Maid For Him / l.h ✔️

25

~Beyla's POV~

"Ashton should be here in about fifteen minutes." Mr. Hemmings said as he and I stood in front of one another in his room, staring down at me with those pretty sky blue eyes. I'd never seen eyes so blue before. "Will you two be downstairs?" I asked, curious. If so, I'd probably avoid cleaning downstairs just so I could be certain to not disturb them.

"Mhm." He hummed, giving me a simple nod of his head. I smiled up at him and grabbed the empty laundry basket off the floor, needing to return it to its place downstairs in the laundry room. "Okay. I'll try not to disturb you guys." I promised, walking around him and out of his room. He followed quietly after me as I walked downstairs, ignoring the fact that I could feel his gaze on the back of my head the whole way. I put the basket in the laundry room again and then headed back upstairs, leaving Mr. Hemmings downstairs in the living room, sitting by himself on the couch.

It was when I was in the middle of cleaning up my bedroom that I heard the sound of the front door being opened and then two familiar male voices chatting indistinctly, obviously Ashton and Mr. Hemmings. My ears tried to strain to hear what they were saying but I shook my head at myself, deciding to focus back on cleaning instead of trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. Whatever they were talking about was none of my business anyways.

However, it couldn't have even been ten or fifteen minutes that Ashton had been here before I heard Mr. Hemmings yelling my name from downstairs, clearly wanting something. I frowned to myself, not expecting for him to purposefully call me down there with them, especially considering the fact that he'd been making a big deal out of how short my dress was. Shrugging it off, I set my shirt in the laundry basket and left my room, heading down the stairs.

I found Ashton and Mr. Hemmings sitting in the living room on the couch, the both of them looking up at me when I entered the room. "You called for me?" I said to Mr. Hemmings, peering down at him curiously. He nodded his head and gestured his hand towards Ashton, still looking at me. "I did. I was wondering if you could get Ash and I some of the tequila from in the kitchen. Put it in a cup with ice, of course." He requested, to which I simply nodded my head. "Yes, sir. I'll be right back with that." I said, turning around and rushing towards the kitchen.

It seemed weird to me for him to drag me down here when before he'd seemed to want me not to even be seen, but Mr. Hemmings was a complicated man. I'd probably never understand him.

Grabbing two cups, I filled them up with ice and then located the tequila underneath one of the cabinets, struggling to twist the cap off for a moment. When I finally got the large bottle open, I filled both cups with an appropriate amount and then closed the bottle before putting it under the cabinet again. I quickly returned to the living room and gave the two men their cups, catching Ashton's eye as I handed him his.

Ashton smiled at me as he took it, seeming just as friendly as the last time I had met him. "Thank you, Beyla." He said graciously, earning a smile back from me. It felt nice to be appreciated, even if for something as unimportant as getting a drink. "You're welcome." I responded, stepping away.

I opened my mouth and glanced down at Mr. Hemmings, preparing to ask him if he needed anything else, but the state I saw him in made me shut my mouth immediately.

Mr. Hemmings' shoulders were tensed and his hand gripped so tightly at the cup in his hand that I thought it might shatter at any second, an irritated look all over his face. It was completely transparent, but I didn't want to bring attention to his behavior so I decided to act like I'd not noticed anything unusual. I opened my mouth again, ready this time. "Sir, is there anything el—"

"You're dismissed, Ms. Verdine." He suddenly cut me off, looking up at me with a look on his face that told me I'd better leave right now. I frowned, wondering what he was so mad about, and saw his eyes narrow when I didn't move. "Why don't you go ahead and go clean my bathroom? You've been slacking a little too much lately." He said casually, a slight coldness in his eyes that upset me. I had been slacking? He's the one who takes naps everyday to try to avoid having dinner with his own girlfriend!

"Yes, sir." I forced myself to say politely, when really I was angry. I liked to think I worked pretty hard around his house to keep everything consistently clean, and here he was trying to make me seem lazy just because he was feeling jealous. It was immature.

