The Billionaire's Housekeeper: A Marriage of Convenience Romance for Adults (9 page)

“
What are you doing here,
Julie?” George said. Rita was still so stunned with how calm
and almost bored George’s voice sounded. Julie on the other
hand looked positively giddy. She now had a large smile on her face.

“
I just popped in to have a
quick drink before attending a party. Aren’t you going to Arty
Lohman’s 50
^th
? I hear it’s gonna be a gas,”
Julie said. Her eyes flickered from Rita to George, but she never
removed that smile. To Rita, now Julie looked like a snake, like an
eyelash viper. Her pupils almost looked more like slits than rounded.
Rita tried not to think those thoughts. Julie had always had her back
before. This war was clearly between Julie and George.

“
I thought it would be too many
people,” George said.

“
Judging and asking questions,
no doubt,” Julie said with a laugh. She touched the back of her
head, like she was ensuring that her bun was still in place. She
scoped the room before going back to focusing on the couple in front
of her. She placed the hand she used to check her bun on the back of
Rita’s chair.

“
No thanks to you,” George
said. His voice didn’t waver in the slightest. He didn’t
even look angry. He picked up his wine glass and took a sip. He took
a look at Rita for a moment, and nodded slowly. It was his way of
telling her to keep calm.

“
People wanted answers, so I
gave them some,” Julie shrugged. “Maybe instead of
worrying about your old wife, you should make sure that you’re
faithful to your new one.”

Julie gave Rita a long hard look.

“
Wealth certainly does suit you,
Rita. Keep an eye on him,” Julie said. She started to move away
from the table and closer to the bar at the rear of the restaurant.
She paused and then turned to face the couple again.

“
I haven’t forgotten my
things. You haven’t seen the last of me yet,” Julie
winked at them and then headed towards the bar again. She didn’t
turn to look at them or pay them any mind again. At least that’s
what Rita assumed. She was in Rita’s vision, but Rita was too
nervous to look at her. She either looked down, or stole quick looks
at George.

“
You seem very calm,” Rita
said.

“
You have to be if you’ve
known Julie as long as I have. Nothing frustrates her more than when
you don’t blow your top like she normally would. I think the
divorce either brought her some peace, or she realizes that screaming
at me won’t get her way,” George said. He let out an
angry grunt, but stifled it with more food and wine. “Pretend
she’s not here.”

“
It’s very hard to. She’s
almost directly behind you in my field of vision,” Rita said.

“
She was all around you for
three years. But so was I. She just wants to cause trouble. Remember
that I’m here for you.”

“
You’re here for me
because you’re my boss.”

“
I’m not your boss
anymore. I’m here for you because I’m your husband,
besides, I promised to take care of you, and that includes saving you
from Julie’s bullshit,” George said.

That made Rita very still. She was
sure that she was even holding her breath.

She was about to speak when she saw
Julie heading toward them again.

“
Got my drinks. Now, I’m
off to party. I hope George isn’t too much of a social pariah
for long, Rita. You look like you could use a bit of fun,”
Julie waved at Rita, shot George a dirty look, and then left the
restaurant.

“
Or maybe it’s you that I
need…” George started once Julie was long gone.

“
You need me?” Rita
breathed.

“
Yeah, I think I need you to
save me from Julie. Maybe you’ve started already,” George
smiled.

Rita couldn’t help her thoughts.
The way George was looking at her, and the way they had been able to
talk about themselves so freely, and being able to just laugh with
each other; Rita felt a new surge of hope within her. Maybe George
was the man who would be there for her without her having to
compromise who she was or what she stood for.

They looked at each other for a while.
George’s smile turned curious; it almost looked hopeful like
hers did. He looked down then, and Rita shook her thoughts away.
There was no way that he could be thinking what she was thinking.

She considered talking to George about
how nice she found all of this. She wanted to tell him about what was
in her heart, and to see if there could be any chance that this could
be an arrangement that could turn into something real. But she didn’t
do that. Instead, she looked down too, and ordered herself some
dessert.

*****

Rita couldn’t wait for the
following Thursday. She didn’t want to call Jose to come
earlier than he needed to. She wanted to see how the week would turn
out after her evening with George.

After dinner at the restaurant over
the weekend, the two had managed to have breakfast and some dinners
with each other at home. It was awkward to call the mansion her home
now, and Rita was genuinely shy. But now, she could see it was
getting easier to be open with George. He was very welcoming and kind
to her. She always knew he had a kind nature about him, but he was
particularly warm to Rita now that they were in the same house.

Rita came out of the guest room more
often, and would sometimes watch television with George or help him
with a crossword puzzle. He, of course, would curse if he got a word
wrong, or if someone on TV did something particularly stupid. Now
Rita didn’t feel like covering her mouth or stifling her
laughter when he would swear or say a ridiculous phrase. It was
freeing for her to laugh out loud.

The best thing about it was that he
was extremely humble about how much money he made. Or it could have
been he was keeping track of all his finances because of the courts
and potential alimony for Julie…

“
Rita?”

Jose was at the side of the house and
making his way to the back where Rita had been daydreaming about
George.

“
Rita, are you here?”

“
Out on the lanai!” Rita
called back. The lanai was a wonderful place to sit and think. The
cleaning company had come early that day, and she decided to sit
outside with a glass of lemonade.

“
There you are. Good morning,
princess. How are you?” Jose said. He plopped on the armchair
adjacent Rita, and crossed his ankle over his knee.

“
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 bitch’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.