The Billionaire’s Housekeeper

“I think I’m doing well,” Rita said.

“You think? Does this have anything to do with Julie the scorpion woman?” Jose asked.

“Not at all. Well, not most of it,” Rita admitted and added. “It’s about myself.”

Rita hadn’t even thought about the papers and what they could have been saying about her and George. He had been right, gossip came and went, and some days it was easier to handle than others. She was more concerned with what was in her heart than what was on a newspaper page.

“We had dinner the other night, and it was really nice…before Julie made an appearance,” Rita started.

“I would have thrown water in the bi*ch’s face,” Jose grumbled.

“Stop that!” Rita warned.

Jose rolled his eyes, but said nothing. He waited for Rita to continue.

“She doesn’t have anything against me, I don’t think. Her anger is geared toward George.”

“Bitter bitter bitter,” Jose said while he shook his head. Rita shushed him and continued with her story.

“We were laughing and talking, and he said that he didn’t regret any of this. He said he would marry me again if he could,” Rita sighed. She didn’t know how to tell Jose what was on her mind or in her heart, but she knew she trusted him most in the world. He had always been there for her, and there was no point in her holding anything back from him now.

“I think I’m in way over my head, Jose. I was thinking about what life could be like with George. Like if this marriage works out…then it could be for more than just the sake of papers.”

Jose still hadn’t said anything. He could almost see the wheels turning in Rita’s mind. She was trying to admit something to him that she was too afraid to even admit to herself.

“I think I might be falling for George…” Rita said finally. It felt strange to her to finally be able to say those words out loud.

“That’s heavy, Rita. What are you going to do about it?” Jose asked.

“I don’t know,” she said with a sigh.

“Are you going to tell him?”

“I can’t do that! It could ruin everything!” she exclaimed.

“Hey. First of all, relax. Mr. A has done a lot to keep you safe. He wouldn’t have done that for just anybody. I think you should let him know how you feel. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“He could think I’m a gold digging leech and get this marriage annulled, and then I’ll be on the first flight back to Montreal,” Rita said. She frowned. She knew she was being dramatic, but worse had happened to her in her life. She never had a chance to really love someone. When she thought she did, the man she lived with turned out to be an abuser. George Ainsworth was truly the most decent person she’d ever met, and now she couldn’t help but fall for him.

“Now you’re just being silly, Marguerite!” Jose clucked his tongue. “The man makes you happy. I can practically see you glowing from here. Even if nothing comes of it, you’ll regret it more if you don’t let him know how you feel. I bet he feels the same about you.”

Rita was about to open her mouth to counter something Jose was saying, but she heard the front door open.

“Yoohoo! Anybody home?!”

Rita’s eyes widened so much they could almost pop out of her skull. Julie Ainsworth was at the front entrance. How could she have come in? Anne Ainsworth had taken her key on the day of the wedding.

“Hello? Oh, it’s you two,” Julie walked out onto the lanai like she still owned the place. She always looked like royalty, even if she was just running errands.

“What are you doing here?” Jose asked. He had never hidden how he felt about Julie. She mostly laughed him off and waved him away. George was the only person on earth who seemed to faze her.

“Spare key,” she said, waving a gloved hand full of keys at them. “Now, I came to label the things I’m taking with me.”

“Does George know you’re here?” Rita asked quietly.

“I don’t care what George knows, and you can tell him I said so,” Julie said with a sneer. “There are things in here that belong to me that I’m taking. Gifts. Heirlooms. Treasures from times in my life I thought I was happy. You think I’m going to let George or anyone keep them from me?”

“I don’t think you should claim things without George being here,” Rita said smoothly. She was trying her hand at George’s technique. Stay calm and let Julie do all the silly talking. Rita wasn’t going to get herself in a tizzy over this. She did still feel strange about being married now. Just a few weeks before she didn’t think she would be facing Julie this way, and certainly not as the lady of the mansion.

Rita couldn’t see, but Julie’s eyes started to water a bit. She turned her head to look away; blinking several times as she did so.

“I never said I’d take them, Rita,” Julie said when she turned around. Her expression was back to being stone cold. “I’m putting labels and making a list. George can speak to me about them when he’s ready.”

“Still…I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’ll let him know you stopped by, and you both can discuss this together,” Rita said. She didn’t want to be involved in any of this, but she figured it would be the only way to get peace.

“So diplomatic…” Julie said, raising a fierce eyebrow. She wanted to say more, but she thought better of it. “I can see why he loves you.”

Julie said nothing more and turned around to leave. Rita held her breath until she heard the front door close.

*****

Rita had been weighing the pros and cons in her mind over the last several days. It was early on Sunday morning, and Anne Ainsworth had invited the two of them to breakfast down by the pier. The thought of spending an entire day with George and his family made Rita’s insides churn in the best and worst ways.

George’s father was away on business, so it would only be Anne there to entertain them, but she insisted. She knew that there would be press there, and it would be good for publicity to see that Anne approved of Rita and had welcomed her into the family. It was Anne’s idea, of course.

Rita’s thoughts had been racing since Thursday morning. Her mind kept running on Julie and Jose, even as she got ready, and went downstairs to the kitchen to get herself a cup of coffee. Since hearing Julie say that he loved her, Jose had tried to convince Rita to be bold about her feelings.