Terms of Service (4 page)

“So, you have decided to go through with it, huh?”  He tried to look at pleasant and at ease as he could manage.

A half smile brightened her face, “As if I have so many other more tempting offers,” she managed.

She was honest and direct.  He liked that about her.  Here was a woman who didn’t
seem
to play games.  “And I thought it was my considerable charm that won you over,” he joked.

Hannah cocked her head to one side. “What about you?”  She spoke quietly.  “Are you having any second thoughts?”

He paused and studied her.  She was really quite attractive.  Dressed horribly, but he thought she might be more…presentable…if she had the means.  He would ensure she had the means.  Shaking his head to clear his mind, Gavin said, “No, why should I?”  He set down his water glass and pushed a copy of the contract to her.  “As you can see, everything we discussed is in there.”  He flipped to the second page.  “The contract can be terminated at any time with thirty days written notice by either party.”  She nodded and glanced at him before emitting a hollow laugh.

“Something funny, Hannah?”  He stared at her with his piercing blue eyes.

She smirked.  “No, I was just musing that thirty days is more warning than I received from my husband.”  She shrugged.  “That’s all.  Thirty days is more than fair.”

Folding his hands on the table, he frowned.  Hannah had a really refreshing way of looking at things.  For her, thirty days was more than enough security.  How different they were.  India had been giving him notice their entire relationship and he had refused to hear or acknowledge.  True, it wasn’t submitted in writing exactly.  India was a far more…expressive creature.  She painted, she sculpted, and she ran away.

***

Reaching for the pen, Hannah found the lines she needed to sign with the assistance of brightly colored sticky tabs.  She smiled.  It was all so surreal.  She was about to move in with a man she didn’t even know.  Worse, she was subjecting her kids to him.  She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.  Gavin was offering her more money to do so than she could ever have made in her current position.  On top of that, she had no other monthly expenses.  He was covering her room and board, offering her a lease on a great SUV.  She couldn’t turn this down.  She couldn’t walk away.  Inhaling deeply, she quickly scribbled her signature and initialed where it indicated.  Emitting a sigh, she passed the contract across the table.  “Now you.”

With a smile, a flourish, and without a moment’s hesitation, Gavin quickly signed his life away.  “So, you’ll be moved in by April 1
st
, right?”  

“Of course,” Hannah responded smoothly, in an effort to cover her own bout of nerves.  

“And you gave notice at work?”  He inquired.  “I need you to be at my complete beck and call.”

Suddenly, she felt like Julia Roberts in
Pretty Woman
.  
Great,
she thought,
I’ve turned myself into a beck and call girl.
 Hannah blushed.  “I’ll be turning it in this afternoon.  I wanted to make sure this didn’t fall through first.  You understand, right?”

He cocked his head to the side and a small scowl clouded his face.  “Certainly,” he murmured as he took a sip of his coffee.  He glanced at his watch.  “I’m sorry I have to cut this short, but I really need to get back to the office.”  He offered her one of his winning smiles.  “We’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other,” he said smoothly.  “I’m looking forward to this.  I hope you are as well.”  Gavin gently squeezed her hands and walked away after throwing some money on the table.

***

“I don’t know what to make of him yet,” she confided in Amy.  “We had lunch to finalize everything today.  And he was…nice.”  She struggled to put words to the feelings she had coursing through her.  Gavin wasn’t what she expected.  She was looking forward to the job, with even the modicum of security it would provide.  Then there was getting to know
him.

“What’s he like?”  Amy pestered.  “Come on.  You can at least tell me that much without nullifying the contract, right?”

“Well,” Hannah began hesitantly, “I guess.  There just isn’t much to tell right now.  I barely know him.”  She sighed.  “He’s attractive, and refined, a little too uptight for me, very proper.  At the same time, as successful as he is, I don’t think he’s happy.  I think that’s my real job.  He just doesn’t know it yet.”

“Oh, gawd,” her friend sighed.  “You are not going to turn him into one of your lost causes are you?”

“Whatever do you mean?”  She giggled innocently before growing very serious.  “I have to give something back, Amy.  My very nature insists.  He has given me more than you can imagine already.  A huge weight has been lifted.  I’m hopeful again.  I have to do something for him in return.”

Amy sighed.  “What if he doesn’t want to be happy?  Some people are happy being miserable and making other people miserable,” she argued.

“Maybe he just doesn’t know how to be happy.  Maybe he’s spent all his life trying to live up to other people’s expectations and never even considered what might matter to him, give him pleasure.”

“Oooh.  I see.  You want to give him pleasure!”  Amy squealed jokingly.