I turned around and angrily walked upstairs, heading down the hall to his bedroom and into the large bathroom. Brows furrowed in anger, I began to get to work after I had found all of the supplies I'd need, starting with the shower and the big jacuzzi tub first. As much as I was angry at him now, I had to admit that the jacuzzi tubs he had were nice. There was even one in my bathroom, though I hadn't used it in a while. Maybe I'd take a nice bath sometime this week.

When I finished cleaning the tub and the shower I moved onto the toilet next, though that didn't really take me very long at all. I kept Mr. Hemmings' and Kira's bathroom very clean, especially their toilet, bath, and shower. He knew this, too, which is why it upset me for him to suggest I had been slacking on cleaning. Sure, it was my job, but I was the only one who cleaned his entire big ass house and I thought that at least earned me some appreciation or respect. But the more I come to know him, the more he proves to me that I shouldn't be surprised when he says or does something stupidly irresponsible.

After all, this was the same man who didn't want to break up with his girlfriend and yet was trying to kiss me and act like there was nothing wrong with it. Even worse, he does that when we both see her everyday. I don't know how he could stand to do something like that. He says he loves her, but yet gets jealous when Ashton talks with me and becomes cold when I reject his advances. Stupid and irresponsible. It's a wonder how he is my boss. His work might be the only thing he is responsible in, unless it involves me in any way.

"Ms. Verdine?" I heard Mr. Hemmings' smooth voice speak up from behind me as I cleaned the sink, making my head whip around. The tall, broad man that is my hunk of a boss stood in the doorway, eyeing me closely.

"Shouldn't you be downstairs with Ashton, sir?" I frowned, confused. He raised a brow and shook his head, full lips twitching up a little. "Ash left about fifteen minutes ago. Did you get so lost in your chores up here that you don't even know how long it's been?" He chuckled, blue eyes glinting with mirth. My cheeks warmed and I shrugged, knowing he was teasing me right now. "Only like fifteen minutes?" I suggested, making him snort and shake his head. "It's been a little over an hour since you came up here, actually." He corrected, surprising me. I must've gotten lost in my own head and lost track of time.

"Oh." I whispered, slightly embarrassed. He chuckled, his eyes wandering around the clean bathroom before they landed back on me. "It looks nice in here. You did a good job, Ms. Verdine." He complimented, causing me to pause.

"Really?" I asked, turning my nose up a little. "I mean, I wouldn't know if it's a good job....since I've been slacking lately." I said with some snark, crossing my arms over my chest. I didn't mean to give him so much attitude, but I figured it didn't matter because he deserved it either way. He'd been rude to say that to me, whether he was my boss or not.

Mr. Hemmings cringed slightly and looked away, letting out a sigh. "Sorry. I know that was rude and uncalled for. I was just...feeling jealous." He confessed in a murmur, making me pause. I was pretty sure this was the first time he had been so open about how he was feeling jealous. "I know he has the hots for you and I don't like it." He sighed, but I continued to stay quiet. I was so caught off guard by this much vocal honesty from him that I didn't even know what to say. It wasn't unusual for him to say he liked me or that he was attracted to me, not anymore, but I wasn't used to hearing him confess that he'd just been being rude out of jealousy.

"I'm sorry, Beyla." He said again, sincerity in his voice. I looked up at him and he gave me a smile that I couldn't help but to return, my heart racing in my chest.

There was a little silence that passed between us as he eyed me, thinking about something. "I want to kiss you." He told me out of the blue, looking down at my lips. "But I know you don't want me to, so I just wanted you to know instead." He added before I could inevitably reject him, glancing back up into my eyes. The funny thing was that I wanted him to kiss me, too. I always wanted him to kiss me and yet I couldn't allow it, not with the way things were.

I felt my heart race even faster and knew Mr. Hemmings wasn't the only one of us who was stupid and irresponsible.