“Cara, I’m hungry,” said nine-year old Vera Sullivan, unable to control the hunger pangs in her stomach. Her older brothers, Adam Sullivan and Liam Sullivan immediately jumped to her rescue. At eleven, they were too mature for their age. They didn’t want to bother their eighteen-year-old sister, Cara Rose Sullivan, who already had too much on her shoulders trying to juggle between innumerable odd jobs to cater to all their needs. Yet it wasn’t enough and they struggled every day for something as basic as food!
“It’s okay, cupcake, see me make milk and bread pudding for you!” said Adam. Even with their limited grocery, he always came up with innovative food ideas to keep them alive. Cara smiled knowing exactly what he was up to. With only a cup of milk and four slices of bread left in the house, you couldn’t make any pudding, can you? However, Vera’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Really? I love pudding!” she said, clapping her hands with joy. Adam smiled and took out the milk from the tiny and shabby refrigerator that had seen better days when their parents had been alive. He emptied it in a pan and brought it to a boil while Vera watched with amazement. Liam brought the bread and started tearing it up into bite-size pieces. Cara sighed and wished that she could find a stable job than the odd jobs she did.
Two months back, after their parents death, she had to drop out of school in her senior year. Ever since, she had been struggling to find a job but all she could find were temporary waitress’s jobs at small diners in and around Hempstead Village, Long Island. She knew that the job prospects weren’t good here yet this had been their home for the last two years and she didn’t have any place to go to with her young siblings. However, finding work here was turning into a nightmare for her and she started having second thoughts about living here.
“There, done! Eat up, now,” said Adam, passing his sister a bowl of the milk and bread concoction he had prepared. Without eggs, it didn’t look particularly like bread pudding but anything was welcome on an empty stomach.
“This is good, Adam,” said Vera, eating up hungrily.
“Cara, here’s yours,” offered Adam, handing her a bowl of milk and bread.
“I’m not hungry, Adam. You can share that amongst yourselves,” lied Cara. A knock on the main door got her attention and Liam rushed ahead of her to open the door. Of course, they knew who it could be. Aunt Maggie, their landlady! If it wouldn’t have been for their landlord, Joe Smithfield and his kind wife, Margaret whom they lovingly called Aunt Maggie, they would have been on the streets after their parent’s death. They hadn’t bothered them for the pending rent and Aunt Maggie always brought food whenever she visited.
Liam opened the door and Aunt Maggie burst inside with a large casserole in her hands.
“Aunt Maggie!” squealed Vera with delight, rushing forward to hug her.
“Hello, cupcake. See, what I’ve brought for all of you,” she said, handing the casserole to Liam.
“What’s in this, aunt Maggie?” asked an over-eager Liam, unable to contain his enthusiasm.
“Spaghetti Bolognese, dear. Your uncle Joe’s favorite,” said aunt Maggie.
“It’s my favorite too,” said Vera, jumping up and down.
“Don’t drop it, Liam,” said Cara, feeling grateful to aunt Maggie for saving them once again from being famished. But how long could this continue? She needed work immediately.
“Thank you, Aunt Maggie. I have no idea what we would have done without you,” she said, her voice heavy and emotional.
“Nonsense, dear. I’m doing nothing!” said aunt Maggie, waving her off. “By the way, I have a job for you. It isn’t permanent but the pay is good,” she said, making Cara's eyes twinkle with excitement. Any sort of work was welcome for her. She had three young siblings to provide for! She didn’t want them to be taken away to foster homes!
“I’ll do any job, Aunt Maggie. Please tell me,” said Cara eagerly.
“Frederick Davenport called a few minutes back. He wants you to clean his Southampton beach house today before sunset. The house has been sold off and the new owner would be arriving here tomorrow,” said Aunt Maggie.
Cara’s eyes widened at the mention of the luxurious mansion where she had gone for work a week ago. She remembered a pair of piercing blue-gray eyes that watched her all the time while she worked! She had no idea who he was! She didn’t even know his name but ever since her eyes met with his, she was being haunted by them all the time. She just couldn’t get them out of her head. Clearly, he was the most gorgeous male species on earth and her young heart skipped a beat whenever she thought about him. She had no idea why he stared at her. There was no emotion in those eyes as they quietly took her in.
“You didn’t answer me, Cara. Aren’t you interested? Mr. Davenport has specifically asked for you,” said a tensed Aunt Maggie. “The new owner is an elusive celebrity painter and doesn’t like company. So it’s just a one time job before he arrives tomorrow,” informed Aunt Maggie. Cara thought for a while. It wasn’t likely that she would ever meet that man with the piercing blue gray eyes again! So what was the harm in cleaning up the place before the new owner arrived?
