The Billionaire's Housekeeper: A Marriage of Convenience Romance for Adults (8 page)

“
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.

They had been silent for most of the
night. Rita knew that it was because she was nervous, and because
George Ainsworth seemed to prefer quiet company. Since he spent a lot
of time brooding and working, he probably wasn’t at all sure
what to talk about with Rita.

He had sent her a message earlier that
day telling her to be ready for 7 and not a minute after. Rita had
gotten ready in the guest room, and George was waiting at the foot of
the stairs, already dressed.

Rita was in a short tight fitting red
dress that was off the shoulder and had a unique black pattern
snaking down the back of it. She had on black heels and black
jewelry. She put her short curly bob behind her ears. Her cheekbones
seemed to glow under the lights that floated above them.

George was in a dark blue shirt and a
black blazer with matching black slacks and shoes. The maître d
had taken the blazer before sitting them down at their table.

“
You look nice,” Rita
said. It was strange for her to try to maintain good conversation.
She was so used to being seen and not heard around the house that
looking into the eyes of her former employer now filled her with a
new kind of fear that almost made her bold.

“
Thank you. You too,”
George said clearing his throat. He looked down at his menu. Rita
couldn’t help but smile. She looked down so that there was no
way he could notice. Maybe it was the dream she had had about him, or
wishful thinking, but it was possible now that George was just as
nervous as she was. She didn’t want to make assumptions though.
This situation could get way over both of their heads.

This dinner was a reason for them to
be seen in public together. That was what George had hinted at the
night when he had asked her to follow him into his room.

“
What are you thinking?”
George asked. “You look very deep in thought. Everything ok?”

“
I’m fine,” Rita
breathed. It was still so much getting used to; going from being a
housekeeper to dining at a 5 star restaurant. It seemed so normal,
like it was a logical next step. She knew it would all be over in a
flash. In three years they could get divorced, and she would be
allowed to stay in America.

“
To be honest, I was thinking
about our situation. Why such a beautiful restaurant? Is it to make
sure the paparazzi take a good look at us? And what about the next
three years?”

“
That’s quite a lot of
questions,” George admitted.

“
Well, first, I brought you to
this restaurant because I know I’ve never taken Julie here. I
didn’t want you to feel like a caged bird in the mansion. I
wanted to take you somewhere that I knew wouldn’t be too
distracting; to really get a chance to talk and start to get to know
each other. As for the next three years? Shit, I don’t know
Rita. That’s what tonight is for. It’s a start,” he
continued.

Rita understood. It was nice of him to
invite her out. This didn’t look like the place for any sleazy
reporters to be around taking pictures. George was right; this really
was an intimate setting. They could enjoy each other’s company
without having to whisper or to compete with deafening music. It was
the perfect ambiance for a first dinner.

“
Thank you for tonight. It’s
really nice to be out,” Rita said. George nodded to acknowledge
her, but he didn’t speak. He was eyeing her curiously across
from the table.

George never thought he would ever
have gotten the chance to know Rita. He knew he was always at his
company working, or spending time with Julie. Rita was usually in the
background. They only exchanged a few pleasantries or work related
conversation. Now that she was there in front of him with her face
beaming, and her hair cut elegantly, and in an outfit that made her
look like royalty, he wasn’t even sure what to say to her.
There was something that drew him in, but he was cautious. This
wasn’t something that was real, he had to keep reminding
himself. He had just gotten a divorce from someone who he thought he
would be with forever. Then everything changed. Julie changed. And
yes, he had changed as well.

George stopped to think about the
times when they had been happy, and tried to recall the exact moment
when the changes became so obvious that they both knew things weren’t
going to work out.

“
Have you been here before?”
Rita asked, pulling George out of his thoughts. She could see that he
was pensive, but she didn’t want to lose his attention just
yet.

“
Only once. It was a business
meeting, so there was more drinking than eating involved,”
George said.

“
So the business world really is
just like the movies huh?”

“
I’d say so yes. You won’t
see me snorting a line of cocaine on a stripper’s tits or
anything though,” George joked.

“
Hah. As your new wife George
Ainsworth, I may have to protest,” Rita started. “Drugs
are very bad for you.”

“
But the stripper is…?”
George laughed, but he was utterly bemused.

“
Doing her job. We all do what
we have to do to survive. In the movies, the stripper is never the
one doing coke, you notice?” Rita pointed out.

George considered it and nodded in
agreement. It was so strange to him that down beneath the pious
demeanor, Rita had a silly wicked sense of humor. The little tinge of
French in her accent made even her more serious jokes sound adorable,
and George found himself leaning in closer to her more often just to
catch all that she was saying.

The food they ordered had arrived
finally, as well as the bottle of wine. George poured some for
himself and set it down on the table. If Rita wanted any, he was sure
that she would let him know.

“
This tastes amazing,”
Rita squeaked with her mouth still half full. Her meal had the
perfect ratio of savory and sweet. It was like tasting different
colors of the rainbow against the darkest patterns of the night sky.
She took another bite and closed her eyes to savor the taste.

George smiled at her when she closed
her eyes. She looked like she was in heaven, and watching her now
almost made him feel what it was that she was feeling.

“
Try some!” Rita said when
she opened her eyes. She took up a forkful and put an open hand
underneath the fork so that she could catch whatever spilled. She
moved her hands forward, and George leaned in to meet her halfway.

“
That is excellent,”
George said approvingly. “Good choice.”

