Maid to Fit Read online

  Unfortunately, her gratitude for having such a good job was now being taken advantage of by an extremely competitive boss who kept piling on more and more work. So even though she was able to provide for both Addie and her mother monetarily, she was stuck in the office while paying other people to care for them both.

  That part felt like a failure. It was a hit to her pride and her heart.

  It was supposed to get easier as Addie got older and more independent. Somehow that was not the case. Now Kayla had to explain her choices to a girl on the wings of adulthood.

  Living in a nice, safe neighborhood meant the cost of living went up along with the size and value of the homes. Making enough money to live in an area with one of the best public schools around meant working long hours.

  It wasn’t that Kayla didn’t appreciate the opportunities her career had provided. But the simple truth was that she just couldn’t do it all by herself anymore.

  Determined to put on a cheerful face, she said, “I am proud of you. Imagine that, my tenth grader making varsity cheer squad and competition cheer squad.”

  Addie looked over and gave Kayla a forced smile, then went back to staring out the window. When they pulled up to the curb in front of the school, Addie simply opened the car door and got out, closing it behind her without saying goodbye.

  This was why working so hard had to stop. It felt like Kayla didn’t even know her own child anymore. It was hard to keep a good relationship with your daughter if you hardly ever saw her.

  Just the other day, Addie had asked once again for the dog she wanted so badly. Kayla’s intense fear of the furry four-legged critters was the main reason Addie went without, but realistically, if they did have a dog that would just be one more thing for Kayla to take care of. With the hours she worked, she was glad they didn’t have a pet. But she couldn’t so easily dismiss all of Addie’s requests.

  She also couldn’t continue putting in the long hours and weekends, and giving up vacations for deadlines, for the rest of her life. She was looking for a change…a life outside the four walls of her office.

  Once she landed this big account for the firm, she would have paid them back for being so good to her over the years. Then she could move on to another job, one with fewer hours, and not feel guilty about it.

  As she pulled into her parking spot in front of the large office building where she worked, she realized she had three minutes to get upstairs for the meeting or she would be late.

  Not exactly a good first impression for a new client.

  Racing inside, she threw her keys and purse behind the receptionist’s desk and nearly sprinted for the conference room.

  “Cutting it kind of close, aren’t you, Kayla?” James asked from his chair at the head of the large well-polished conference table.

  “Sorry,” she replied, pulling her sketches out of her case.

  James Emory was her boss and a real stickler for time. She was pretty sure a couple of the people in the office maintained their status as his favorites simply because they were fifteen to twenty minutes early every day. She was lucky to even get here most days. Once she was here, though, she stayed—well past everyone else’s eight-hour shift.

  She had the most accounts, she brought in the most money, and she felt good about earning the top salary in the company—under James’s of course. However, the highest salary meant working the longest hours, too. Kayla grabbed some coffee from a side table and sat down as James’s assistant entered the room with the clients, showing them to their seats and offering drinks.

  Three hours later, they had a signed marketing agreement, an idea of where their clients were heading with their business, and clear expectations regarding the image they wanted to portray. As she collected her purse and keys, which she would have forgotten if not for Megan, the receptionist, Kayla noticed a missed call on her cell phone. She tapped the screen to call the number back as she hurried to her office to finally check voice mail and emails.

  “Russell Hawkins,” a man answered after only one ring.

  “Yes, this is Kayla Clark. I noticed a missed call from this number,” she said, dumping her purse and case on the chair near the window of her office.

  “Yeah, I am the owner of Man Maid. I wanted to let you know that I may have a potential housekeeper who is also willing to pick up your daughter from school activities. The housekeeper is a man, though—will that be a problem?”

  A man?

  Kayla had envisioned a lovely older woman, maybe around her mother’s age, who would take both her and Addie under her maternal wing. This wasn’t the 1950s, though, and truthfully, no housekeeper could ever replace the love and care her mother had given them. With the economy the way that it was, who was she to frown upon a person with a job…man or woman? She did need to ensure that Addie would be safe with the person, though, even if it was only for a limited amount of time each day.

  “My daughter is a teenager. I’m not sure… I probably should talk it over with her first and make sure she would be comfortable with a male…cleaning person.” Well, that sounded intelligent.

  “Ronald Brown is the man’s name, and he is a veteran. I can personally vouch for him. He was under my command during two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He’s a good and honorable man, and I’m sure he’d be happy to meet you and your daughter first, if that would put your mind at ease,” Mr. Hawkins offered. “I emailed you his background check. I do one for all my employees. And I included a list of references for him, if you’re interested.”

  “Let me think about it and talk it over with my daughter. I’ll let you know by tomorrow,” she insisted.

  Maybe the influence of an older male, especially a veteran, would be a good thing for Addie. Addie had been fairly young when her grandfather had passed away, and she didn’t really remember him. Her father had only seen Addie a few times. Once he and Kayla had graduated from high school, he’d taken off and never looked back. Kayla still wanted to consider Addie’s feelings on the matter, though. Perhaps rather than the grandmotherly figure she’d imagined being there for Addie after school…it would be a grandfatherly figure instead.

