Secrets Of The Alpha: (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (His Secrets Series Book 1)

Secrets Of The Alpha

His Secrets Series

Book 1

Elena Stone

Copyright © 2015 Elena Stone

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher

Chapter 1

When I first got to my new job as a maid, I was feeling a little guilty. It was almost four in the afternoon. I had tried getting there earlier, but the fact that I had a car older than the Renaissance made me later than I intended to be. I was in awe of the property when I finally arrived. It was like stepping into a fairy tale. My car seemed terribly out of place.

Even though I had worked for several affluent properties, the Muse mansion was definitely something special. To me, it could have very well been a work of art with its lush manicured gardens and tasteful decor. When I got there, the house…mansion was almost a ghost town. I thought it was a little weird when the guard at the gate told me to walk right in. Normally, a mansion of this grandeur would have needed a guide, someone to show you in. But there was a kind of freedom in this property, or was it trust?

“He is expecting you,” the guard had said with a smile.

My grip on my bag tightened as I slowly walked up the steps to the front door. I looked around the opulent grounds, at the well-manicured lawn and sighed before I pushed the doorbell. I waited for a few minutes and pushed the doorbell again. I didn’t understand what was going on. After all, the guard at the gate had told me that Vincent was expecting me. I put my hand on the door handle and, for a few minutes battled with my other self, wondering if it was polite to just let myself in. I’m not sure how long I had been standing there before I finally decided to let myself in. After all, I could not have waited out there forever.

My fingers were trembling as I slowly opened the front door. I stood at the doorway for a few minutes waiting for…I was not really sure what I was waiting for. Maybe someone to come to the door, or a couple of wild Dobermans to come barking at me…something to prove to me that some kind of life actually existed in this house, but nothing ever happened. I walked in and closed the door behind me and slowly made my way in. I walked past the artistic staircase and gasped in awe when I saw the huge screen door that led to the pool area. As I stood there, I could not help but notice that the pool resembled the Roman baths I had seen in pictures and in movies.

Maybe one of these days when the boss is not home I can take a dive in that,
I thought, a cheeky smile on my lips as I walked into the kitchen.
And here I was thinking that Michelin star chefs have the best kitchens,”
I thought as I looked around the big black and white kitchen. Everything was so simple yet so elegant. It was like I had just stepped into one of those TV cook-off shows. I could not wait to whip up my grandmother’s famous recipes in here. I was still looking around when I noticed something odd. Right in the middle of the counter was a big white envelope. It was too neatly placed for me to brush it off as something that would have been accidentally placed there. I walked to the counter and noticed that the envelope was addressed to me. I raised an eyebrow over the other as I opened it.

Winnie, hi. I would have loved to be present to welcome you but I had to attend to a call. I’ll be down in a few minutes. Meanwhile, you can go ahead and get settled in your room. It is down the hall, second door on your right.

V.

I smiled to myself and somehow felt silly for all the weird thoughts that had crossed my mind.
Ghost town,
I thought as I shook my head. I made my way down the hall as instructed.
Holy Moses!
I would have exclaimed that if I was not so shocked. I raised an eyebrow as I looked round the room that was to be my quarters. It was bigger and roomier than any other room I had ever had. Matter of fact, I could have comfortably fit one of the apartments I had stayed in right in this room, no hassle. The window seat was the icing on the cake, elegantly standing out with multicolored throw pillows. On the bed were three sets of blue and white uniforms. I walked into the room and closed the door before I changed into my uniform. I held my short hair up using bobby pins and then put on a pair of black flat shoes before I walked out of the room. I

And this is why a welcoming party is always a good idea,
I thought as I looked around. As if by instinct, I looked under the sink and found a bucket complete with washcloths, bleach and surface cleaner. J
ackpot,
I thought as I pulled the bucket out. I noticed a few dishes in the sink and decided to get them out of the way. I rinsed them off and then began loading the dishwasher. I was almost done when I heard a male voice behind me.

“Winnie Campbell?”

I turned around and swallowed hard when I saw the person who had just called out my name. He was a tall, perfectly muscled man standing there with a smile. His green eyes were looking right into my own brown ones. He was in a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt that seemed to outline every single contour of his perfect torso. I looked at him and opened my mouth to speak but all that came out were a series of odd sounds.

“I’m sorry what?” the all-so-perfect man asked.

I shook my head and wiped my hand on my apron. I was nervous, unusually nervous for a first client meeting.

“I…I didn’t say anything,” I said.

The man looked at me, his forehead creased in familiar confusion.

“You
are
Winnie Campbell, aren’t you?” he asked and I nodded. “Well, I’m Vincent Muse,” he said stretching his hand out to shake mine.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Muse,” I said.

Vincent shook his head and smiled at me.

“Please, call me Vincent. Mr. Muse is my father,” he said as he walked past me, heading towards the fridge.

I looked at him as he pulled out a bottle of water.

“I’m sorry I’m late. But my car…” I started as I looked at him. He shook his head.

“You are not supposed to get started until tomorrow, but I see you already got your tools of trade. That was pretty fast,” he said.