Rita giggled and thanked him.

“
Now you,” George said. He
picked up some of his meal and gently fed Rita with it. The flavors
exploded into her mouth again.

“
That’s wonderful too!”
Rita said with her eyes wide. She eyed her food, then George’s,
and then searched George’s face.

“
Would you trade?” Rita
asked sheepishly. That made George roar with laughter. He was just
about to pick up his plate when Rita held up a finger and then dug
into her food again. She took a bite and studied the flavors and
textures in her mouth.

“
Nope. I changed my mind,”
she giggled. “Bon appetit!”

George found himself stealing more and
more glances at Rita as they ate. They didn’t speak, but it
wasn’t for lack of anything to say. This was one of those
comfortable silences that they both seemed to enjoy. If Rita caught
George looking at her, she would offer him a kind smile and go back
to her meal. George noticed that she frequently closed her eyes. She
was always so focused on whatever it was that she was doing, and he
couldn’t help but admire that.

“
Are you open to talking a bit
about your childhood?” George asked. He was just about to pour
himself a second glass of wine when a waiter came up and did so for
him. George thanked him, but Rita shook her head when he was about to
pour her a glass as well. She liked having her wits about her. She
was never too fond of alcohol. She had seen what it did to her father
and even to her ex-boyfriend who she had run away from. He had been
under the influence of all kinds of things while Rita had
unfortunately been under his influence for many years.

“
My childhood was pretty text
book. Girl is born, one parent is an alcoholic, parents split up, and
girl grows up having a jaded sense of what it means to really be
loved by a man,” Rita said. It was silly to her that George was
the one that was drinking, but she was the one spewing seemingly
drunken thoughts to him. George shot her a sympathetic look and
extended his hand for her to take. She hesitated, but then placed her
small hand in his.

He was warm, and his warmth was
surging through her now. She wasn’t at all sure how far into
her childhood she wanted to go. It was too much for having dinner for
the first time. But she knew that she was truly enjoying herself, and
there was a part of her that wanted all of this to be real. Her heart
lifted when he squeezed her hand just a bit, and the two of them
stared at each other for a long time.

“
We can talk about something
else if you’d like,” George finally said. Rita breathed a
sigh of relief.

“
Good. I don’t want to
talk much about the past. I’d like to talk about the
present…and the possibility of the future,” Rita said.

“
Go on,” George said.

“
I guess I just want to know if
you’re happy right now. I mean at this very moment. With all
that’s been going on over the last few weeks.”

“
I’m a bit overwhelmed,”
George admitted. Rita nodded her head and looked away. She felt
silly. She was living in a fantasy world where she was no longer the
house keeper and Mr. Ainsworth could possibly love her beyond the
paperwork and the wedding. George squeezed her hand again and she
waited for him to continue.

“
Work always has me overwhelmed.
But now the press is snooping around not just in my business but my
personal life. People like to talk…a lot. They’ll get
their fill and believe whatever they’d like anyway. I try not
to pay much attention, but when there are reporters constantly in my
face when I’m trying to focus on work, it gets pretty jarring.”

“
Do you wish we hadn’t
done this?” Rita asked quietly. George felt a cold shiver over
his heart and he swallowed before answering.

“
I hate to lie, but I don’t
regret it. I did what I knew was right, and I’d do it again if
you’d have me.”

“
You mean, marry you?”

“
Yes Rita, I mean marry me,”
George said. He didn’t know what came over him. Maybe it was
the way Rita looked that evening, or just being able to talk to her
without sensing that there would be anger heading his way, but he was
glad that Rita was very welcome company. She had made him laugh
tonight, and they were able to share a comfortable silence. They had
a way of communicating through touch, or whenever their eyes met.
There was a connection that neither of them could deny, but also one
neither of them would admit.

George ran his thumb against Rita’s
knuckles. He finally realized what he was doing and slowly pulled his
hand away. Rita didn’t really want him to let go, but it wasn’t
up to her. There was still something about this situation that made
her realize that her decisions were still not quite her own yet.

“
Ok, Mr. Ainsworth,” Rita
said, feigning an upbeat attitude. She wanted to hold onto his hand
and look into his eyes for the whole night if she could. Something
about George was softening, and she wanted to get to know all sides
of him. “Now it’s your turn to tell me what you’re
thinking.”

George didn’t want to talk about
what was on his mind. He much preferred talking about the present
moment and what it could mean for the future.

Instead, he sighed and opened his
mouth to speak.

“
Julie,” he said weakly,
his eyes furrowed.

“
Julie?” Rita said. She
was admittedly taken aback. They had gone the whole night without
mentioning her.

“
Yes, Julie…is here.”

Rita almost whipped her head around to
take a look around, but George calmly shook his head.

“
She’s spotted us and is
heading our way,” George said. Rita couldn’t help but
notice that his voice was unusually calm even though his jaw was
clenched. He didn’t seem to look very happy. Rita did as she
was told and stayed put. She decided to keep her focus on the
expression on George’s face.

“
Well well well,” Rita
could hear Julie’s rigid voice behind her. She finally looked
up to see George’s ex-wife looming over them. She was in an
elegant black dress that looked like it cost more than half a year of
Rita’s salary. She looked like an expensive bean pole, with a
fierce gaze like that of a hawk, and her hair was gelled back in a
bun like a member of the wait staff. She had new blonde highlights in
her hair and her icy blue eyes seemed all the more icy in the dim
light, and against her dark dress and make up.