  After hanging up with Russell and briefly reading the material he’d emailed about the housekeeper, she dove into phone calls, emails and piles of things dumped in her inbox with sticky notes attached. When her desk phone rang a while later, she looked up and realized it was well past lunchtime. She had been so busy she hadn’t even eaten. Seeing her boss’s number on the digital display now, she cringed. Here comes the “can you stay and get that done” call.

  No sooner had she finished her call with James—and once again agreed to stay late—when her cell phone rang. It was Addie.

  “Hey, Mom, the cheer squad is going to Starbucks after school and then to Kaitlyn’s house to work on new cheers for this season. I want to go… I need to participate, Mom, or I may not make the team next year. Please?” Addie begged.

  As much as she doubted that Addie would be excluded from the team in subsequent school years—the squad wasn’t as good or as big as they should be for their school’s size—it was still good for Addie to spend time with friends. Unfortunately, with this new account came even more hours in the office.

  “I’m sorry, honey, but I have to work late tonight…. I got the account,” she said, trying to sound more excited than she really was.

  “Of course you did,” Addie replied sarcastically.

  That comment hurt, but what could she do? Addie had stopped asking other kids’ parents to give her rides home in seventh grade when she’d overheard a couple of the girls talking about how frustrated their parents were that Addie was even there, since that meant someone would have to drive her home. Kayla completely understood. Addie was her responsibility, not the responsibility of her teammates’ parents. Playing two roles for Addie—financial provider and attentive parent all rolled into one—sure didn’t leave a lot of time for picking Addie up from practices and games.

&nb
sp; “I’m sorry, honey—” she began.

  “I shouldn’t have even tried out,” Addie said, obviously close to tears.

  This was Addie’s last few years before college. Kayla wanted them to be good ones, full of happy memories—unlike her own high school years. This grandpa-type maid was sounding better by the minute.

  “Look, remember I told you about hiring someone to help keep up the house since you and I are so busy right now?” Kayla asked.

  “Yeah,” Addie replied, clearly still frustrated and disappointed.

  “The cleaning agency called today and they have someone available who could also pick you up from practices and stuff, but it’s a man,” she said. “I looked over the background information the company emailed me. He was in the army for many years and has won several medals. I’m not sure how much help an old veteran will really be around the house, but he should be able to get you where you need to go. Maybe we could try it for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. What do you think?”

  “Oh, Mom, could he pick me up today so I can go?” Addie begged. “Please?”

  “What if he’s some sort of creeper?” Kayla asked, surprised at Addie’s unconcerned response. Addie was normally more cautious.

  “If I get bad vibes I won’t even get in the car with him. I’ll call you to come and get me instead. Please…I listen to my gut, Mom, and if it doesn’t feel right I won’t go anywhere near the guy.”

  “Okay. I will call the references that Man Maid sent me. If they check out, I will call the company back and see if he might be able to start today, then I’ll call you back and let you know,” she finally agreed. “If he can’t, then I promise next time we’ll work something out so that you can go.”

  “Thanks, Mom!” Addie said excitedly.

  “Don’t thank me yet, I may not get ahold of his references or he may not be able to start right now,” Kayla replied.

  Hanging up with Addie, Kayla opened the email with the man’s references. After the third phone call she’d begun to imagine a sweet old man with graying hair and a nice smile. One older woman—probably a friend of his, but still—had gone on at length about how he had completely revamped her landscaping and then refused to let her pay him for it. Another older lady talked about his “ornery” smile and what a good person he was and how much her sons adored him. When Kayla finished checking his references, she called Man Maid.

  “Mr. Hawkins? This is Kayla Clark calling you back. Is there any chance your employee could start today?”

  “I can call him and ask…but he doesn’t have a key to your home and you haven’t told me what type of work you’d like to have done,” he said after a brief pause.

  “My daughter has a cheerleading thing after school. If he could pick her up from her friend’s house and drive her back to our home that’s all I would need for today.”

  “I’ll ask him. Would it be okay to give him your number so you can work out the details?” he asked.

  “Sure, that would be fine. Thanks. I hope I didn’t give you the wrong impression with my hesitation earlier. It’s just that my daughter is young and impressionable, and I want her to be safe. I can’t help but think that if someone heard I was letting a strange man I haven’t even met in person drive my teenage daughter around they might seriously question my judgment,” she said.

  “Did you get the background information on him that I emailed to you?” he asked.

  “Yes, I got it. His service record is stellar, and so were his references—” she started.

  “Look, I get it. Really, I do,” he said. “How about I have him call you and put your mind at ease.”

  She hung up, thinking that maybe talking to the man would help her not to worry. She checked a few more emails, and had just started looking over the notes from the morning’s meeting when her cell phone rang again.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “Mrs. Clark, this is Ronnie Brown. I was told to call you about a cleaning job?” His deep voice resonated over the line.

