Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Am I about to lose my job?
Betsy bit her lip against the urge to beg the billionaire not to fire her. She had become really good friends with the various nannies, housekeepers, and pet sitters working in the other units, and all of them had voluntarily shared what they knew about her boss in hopes of helping Betsy keep her job.
He seems to have a set routine for all of his days, one of the nannies had put forward, and he does everything like clockwork.
He’s never had a female visit him, or at least not one that we know of, another nanny had asserted.
He doesn’t smile at all, the pet sitter from 10/F had declared. I find him extremely intimidating, to be honest.
The type of man they had described seemed too much of a perfectionist. The kind who would surely fire Betsy on the spot for exposing herself, regardless of whether it was deliberate or not.
But...
Why had he even hired someone like her in the first place? Why had he been willing to open his luxuriously immaculate home to Betsy and her son? Hadn't it occurred to him how having a one-year-old boy under his roof could greatly upset his daily routine?
It just didn't make sense at all unless...
He had a heart of gold, Betsy realized, but he just didn’t want people to know about it!
Lukas didn’t know what to make of the assortment of emotions that played over his housekeeper’s features. She had looked as if she was in tears one moment, but now she was staring at him like he was her knight in shining armor.
“Are you alright?” he asked finally.
Betsy nearly wept in relief. Oh, my goodness. After what happened earlier, Mr. Tsaldaris had every reason to get rid of her on the spot, but here he was, showing concern for her. Thank You, God! It was such a huge blessing to have a man as kind as Mr. Tsaldaris as her employer.
She’s gone mad, Lukas thought. That was the only sensible conclusion to have, with how she was now staring at him so earnestly.
Betsy cleared her throat. “Um, sir?”
Lukas inclined his head when he realized she was waiting for her response. “What is it?”
“I just want to go on record and say that what happened earlier was an accident.” While she knew now that he wouldn't be so malicious as to assume what happened earlier was a ploy for her to seduce him, Betsy still wanted to give him additional assurance about her genuine desire to work for him, and just that.
“I know.”
A smile broke over Betsy’s lips at the words. Oh, I knew it. This man had a beautiful heart, indeed. “I know you’re not asking for proof or anything,” she went on eagerly, “but I just thought it would be better if we get everything out in the open. I’m not sure if Charlotte ever mentioned—”
“Are we talking about the real reason you’re here?"
Her eyes widened. “Why, yes.”
“If you have any concerns—”
“No, no, not at all!" Betsy was appalled that he would even think such a thing. “I’m actually beyond grateful for this opportunity to turn my life around. Not everyone’s given a chance for new beginnings, and so I’m really, really thankful for that."
Incredible, Lukas thought. This was his first time to meet someone so lacking in ego - or this desperate - that she didn’t mind having her suitability as wife material “evaluated” prior to marriage.
“In light of our unorthodox situation,” Lukas said reluctantly, “I see no reason why you need to be formal—”
“Oh no, it’s fine." Betsy was keen to prove to her boss that she would never use his kindness as an excuse to act familiar with him. "You will always be my boss—-"
Lukas was not quite sure what to make of this. She had to be joking. Right?
"I know the statistics are on my side," she confessed. "I know it's very likely that the man Charlotte chooses for me is someone who's already financially...stable. But I also didn't think it was right for me to act like it's a foregone conclusion."
Lukas' bemusement grew. Was this her way of being coy?
A sheepish smile curved over Betsy's lips when she noticed the billionaire staring at her like she had suddenly grown a pair of horns. "I get it. People would take one look at me and D, and it's reasonable for them to assume that I've signed with Charlotte's agency for the sake of securing my son's future. And I suppose that's part of it, but the thing is...I've also lost faith in my own judgment. I was just so certain D's father was the one for me that when we broke up, it completely destroyed my confidence."
Lukas gave up trying to second-guess her meaning and simply waited for Betsy to eventually get to the crux of what she was saying.