I looked at him wondering what to say.

“I don’t like being idle, and I didn’t know how long you were going to be,” I said nervously. “I was not snooping or anything,” I added quickly.

It was important for him to know that.

“I am really sorry about that. There was a crisis at work that needed to be handled,” he said. I raised an eyebrow at him.

“A crisis at work?” I asked as I looked at him.

That had to be the weirdest lie ever. I mean, a crisis at work would have had to be handled at work, right?

“I work from home. It’s easier that way,” he said. “At least for me,” he added.

I smiled at him and nodded.
Of course. Dummy.
Vincent looked around and shrugged.

“So, shall we?” he asked.

I nodded and he began walking down the hall. My heart was still pounding hard as I followed him.

“There are three bedrooms on the ground floor, including yours, and four upstairs. There is also a screening room upstairs, but we can take a look at that later. My office is upstairs as well,” he said as he opened one of the rooms.

It was like each room seemed to be better than the last. “I guess that’s about it,” Vincent said when we had viewed the last room.

“Come on, I’ll give you a tour of the upstairs. No offence to you, but the view is better up there,” he said. I smiled and shook my head.

“None taken,” I said as I followed him to various rooms of the house.

I wanted to ask why he had so many rooms in the house. After all, from what I could tell he was a single man. And he lived in a seven-bedroomed house…no, mansion. And I would have known if Vincent had children. This was information he was supposed to make available before I could agree to the job. By the time we were done with the tour, I found myself wondering how I would manage my days since Vincent’s mansion was almost twice as big as the last place I had worked in.

“I think we’ve covered everything.” He was now walking back to the kitchen. “Oh, there is the garage but I guess that speaks for itself, huh?” I smiled at him and nodded. “So, any questions?” he asked as he looked at me.

My lips were parted, but I was not speaking. I couldn’t. I had absolutely nothing to say thanks to the fact that I was in the presence of a god – a really sexy one.

“I know I suck at this, but in all honesty, this is my first time doing this. My sister always does the orientation. I am almost always busy,” he said, smiling guiltily.

“Trust me, you are doing a mighty fine job so far,” I said.

Vincent took another long sip of his water.

“Good.” His voice was softer now. He looked at me and I gasped silently. His eyes were intoxicating.

“If you want you can go ahead and look around. I just have a few things to work out,” he said, still looking at me.

“Thanks Mr.…um Vincent,” I said before he turned around and walked to the living room. I took a long, calming breath and resumed my cleaning duties.

“You know that you don’t have to start right away, right?” he asked as he walked away. “You could just take it easy. After all, it is your first day.” He had now turned around and was looking at me.

“Like I said before, I don’t like being idle,” I said with a smile.

“Well, knock yourself out,” Vincent said as he began working on something on his laptop.

As I worked, I kept on looking at him from the corner of my eye. I just could not help it, the man was irresistible. He was perfection in every sense of the word. As far as I was concerned, he could very well be a Calvin Klein model.

If he is the man I am supposed to answer to, I am in so much fucking trouble,
I thought as I resumed loading the dishwasher. From where he was, he had a perfect view of the kitchen and I knew this. I walked around the counter and began spraying the white granite top with the cleaner. I knew that he could see my generous ass as I wiped down the counter, but instead of stopping, I just went on wiping and swaying my hips. I could almost feel him watching me as I cleaned and I was loving it, but I could only wipe down the counter for so long. I then took a duster and walked to the living room. My legs felt shaky as I made my way to one wall where Vincent had a large shelf.

“You are…thorough,” he said as he looked up from his computer screen. I looked at him over my shoulder and smiled.

“I like to think so,” I said as I dusted.

But we both knew that he was not referring to my cleaning skills.  I couldn’t help but steal little glances at Vincent as I dusted. I wasn’t sure whether he was genuinely busy or trying not to look at me. But one thing was for sure, I was making it difficult for him to concentrate because even in that uniform, I knew he could not help but notice my curves. I suddenly heard the front door open, snapping me out of my flirtatious (or whatever it was) trance. I turned around and saw three women going up the stairs to Vincent’s room. I was not sure what I was supposed to think, but I was suddenly feeling embarrassed at what I had been doing.

Idiot,
I thought to myself as I began dusting more vigorously.
First day on the job and you are already flirting?
Maybe it was a blessing that the three women had walked in when they did because I was probably going to embarrass myself more. They were the kind of women mostly featured on magazine covers and not just any magazines: Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire. As I looked at the three women going upstairs, I couldn’t help wonder if this was a regular thing. It could have very well been the kind of thing that I had to get used to.
I should have known that a house this perfect with a boss that hot had to come with its own set of flaws.
For God’s sake the women didn’t even say hello, they just walked in and headed straight for his room like they were some call girls or something. I suddenly had a revelation. Maybe they
were
call girls. But three girls? Who gets three girls all at once?
The little blue pills are most definitely in play,
I thought as I tried busying myself so that I would not think of the epic embarrassment that I was feeling.