Knowing that, with all she’d given to her foster mom, Maggie still hadn’t meant any more to the older woman than the money she brought in from the state had hurt. She didn’t share that bit with Tom though.
His too observant and surprisingly compassionate eyes said he’d read between the lines anyway. However all he asked was, “The small salary is not a deterrent for you?”
“No. It would be a godsend to tell the truth. My scholarship doesn’t stretch to living expenses.”
“You are attending university on scholarship?”
“Yes. An academic one.” As if there would be any possibility that her average build would somehow have managed to enable her to attain an athletic scholarship. She smiled self-deprecatingly.
“You must be very bright.”
That made her shrug. Her intelligence was something she’d always taken for granted. If she hadn’t been smarter than the average student, she would have flunked out of high school for lack of time to study between her part-time job and caring for her foster family. “I like school.”
“What is your major?”
“Early childhood development.”
He didn’t laugh like a lot of people did when she told them. For some reason, the idea of going to college to earn a degree so she could care for children seemed amusing to most people.
“What do you want to do?”
“One day, I want to have my own day care center.”
“You should take some business courses as well then,” he said rather bossily.
But she didn’t mind. “I plan to.”
He nodded his approval at this and the interview went on from there. Surprisingly they had a lot in common. Neither liked to watch television very much, they both liked the same authors and they shared a similar sense of humor. It was nice.
She would have thought she would be tongue-tied around him, but she wasn’t because although he was the most beautiful man she’d ever met, he didn’t act at all conceited or cocky about his looks.
She was getting ready to go when he said, “I have one last thing I need to discuss with you before I can make my decision.”
“Yes?”
For the first time in forty-five minutes he looked less than totally self-composed. “I think we could be friends.”
She nodded eagerly.
“I like you, Maggie.”
“I like you, too,” she said breathlessly.
He got very serious. “The position is a live-in one.”
“Yes, I know. That’s perfect for me.”
He nodded. “If I hire you, you have to promise you’ll never attempt to take our friendship beyond that. From your letter of application, I thought you would be older…I didn’t think this would be an issue I would have to bring up, but I see that I must and there is no benefit in putting it off. I don’t date people who work for me. Ever.”
She stared at him and didn’t know what to say. He seemed awfully young to have such a policy, but she certainly didn’t expect him to break it with her.
When she said nothing, his expression turned even grimmer. “If I wake up to find you naked in my bed, I will fire you on the spot.”
She couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing. The very thought of her doing something so bold…so absurd…was more than she could take. She laughed so hard, she fell against the wall, her head shaking in negation to his comment.
Realizing that he was frowning, she forced herself to stop chortling. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed.”
“I am quite serious.”
That was weird, the way his speech patterns got so formal sometimes, like the informal speak of a college student wasn’t natural for him.
“You’ve had that happen before?” she asked with disbelief.
“Yes,” he said shortly.
Wow. Bummer.
“I promise on both of my parents’ graves that I will never climb into your bed, naked or otherwise.”
“Both of your parents are dead?”
“Yes.”
“I am sorry.”
“Me, too, but thank you.”
“You’ll never try to seduce me?” he asked, as if there was still some doubt in his mind.
It took every bit of her self-control not to laugh again, but she managed it. “When you know me better, you’ll realize what a ridiculous thought that is, but please believe me when I say that you don’t ever have to worry about that kind of thing from me.”
“Why, are you gay?”
She gasped and then closed her eyes, trying hard to stay collected. She opened them again. “No. I’m not gay. I’m not the type to try to seduce anybody, male or female,” she said for good measure.
He still looked worried and she sighed.
“Look, you said you thought I must be pretty intelligent. Well, I am. Definitely smart enough to realize you are way out of my league. I don’t know where you come from that you have women falling all over themselves to have sex with you, but I was raised to keep out of men’s beds until I got married and that’s exactly what I intend to do. Even if you were a reincarnation of John Wayne, I would not climb into your bed and beg you to have sex with me. Okay?”
“John Wayne? You lust after the Duke?”
She rolled her eyes. “Never mind who I fantasize about…just don’t worry about it being you.”
Suddenly a smile lit his face and she just about fell against the wall again, this time from the sheer animal impact, but managed to stay upright. Barely.
“You’re hired.”
CHAPTER TWO
SHE moved in a week later.
The job was an easy one. Tom was not a slob and although he was clearly used to money, he didn’t require Cordon Bleu meals. She had plenty of time to pursue her studies and take care of his domestic needs. On top of that, he made her feel like his house was her home.
All she had to do was perform her job to his satisfaction and she had the run of the place. He was adamant she didn’t limit her time at home to cleaning and then staying in her room. It was very similar to living in the foster care system, where she’d figured out early that if she performed well and made herself indispensable, she’d always have a
