Sitting on her favourite spot in her bedroom, Rebecca slowly filed her nails. It was a beautiful sunny morning but all that was lost in her eyes, as her mind was focused on other things. Looking down at her work, she flexed her nails before continuing with the slow filing. Being fresh out of college should have been exciting but at this day and age it was more of a challenge, and she was facing one of the biggest. Her mother had taken to early retirement due to poor health, her brother was still too young to even consider him taking a job, and her father was gone, leaving only her to take care of the family.
Step-father, she reminded herself firmly.
Rebecca and her brother had nine years difference between them. They did share a mother but different fathers. Rebecca's biological father had passed away so long ago that she could not even remember him. For a while it was just her and her mother until Andy came along. At first he had showered them with attention, always coming running when they were having issues with the house her father had left them. He never showed his true character, not once before the marriage and three years after.
When Nathan was born that was when Andy showed who really was. After getting laid off at work for drunkenness and misbehaving, he had become very abusive to the family. His abusiveness did not have boundaries, both physical and emotional. It had reached a point where little Nathan would run and hide from his own father once he heard him come in through the front door.
All Rebecca remembered was the once handsome man she loved had turned out to be a drunken slob who would help himself right where he sat if he could do it.
The challenge that faced Rebecca now was to find a job, any job and fast. Yes, their mother had been one of the clever ones who had put aside a few cents for the rainy days. And the fact that their house was mortgage free meant they were ok with the saving that they had but how long will that last? Just taking without putting back in was not the way to go. That being said, Rebecca had dropped off her job applications to all employment agencies that she could think off and she crossed her fingers and hoped for the best.
Looking down at her nails she smiled. 'There we go,' she mumbled as she glanced at the clock on the opposite side of her bed. Standing up she slipped her freshly manicured feet into her fluffy bedroom slippers and made her way out of her bedroom. Jogging down the stairs she headed straight to the kitchen. It was a Sunday and that meant a family breakfast was in order.
A small smile formed on her soft pink lips. She was remembering when she was young and how her mother could force her to sit on the table for a meal. It had never worked and they reached a compromise after Andy had disappeared from their lives.
Humming to herself, Rebecca started on breakfast.
'Something smells yummy,' her mother commented half an hour later as she made her way into the kitchen. She sniffed the air and smiled at her daughter. 'Aah yes, I should have guessed you were going to make waffles.'
Rebecca smiled, 'morning, Mom.'
'How are you this morning?' Her mother asked as she pushed herself onto the bar stool next to the island where Rebecca was finishing up on the waffles.
Rebecca shrugged, 'I'm good. Keeping my fingers crossed.'
'Something will come up, darling,' her mother reassured her with her best winning smile. Just by looking at the woman, no one would say that Emma was ill, Rebecca herself forgot sometimes. The only reminder that her mother was ill was the heavy breathing and constant shortness of breath that she experienced together with the slow motion that she used when walking.
Rebecca just shrugged, 'how about you? How are you feeling?'
'There are good days and bad days,' Emma replied, looking at the waffle that Rebecca was placing on the plate. 'Today looks to be a good day.'
Rebecca smiled, 'that's good.'
'I'm hungry!' Nathan announced as he entered the kitchen.
Rebecca and her mother burst out laughing. That was Nathan, always straight to the point. 'Good morning, darling,' his mother pulled him in her arms and pressed a kiss on his cheek, to the chagrin of Nathan.
'Have a seat,' Rebecca nodded to the bar stool next to their mother.
After everyone was seated and eating, the phone decided to ring. Emma frowned, 'it's a bit too early for a call, don't you think?'
'Probably Lily asking about our mall trip later on,' Rebecca said as she stood up. 'I had promised to pick her up.' She picked up expecting her best friend's voice. 'Hi.'
'Miss Claymore?' a foreign voice's enquired.
Rebecca frowned. 'Speaking.'
