Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
“What?” popped out of her mouth as Essie whirled to stare in horror at the housekeeper. She tried to signal Sara to stop. Sara didn’t need to be this neighborly.
“Perfect. Thanks, Sara,” Zander said immediately.
“Wait. Zander, I’m sorry. Sara doesn’t know that I just scheduled a lot of maintenance for the manor. You definitely don’t want to sleep here. You’d have to endure noise and dust.”
“I can handle anything that doesn’t have multiple legs,” Zander said, brushing aside her excuses. He turned back to Sara. “I’ll go grab my things.”
“Wait!” Essie announced loudly. When Sara and Zander stared at her, she continued, “No guests until I’m ready.”
“Oh, Essie. You won’t need to disrupt your plans. I’ll get Zander set up in the green room,” Sara assured her, completely misinterpreting Essie’s words.
“The green room?” Her voice rose to a screech. That was the room right across from hers. She didn’t want him in her house, much less across the hall!
“Yes. That will be so convenient for me to pick up laundry and clean. A close stop to your room won’t add much wear and tear to these old bones at all,” Sara said, pressing a hand to her lower back as if it pained her.
What was she doing? Sara was in better shape than she was. Essie fumed.
“Oh, I can take care of my room,” Zander immediately offered. “I won’t be any trouble. Okay, with that settled, I’ll go arrange for a few things to be delivered this afternoon from the specialty cleaner who debugged clothing for me.”
“Zander, you aren’t listening to me,” Essie said again.
“Don’t worry about the construction. Are you finally getting that wood rot treated?” he asked.
“You noticed wood rot?” Essie asked.
“Yeah, hard to miss the telltale signs. I’m glad you’re acting quickly. You don’t want to lose your entire roof,” Zander told her. “See you in a couple of hours.” He was gone before she could say anything else. Steamrolled by team Zander and Sara, Essie struggled to figure out how she’d totally lost control of her own mansion.
“I’ll get that room ready,” Sara said.
“Sara! I didn’t want him to stay here.”
“Your aunt would like you to be neighborly. Besides, he could push that he had a verbal contract with Esther. This seemed like a good way to smooth the waters.”
Essie couldn’t argue with that. “Don’t give him the green room. Put him on the third floor—far away from me.”
“I hate to admit those rooms are dusty. Esther had me close off the top floor years ago.”
“Then stick him at the other end of the hall.”
“I’ll check out another space for him,” Sara promised.
“Thank you.” Essie rolled her eyes as she headed to the current library. This had worked as an office for Edmund. She planned to restore the room’s original purpose. This space would be the perfect sunny location for client meetings and a workspace for her.
Chapter Four
She should have guessed something was up when Marmalade appeared in the hallway the next morning. That cat always seemed to be where trouble was brewing. Essie had taken time to brush her hair and change into jeans and a T-shirt before heading down to the kitchen to grab some coffee. She avoided Zander last night by going shopping in the quaint shops downtown. The small-business owners had jumped at the possibility of providing services and goods for her new business venture.
Essie was literally buzzing with energy this morning. She’d just stepped out her door when the one across the hallway opened to reveal Zander with only a bath towel wrapped around his hips.
“Where are you, damn cat?”
Essie swallowed hard at the sight of all that Zander on display. His hair dripped with water. She watched one fat drop land on his firm pec and roll down a chiseled torso to absorb into the thirsty terrycloth. The damp material clung to a thick shaft that seemed way larger than average. Was he porn-star sized?
“Essie, I’m up here.”
Her face heated tremendously as Essie realized she was staring. “Sorry. You’re supposed to be at the end of the hall,” she blurted out.
“This room is green. Isn’t that the one Sara said she would put me in?” he asked.
Essie replayed Sara’s words. Sara had promised to check on other rooms for Zander—not to make arrangements for him elsewhere. Damn it. Sara had probably peeked into another room before plopping Zander in the room she’d originally chosen for him. That was the problem with having a housekeeper who’d worked as part of the staff forever. Sara would always know best.
Quickly, Essie switched to another topic. “Did Marmalade cause a problem?”
“He paraded back and forth across me until I gave up and went to take a shower. Then, I swear, he flushed the toilet, turning the water scalding hot. He had to do that on purpose,” Zander said, glowering at the evildoer in question who hid behind Essie’s legs.