Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
I stomped to the cupboard and grabbed a plate. I didn’t glower. Or bark orders.
I dished out the meal she’d made. The pot had short ribs, potatoes, and carrots—like a whole meal in one pot, and once I had a taste, I moaned out loud. Again, it was simple, but amazing. I had a feeling the pie was going to be even better.
I ate until I was full, enjoying everything she had made. Oddly enough, I felt almost lonely while I polished off my meal. It might have been nice to share it with someone.
Even someone with a smart mouth, who would, no doubt, “chap my ass” while sitting across from me.
I might have to do something about that. Lord knew what would happen if that occurred, though.
Chapter 11
MAXX
Charly was already at the desk when I walked into the garage the next morning. I was determined today would be better. A fresh start. Officially, she was now an employee, and I would treat her as such. I rolled my shoulders, shook my head, and headed toward the office, plastering a smile on my face.
“Morning, Charly.”
She lifted her head from the mess of papers on her desk, smirked, then intoned in a deep voice, “Morning, Angel.”
Then she burst out laughing at her own joke, the sound echoing off the walls. I rolled my eyes and filled a clean mug with coffee, noting the office was even tidier today than it had been yesterday.
“What time did you start?” I asked, curious.
She shrugged, sorting papers, not bothering to look up. “About five.”
“Are you not comfortable in your room?”
She stopped, lifting her gaze to mine. Behind her glasses, her green eyes were bright, although I thought she looked a little tired. I knew better than to say that, though. I had enough experience with women to know they didn’t like comments on their appearance unless they were complimentary.
“It’s fine. I’ve always been an early riser.” She waved a hand filled with papers. “Lots here to catch up on.”
“Hence the job, Charly.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “I know. This is my plan. I am going to sort in here this morning, then spend the afternoon sorting stuff in the house. I assume you have cleaning supplies in there?”
“I assume so.”
She huffed. “I may need to go get a few things.”
Right. We were back to her driving the truck. Not happening. I sighed, thinking over my schedule. “I’ll have something for you to drive tomorrow. Can you make do until then?”
“Sure.”
I pushed off the counter, but she held up her finger. “I need you to sign in to your bank account.”
I stiffened. “I beg your pardon?”
“I’m going to be contacting people for payment. I want to offer e-transfer, so we need to set it up.”
“Why?”
“So the money comes in faster, Maxx,” she stated patiently.
“I’m not giving you access to the bank accounts.”
She sighed, crossing her arms. “Then how am I supposed to make deposits, pull statements, and balance the accounts?”
“I’ll pull the stuff and give it to you.”
She shut her eyes, and I swore she counted to ten before opening them. “Look, Maxx, obviously you don’t know me. I get it. But how about this. You sit here, open the banking info, I’ll tell you how I am going to set it up, and we will turn on alerts. Every time I send out an invoice, pay a bill, deposit money, your phone will get an alert.”
“Every time?” I asked suspiciously.
“Yes. You can even put a second password on it so you know everything I’m doing.”
Still, I hesitated. She frowned but let me think. In order for her to do her job, I had to offer her some sort of trust. It didn’t come easily to me now, though. She must have sensed my unease, because she made another suggestion.
“How about this,” she suggested. “We’ll set up the e-transfer part and the alerts. We’ll do the rest another time, once you decide you’re more comfortable with the arrangements. We can sit down once a week, and you can sign checks for bills, pull me any statements I need and so forth.”
“Fine.”
“Okay.”
She stood, and I took her seat, signing in to the banking site. She was true to her word and waited to the side until I was signed in. I stood, giving her back the chair and watched as she set things up, explaining as she did.
“How does e-transfer work?”
“Instead of sending in a check or giving you a credit card, they transfer the money directly to the account. I, or you, will get an alert when the payment comes in. Simple and faster. No fees either.”
That made sense. She was right; I needed to get the cash flowing again. One look at the balance and I cringed. I filled my cup and headed to the garage, turning as I paused in the door.