" These flowers only need to be watered 3 times a week, we have a gardener who does the maintenance and upkeep of this garden, his name is Jack. He also resides on the property" Lisa said.
I look around the garden, blustery winds carry delightful wafts through the summer air with a hint of baked apple, it's the smell of plants growing.
The sun gives the grass a golden glow from the shiny droplets of sprinkler water.
Lipstick pink peonies adorn the garden and purple tulips festoon the scene with their ladylike perfume.
If you inhale deep enough, the potpourri of scents registers as a sweet mix of jasmine and cherry blossoms.
Lisa walked me to the back of the house.
A huge basketball court sits in the middle of their magnificent backyard.
"Griffin likes to have his friends over some time and they love spending time out here" Lisa explains.
I nod absently as I look around. Jesus, they're rich, rich. Hearing about it is one thing, but seeing it.... wow.
"Let's go back inside, sweetheart. I need to show you Griffin's room." Lisa said with a smile.
I nod wordlessly.
My feet move before my mind can, I trail behind Lisa as if she could shield me.
We grab a few cleaning supplies on the way.
"Griffin is still out, he has after school practice with his team about 3 days out of the week," Lisa said conversationally, unaware of my turmoil crisis.
We reach the bottom of the stairs; I look up the high steps. Unable to move any further, needles in my throat, suddenly feel dry, and my hands feel clammy.
Lisa walks up the steps ahead, stops, and turns around looking down at me "What's the matter? Are you ok? You look like you just saw a ghost." Her brows pinched in concern.
I force a smile "No, I'm ok."
I take the step up the stairs, one at a time. Hand on the rail I look down at my own two feet climbing up. This is easy, I'm making it harder than it should be. I'm here to clean. That's not hard, Elena. Don't be silly. Don't overthink this.
With my self-prep talk, my feet land on the top landing.
Lisa turned to me once more with a smile, maybe to check and make sure I didn't bolt out the door. Or maybe to reassure me and try to ease my thoughts.
Either way, I follow her in silent.
She leads me along the corridor lit by sun lights, everything looks expansive and large, their furniture, their picture frames, and their decorations. I fold myself within myself, making myself even smaller so I don't accidentally bump into something and destroy their expensive prize possessions that cost more than I'll ever make in my lifetime.
The very end of the hall is a full glass window display of their magnificent garden, it looks even more breathtaking from this angle.
Lisa turns right and we come face to face with a giant wooden door.
"This is Griffin's room. To the other side, that room over there is Logan's for when he visits" Lisa indicates the room behind us that's on the opposite end of the hall.
I heard of Logan, he's Griffin's older brother, and he works alongside Gerald Godson at their family's company. I heard Logan had made quite a name for himself at a young age, taking after his father.
Lisa opened the door and held it open for me; I stepped foot through the threshold.
High ceiling with huge open space. A large bed sits in the middle of the room, with intricate designs all around the hard wooden frame. Drape in a dark satin gray silk coverlet with matching pillow sets decorates the bedding.
Clean linen smell combined with a familiar citrus sweet and spice aroma.
His scent.
Heat crept up my neck at the invasive thoughts.
I look away from his bed. My eyes land on his huge balcony sliding door, and a slight breeze rustles the white curtain leisurely overlooking the garden.
In one corner of the room, the laptop I had seen him use that first day is seated on top of the beautiful wooden desk. His notebooks and paperwork stack neatly to the side.
" One thing I would suggest is to not touch his work desk, he's very particular with his workspace," Lisa commented when she noticed where I was looking.
"It's more organized than I thought..." I blurted out before I could stop myself.
"Yes, Griffin is pretty tidy. He was against the idea of you cleaning his room in the beginning" Lisa said with a smile.
"Hmm" was all I said as I looked around.
Lisa walked farther into the room " Your task is to wipe down the room and make sure there's no dust. Change his bed sheets and linens every three days, the new linens are downstairs in the laundry room."
Being in his personal space makes me anxious, but I keep it to myself while Lisa gives me more instructions. When she was finished, she asked " Do you have any questions?" I looked around " No, I think I got everything down."
"I'll leave you to it then, sweetheart." She said before making her way out of the room.
I start by opening the balcony door and the curtains in the room.
I step outside put my hands on the rail, close my eyes, and take a deep breath of fresh air, now that's how you should wake up every morning.
I smile and make my way back into the room to start my task. I move to the shelve and start to dust when a picture frame catches my attention.
I move closer, it's a picture of a young beautiful woman smiling brightly at the camera holding a toddler in her left arm and another boy around 10 years old clinging to her right hand, to her left is a tall young man with a strong build, his arm around her looking down at her lovingly with a bright smile on his face. I realize the young man is Gerald Godson, then the other three must be his wife, Griffin, and Logan.
" I see, you're very busy up here" Startled by the voice I almost drop my dustpan.
I turn toward the source, tall dark frame leans against his door, arms folded against his chest.
This can't be happening. He wasn't supposed to be home yet.
I know I didn't read the schedule wrong, I memorized it for a reason. This reason to be precise, not to run into him.
He pushes his body off the door's frame and walks into the room.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snoop, I was just dusting" To prove my point I lift the feather duster.
His eyes follow my hand movement.
"I don't mind, we might as well try to get used to being in each other's space."
I rather we don't.
He looks at me from the corner of his eye, and his lip twitches slightly, I would have missed it if I didn't look at the right time.
He places something on his desk, I clear my throat " Um yeah" I answer.
"I'm really sorry about this morning, I can do your laundry for you if you can just give it to me" I attempt to change the subject.
He turns completely to face me then, being in his room is already nerve racking enough, but to have him here in the flesh is kicking up my anxiety.
His eyes travel to my death grip on the feather duster, realizing my mistake, I loosen my grip and will my shoulders to relax.
"It's not a problem, I already had it taken care of." He said a few hearts attack inducing moments later.
"Do you do that a lot?" He asks out of nowhere.
"Excuse me?" I ask.
He pushes himself off his desk and steps closer.
"You snooped at my photo and had your hands all over me this morning in front of everyone at school. So, my question is, do you do this a lot? " He pauses.
"Getting into people's personal space." His tone low.
I froze.
He steps closer and my head rears back to look at his tall frame.
I step back slightly for precautions.
"Hmm, I think you're misunderstanding something here," I said.
"Am I? Do explain"
"It was an accident. And- and I offer to clean your shirt for you. But you declined, remembered?"
"I remember, alright." His tone sounds off, confuse I look up. His eyes study me, I feel unsettle.
I quickly look back down.
"I don't understand-"
"What don't you understand, Elena?" His body frame overshadows mine, I feel closed in.
I look to my right, eyeing my exit.
" You need to be more mindful and be less handsy with people. You could have bumped into anyone that wasn't me that day." He continues.
Ahh so he didn't like that I touched him, accident or not, that's why he had that look on his face that day.
Shame heats my neck "Sorry" I mumble.
He looks at me, I turn redder under his scrutiny. My hand twists the feather duster anxiously.
I refuse to look at his face, my eyes downcast and remaining on his chest. They flex as he raises his hand and scrubs it over his face "That's not-"
"I'm almost done with your room; I won't bother you for long. Please carry on with your business." I cut him off before he could say anything more to make me feel even worse.
I turn around and continue dusting.
I hear no movement behind me for a short while.
"I'm going to take a shower." He announces.
I said nothing back and continued to work.
His bathroom door closes with a thud.
By the time I finish setting his bed, the bathroom door is open. I quickly gathered all the dirty linens in the basket and made my way out of his room.