01 - My Boss's Son

"Alice? Alice!" My boss called my name, trying to regain my attention. I looked at him, a bit spacey. My gaze was focused on him, but my thoughts were elsewhere.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"What?" I was completely distracted. "Huh... Yeah..."

I closed my eyes slightly, trying to recall his words. Without success. The only thing I could remember had to do with Mr. Scott's son and nothing else.

"Alice?" He frowned, looking at me suspiciously.

"Sorry."

I lowered my gaze and stared at my well-worn sneakers. I heard a sigh escape Mr. Scott, and my heart started beating faster. At that moment, I expected a scolding from him, the biggest one yet, since I had been very inattentive lately.

"My eldest son will be arriving from London today."

I quickly moved my head to look at him again. I didn't show any change in my facial expression, as I didn't know how to react. I thought I would receive another scolding from him, and maybe the last one.

After processing the context, I became curious. I would finally meet Mr. Scott's eldest son, after hearing so much about him.

"Is everything okay?" my boss asks, perplexed. "You've been acting strange lately."

"It's nothing. Everything's fine."

I did have something on my mind, my family. But it wasn't something I should convey to him.

"Okay... I need you to tidy up the upstairs room before he arrives."

I agreed and got up from the kitchen counter stool after Mr. Scott.

"Oh! Before I forget..." He took a paper out of his pocket and handed it to me. "Take this. I need you to buy what's on here."

I looked at the shopping list and nodded my head.

"You can do the fastest thing first."

I agreed with what he said again and analyzed the paper in my hands. It wasn't much. Just enough to make a family dinner.

Mr. Scott left the kitchen, and I was finally alone. Before preparing the room for Mr. Scott's eldest son, I would go to the supermarket.

With that in mind, I put the list in the pocket of my shorts and headed towards the exit of the house. The supermarket wasn't far away, so I could walk there.

***

It had taken longer than expected. It seemed that much of the town had decided to leave their homes to go shopping, and on top of that, in the same place! I tried to hurry my steps home, but the five shopping bags hindered me a bit.

If it weren't for the time spent only in the supermarket, I could have already completed the first thing Mr. Scott had asked me to do, finished my shift, and gone to meet some friends. But things don't always go as we want.

After minutes of lamentation, I arrived at my destination.

The door was locked, so, as usual, I used the spare key that was always under a plant pot.

It seemed like the house was empty. Probably Mr. and Mrs. Scott had gone to pick up their son from the airport, and the other employees had already ended their shifts, leaving only me and my mission of tidying up the suite.

I walked to the kitchen and placed the groceries on the counter, then returned to the living room. I had a small amount of time left to finish my day and not be late for the meeting I had.

Without thinking of anything else, I walked quickly to the balcony, where I had left the cleaning supplies a few hours ago. I grabbed them and headed upstairs. I placed the materials on the hallway floor, near the bedroom door. I took my phone out of my pocket and connected it to my earphones, selecting an upbeat song and turning up the volume. I soon entered the room.

Accustomed to starting cleaning from the bathroom, I went to the next door, which was slightly ajar. I looked a bit suspicious, as I didn't remember leaving it open when I entered the room earlier. Anyway, since I was alone at home, I ignored it, maybe I had really done that and no longer remembered.

I dragged the bucket with the cleaning products closer to the door and pushed it open. I was about to start cleaning when my gaze collided with the half-naked body of a man.

— God!

Who was he? Was he Mr. Scott's son?

I wanted to run away, but my body no longer responded to my commands. What a terrible time to freeze, Alice. I was stuck in front of a stranger, a stranger who had such a magnificent body... It was almost impossible not to pay attention to his well-built chest and the damn towel around his waist that threatened to fall at any moment.

My gaze collided with his. He raised his eyebrows as if questioning my intrusion into his personal space.

"Alice! What are you doing?!" I tried to awaken my body, and finally, I moved. The only action I could take was to slam the door and turn my back to it.

I couldn't see my face, but I was almost certain it was reddish because I could feel my cheeks burning and my breathing irregular.

It wasn't expected to find a man in just a towel in the bathroom of that room, still as sexy as he was. Seeing him definitely shocked me, especially since he was the boss's son.

"When did he get here?"

"Hey!"

I froze when I heard his muffled voice from the other side of the door.

"I... I'll come back later!" I warned and walked away.

I hurried to the room's exit, and when I was about to leave, I remembered that I had left the cleaning supplies behind. I mentally cursed myself for making that mistake and let out a heavy sigh. I turned to return to where the products were and came face to face with the sexy figure coming out of the bathroom.

Damn.

"I'll clean your room later," I said, trying to prevent any questioning, and passed by him, avoiding eye contact.

"You work here?" His tone of voice sounded surprised.

"Yes, for almost three years."

I picked up the bucket with the cleaning supplies and pulled it through the room, close to the exit.

"How come I didn't know about you?"

His voice persisted in the same surprised tone, which confused me. Why the surprise?

"What do you mean?" I glanced at him.

He seemed as confused as I was. But why? And then he became hesitant to answer my question.

"No, nothing. I just thought I knew all the employees in the house."

Ah! I nodded, accepting his answer, and turned to leave, but I was stopped once again. I heard him say:

"You didn't clean the room before my arrival?"

I sighed and remained with my back to him, intending not to make any eye contact. I just wanted to get out of there and forget about that embarrassing situation.

"Yes, and I apologize for that. There were some setbacks. But as soon as you leave the room, I'll clean it."

"Why don't you clean it with me here?"

I felt a chill run down my spine when he said that.

"I don't want to bother you."

"You won't."

I closed my eyes. What was he up to? It's impossible that he didn't realize how embarrassed I was to see him in just a towel. I had never seen a man like that in my entire life, except in movies and pictures, and he was the boss's son, so I needed to maintain decency.

"Why don't you look at me?"

Once again, I felt my body tremble, and suddenly the feeling of being close took over all my senses. Was he close to me? But I didn't move to check.

"Are you embarrassed about what happened?"

I said it was noticeable. The more he spoke, the more he contributed to my restlessness.

"It's okay. I'll tell my parents that I didn't let you clean the room."

I thank mentally and leave there like a rocket. Surely, after that, I wouldn't be able to look at him normally.