Page 6 of Housekeeping

4

Mason

I couldn’t get that maid out of my mind, which was fucking weird because I wasn't the type of guy to be pining over a woman. Even if her tits would fit perfectly in my hands and I could make her scream all night long, that didn’t mean I’d go home and keep thinking about her. Sexually frustrated and annoyed about Emily’s take on Dad´s behavior was not the best way to be feeling right now, but I told Emily that I was on my way and I was a man of my word. The way the maid eyed me up and down was priceless, as if she hadn't had any in a while or maybe ever.

Thinking back to all the times I’d been to the hotel branch in Charlotte, I’d definitely seen her. She was almost always there every time I called in the maids to clean up after my infamous parties. None of them were happy with me, but she’d always give me this complicated look. I never paid her much attention, but I was pretty good with faces. It was a big help in the family business.

My phone rang, and I glanced at the screen before ignoring it. I jumped into my car and headed out of the garage before I could make a mistake and change my mind yet again about going to the family house. The call was from one of the many women I’d had fun with for a night, and there was no point in talking to her. I never bothered to hook up with any woman more than a few times, and the level of interest was never as much as what I was feeling toward that maid right now. Not that it would go anywhere, because as much as I would have loved to, I couldn’t pursue it. This was just the first time I was thinking of her as a person and it was getting to me.

“I’ll get over it,” I said to myself, convinced it was true. If the interest didn’t die down on its own, I’d just look for someone else. After all, she wasn’t really my type. The kind of women I slept with were the kind of women who knew not to expect much from me. She looked like the kind who’d expect you to stick around for a while.

I may not have the same wanderlust as my little brother, Kevin, but I rarely stuck around one place for too long at a time. Partly for my job, and partly for my not-so-well-thought-out rebellion against my dad.

I took a deep breath as I paused at the gates and thought about chickening out once again. Fuck! When did I turn into a pussy? I typed in the code and as the gates opened, I took a deep breath and parked outside.

I walked out slowly and headed up the three steps into the mansion, taking my time, prolonging the time until the confrontation. I knew I couldn’t stall forever, so I went to the door and opened it. I looked around, feeling some nostalgia from the good old days when I was still a kid and rugby was everything to me. Back when Dad wasn’t trying to get in my way. It was just my family, and Trent wasn’t even there. He’d disappeared sometime after high school, and though I’d felt bad about it at the time, a part of me had been glad because having him around was so stifling. Up until Dad started making comparisons between Trent and me, that is.

I’d wanted to tell my old man that if he missed his other son so badly, he could go look for him instead of making me fill shoes that were way too big. I hated it.

I dialed Emily’s number to track her down. I didn´t feel like bumping into someone unless I had to and especially not Dad, so I called her to find out what room she was in. I wanted to talk to Emily first, anyway. She was the main reason I’d come.

I wanted out of there as fast as possible. I had a sweet maid in my room and if I was out of here fast enough, I might just be able to catch her and finish what I was so tempted to start. Emily picked up on the second ring.

“I’m here already. Where are you?”

“Oh, great, you’re here! Wait in the foyer for me, I’ll come and get you.”

She hung up on me abruptly, and I glared at my phone. Well, at least her greeting had sounded happy, even if she’d hung up on me. I sighed and made my way into the foyer and pushed the large double doors closed. I’d always hated the heavy things. They were ostentatious, ugly, and weighed far too much.

I saw Emily coming down the stairs carefully in very high heels. I came to a stop in the foyer, and when she cleared the steps, I opened my arms wide for her to rush into them. She wrapped her arms around me, leaning against me with a sigh, and I closed my own arms around her, rocking her gently. Her face was buried in my chest, and I rested my chin on the top of her head. Even grown up and with heels on, my little sister was still tiny. Her tiny size came packaged with a lot of love though.

“Is everything okay?” I asked as I rocked her gently in my arms.

She let out a sigh and squeezed me tight for a moment. “Everything is not okay, but I’m glad you’re here.”

Emily pulled away from the embrace, then took my hand and tugged me behind her as she led me to one of the lounge rooms in the mansion. Most homes had a single living room and were done with it, but that wasn’t nearly enough for the Thompson family mansion.

We sat on one of the couches, Emily leaning against my arm. I arched an eyebrow as I tried to read her expression. She looked kind of… sick? Or under a terrible load of stress. My sister was always a sensitive girl, but I began to worry when she started wringing her hands and sighing a lot.

“Emily, come on now, girl. Talk to me. You’re starting to worry me. What’s the deal? Is it Dad? Is he worse?”

“No, no,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “I’m worried about him but that’s not it. I’m worried about you guys more. Well, you and Kevin more than Trent, really.”

“Is he around?” I asked and couldn’t help but frown.

“He came down the day after I called him. Dad came back home the same day, but he didn’t want to see Trent. I’m sure Trent was angry. He’s always in such a bad mood…”

I frowned at the mention of our eldest half-brother. Trent and I didn’t have much of a relationship now or when we were kids. We had nothing in common besides Dad and our last name, and it was the only reason I associated with him at all, most of the time. I could attest to his surly mood because the guy was always so serious about everything. He’d been moody growing up, too. For a moment, I wondered if Dad had constantly compared him with someone like he’d done with me.

“He didn’t say anything to you, did he?”

I was about to ask the real question: what did he say to upset her this time? I was being polite which wasn’t like me, but Emily was in a state and I didn’t want to upset her more.

“Don’t worry about that,” Emily said dismissively. “Most of the time I don’t even register on his radar, so it’s not like he has anything to say to me anyway. For which I am so fucking glad.”

I frowned at her, then flicked her forehead.

“Ow!” She pulled away from me, putting a hand to her forehead and pouting at me with a betrayed look in her gaze.