“I’ll go, Aunt Maggie but I haven’t taken a shower yet. I have another job to go to in the evening,” she said with wide eyes. Southampton was at least a one and a half hours away by train and she would never be able to make it back on time to get ready for her evening job at Kingston Club. The Karaoke Hour before the DJ took over, was her favorite thing to do and she would never want to miss it for anything else. This job was the only permanent thing in her life, something she loved doing. Although the pay was meagre, yet she stuck on.
“You can carry your clothes and get ready at the mansion after your work is done,” said aunt Maggie. “You can borrow the train fare from me, Cara. Return it when you get your pay,” said aunt Maggie, stuffing a 100 dollar bill in her hand. Brooklyn thanked her profusely and quickly got ready for her job.
“Stay with Aunt Maggie till I return. Take your books along and study. Don’t bother her, is that clear?” she said to her siblings. They lived on the ground floor right at the backside of Aunt Maggie’s house and went over to hers in Cara’s absence.
“Yes, Cara,” said the children, picking up their books and bundling out of their home. Cara handed Adam a set of duplicate keys in case of emergencies and carrying the other set along with a change of clothes, she locked the door and rushed out. She took a bus to the nearest train station and waited for the train. Her mind went back to the day when she had been to the Southampton Beach House last week with Maria, Aunt Maggie’s sister. Maria worked as a housekeeper in downtown New York with a very rich family and visited them sometimes. Cara loved her as much as she loved aunt Maggie.
Her thoughts went to the gorgeous man with his blue gray, hypnotic eyes. Would she meet him ever again? There was no doubt that he belonged to some successful family of billionaires. His whole family had arrived that day and Cara being just a maid there, stayed out of their way as much as possible.
The train arrived, bringing Cara out of her reverie. After an hour and a half, she stood at the gates of the huge mansion. “Good afternoon, Cara. You have 3 hours to clean up the place. I’ll lock it up and leave. The new master doesn’t want my services,” sighed the old security guard, Ben Duncan, opening the gates for her.
“That’s bad!” she said feeling bad for the old guard.
“It’s okay, I’ll retire, I think. Now hurry up,” urged Ben.
“I’ll try, uncle Ben,” she said, rushing inside. She knew the guard, having met him on her last visit here. For the next three hours, she slogged hard, cleaning up the whole house. It was real hard work and Cara was exhausted by the time she was done. She glanced at the wall clock, it was already 4:30! She needed to go in order to reach the club on time but one glance at her filthy hands and outfit made her change her mind. She couldn’t go to the club looking so filthy! Rudolph Sterling, the owner would have a heart attack! Chuckling at the thought of his reaction, she picked up her bag and walked into the nearest bedroom to take a quick shower before leaving.
However, the luxurious washroom and the warm water on her body was too much to resist. Humming the tune of Taylor Swift’s You Belong To Me, she was so lost in her luxurious shower that she didn’t hear the car come to a stop outside and the main door unlock.
Cara felt refreshed from the bath and searched for her clothes. “Oh no! I forgot my bag on the bed,” she gasped. Taking out a towel, she dried herself and wrapped it around her damp body. What was the big deal? There wasn’t anyone here to see her. She could quickly change and disappear from the mansion.
Swinging the door open, she rushed out, only to collide with a pillar! Where did a pillar appear from? Stunned and totally confused, she looked up, only to drown into a pair of piercing blue-gray eyes that gazed down at her! To make matters worse, the collision made the knot on her towel loosen and it fell apart leaving her totally bare in his arms!
