When Rain Falls

Chapter 4 | Help Wanted (Part 3)

     "Nice to meet you again, Raina," he slipped his hands in his pockets. "At least now we've introduced ourselves officially."

"I'm sorry, sir, but what was your name again?" I glanced at Deidre, and her eyes widened at my question. I couldn't remember if she ever mentioned his name. But if she did, it's not like I would remember it.

"Rainier Sterling," he narrowed his gaze at me when he answered. He looked a little puzzled. "That's funny. You work for the cleaning crew downstairs, but you don't even know my name? It should be in the paperwork."

"Boss, I could explain," Deidre stepped in. This time, I was the one who widened my eyes at her. What the hell are you doing, Deidre? "Raina is actually a good friend of mine back in high school and she just came here to—"

"You know what? I don't want to beat around the bush," I held my arms up in surrender as I stepped forward, interrupting Deidre's words. I don't want her to lose her job just because of my stupidity. "Mr. Sterling, I'm sorry."

Make a bold move. That's what my mom would always tell me when I was growing up. She was right. I had to be confident in whatever I do, and be brave to face whatever was in front of me.

"Sorry for what?" Rainier wasn't smiling anymore. All of a sudden, I wanted to take a step back. "Ms. Raina, I thought you didn't want to beat around the bush? You're sorry for what exactly?"

I finally exhaled the air I was keeping in. "I'm sorry for lying to you. This was all my fault. Please don't blame Deidre. Please."

He glanced at Deidre. His jaw clenched as he looked down at me. "So, you're not part of the cleaning crew?"

"I'm not," I said softly, still looking straight up at his eyes. "I honestly came here looking for a job. I saw an ad in one of the newspapers I was reading. A help wanted ad. I thought it was a perfect opportunity for me since I just moved here in New York."

As you can see, the phrase fuck it clearly played a good role here.

"An ad?" His eyes drifted to Deidre. "You posted an ad?"

She coughed. "Yes, boss. I was the one who posted it."

"But I don't remember asking you to post an ad for me? We already have a regular cleaning crew that comes in every week."

"I can be the house help that comes in every day." I blurted out, hoping it would work.

Deidre smiled, linking her arm around mine. "Or she could stay here temporarily. Just until she could find her own apartment and a new job. I promise she'll be out of your hair after a month. Right, Raina?"

I nodded nervously. "Yes, that's right. I could do anything for you, Mr. Sterling."

"Anything, huh?" Rainier muttered as he raked his eyes on me from top to bottom. Shoot. I probably shouldn't have said that. Now, it felt like I was rooted to the spot. "We'll see."

Rainier turned around and headed toward the door. Cosmo got up and followed him. When he was out of our sight, Deidre and I sighed in relief.

"You're seriously going to kill me, Raina." She dragged a hand down her face. "My heart wanted to explode earlier."

"We got lucky," I said, turning to Deidre. "Thank you for acting along with me, Deeds. I really appreciate it."

"Well, that's what friends are for," she gave me a few pats on the shoulder. "We'll both take this shit to the grave."

"Die with the lie, baby." I smiled.

"Now, what's your plan? You have a month to find what you're looking for."

"Wait. How did you know I was trying to look for something?"

"You said you were going to the bathroom earlier," she rolled her eyes. "But then you ended up in one of the guest rooms. When I heard Cosmo barking that's when I knew you were up here. When I ran up the stairs, I was surprised to see Mr. Sterling home so early."

I twisted my lips. "Sorry. I thought I was being careful."

"You mentioned that this used to be your dad's house, right?" Deidre's voice was low when she asked me.

"Yeah. Unfortunately, my stepmother sold it. She didn't even ask me if I was okay with it."

My heart started to hurt again. I reached up to rub my chest. I really hope I can find what I'm looking for before the end of the month.

*

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Sorry for the long wait, guys! This is the last part of Chapter 3. I'll deliver the next chapter soon. <3 Thank you for reading.

XOXO

Katie