Blushing three shades of red at the thought of Gavin that close to her, Hannah stuttered, “N…no.  I just mean…”  She sighed.  “Oh never mind.”  Then she ended the call.

With three days left in the month, Hannah spent every minute outside of work packing and selling her wares.  She had a small storage unit which was filling up quickly.  Amy was volunteering numerous hours to help watch the girls while her friend packed and loaded and cleaned.

“Am I your latest pro bono case?” Hannah joked.

“If only.  I’m supposed to do more of that, but those stuffy rich folks who can’t get along keep me overwhelmingly busy.”  She had files spread out all over the floor, since the living room was now devoid of furniture.

As Hannah moved to load the last remaining boxes into the SUV, the phone rang.  At first she didn’t recognize the warm male voice on the other end of the line, but Rick quickly reintroduced himself.

“I told you I’d be in touch,” he reminded her.

“Oh,” Hannah sighed.  “I don’t know how to tell you this,” she began quietly, “so, I guess I’ll just spit it out.”  She took a deep breath.  “I found someone…to take us in.  He’s giving me a better job.  It’s really a very good deal.”  She felt the need to explain.

“I see.” Rick said.  “I should tell you right now, I’m not calling to offer you exactly what you’re looking for, but I might have solution of sorts to your problem.”

Hannah’s head tipped to one side.  “How’s that?”  She was undeniably curious.

She heard Rick take the deep breath.  “Well, I work for
Creative Loafing
.”  He was quiet as he waited for that piece of information to sink in.  “My assignment was to see what kind of person advertises for a Sugar Daddy.  Have women sunk to a new low?  What could drive a woman to demean herself in that manner?  That type of thing.”

Her blood was beginning to boil.  “So what did you decide?”  She clenched and unclenched her fists while Amy watched wide-eyed.  She moved to get up, but Hannah shook her head.

“You weren’t what I expected,” he admitted.  “I guess I expected some vapid blonde with designs on an easy lifestyle, surrounded by wealth, content to be arm candy for the first willing guy she met.”

“And that’s not me?”  Her voice was hard, defensive.

“No, Hannah!”  He exclaimed, struggling to explain.  “You told me you are a good person, despite what it seemed, and I could tell that already.  You’ve just been handed a really raw deal and are making the best of a bad situation.”  He sighed.  “The system isn’t helping you.  Playing by the rules hasn’t worked.  And so, you have made an unconventional choice.”  

“You said you had a ‘solution of sorts’ for me?”  She said with an edge in her voice.  She was more than ready to conclude this conversation.

“Yes.  About that…well, my editor found your story fascinating.  Despite your problems, you are a success story, a story of hope…”

Before he could offer more explanation, she interrupted.  “I’m a story of hope!  I have been hanging on by a thread.  For six months I have struggled with little money, few possessions, and with only the love and support of my parents and best friend to sustain me.”  She shook her head vehemently.  “I can’t take care of my kids, the most important things in my life.”  Tears welled up in her eyes and she sniffled.

“Hannah,” Rick said gently, “you have a roof over your head.  You’re still sane.  You didn’t turn to drugs or alcohol.  You have never taken your anger out on your children.  If anything, this has made you stronger.  That is inspiring.  That’s the story I’d like to tell.  That’s the story Charlotte would love to read.”

“What are you talking about?”  She asked exasperatedly.

“Let me write about you and your experiences.  It would be a serial, running for as long as your adventures.”  He softened his voice as he added, “We’d pay you for it.”

For a brief moment, Hannah thought about it.  Share with the world her deepest hurt, greatest shame, divulge her husband left her for a stripper and deserted her kids. Tell the world how he not only left them to fend for themselves financially, but he took everything with him.  How could she reveal that and ever show her face again?

“I can’t,” she said, her voice a mere whisper.  “I can’t tell anyone about my past, and I swore not to reveal where I would be living or the nature of the contract I signed with the man who has become my guardian angel.”

“We’d keep it completely confidential; change your name, the details, to protect you.”  He seemed desperate for her to agree.  “Think about it,” Rick said.  “And keep my number in case you change your mind.  Maybe in a few months…”

“Of course,” Hannah murmured.  She couldn’t see into the future.  Her ability to plan more than a few days in advance had been one of the first casualties of Brett’s departure.  It would be foolish to turn his offer down completely when her circumstances could vary at a moment’s notice.  “We’ll see.”  Then she hung up the phone, unplugged it from the wall, and dropped it into the nearest box.

Chapter Four

The last Saturday of March, a mere two days before April was to begin, Hannah left her children with their father for a few hours, despite his muted protests, and prepared to move into Gavin’s home.

