"That sounds lovely." Mason agreed and looked to his kitchen that was currently turned upside down. He wanted to put some tea on before she arrived and that would mean straightening his kichen. And he really didn't want to clean. That was why he was hiring a housekeeper in the first place.
"I'll text you my information and we can meet at ... " He trailed off, looking at the clock on his wall ahead. "Around lunch, around twelve I think would be fine if you came around then."
"If it doesn't, then just text me back, please and thank you."
He said ever so politely.
"I'll be sure to let you know if it doesn't work out for whatever reason." Lainey scribbled all booked out on top of her page. "Thank you. I'll see you soon."
She hung up the phone and set it down, and once she had received the man's information she added it to the Contacts section of her notebook. Mason Wagner. He sounded vaguely familiar but Lainey couldn't place where she had heard the name before.
And his address was on the rich part of London, so he must be of money. Good.
Lainey looked up at Harrison. "I got another job," she told him. "Some rich guy. Could you please drive me there at quarter to twelve?"
Harrison frowned, if only a little, at Lainey. Having just finished his breakfast, he was in a better mood to agree with some request she made of him. But still, he didn't like his day to be interfered by anyone or anything.
"Can't you drive?" He raised an eyebrow, forgetting the injury he inflicted on her the prior night. Though he was quick to remember and sighed when he did. "Fine."
"You've gotten another job." He kicked his feet up and onto the coffee table. "What does this rich fucker do for a living? And how much will you be getting?"
"Thank you." Always be polite and respectful, Lainey reminded herself. Then he wouldn't have an excuse to hit her.
She cleared his plate and washed it in the sink before putting it away. "I don't know what he does for a living," she said honestly as she went to sit on the couch beside Harrison.
"But he's paying me four-forty a week." That was more than her previous boss.
"He lives in Wimpole Street so he must be very rich."
And so, at quarter to twelve Lainey came out wearing a white button-up and black slacks with her apron and journal in her bag, ready for her new job.
"Let's go." Harrison sighed with s hint of agitation. He didn't like changing his plans or spending too much, if any, of his time for anyone unless he wanted too. And he didn't want to, ever.
But he drove Lainey anyway, because she needed to work. And he wouldn't stand for her to be jobless in their household.
It was a mostly quiet drive, but as they neared the street he spoke up. "I won't be able to pick you up, I have friends coming over. So, you'll have to find another way home."
He slowed the car as the rolled onto Wimpole street. "Be back no later than six."
So controlling, Lainey thought privately. But he was always like this, and if she wanted to be happy, she'd have to grow to get used to it. There was nothing she could do about it.
"Okay," she said. She'd get the train home or something. "Bye. I love you."
Lainey leaned over the centre console and kissed Harrison swiftly on the cheek, before climbing out of the car and closing the door behind her. Mason Wagner's house was huge, and grand, but considering it was Wimpole Street and he had been so willing to pay full price for her services, she wasn't surprised.
Limping slightly due to the injury that had so royally fucked up her life, Lainey made her way up the steps and knocked on the door.
Mason had just finished setting the tea up in the dining room when he heard the knocking at the door. He could only assume it was Lainy, Ms Applewhite, his new housekeeper. And he knew he was right before he even opened the door.
He ruffled his mess of hair and smiled sweetly at Lainey from his place inside. "I told you it was fate."
He greeted teasingly and wasted no time ushering her inside happily.
He wasn't sure of the exact reason, but he found joy in picking on her playfully.
"We can discuss business in the ding room." He gestured the direction of the room knowing how big his house was. But she'd eventually get the layout of it ad she worked day to day.
"I've made tea."
There was no mistaking it, this was the same guy Lainey had berated the night before in that shitty club. And there was also no mistaking the fact that Mason knew who she was, too. She couldn't understand why he had hired her after she had been such a bitch to him, but she was smart enough to know to shut her mouth and take it.
She looked around the house and was astonished at how messy it was. How could anyone live like this? Lainey was a perfectionist which came in handy in her line of work, and she almost shuddered, seeing how dirty Mason's manor was.
But she shut her mouth. Living with Harrison had taught her to do that.
"Thank you," she said, accepting the tea and sitting down. She pulled her notebook out of her bag and uncapped her pen.
"So, I need to know what exactly you'll want me to do around the house," she murmured. "Where I can and can't go, what I can and can't touch, that sort of thing."
"Wow. Straight to business, huh?" Mason commented casually, stirring in sugar in his steaming hot cup of tea as he looked at her curiously.
So she really was pretty and it wasn't just because he was high. That was nice to know, but he was a little put off track by her politeness towards him. He would by lying if said he wasn't surprised by this.
It was weird considering how much she looked as if she would kill the other night.
"I suppose that is what we're here to discuss, but I have a slight headache so let's not rush."
And that wasn't a lie. He did have a headache, he had it since he woke up in bed that morning.
"Alright." Lainey had suspected that he was high the night before, and now she blamed the headache on his drug abuse. She knew the feeling, only with whiskey instead of pills.
They nailed out the details of her work and her boundaries, and Lainey was about to stand up and get started when the door opened and an absolutely gorgeous woman stepped in. She wore only a baggy Beautiful Pain shirt and white underwear and her hair was a mess, but she still managed to be one of the most beautiful women Lainey had ever seen.
Maybe if you actually put some effort into your appearance you'd still have a job. Lainey felt hideous in comparison to this woman.
"Who's this?" she asked in a sexy French accent, turning Mason's head to kiss him on the lips.
"Lainey." Mason answered in short, smiling softly at the presence of Karoline, his beautiful girlfriend. And he was just as happy to receive affections from her. "She's our new housekeeper."
