“Danny. Just call me Danny. After Mr. Ryan leaves, come and see me at the front desk, and I’ll give you a key to his apartment. Mr. Ryan tends to forget about things like that.”
Within a half-hour, both the suit and the food arrived at the back door. Both delivermen held out the credit receipts with eager looks on their faces. She didn’t understand why until she saw the line on each one that said “gratuity.” They were looking for tips. Marisol panicked again, not having a clue as to what amount to tip them. She scribbled in twenty dollars, realized she made the mark for euros, crossed that off, then wrote the sign for US dollars. They both left with big grins on their faces.
Oh no! Did she tip too much? Was Ryan going to be angry when he saw the bill? She looked the suit and wondered what she should do with it. Bring it to his room? Surely he was done with his shower. What state of dress would he be in?
With trepidation Marisol walked the suit to his bedroom door and knocked on it. There was no answer and she stood there wondering what to do.
“Marisol?” Ryan’s voice came from behind her and startled she jumped. She turned, nearly dropping the suit, coming face-to-face with Ryan dressed only in a robe.
“I was checking some things on the company email. Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Here’s your suit.”
He gave her a thousand-megawatt smile. “Wonderful.”
“And I’ll have breakfast out on the table in minutes.”
“Terrific. Thanks, Marisol.”
Marisol wasn’t used to having praise heaped on her for doing such small tasks. Ryan spoke these words so warmly that a blush crept through her. If he ran a large company like she suspected, she could see how people would want to work for him.
He took the suit from her hands. “I’ll dress and meet you for breakfast.”
“Yes, Ryan.”
Marisol rummaged through the kitchen and found dishware. She piled the dishes on top of each other in her rush to get the table ready, but in her haste, she tripped and the silverware and the plates fell to the floor. The plates shattered into many pieces.
“Oh my god!” What was Ryan going to think about his new housekeeper already destroying things on the first day?
“Marisol,” said Ryan. “Is everything okay?”
“Um, some dishes fell.”
“Don’t worry about it. Come sit with me. We’ll eat out of the containers. Just bring some silverware.”
Marisol felt awful as she fetched clean silverware from the drawer. She stepped over the shattered plates and walked into the dining area.
Ryan had already moved the containers to the table.
“You don’t eat much,” he said pointing the lidded container of fruit salad and the croissant.
“I’m used to a simple breakfast. My mornings are…used to be very busy.”
“Oh, I’m not keeping you busy enough.”
“I didn’t mean that,” said Marisol, stuttering.
“Oh, and speaking of which, can you bring me a steak knife for the steak?”
“Sorry,” said Marisol, feeling chastened again. If she couldn’t handle the simplest details, how did she expect to hold on to this or any job? He must think her a real idiot.
She found the knife and returned to the table. Ryan wasn’t wearing his suit jacket and had already started on the eggs.
“You’re a great cook,” he said with a grin.
“I’m not any sort of cook,” said Marisol. “Ryan, I think you made a mistake bringing me here. I’m obviously not suited for this kind of work.”
“You don’t like being here?”
“No. I didn’t say that.”
“Well, in case you don’t know, I don’t make mistakes. So you’re mistaken thinking I made one. Relax, Marisol. Any new job has a period of adjustment.”
“I’m not sure I should be eating at the table with you. I’ll just take my food and go into the kitchen.” Marisol moved to gather up her food.
“No. Please sit. It’s a pleasure to have someone around I can talk to.”
Feeling uncomfortable, she sat anyway and watched Ryan as he enthusiastically attacked his breakfast.
“Good thing you ordered orange juice,” he said with a grin. “I forgot to ask.”
“I can’t take credit. I called Danny, and he arranged everything.”
“Good move,” he said between mouthfuls of toast. “Always better to delegate when you can.”
“But I should have—”
“What I always tell me people is that the most important thing is for the work to get done. Did the work get done?”
“Well, yes,” she said with uncertainty. She remembered her father holding people accountable for their jobs. Ryan’s concept was a new one for her.
“Okay, then.”
At that moment Ryan’s phone buzzed, and he took from his inside jacket.
“Excuse me,” he said. “I have to take this.”
Ryan stood and disappeared into his office, leaving Marisol alone again. It struck Marisol that she wasn’t used to being alone. There was always someone with her, a security officer, a maid, or her social secretary.
Ryan said that every job had a period of adjustment. Marisol hoped that this was true, because so far, she felt that she was adjusting very poorly.
Marisol heard a buzzing noise that was quite insistent. Worried that she did something wrong again to set off some alarm she followed the sound to the service door to see a blinking light along with the noise.
“Yes,” she said after pressing the button.
“This is Danny. Please tell Mr. Ryan his car is here. He’s not answering his phone.”
“He’s on another call right now, Danny, but I’ll tell him.”
“Thanks, Miss Marisol. Don’t forget to come see me.”
“Of course, Danny, first thing.”
Marisol walked toward the office and found the door open. Ryan was speaking animatedly on the phone.
“Yes, I caught the reports on social media, and no I don’t care,” he said. “Something is definitely wrong.” He listened to whoever was speaking at the other end of the line. Ryan looked up and saw Marisol standing in the door and the tips of his ears went red again.
“Please, just do what I ask,” he said to the person at the other end of the line. “I’ve got to go. Bye. Love you.” He hung up the phone.
“Yes, Marisol?”
“Danny called to say your car is here.”
He looked at his watch and shook his head. “Damn meetings. Okay, I’ll be gone until seven. Please have dinner then. I expect I’ll have a long night working at home.”
With that he br
eezed past her and walked out the front door.
Marisol stood there stunned. She couldn’t believe the speed with which he moved, or the ending of the phone call. “Love you, bye.” It was said quickly with familiarity, like it was said a thousand times before. He must have a girlfriend.
She was at a loss. Marisol was out of her element and living in the house of a man who obviously had prior commitments. One thing was for certain. She couldn’t keep staying here. Perhaps the best thing was to go back to plan A—find her New York relatives and throw herself on their mercy.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Plan A
Marisol changed into the shirt and jeans she’d worn before. There just wasn’t any reason for her to come here. This whole idea of her taking this job was a disaster. She’d just have to find another way to survive.
She slipped out the service entrance and entered the elevator there. Immediately she ran into a problem. There were no buttons to press. The only panel by the door was a handset and a round lock for a key that she didn’t have. She was stuck there. A light flashed above the handset and she picked it up.
“This is the doorman, who is this?” asked Danny.
“Marisol. I, um, have to go out for some errands.”
“Oh sure, Ms. Marisol,” said Danny brightly, as if they were old friends. “Hang tight and when the elevator opens, I’ll be right there for you.”
True to his word, a portly man dressed in a red jacket stood outside the elevator door as it opened. He wore a black cap over his dark hair, and his brown eyes twinkled when he saw her.
“So nice to meet you in person, Ms. Marisol. I’m so glad Mr. Ryan finally got a housekeeper. Not that I mind doing whatever for him. He’s very generous, Mr. Ryan is, but I hate him in that big apartment all by himself. He’s not the kind of man that likes to live on his own. I’m a doorman for twenty years now, and you learn about what kind of folks are what.”