  “Yes. I talked to your boss and I was wondering if it would be possible for you to start today? My daughter needs to be picked up from her friend’s house around five o’clock this evening, and I don’t usually get home until seven o’clock. If you could pick her up and then just drop her off at our house that would be all I should need today. I could put together a list of some things I need to have done at the house and you could work on that anytime this week when you are available,” she said.

  “Does your daughter have a key to get into your home?” he asked.

  Oh, no! She felt her heart skip a beat—she hadn’t locked the front door this morning!

  Even now some robber could be making off with her sofa and accent tables along with all the other items in her home. Or worse, someone could be waiting there for them to get home.

  “Are you still there?” He asked.

  “Oh, God!” she managed to choke out.

  “Are you okay, Mrs. Clark?” the deep voice asked again.

  “It’s just Kayla…call me Kayla.… I didn’t lock my house this morning! I… We…were running late and I just left my house unlocked! Oh, my God!” she breathed into the phone. “What if someone is there right now? Addie would have been the first person home! I have to go, Ronnie. I’m sorry.”

  “No. Wait! Just stay at work. Give me your address and I will run over there and check things out. I will call you when I get there, after I look for signs of intruders. Then after I make sure no burglars are lurking in the shadows, if you have an extra key, I will lock the place up. I also need the address for this friend of your daughter’s and at least a vague description of her so I pick up the right kid,” he said.

  “Her name is Addison—Addie. She’s the shortest one of the girls…you can’t miss her. She has brown hair and freckles. I don’t really know you, though,” she added hesitantly.

  “You leave your house unlocked for the entire neighborhood to go on in and make themselves at home but you’re worried about me? At least you’ve checked me out and we have spoken on the phone. I can’t say the same for the potential robber that might be there right now. Can you?”

  “No, but my daughter…”

  “I resent the implication. Being male doesn’t automatically make me a sicko. I am a soldier, former soldier, and I take my honor very seriously. I would never hurt a kid in any way. I personally think we should use people who hurt kids as target practice in our military training. So don’t even go there,” he said angrily.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. If you had kids, you would understand,” she said.

  “I may not have kids of my own but I do have younger and older siblings, all girls…so I do get it,” he said, his voice a little less angry and offended and with what sounded like a slight southern drawl.

  Her choices were limited. If she left to go home and lock up, she’d just have to come back here after and get to bed even later than normal. Ronnie would be working in her home unattended starting this week or the next and he would still essentially be a stranger. Trust had to be earned, but a person still needed to be given the chance to start earning it. If he was really going to clean for her, he’d have to start at some point…both with housework and picking up Addie.

  “Fine,” she said as she sighed.

  After giving him her address and then Kaitlyn’s address, she disconnected the call. No sooner had she laid her cell phone on her desk than it rang again.

  “Yes, honey, Ronnie will pick you up from Kaitlyn’s house and take you home,” she told Addie upon answering the phone. “You remember how to use the mace, right?”

  A quiet squeal was followed by, “Thanks, Mom! Yes, I know about the mace…geesh. So what does he look like? I’ll keep an eye out for him so he doesn’t have to wait.”

  Damn! She had no idea what he looked like. She had provided a description of Addie for him but hadn’t even thought to get a description of him for Addie. Based on her earlier investigative efforts
she could probably come pretty close, though. With his lengthy service record, the fact that two older women liked him and he seemed like he would be good with kids…

  “I imagine he’s an older man, maybe around Grandma’s age, with a buzz haircut. Now you call me the minute you get home and after he’s left so I know you’re okay.”

  “I will. Thanks again, Mom,” Addie said with a smile in her voice.

  After taking a moment to enjoy the sound of Addie’s happiness, she scooped up her cell phone and headed to the break room to grab a vending machine sandwich. She was too wound up from realizing she’d left her house unlocked to focus on work, even though she had a lot to do for her new account. And she still needed to put out more resumes.

  She was simply stretched too thin.

  She missed not being able to share the details of her hectic day, overburdening job and stressful life with her mother. Lately, it was a good day when her mother even recognized her, let alone held a meaningful conversation with her.

  It had been so long since she’d had a girl’s night out or even called either one of her two close friends from college, but it would hardly be fair to call them up out of the blue and unload on them. And Kayla certainly wouldn’t burden Addie with her problems.

  She knew she needed a break. Hiring Man Maid and sending out more resumes were going to get her there. But first she had to handle this new account. She had just started to really focus on the work in front of her when her cell phone rang again.

  “I’m here and alone…no robbers. I found the key under the mat and I’ll lock up when I leave,” Ronnie said. “That’s not a real safe place to leave your spare key by the way so I moved it under the rock in your flowerbed.”

  “Thank you! I will work on a list for you. I really appreciate you starting this job on such short notice,” she said.

  “You’re welcome, Kayla,” he replied and disconnected the call.

  Perhaps she needed to consider one of those online dating sites, because the way Ronnie said her name just then reminded her she was lonely in other ways, too. Maybe he was attractive for an older man. Or perhaps having some help, even from a stranger, was what was appealing to her.