And he had meant to say 'our'. Everything he owned he shared with his girlfriend if he could. His house, his car, his money. What was his was hers. Therefore, Lainey would be working for them.
He stood beside her and kissed the side of her head as he put his arms around her shoulders and held her close."Lainey, this Karoline. My beloved girlfriend." He grinned, introducing them.
Immediately, Lainey was one hundred percent sure that this Karoline was using Mason for whatever Mason had. It was evident in the way she acted with him -- like he was a toy, rubbing his hair like a pet. And she had a suspicious look on her face, like she was plotting something.
But Lainey wasn't going to say anything, because she didn't want to get fired.
"That explains it," murmured Karoline in a patronising tone. She raked her eyes up and down Lainey. "Just don't touch any of my makeup or jewelry."
Translation: if any of it goes missing, I'm blaming you.
"Duly noted," Lainey murmured, jotting down the instruction in her notebook and standing up just as Karoline sat down in Mason's lap. "Where would you like me to start?"
Mason lowered his arms to wrap them around his girlfriends waist as he spoke with their new housekeeper. "If you could start with the living room, I'd appreciate that." He told her after pondering which room needed the most work.
Strangely, he wasn't at all embarrassed of the condition his house was in. He used things and then tossed it aside, he never stopped to pick anything up unless he had. He was a messmaker and to make matters worse he didn't care to clean.
Truth be told, half the reason it stayed that way was because he was never there long enough to bother with it.
"Do you want me to show you?" He asked, ready to set down Karoline onto his seat to escort her.
Karoline pouted like a spoiled child when she was put down but didn't say anything and sipped the rest of Mason's tea. Lainey followed Mason through the large, beautiful, messy house and to the living room, which was just as messy as the rest of the place. Lainey privately wondered how anyone could live like this.
As soon as she reached the room she started to gather up empty chip packets and cups and other rubbish and putting it all in a large black garbage bag. She was methodical in her movements. She had done this every day for the last year and a half.
She walked with a noticeable limp, but she ignored it. It had never stopped her before. It only stopped her playing tennis, and that was the only thing she wanted to do.
Mason made a move to return to the dining room and rejoin his girlfriend, Karoline, but he paused when seeing Lainey walk. He frowned slightly and moved back in his original place to watch her, her feet , that is. He wanted to make sure he was seeing right before asking about it.
"Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?" He inquired, genuinely concerned.
If she had fell and hurt her hip or foot or something of the sort, he was not going to make her work on it. Because no, he was not that type of person. And not because it would mean the job wouldn't be done right.
"If so, you can simply come in when you're better."
She hated talking to people about her injury. She hated having to relive it, but most of all, she hated the reminder that her dreams and aspirations had been crushed along with her femur.
"I broke my leg a couple of years ago," she said, a little softer this time, because she didn't particularly fancy being fired. Lainey continued to gather up the various pieces of trash that littered the floor, and put all the cushions back on the couches once she had fluffed them out.
"Couldn't afford the physiotherapy." Her voice was taut. "Where's your vacuum cleaner?"
No, he did not completely understand. He never lived a life where he couldn't afford anything, it was quite the opposite. It was like that for him even before he had earned a name for himself.
And while he was very aware more people than should did not have the same, it didn't mean he had to like it. But he chose not to say anything more about the subject. She seemed rather touchy about it and he did not blame her.
"Here ... "
Mason left her shortly and to the hall where the broom closet was located. He returned with the vacuum she asked for.
"The broom closet is in the hall whenever you need it." He added, lowering himself to plug in the vacuum so she wouldn't have to, and handed it to her.
"Thanks," said Lainey, not wasting any time. She turned the vacuum on and began to work methodically, ensuring that the entire carpet was spotless and she had gotten all the odd nooks and crannies.
She spent the day making her way around room to room, cleaning and tidying and working methodically with her music -- predominately Beautiful Pain -- playing in her ears. She hummed as she did so. Lainey also noticed Karoline watching her a little bit throughout the day, as if she expected the housekeeper to steal something, but she ignored the model for the most part.
By the time five o'clock came around, the house was neater than Lainey suspected it had ever been. She found Mason.
"Is there anything else? I need to be home by six."
It was odd, a new and foreign feeling, to walk around his house and not have to step over anything. Certainly unfamiliar, but totally welcomed. He could get used to the clean fresh feeling of his place, like he could actually stay home on some nights and not get high. Maybe.
When Lainey found him, he was shrugging on his leather jacket, preparing to head out for actual business. He needed to head to the studio and meet up with Teddy, his partner. They needed to rerecord a song or something on those lines. He wasn't paying much attention.
"Uh, none that I can think of." Mason said to her, turning his head to inspect the spic and span house. Obviously, he had made no mistake in hiring her.
"Your hours about over, right? Go on and head home." He twirled his car keys in his hand.
"Karoline! I'm heading out for a few hours!" He called out to his girlfriend and proceeded to open the door.
"Okay, thank you," said Lainey quietly, shouldering her bag.
"Bring me back some chocolate!" Karoline called from an upstairs room in a tone that suggested if Mason didn't do as she asked, there'd be trouble. Lainey was reminded heavily of Harrison.
She made her way home on the train, and arrived just before six, so she wouldn't get in trouble. She quietly closed the door and walked into the kitchen, aware that Harrison had friends over. She'd just slip into their bedroom and watch the tennis on her phone.
As upset as she was that she herself was unable to play tennis anymore, Lainey still loved watching her brother and sister. She loved watching them succeed.
