The Billionaire’s Housekeeper

Chapter 5

“I didn’t think I needed to tell you. I just thought that you knew,” George said. He was back from work later than usual. Rita couldn’t sleep and had been pacing around the house.

Jose had kept her company for the entire morning and for some of the afternoon until he had to leave to tend to someone’s garden on another side of town.

Rita didn’t speak to Beatrice much unless it was about swapping recipes or talking about Beatrice’s grandchildren in grade school, and since the new cleaning staff had arrived, she hadn’t had much time to herself or her thoughts. She let them know all that needed to be done around the house and kept as much of a lookout for them as possible. She was still technically employed by Mr. Ainsworth after all.

George had come home and found Rita absentmindedly walking back and forth from the entrance hall, to the living room, down to the dining hall, to the kitchen and back up again. She had paced back and forth twice before even noticing that he had come through the door.

“I’ve never been married before!” Rita hissed her response. She flung her arms up in exasperation before crossing them over her chest. She had too much on her mind to keep still, and her foot tapped on the marble floor of the entrance way.

George sighed and moved toward the stairs. He motioned for Rita to follow as he ascended.

“My divorce hasn’t fully come through. And there’s alimony and other things to consider. The wedding took place and we have the documents, but nothing will be considered legal for another month and a half. Didn’t you read the fine print?” George shook his head. He headed toward his room as he spoke. Rita wasn’t sure if she should follow. She was only ever in George’s room to clean it, and over the last 2 weeks she felt uneasy whenever she was in there. This would be the first time that she would be in George’s room with him in it.

“I skimmed through everything. I thought it was typical wedding jargon,” Rita hissed again. Her voice cracked in panic, and that made George laugh.

“I’m really sorry, Rita. I just thought that you knew. That’s why we haven’t gone out in public or anything yet.”

“So you’ve been keeping me locked up like a princess in a tower?” Rita asked. She didn’t sound too happy about that, but now her voice was more tired than panicky. It had been a trying last few weeks, and Rita wanted answers without having to spend days at a time worrying about the question.

George put his briefcase down on his bed before he answered. He turned and moved over to her.

“Like a queen of a castle,” he said and added, “but nothing like that. I wanted to get the public’s reaction first, and I wanted to keep you safe.”

George smiled down at Rita. That made something inside her tingle. It reminded her of her dream the night before the wedding. She shook away the thought by blinking rapidly and turning her head to avoiding his gaze.

“I promised not to let anything happen to you. I’m sure they know that our marriage won’t be legal for long, but now they’re more focused on the idea about our apparent affair,” George said. He smirked.

“And how does that make you feel?” Rita asked him curiously. She didn’t want to ask him flat out what it was he thought was worse; the notion that he was a cheating son of a bi*ch, or the fact that his marriage vows couldn’t be upheld for the next few months.

George looked at Rita for a long time. He looked like he was just about to soften his expression and smile again, but something inside him changed his mind. He breathed in deeply, and his expression turned hard once again before he answered.

“Well, I guess I’ll figure that out at some point. I don’t feel much of anything right now, other than tired from work, and tired of people hounding me for answers,” George said flatly.

“Oh,” Rita said. She wasn’t sure what else she could say. She also didn’t know if she should leave or stay. She averted her eyes when George had turned around and started undoing his tie.

“Things will work themselves out, eh Rita? You just have to keep trusting me,” George said once his tie was off. “But I think it’s about time you stopped hiding.”

Rita finally looked back up at him when he said that. She wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but she was hoping it didn’t involve her having to talk to anyone about her life. She wasn’t sure how many interviews George had done, but she knew that wasn’t her kind of scene.

“Don’t look so worried,” George laughed. He took off his shoes and stepped into his bathroom for a moment. He came back out with his shirt completely unbuttoned. Rita wasn’t sure how many times that night she had felt embarrassed or felt the need to look away from him. She backed away slowly and felt for the handle of the door behind her. She knew she had overstayed her welcome in his bedroom. She didn’t want to be there when he was fully changed. Her face grew warm, and she was just about to turn around and leave his room when he spoke up again.

“Good night, Rita.”

“Good night…George,” she said.

“Rita…about not keeping you hiding…” George started. Rita was halfway out the door. She paused for a moment, with her hand still on the handle. She waited for George to speak, but it was clear he was changing. She didn’t dare turn around even though she knew that she wanted to. Her face got even warmer at the thoughts racing in her mind.

“What’s that, George?” she said when he hadn’t said anything.

“I was just thinking…on Friday night, I’m going to take you out to dinner.”

*****

The next few days went by in a blur. The cleaning staff came promptly at 10 and completed their work by 5. Rita kept a watchful eye over them, but they were really great at what they did, and after a while, she spent most of her day going about her business. She avoided the paper and any news on TV like the plague.

She knew George said not to worry too much about what was going on, but she couldn’t expect him to be her super hero. He could only do so much. She just didn’t know where the boundaries were, and just how much she should be doing for herself. She tried not to think about it. She was nervous enough already because of dinner.

Right now, Rita and George were situated at a 5 star restaurant. It seemed like it was even beyond 5 stars. There were beautiful dim globes that seemed to be floating around in the air above the tables. The tables were all round with 2 or more seats depending on the size of the table. The table cloth was a dark silk, and all of the China and utensils were spotless. Rita wondered if the people who owned the restaurant went to buy new utensils and plates every day for the new patrons, but she was sure that that was impossible.

It was a French restaurant that Rita couldn’t remember the name of. Every member of the wait staff was the same height with dark hair pulled back in a bun or held down with a lot of gel. It was like an army of culinary experts.

“I wonder if all the chefs in the kitchen look just like the waiters and waitresses,” Rita joked. She leaned over the table so that George could hear her. He laughed at that and nodded.

“I noticed that too. It’s like a clone army. I hope they’re only armed with bread sticks.”

“Ahh, but bread sticks can be deadly if the crust is right,” Rita winked. George laughed again before taking a sip of his scotch. Rita had been too shy to order any alcohol. She hadn’t had a drink in years, and she preferred it that way. George had taken the liberty of ordering a bottle of wine, but promised he wouldn’t pressure Rita to have any.