'Hi, I am Amanda Frank from Great Employments.'
Rebecca's eyes widened. Finally! 'Hi, Amanda! Please tell me that I have a job somewhere.'
'You had stated that you are prepared to work at any job, so we have something for you. One of our clients has requested for a housekeeper. The woman who was to take this position has moved states and you were our last hope. Do you think you will be able to do a housekeeping job? I know it's not what you would like but it's what we have at the moment.'
'I am ready,' Rebecca smiled. 'You just tell me when and where and I will be there!'
'Excellent,' Amanda replied. She went further to give her details. After a few more minutes of chatting, Rebecca placed the receiver down and turned, leaning on the wall and smiling as her mother watched her.
'Well?' her mother asked as she placed her fork down. 'What did they say?'
Rebecca walked to where her mother was sitting, leaning forward, she placed a kiss on the hollow cheek of the woman. She waited as she sat back down on her seat before breaking the news. 'I got a job.'
Her mother sobbed a bit, 'really? As what?'
Rebecca glanced on the floor for a few minutes, she knew her mother would not like it but there was nothing that they could do. They needed the money. 'It's just for a little while, mom.'
'Where will you be working, Becky?' her mother was adamant with her questions, and Rebecca knew better than not to give her what she needed.
'As a housekeeper,' Rebecca stood up quickly and moved to where her mother was sitting, taking the shaking hands in hers before her mother could say anything, 'it's only for a short time, mom, until something else comes along. It beats sitting around doing nothing.'
'But a housekeeper!' her mother exclaimed, shaking her head. 'That is an old woman's job, Becky. You will be taking care of someone's house for them, cleaning after them. You have a degree in business management, for God's sake!'
'Well, I would be managing a house, so I guess the management aspect will come in handy,' Rebecca tried to lift her mother's mood with a joke. When she saw it was not working, she sighed. 'Listen, mom. We need this money. I really don't care where I work as long as we have an incoming flowing in, that is fine with me. I promise that I will keep looking, but in the meantime this will have to do.' She stood a kissed her mother's weathered cheek. 'Don't sweat it.'
'You are my daughter, of course I am going to sweat it,' her mother shook her head. 'I am supposed to provide for you. You are not supposed to start thinking about buying groceries and taking care of your brother at this time, it's my responsibility, and I have failed on that.'
Rebecca shook her head, 'no, mom, don't say that. It's not your fault that you got sick, and neither is it your fault that you cannot work anymore. The money that I will be getting will just be for the rainy days, how about that? We still have some savings that we are using for your therapy and it's enough for Nathan's tuition fees.'
'But still,' her mother began.
'I don't want to hear it,' Rebecca hushed her mother. 'Now, eat your breakfast so that we can go for your morning walk.'
Her mother smiled, 'yes, ma'am.' She winked at her daughter.
'Geez, Becky,' Nathan spoke up for the first time. 'You sound like mom, it's so creepy!'
Rebecca laughed as she threw a napkin at him, 'as the saying goes-like mother, like daughter.'
Nathan shook his head and walked to the sink with his dirty dishes. After a quick rinse he turned to his mother, 'can I go bowling today, mom?'
'May I,' Rebecca corrected automatically as she flipped through the magazine in front of her, stabbing her waffle with a fork with the other hand.
'May I go bowling today, mom?' Nathan corrected with a roll of his eyes towards his sister.
Their mother shrugged, 'depends on your sister, honey. If she is heading to town, she can drop you off.'
'That's ok,' Nathan shook his head. 'Max's brother is in town, he'll take us.'
Rebecca looked up, 'Oscar is in town? For how long?'
Nathan shrugged, 'don't know and don't care.'
'Nathan, don't answer your sister that way,' their mother reprimanded him.
'But, mom!'
'I won't tell you again,' their mother narrowed her eyes on him.
'Sorry, Becks,' he mumbled his apologies. 'I don't know how long he's in town for.'
