Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Hannah hurried off, eager to tell the others who the mysterious stranger waiting in reception was. I was almost there when I saw him through the tinted glass doors. Jonathan stood tall and confident in a charcoal grey suit. The colour contrasted with his pale eyes and light hair. He stared down at his phone for a moment before slipping the slim device into his pocket. Drawing in a deep breath for courage, I pushed open the doors and stepped out.
Sally, our receptionist, sat in front of her computer pretending to work as she watched me approach Jonathan out the corner of her eye. She tapped away at the keyboard, feigning focus, but I suspected her screen looked something like:
ghdkbnykdaldobngndoesvmfgawught
“Mr Oaks,” I said, and he turned. His gaze travelled over me, lingering on the tight parts of my dress before landing on my cane. Something flickered in his jaw as he stared at it before his eyes lifted to mine. They were gentler than normal, and I didn’t like it, made me feel like he felt sorry for me now. Some part of me wished for him to continue to be a hard-nosed, ruthless snob like the first time we’d met.
“Miss Rose. I was hoping we could speak. Have you had lunch yet? Perhaps I could take you to—”
“I’ve already eaten,” I lied. “And if you wish to speak with me, you can do so here.”
Jonathan’s gaze flicked to Sally a moment then back to me. “Very well. Is there somewhere private we might talk?”
I stiffened. He clearly wanted to speak about my living situation and didn’t want to do it with Sally listening. I didn’t want to talk to him at all, but I had a feeling he wouldn’t leave until I heard him out, so I nodded and motioned for him to follow me.
Quietly, I led him to my office. We had to walk through the main lounge area to get there and Hannah stood with Lewis, the two of them murmuring to one another as they eyed us. Cathal was also there. Bloody hell, I’d forgotten he was in today. I was dealing with a packed audience, not an empty seat in the house.
Cathal sat on a stool next to Patricia, one of the residents who was diabetic, in the middle of taking her blood sugar level. His gaze flicked up, meeting mine for a moment then moving to Jonathan in question. His eyebrows drew together in a curious expression before we exited the lounge and walked down the hallway to my office. As soon as we were inside with the door closed, I started talking.
“Listen, I know how things must’ve looked last night, but I promise you—”
“Miss Rose, please don’t feel like you have to explain. What’s going on with you right now is my fault. I’m not here to embarrass you or make you any more uncomfortable than I’ve already done. But I do have a solution, and if you’re open to it, I believe it could benefit us both.”
I studied him, tilting my head. “A solution?”
“Do you remember the woman who attended the funeral with me?” he asked, and I nodded. “That’s my half sister, Maggie. We share the same father. She works for me as the building manager at my investment firm now, but she used to clean my apartment.”
“Your half sister was your cleaner?” I asked in disbelief.
Jonathan exhaled a gruff breath. “It’s a long story. She, um, she didn’t know she was my sister at the time. But anyway, I haven’t had the chance to find someone new to clean for me, and I own two penthouses that need occasional upkeep. You said Mam charged you low rent in exchange for maintaining the house, and the place is in immaculate condition. Even Therese said so. I thought that perhaps you could live in my empty penthouse in exchange for cleaning and light maintenance and reduced rent. Basically, it can be the same arrangement you had with my mother. It would give you a chance to get back on your feet.”
I stared at him, gobsmacked by the very generous offer. I didn’t know what to say, so instead, I went with, “You own two penthouses?”
Jonathan nodded as though it were perfectly normal. “They’re right next to each other on the top floor of the Malton Building, but I only live in one of them. Honestly, you’d be doing me a favour—”
“Why do you have two if you only need one?”
I swear the tips of his ears reddened slightly at my question while he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, this is going to sound rather eccentric, but I had this really insufferable neighbour in the last place I lived, and I didn’t want to have to endure a situation like that again, so I—”