She was struggling to get her last bag up the stairs when Jeremy walked out of the front door, as usual he was wearing only a pair of jeans and was bare-chested, his hair looking tussled up as though someone has been running their fingers through it the entire time.
“Do you need any help?” he asked, crossing his arms and leaning on the doorframe, watching her as she struggled to get her huge bag up the six steps he had wanted to lead to the main door from the driveway.
Rebecca turned a bit, “no, I'm alright,” she said as she pulled the bag, only to lose her grip and the bag falling all the way down. “Shit!” she hissed, her hands going to her hips. Closing her eyes, she turned with a small smile. “Sorry, but may you please help me?”
Jeremy laughed, “was waiting for that.” He moved past her. Taking the bag in one hand, he walked up the stairs as though it weighed nothing, leaving Rebecca gaping at him. “After you,” he stopped at the door, holding it open for her.
Rebecca walked up, moving past him, feeling like a weakling. “Thank you.” She led the way to her rooms, all the time making a promise to herself to hit the gym more frequently, add some muscles on her body. The thought of that had her wrinkling her nose. Heck no! She thought to herself.
“Who's this?” a woman's voice spoke up from behind them as they passed the staircase to the upstairs rooms.
Rebecca stopped and turned, expecting to find the same woman she met the previous day, only to find a different one. This one had honey-coloured hair, and was at the moment standing in a pair of matching bra and panties. Rebecca turned away to hide her embarrassment. What was wrong with everyone in this house, walking around semi-naked all the time?
“My housekeeper,” Jeremy stated as he moved to usher Rebecca to her room.
“Are you kidding me?” the woman asked as she moved down the stairs. “Isn't she too young to be a housekeeper? Is she another one of your girls?” she flicked her long hair away from her shoulders, her eyes shooting daggers as they took in Rebecca.
Rebecca gulped and moved away from her, hiding behind Jeremy. This was one situation that she was not comfortable with. If only Lily was here, she could have been enjoying this, getting the inside scoop of her celebrity crush and his love life.
“I have no time for this,” Jeremy took Rebecca's arm and pulled her with him.
“But Jer,” the woman said as she moved fast and stood in front of them, succeeding in stopping them. She placed her perfectly manicured hand on his bare chest, drawing patterns on it, her eyes lowered and mouth pouting.
Jeremy removed her hand and moved past her, “not now, Alice. Get back upstairs.”
With a look of total venom to Rebecca, Alice walked around them and ascended the stairs again.
“Uhm, I am sorry I disturbed you-again,” Rebecca apologised as she followed him to the room that was to be her living space from that day.
The only thing that Jeremy did was open the door to her rooms and set her bag down. “Meet me in my office in fifteen minutes,” he said distractedly as he walked out, again not waiting for her reply.
Rebecca looked around her new living quarters before she made her way to the kitchen. It was, as before, a complete mess. There were a few glasses by the breakfast table, a half eaten dessert of some kind together with more than a few dirty plates in the sink. Cartons of takeaway meals from one of the most expensive restaurant in the city littered the kitchen island.
Sighing, she adorned the apron her mother made her carry and set to work, keeping track of the time so that she was not late for the meeting with Jeremy.
Non-disclosure Agreement. Those were the first words that popped up on the pamphlet of papers that Jeremy handed Rebecca twenty minutes later. She had come to the office at exactly fifteen minutes after he had told her to, only to sit around and wait for him. Expecting him to be dressed when he finally showed up, Rebecca had to hide a blush when he came out with his hair more tussled up than before, clearly stating what had gone on in the last fifteen minutes.
“What's this?” she asked, a frown marring her face.
“Surely you can read,” Jeremy replied. He was perched on his huge table, arms crossed on his chest as usual. “It's a non-disclosure agreement. I make everyone in my employment sign it, you are no exception.”
Rebecca opened it and scanned a few pages, her face growing hot at some of the descriptions written down, “did you come up with this or do the things written here really happen in this house?”
“Having second thoughts of working here?” Jeremy challenged. He smiled, watching as the girl in front of him tried to hide her blush. He had noticed that she blushed frequently and easily, the pink colour making her seem so young and innocent. She probably was, he thought, as he watched her eyes grow bigger as she continued to scan the agreement he had handed her.
And who wouldn't? Some of the things he had his lawyer write in there would make anyone blush. For some reason he had wanted to push this stiff-formal girl, just to see how much he could get away with.
Rebecca shook her head, “n-no,” she said as she took a deep breath. Orgies, swinger's parties? What was she getting herself into? She thought as she continued to read on. Some of the things written down seemed so far-fetched that she had a hard time taking the agreement contract seriously.
“Well, are you going to sign it?” Jeremy asked. “I want to be sure that whatever happens in this house, stays here. It is well known that a lot of magazines and newspapers would do anything to get the inside scoop on my life and what happens in here. So far, I have been able to control that, with that agreement.”
“I understand,” Rebecca mumbled as she reached for the pen in front of her. She had read enough. Besides, who was she going to talk about Jeremy to? Well, except for Lily? And it was pretty easy to dissuade Lily from wanting information about Jeremy once she knew about the agreement contract, having studied law herself.
