AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“A lot of real estate agents carry them,” I tell him. “I spend a lot of time alone in empty houses with men; I’m going to keep carrying it. I can keep it in a safe at work if you don’t want it in the house, but that’s non-negotiable.”
“It’s not like you’re working in the slums,” he says. “Sadie’s clients are San Francisco’s elite. You’re not going to be put in any dangerous situations at work, Amelia.”
I clench my jaw; the dead girl tries to scream. “It doesn’t matter how elite they are. Wealth doesn’t equate morals. Like I said, it’s non-negotiable.”
“I didn’t mean to offend you,” he says. “I know you grew up differently than I did—”
“I’m not offended, but I’m not budging on this. If you’d like a demonstration of my competence with the weapon, I’m happy to oblige.”
He sighs, defeated. “Get a safe; keep it at work. For now.”
“Can I tell you my thing now?”
“Go ahead,” he says.
“You mentioned how we grew up differently—you aren’t wrong. And since I grew up…differently, I’m very uncomfortable having a maid.”
“Marta is wonderful. She’s like a mother to me; you’ll grow to love her.”
“It’s not that I don’t like her,” I say. “I’m sure she is wonderful, but if I am going to live here, we can’t have a maid. I can cook and clean and take care of our home. I like to do it. This is also non-negotiable.”
“Well, what is negotiable with you?” he asks.
I shrug. “I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”
He laughs a little. “So you’re uncomfortable having a maid, but you’re comfortable firing her?”
“No,” I tell him. “That’s why I want you to give her three months’ severance pay. That should be more than enough to get her through until she can find a new client to take your place.”
He sighs, thinking on it for a minute before answering. “After the holidays. If you still feel this way after the holidays, I’ll do what you want.”
“Thank you,” I tell him.
“Happy wife, happy life and all that,” he shrugs. “Speaking of, when do I get to meet your family?”
“Um…what?”
“Well, I know you said you aren’t close, but they’re going to be my family, too. You’ve met mine, and they aren’t exactly pleasant.”
“Yeah, well…I’m not sure what my mother is, but she is somewhere way beyond not exactly pleasant.”
“Still,” James says. “I want to meet her. I want to see where the woman I love came from. I’m not afraid of a small house or a small town. I want to meet your little sister. What did you say her name was? Alyssa?”
“Emma,” I correct him.
“Well, I want to meet her; I want to know what she’s like.”
‘Yeah, me, too,’ I think.
“You never talk about them,” James says. “All I know is that you and your mom don’t get along, and your sister is only…what? Eight years old? So the two of you were never close.”
Never close isn’t entirely accurate. “She’s twelve now,” I tell him.
“See what I mean?” he says. “And your dad left when you were both very young.”
“Mmm…we think he’s dead, actually.”
“Dead? Why? Was he sick?”
