His Glorified Maid

Twenty-One

"You can't start a fire,

You can't start a fire without a spark,

This gun's for hire,

Even if we're just dancing in the dark..."

Carlos sang boldly. She forgot why she needed to breathe and sunk into the sand mesmerised by the clear, dulcet tones of his deep voice that slid over her skin like silk.

"I wasn't expecting that. It was...you were...wonderful," she said, finally able to settle on a word.

"It's your fault that song is stuck in my head."

Michaela was stunned. Hadn't she been dancing to this song when he came to her home? She scrambled to say something as his revelation made her heart swoon. The friend zone seemed like a distant goalpost when he was around. She needed her group back again, so she had somewhere to hide.

"And do you dance too, Mr Everton?" she asked. Friendly banter, she told herself. Not to be mistaken for flirting.

Jenny giggled as she flopped down in the sand by them. "Mr Everton? How did we end up there?"

"Michaela uses it when she tries to gain some distance from me as a person," Carlos answered Jenny smoothly before turning back to Michaela. "Is there a reason why you might need to gain some distance from me right now?"

Michaela could have strangled him for deliberately teasing her in front of Jenny. It was bad enough when he did it to her when they were alone, but this was unacceptable.

"Only the distance befitting a relationship between the boss and his glorified maid," she said with her eyebrow raised. She owned the look of annoyance that marred his handsome face as she laid down again, her head resting in her hands and a smile upon her face.

She knew using the term in front of Jenny would prompt a conversation where Carlos would come out less than flattering, and judging by his expression, he knew it too. She felt a little guilty, but he had forced her hand.

"Now who plays dirty, Ms Queen."

"I play to win, Mr Everton," she chuckled.

"Maybe I should have stayed with Tyler and Carter," Jenny said eyeing them.

"Nonsense," Michaela returned quickly thinking Jenny was the start of her 'group'.

When at the same time Carlos said "Yes, you should have."

Jenny giggled. "I wanted to have a word with Mike before we headed back." She sighed when Carlos refused to take the hint and leave them alone. "Yesterday I went down to the kitchen to make a bedtime snack for Tyler. I overheard your conversation with Sonja."

Michaela breathed in sharply, audibly. "I didn't know anyone else was there."

"I was annoyed with her, but not as annoyed as I was with you when you failed to defend yourself."

She was right, she should have said something to Sonja, and it wasn't like she was usually quiet when on the receiving end of a verbal attack, but it was a sensitive topic. Her inability to maintain a professional distance from Carlos was affecting her objectivity when it came to her work, and it was making her second-guess everything.

"What conversation?" Carlos asked quietly, calmly. Dangerously.

It was Jenny who answered, mimicking Sonja's mean-girl tone as she repeated what Sonja had said almost verbatim.

"I suspect Michaela didn't defend herself because she was overthinking again," Carlos growled when she remained silent. "You were worried that she was right and that led to your being punished."