Rebecca nodded as she continued flipping through the magazine. Oscar Blake was a friend-and had been a super crush of hers. He had moved out since he went to college in a different state, showing up once in a while to visit his family. He now worked for an IT company, exactly what he had wanted since they were growing up.
The shrill of the phone had everyone looking up. 'I'll get it,' Nathan ran to the phone.
'Don't,' their mother started just as Nathan picked up the phone, 'run inside the house. I swear that boy will be the end of me,' she murmured to Rebecca who gave her a huge smile.
'Becks, it's for you,' Nathan placed the receiver on the counter before taking off in a run towards the main door. 'Shooting a few hoops, mom!'
'You just ate!' their mother called after him, though it was a waste of her breath as the door was already closed behind Nathan.
'Hello?' Rebecca picked up the receiver.
'Hey, girl!' Lillian's cheeky voice came through. 'What's up? You were supposed to call me last night but you didn't!'
'Hey, Lily!' Rebecca moved back her seat. 'Sorry about that. Got home so tired, just fell on my bed and blacked out.'
Lily laughed, 'I figured. So, are we still on for that mall trip later on? You are going to come and pick me up, right?'
'Yeah, yeah. Sure!' Rebecca nodded. 'Guess what?'
'Spill,' Lily replied.
'Well,' Rebecca smiled, 'I've got a job!'
Lily's scream had Rebecca remove the receiver from her ear for a few seconds. 'When? Where? OMG!'
Rebecca laughed, 'Lily, breathe! It's nothing fancy or anything. I'll be housekeeping.'
'Who cares!' Lily scoffed. 'You'll be in the employed bracket! When do you start and where is this?'
'Tomorrow,' Rebecca supplied and went on to give her the address.
'You do know that you have just told me the address where some of the richest lucky bastards live, right?'
'I know,' Rebecca watched her mother struggle to her feet. She shook her head when her mother reached for her plate. 'Go have your morning walk in the backyard, I'll clean these out," she mouthed to her mother. 'I had to ask the woman to repeat herself three times. She probably thought I was crazy or something.'
'So, you decided what you are wearing tomorrow?'
Rebecca frowned. She had not thought of that actually. 'My pair of jeans and a t-shirt.' She cringed when Lily screamed at her.
'What? You cannot be serious! You can't just show up at a mansion wearing your jeans.'
'What's wrong with my jeans?'
'For one, they look like they have seen a better day ten years ago!' Lily supplied. 'We are going shopping today. I have seen a clearance sale advert on at least three shops. You better not be late picking me up! Later, girl!'
Monday morning found Rebecca pulling her handbag forward, holding it tightly as she walked up the marbled stairs to the front door. Lily was right when she had said that this was the part of the city where those who make the big bucks stay. The houses were all huge, with perfectly manicured gardens, driveways that go on forever and cars that she could only dream about being in let alone driving. As she drove her beat-up Ford Taurus through the road, she had kept an eye out for a policeman to stop her and tell her that her car wasn't worth driving through the roads on that neighbourhood.
When she had pulled to a stop at the address she was given, she had to sigh. The house was just as huge as the rest, just as perfectly taken care of and it had two flashy cars parked outside. Running her hands down her new pair of jeans, Rebecca took a deep breath and made her way up the remaining stairs. After ringing the bell, she moved back a step, swinging on her heels and waited for the door to open.
When for about two minutes, there was no response, Rebecca rang again. This time she heard a squeal of laughter and some running steps. She moved back again and waited. When the door opened, her mouth fell open as well. There, by the door, stood a well built man in only his denim bottom which was halfway opened, revealing a line of soft looking hair that disappeared below the two buttons that were still closed. Her eyes travelled up, taking in the muscled stomach, arms and the perfect tan. Travelling higher, Rebecca encountered a firm mouth, which at the moment had a lopsided smile on it, before her brown eyes collided with blue ones.
