A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends #1)

a
question.
    The guy cocked a brow, amused. “Actually, I’m
Aidan, your employer. You must be Amber.”
    “Right.” I nodded, wide-eyed. How could he
be my employer when he wasn’t much older than me?
    “I inherited the place,” Aidan clarified as
though reading my thoughts.
    Another rich kid like Cameron. I would
never be good enough for him. The pang hit me somewhere in the pit of my
stomach. I ignored it because I needed this job. “So sorry to hear.”
    He frowned. “Huh?”
    “Your parents. I mean—” I stopped, realizing
I wasn’t making much sense. His intense, blue gaze made me nervous, but I was a
professional housekeeper and wouldn’t develop a crush on my new employer. Not
least because Clare and he couldn’t be related, so there was only one option
left. They were dating.
    “Is that dinner?” Inching forward, he
peered inside the huge saucepan, then took a sniff. The corners of his mouth
curled downward. If he didn’t like what he saw he didn’t comment on it. “I
usually eat in my study. Unless I have guests over, in which case it’s the
library.”
    I nodded, remembering the huge oak table I
forgot to polish. “I’ll bring it up. Do you go to school? Or college?” The
words snaked their way out of my mouth before I could stop them. Was there even
a college in Inverness? Even so, it wasn’t my business. Apparently, Aidan
thought the same because he didn’t bother to answer my question.
    He focused on me for a long second, staring
through those eyes that seemed to look right through me. “I don’t know if Clare
told you no employee’s allowed on the second floor.”
    I nodded and retrieved a plate from the
cupboard. With shaking fingers I filled it with stir-fry, dropping some on the
tiled floor, and held it out to him. On the sparkling china the noodles looked
like giant worms swimming in brown, gooey mud.
    “Thanks.” He took the plate and sniffed,
then turned to the door, his pale face flushed.
    I hurried to open the door for him. “Can I
get you a drink?”
    “I’ll get one later, thank you,” he said
over his shoulder.
    “Well, then, I hope you’ll like it,” I
called after him when something dawned on me. In movies servants always bring
plates on trays. Why didn’t I think of that? I sunk into my chair and covered my
burning face with my palms whispering, “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” Aidan probably
already regretted employing me. I had never felt so mortified in my entire
life. There I was, meeting the hottest guy ever and I cooked him my soggy
stir-fry. It wasn’t even Chinese; just one of those twenty-minute women’s
magazine miracle recipes supposed to save time and impress any date, including
the prospective mother-in-law. Well, it didn’t seem to impress Aidan. I could
only hope he wasn’t bowed over the toilet seat now, emptying the last remnants
of a glorious yet light lunch, which he bought in some fancy restaurant.
    “Are you all right?”
    I lifted my head to peer at Clare standing
in the doorway. She was wearing a short, black dress, tight in all the right
places, her hair tied back in a strict bun. Her pale skin combined with a
scarlet red lipstick made her seem fragile and alluring at the same time. Her
eyes shifted from the stir-fry on the floor to me and then back to the
stir-fry, her face betraying no emotion.
    “I’m all right,” I whispered, straightening
in my seat.
    Clare inched closer and stopped near the
door to the back garden, her eyes focused on the darkness beyond. “It must’ve
been a long first day. How did you find it?”
    “It’s very quiet here,” I said.
    “You’ll get used to it.” She turned and
sniffed the air. Her gaze glazed over as though she was in deep thought. “This
reminds me, you’re not expected to work past five and certainly not to cook
dinner. Aidan eats out most nights.”
    “Sure.” The job ad specified cooking. Aidan
must’ve said something. I blushed, mortified. It was his problem if he didn’t
like my food. No more cooking for me then.
    “Great. I need to get going.”
    After Clare left, I forced down some food,
cleaned the kitchen and returned to my room, thankful for a bit of privacy. I
soaked in the large tub, enjoying the hot water, but as much as my body relaxed,
my mind wouldn’t stop leaping from Cameron to Aidan and back to Cameron, the
image of my ex quickly fading from memory.
    I got out of the tub, wrapped a large towel
around me and placed Cameron’s photo on the bedside