“Just to be clear,” Jeremy pinned her with a serious look. “Once your name is on the dotted line, if you breach this contract I will sue you for everything you have.”
Rebecca nodded, “you have nothing to worry about. I am not a babbler mouth, and I plan to be out of sight once you have your parties and stuff.”
Jeremy corked his head to the left, studying her as she bent down and signed. He hid a smile as he thought about the contract that he was about to hand to her. If she thought she was going to get away with hiding, she had another thing coming.
“Good.” He accepted the agreement that she handed him and handed her the other contract that he wanted her to sign. “Now, this one is the work contract. Please read it carefully. I am giving you until this evening to sign it.”
Rebecca nodded and watched as he walked out of the office without a backward glance. Rebecca took the contract with her downstairs, depositing it in the sitting room before she headed to the kitchen.
She was busy finishing up with cleaning the kitchen when Alice came in. Rebecca stole a quick glance at her, thankful that the woman had decided to dress up. She smelled expensive, and looked it too. Her honey blonde hair was tied up in a high pony tail, her lips coloured bright red.
“Get me orange juice,” she demanded as she sat on one of the stools by the kitchen island.
Rebecca decided to act as though she did not hear her, the attitude of the woman making her angry and annoyed.
“Are you deaf?” Alice demanded. “I said get me some juice! Right now!” she banged at the table.
Rebecca jumped a little before she moved to the cabinet. Getting out a glass she walked to the table and pouring Alice the juice. Placing it in front of the woman, Rebecca forced a smile, “there you go.”
Alice narrowed her eyes at her. “Aren't you forgetting something?”
Rebecca frowned her confusion, “not that I know of. You only wanted juice.”
“Ma'am! You forgot to say ma'am after you handed over my drink!” Alice banged on the table once again. “Is that not what they teach you at the housekeeping school or something?”
Rebecca swallowed her anger, taking a deep calming breath before she smiled at Alice, “I beg your pardon, ma'am. It will never happen again.”
“Good! You had better make sure it does not,” Alice took a sip of her drink before standing up. “Just a piece of warning, little girl, he is mine. Just because you have moved in here does not mean you can take what doesn't belong to you.”
Rebecca stood there, her eyes wide as she took in the woman before her. Was Alice really out of her mind or did she really mean what she was saying? “You have nothing to worry about, ma'am,” Rebecca emphasised the last word “I have no interest in Mr. Martenson other than to take care of his house.”
“You had better keep it that way,” Alice said as she turned around and stalked out of the kitchen, leaving Rebecca looking after her.
When she heard the front door opening and closing, Rebecca sighed and looked upwards. “What am I getting myself into?” she whispered to the ceiling before shaking her head and reaching for the barely touched glass of juice. It was the second time that she asked herself that question in the same morning.
Jeremy was coming down the stairs when he heard the little speech that Alice was making to Rebecca. He had known that Alice was becoming possessive over him, something he despised, but he had not known that it had reached this far. Sighing, he had taken a seat on the top stair, away from eyes in case someone walked out of the kitchen. He waited until Alice made her way out, closing the front door with so much force that it rattled before he made his way to the kitchen.
He walked in just as Rebecca was reaching for the glass, catching her whispered words. “Talking to yourself, are you? Something you want to enlighten me with?”
“M-Jeremy!” Rebecca exclaimed, the glass in her hands nearly slipping away from her fingers. “I did not hear you come in.”
“Clearly,” Jeremy stated as he walked to the cabinet and got himself a glass. Walking to the table, he poured a glass full of juice before downing it down without stopping until the glass was empty. “Well?'”
“I-uhm-I was just going through my timetable for today,” Rebecca lied, biting her inner lip as she avoided the blue eyes that seemed to penetrate through to her soul.
Jeremy walked to the sink, rinsed his glass before turning around and facing her. Hands going to their favourite position against his chest, Jeremy made no secret that he was studying her, “is that the truth that you are telling me?”
Rebecca gulped. “Uhm-well, yes. Unless you know of a different truth?”
Jeremy narrowed his eyes on her, a small smile playing on his lips at the faint blush on her face. “You got me there. So, what are your plans today?”
“Well,” Rebecca looked and felt flustered. 'I was waiting for you to come down so I could straighten up your bedroom,' she said, keeping her eyes on a spot above his shoulder. "Then because you liked the cookies I baked yesterday, I thought of making another batch for when you come back from work." She frowned as she took in his attire. "You go to work like that?"
Jeremy looked down at his faded jeans and a black muscle top, before shrugging, "I am not going to work today. I only go when there is something that really needs my attention or when I have meetings. Other than that I work at home most of the time. That said, we will need some snacks in the afternoon, say around one. Just some sandwiches will do."
"We?" Rebecca repeated. She was still trying to come to terms that he was going to be in the house the whole day! Of course he can be in the house the whole day if he wants, moron! It is his house.
Jeremy made a quick check on his watch, "yes, a friend of mine will be arriving in a few minutes, so you do your thing and I'll do mine. Don't forget to go through the contract and sign it before five this evening," he reminded her as he pushed himself away from the sink.
"Sure," Rebecca nodded as she watched him walk out of the kitchen. She turned to head to the sink when he called her. "Yes?"
"I want you to break up with Alice for me," Jeremy told her, without any hint of joking on his face.