'Yes?' his voice was deep.
'I-uhm,' Rebecca blushed gently as she moved from side to side. She was not expecting this. The most of a male body that she had seen was when she had to take care of her brother when he had a fever and the few boys that she had gone swimming with at the lake during summer break back in high school. She had met up with a few muscled boys in college, but none of them came close to this! Taking a deep breath she tried again, 'my name is Rebecca and I am here..' before she could finish the door opened wider. The first thing that Rebecca noticed was the bare legs, before she noticed that the woman wore what must have been the man's shirt. A deeper blush found its way to her cheeks as she got the picture of what she must have interrupted.
'Who is this, Jer?' she asked as her brown eyes took in Rebecca. She turned to the man, placing her hand on his chest, her fingers drawing patterns, all the time her eyes on Rebecca.
'I-I'm so sorry. My name is Rebecca, I was sent by Amanda for the housekeeping job for Mr. Jeremy Martenson. I could always come back later.'
The lady laughed, 'she called you Mr.' she turned to him, 'isn't she the sweetest?'
Jeremy frowned, 'aren't you a little young for housekeeping job? What are you, sixteen?'
Rebecca shook her head, 'I am twenty-two. And I can do this, I really need the job.'
Jeremy turned to the woman, 'can we take a rain check, Shona? Seems I have to babysit.'
Rebecca narrowed her eyes on him, thankful that he was busy eating the face off Shona to notice. She turned away, embarrassed with the way they were fondling each other in front of her. 'You know, I could always come back at a time well suited for you,' she supplied, her back to them.
Shona laughed, 'we are embarrassing the little girl!' She collected her keys and clothes from somewhere behind the door before walking to the flashy white Porsche. Rebecca noticed that she still had on the white shirt.
'Well are you going to come in or what?' Jeremy opened the door wider, taking in the scared looking girl with little interest. He had a meeting with his managers in an hour's time so he was short of time. Closing the door behind him, he walked past the girl who was standing by the hallway. 'I'll show you around real quickly as I have to head out in a few minutes. I take it you know what I want from you?'
Rebecca shook her head, 'apart from the usual housekeeping duties, I am not sure what else you will require from me,' she replied truthfully.
Jeremy stopped and turned to her. 'Is this your first job?'
'Yes, sir,' Rebecca nodded. 'But I am a quick learner and I'll do all that you ask, sir.'
'Stop calling me sir,' Jeremy rubbed the bridge of his nose. 'That's my dad. Call me Jeremy, mmh?'
'Ok, si-I mean Jeremy,' Rebecca corrected herself. 'I promise you that I will work hard.'
Jeremy took a few seconds to study the girl. Now that he was closer she did appear to be more than the sixteen years that he had first thought, though she looked younger than the twenty three years that she claimed she was. Her brown eyes seemed to be begging him for the opportunity to work. 'You keep saying that. Alright, I am giving you a shot, but three mistakes and you are out. Agreed?'
Rebecca nodded, tightening her grip on her handbag. 'Agreed.'
'Good. Now, I'll need you to keep this place clean at all times. I usually order my grocery on Wednesday but that will also fall into your line of work. My clothes are sent to the driers on Saturday, collected on Sunday. I will let you know as if I would like to have dinner ready and for how many people by 3pm in the afternoons, I'll leave the decision on the menu to you. My offices are on the top floor, as well as my bedroom. There are two guestrooms on this floor, including the sitting, dining and all the other rooms that you will find. The kitchen is on your far right down this hallway.' Jeremy took a left turn. He opened the door to a huge semi attached sitting room. 'This will be your apartment. There is a sitting room, and bedroom, big enough for you I hope. For the times you want to disappear.'
'Wait,' Rebecca frowned. 'What do you mean by my apartment? I am to stay here with you?'
Jeremy turned to her, his blue eyes challenging, 'of course. Do you have a problem with that?'