Horrified was a small word to describe her state. She blushed crimson seeing the man’s eyes trail down her body. A muscle clenched in his jaws and he looked furious. Cara came to her senses and quickly stooped to pick up her towel. She wrapped it securely around her while he watched her angrily. Was this a nightmare? She just wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole. She was unable to comprehend where the devilishly handsome creature who had been haunting her dreams appeared from! Surely she was hallucinating! “Is this some kind of a bl*ody joke? What the f*ck are you up to? Put on something, right now,” yelled the furious object of her dreams. His foul mouth jolted her back to reality. He was very much real and his face was just a few inches away from hers. She saw his gaze sweep over her and he seemed to seethe with fury! Cara blushed to the roots of her hair realizing her semi-naked stat
There lay in front of her the clothes she had forgotten at the Southampton Beach house in her haste to leave. Her house keys and her ID card issued by the club were also there. She gasped with surprise. Last she remembered, she had placed them in the pocket of her jeans when she left her home in the morning. Who had checked her pockets? There was no one at the house other than the rude man with blue-gray eyes. Did he come here to deliver her stuff? No that seemed unlikely. Why would he? He hated her already. She was nothing but a sl*t in his eyes.An envelope fell from the packet and she picked it up with a frown. Now, what did it contain? Picking it up, she found a small wad of 100 dollar bills wrapped up in paper. She read the words scribbled on the blank wrapping paper.Payment for cleaning services.Her eyes widened
Cara’s eyes blazed with anger hearing his cheap allegations. “Please don’t overwork your non-existent brain. I just came here to return the money. Goodbye,” she said, whirling around and heading towards the door.Cara tried hard to open the main door and walk out but to her dismay, the door didn’t at all budge. Sensing Marcus Donnelly's presence behind her, she tried harder but the door just wouldn’t open.“You’re wasting your energy, Cara. It’s auto-locked and I’m the only one who can open it,” he stated from right behind her. Cara stiffened as she could feel his hot breath at the nape of her neck. She dared not turn around at all. Who did he think he was? How could he throw such baseless allegations at her? Just because she was poor, didn’t she possess any self-respect? Why would sh
“Yes, Mr. Donnelly? Is the food not to your liking?” she asked anxiously, looking at him with fear.“No, why aren’t you eating?” he asked with a frown. Cara shook her head vehemently.“I’ve eaten, sir,” she said as a faint color stained her cheeks. Marcus knew that she was lying. She couldn’t have eaten that early in the morning.“Get a plate,” he ordered but she shook her head stubbornly.“I’m already full,” she said, licking her lips nervously.“Don’t make me feed you. I don’t want you to faint while working for me. Go get a plate or I’ll have you sit here right on my lap and feed you myself,”
Marcus was shocked by her reaction to his advances. No one had rejected him this way and he was totally confused. What went wrong? She wanted this all along, didn’t she? Why else would she come all the way here for the second time? He didn’t believe that anyone could be that naïve and wanted to return free money.Getting up, he walked out of his room, looking for her. He stopped in his tracks when his glance fell upon the open door and the open gate. So she had been able to figure it out, after all! Maybe he had underestimated her capabilities. Picking up the remote control, he pressed the buttons to close the gates and the door, locking them shut. With his cheek still stinging from the intensity of the slap, he went to take a cold shower. He needed it desperately. Later when he went to the kitchen to get himself a bottle of water, his glance fell upon the envelope that Cara might ha
Marcus reached home and slumped to the couch with his head in his hands realizing what a grave mistake he had made. After waiting to punish Cara for days, he couldn’t take it any longer. He went to the Kingston Club and followed her around for the last few days like a crazy stalker. The slap had been too hard to forget and he wanted his revenge but all his evil intentions completely changed when he saw how hardworking she was. He saw her working non-stop at a small cafe and then rush over to Kingston Club to sing. Initially, he had been apprehensive about going inside but last night he had bought a ticket to watch what she did for a living. Shocked was an understatement to what he felt when he saw her perform. It was amazing to see how the audience loved her performance. She didn’t need to dance or do any tricks to get their attention. All she did was sit on a high stool and strum her guitar while singing. Her clear, melodious voice had th
Marcus spoke to his brother and was summoned immediately to his granny, Margaret Donnelly’s house. After his dad, Jonathan Donnelly died last year of a cardiac arrest, his mom, Claudia Donnelly, moved in with his granny. In the early hours of the morning, he reached the beautiful and calm neighborhood and drove in through the gates of his granny’s house. It wasn’t a huge mansion but a big and comfortable house with a huge front yard and an equally sprawling backyard. When their dad was alive they used to play football every time they visited their grandparents. After their grandpa, Joe Donnelly died, eight years ago, their granny lived here all on her own, refusing to move in with any of them. But now with his mom and their trustworthy housekeeper, Maria living there with their granny, the boys were free to pursue their chosen careers. While Lucas lived in a posh apartment in Manhattan's Battery Park with his fiancée Sienna He
Cara stood dumbfounded by Marcus’s presence in the villa. Was he the one getting married? She hadn’t expected to be working at his wedding! He too seemed equally surprised to see her.“We’re finally here,” said Maria, fanning herself with her handkerchief, as she huffed and puffed into the house, carrying a mountain load of stuff. Cara looked down and followed her shyly into the house, too embarrassed to be here amidst Marcus’s family.“She needed work and we needed help, granny. So I brought her along,” said Maria.“Fine, she’s your responsibility, Maria. You have to assign her work,” said granny.“Yes, yes, leave it all to me,” said Maria. Then turning to Cara she pointed to