The Billionaire’s Housekeeper

Today, George was in a suit, but he was tugging the collar of his white shirt. He had on a black jacket and black pants. His shoes had been shined to perfection, and his normally curly blonde hair had a bit of gel in it. He looked like he was coming straight out of a Bond movie.

Rita could see that George was trying to adjust a red bow tie.

“Looking sharp Mr. A,” Jose wolf-whistled and walked by the lanai. His chubby body moved this way and that as he marched and tried to avoid getting grass stains on his shoes. His shorts were just above his knees, and his shirt was tucked into his shorts while his stomach bulged a bit over the edge.

George raised his eyes to the ceiling and sighed; it was his way of rolling his eyes. He never quite made the full rotation. He smiled at Jose, showing off a small dimple at the top right corner of his mouth.

“Thanks Jose,” George said. Jose saluted and dragged a hose along with him as he turned a corner to the west side of the house. The roses were his specialty. There were yellow and pink roses lined along the side of the house that led to a garden maze of red, white, and pink roses further out on the grounds. A small fountain was in the center of the little maze. Jose was so proud of his work in the rose garden that it was the first part of the garden he would work on whenever he came to the mansion.

“Rita, I need your help with something,” George said. He tugged more on his collar. “I normally just use a clip on, but there’s this really fancy charity dinner tonight. I was wondering if you knew how to tie a bow tie.”

Rita put down the duster and wiped her hands on her thighs. She walked over to George and he walked over to her. They met each other halfway, and an awkward little chortle escaped Rita’s lips.

“Let me take a look. I’m out of practice, but I’ll give it a try,” Rita said.

“You talk so quietly, Rita,” George said. He raised his head up to give Rita space to fiddle with the tie around his neck. His eyes darted from the ceiling above him and then down to try to look at Rita while they talked to each other.

“I’m just shy, I guess. Quiet voice,” Rita laughed nervously. George was about to nod, but remembered that he had to keep his head up. He gently touched both of her arms right below her shoulders. It was a gesture to reassure her.

Rita’s fingers were shaking a bit, and it took her a few tries to try to loop it properly.

“Maybe if I put it around my own neck,” she offered. She took the bow tie off of George; her fingers sweeping along the collars of his shirt as she did so.

George lowered his head and studied Rita’s movements as she put the bow tie around her own neck and attempted to loop it.

They stood silently in front of each other, Rita being too shy to know what to say, and George being too stiff to make conversation. They were worlds apart even though they were less than a foot away from each other.

Rita finally got the bow tie just right and loosened it just enough for it to go back over her head. George didn’t put it on, but he held it up using one finger and thanked her.

“Ah crap! I need to get out of these clothes and head to work. I’m running late as it is,” George said. Rita stifled a smile as George cursed a bit more and started to turn to go back into the house. “It’s a good thing I don’t have any meetings today.”

“Mr. A!” a voice from the side of the house shouted in a sing song tone. “Oh, Mr. A!!!”

Jose was power walking when he turned the corner, and he headed straight for the lanai. George had turned back around and stood to face Jose. Jose was getting out of breath and red in the face.

“Ok, Mr. A, I don’t want to alarm you, but there’s a lot of paparazzi at the front of the house,” Jose said. Even though he was puffing and panting, he managed to say all that he needed to say in one breath.

George groaned, but it wasn’t surprising. Sometimes the press would camp outside his house when he had made a new development in the software industry, or if Julie had a function to attend to or would speak up about a charity luncheon she was having.

“I’ll have Jeffrey take me to work today then,” George said bitterly. He never appreciated the media attention. He much preferred things quiet and simple in his space. “I’ll do my best to avoid them. Thank you Jose.”

“Mr. A, I don’t think you understand,” Jose said. He had a worried look on his face, and his eyes darted from George to Rita.

“What is it?” George asked. Normally Rita would be minding her own business and going back to work. The way Jose had made his way towards them, and the way he was looking at her now made her freeze in place.

“They don’t want to talk to you,” Jose paused and put a hand on his chest dramatically. “The press is here to see Rita.”