened to her in her past, but to him it felt strange that people knew that his new wife was still housekeeping.

George of course went to work as usual. Nothing would stop him from his busy lifestyle, but he still felt concerned for Rita. He was going to hire new staff so that she wouldn’t have to worry too much about work.

“I’m not sure what to do with myself in the days,” Rita admitted to him one morning. They were in the kitchen. George was already awake and ready for work. He was drinking a coffee and had a panini and a half eaten bowl of muesli on the kitchen island in front of him. Beatrice hadn’t fixed him breakfast, and it almost made Rita smile that George had taken the time to make his own breakfast. The panini smelt divine.

“There’s loads to do!” George said, trying to sound bright. He honestly had no idea how Rita liked to spend her free time.

The new staff was coming that day, and George wanted Rita to let them know what it was they would need to do. She would also be in charge of how and when to pay them. She didn’t like that she wasn’t working or doing anything with her time. The last thing she wanted was to feel like some billionaire’s play thing.

“Like what?” Rita said. She eyed him and raised her eyebrow. The look on her face made George chuckle a little. They had spent the last few weeks talking at any chance they could. Rita was taking her time to open up. She hadn’t let George in on any of the important events of her life, but they now had a vague concept of who each other was. She even felt more comfortable with calling him by his first name. She would always pause before saying it, and that made him smile every time.

“You can frolic in the garden a bit. You can watch any movie you’d like, I have an insane collection. You can do some yoga, or workout, or just…I don’t know. What do you like to do, Rita?” George asked.

Rita used to do a lot before she graduated college. Her ex had made it impossible for her to keep up with her hobbies. She loved track and field and being outside. She was also extremely affectionate towards animals, but that didn’t mean those were things that could fill up her day.

“I suppose I could do some of those things. I like the idea of being outside. I like to explore new places, and maybe paint…”

“You paint?”

“No, not at all,” Rita laughed. “But it would be nice to try new things. I’ve spent the last several years of my life having my life controlled by men. Where I went and what I was doing. Now that I feel like I have some freedom, I’m not even sure what to do with it.”

Rita couldn’t believe that she had been so open about her feelings just then. They were true though. She would still look to George to get the ok for going into certain rooms in the house, or when she ate, or even when she wanted to excuse herself to go to her cottage or spend time in her own energy.

“You won’t have to worry about that anymore, Rita,” George brushed a few strands of Rita’s curly bob out of her face. He looked deeply into her eyes. “I said I would take care of things, and I plan to keep that promise. Please, feel free to do whatever you’d like. Just…you know…avoid setting the whole damn house on fire.”

Rita laughed again. She had been doing that more often since the wedding. George had a very strange sense of humor that was very matter of fact. Rita just enjoyed being in the company of someone who wasn’t asking too much of her.

George downed the rest of his coffee and rose from his stool. He took a panini in his hand and wrapped it up in a paper towel.

“The staff should be here by 10. I’ve let Gordon know to expect them. Enjoy your day, Rita,” he said and stepped out of the kitchen. Rita could hear the clicking of his shoes on the hardwood floor of the kitchen change into a gentle tap on the marble floor of the living area and entrance way, and then the final sound of a door opening and closing, and then George was gone.

Rita felt even smaller now that he wasn’t there. The house was so large, but there were no people there aside from Beatrice. Since Julie had taken her furniture, walking into certain rooms sounded like the house was haunted. The space felt hollow, and there was always the sense that something was missing.

Rita took up the plates and the mug from the island and put them in the sink. She started to wash off and rinse the items to put them in the dishwasher. She was going to make breakfast for herself.

She wasn’t sure what to eat, but she eventually decided on eggs, sausages, and some yogurt. Her mother was the one who taught her how to cook, and she would have had something more extravagant, but she was still minding her Ps and Qs around Ainsworth mansion. George would have rolled his eyes and told her to eat whatever she’d like, but she still wasn’t used to doing anything she’d like for herself. She was hoping in time that would change.