“I’ll be back to pick them up at five,” she explained, walking rapidly toward her beat up SUV, overflowing with boxes and suitcases.  “I have to move, thanks to you.”  Hannah glared at him and he squirmed slightly.  “The least you can do, and I mean the very least you can do, is take care of your children for a few hours while I do it,” she snapped.

He sighed.  “Okay, but we have plans tonight.  No later than five.”  He placed his hands on his hips as though delivering some edict.

Her eyes narrowed.  “Or else?”  She crossed her hands over her chest.  She could hardly stand the idea of the kids being around the stripper period, let alone for an extended length of time.  She closed her eyes as she imagined having to explain what pasties were or why Krystal’s underwear had no crotch.  “Never mind,” she sighed.  “I’ll be back in time.”

Without giving him further chance to respond, she blew kisses at the girls, who were waving at her from the window, and drove north to the lake.

Having no idea what to expect, but armed with some knowledge of the area, Hannah drove by mansion after mansion following the detailed directions Gavin had emailed her.  She reached the cobbled drive and swallowed hard as she pulled in.  She didn’t want to gape, but it was hard not to.  Judging by the exterior dimensions, the house had to be at least eight thousand square feet, covered in stucco and stone.  It was majestic, but all she longed for was a home.

Carrying only her purse, she hoped to get a lay of the land before moving even her first box.  Almost instantly an older woman wiping her hands on an apron that was no doubt a permanent fixture about her waist answered her knock.  Hannah knew instinctively this was most definitely
not
Mrs. Meyers, yet still she squirmed under the scrutinizing gaze this woman gave her.

“Follow me,” the woman demanded curtly.

Doing as she said without question, Hannah traipsed along after her, noting the travertine floors, which appeared to cover the entire first floor, the dark wood moldings, and the even darker shades adorning the walls giving the place a cave-like quality.  Somehow it wasn’t right.  She made mental notes to institute a few changes as soon as possible.

“Ah, I see you found the place,” Gavin said seriously.  He stood from behind his desk in the study.

It was definitely a man’s room, but at least there was a hint of warmth here, and not just from the fire burning in the floor to ceiling stacked stone fireplace.  The walls were lined with shelves filled with books Hannah longed to explore.  There were two leather chairs angled to face the fireplace and anchoring a colorful Art Deco rug covering the center of the room.  Gavin’s desk, large and mahogany, was clearly more functional than decorative with the papers scattered across it and files lining one side.  Behind it, two sets of French doors covered with gauzy curtains, allowed filtered sunlight to spill into the room, which was painted a soft shade of sage.

Inhaling deeply, Hannah sighed.  Leather and wood.  This room was Gavin.  Tilting her head, she asked, “So, do you have a moment to show me around or should I just find everything on my own?”  After dealing with Brett and worrying about the girls the entire drive north, she was feeling a bit peevish.

Gavin raised his eyebrows at her.  “I can show you around,” he said.  Without another word, he gestured toward the door she had just entered and followed her into the hall.

Though the hall clearly stretched to the left, he turned the other direction.  “What’s down there?” she asked pointedly.

He stopped.  “You won’t need to go down there.  Those are my rooms.”  His face was stony as he led her to the heart of the home.

She scrunched up her face.  Normally she loved kitchens.  This one should have been her dream come true with its granite counters and top of the line stainless steel appliances, real wood cabinetry.  Instead, it felt as oppressive as every other part of the house, dark and dank, smelling of lack of use.  Well, at least that much she could work on.  She continued to make mental lists.

There was a keeping room off the kitchen, with a stone fireplace and a rough-hewn wooden mantle.  She smiled.  This place had potential; she could certainly breathe life back into it.  She glanced at the clock over the mantle and scowled.  The long drive had cut into her move time.

“What if I look around later?  Right now, if you could just show me to our rooms…that’s about all I have time for before I have to go pick up the girls.”

“That’s right,” said Gavin.  He had very nearly forgotten she came with children as he had yet to meet them.  “So where are they now?”

Hannah hugged her arms around her body.  “With their father,” she murmured.

He wanted to pry.  He was under the impression the father wasn’t in the picture any longer.  If they were still on good terms, this would never work.  Yet there was something in the way she looked when she told him where the kids were he found incredibly reassuring.  She wasn’t happy.  She wasn’t comfortable.  In fact, she was in the worst mood he had yet to see her in.  Gavin tipped his head to one side as he thought.

In silence, they walked up the stairs to the second floor.  Moving down the hall, he pointed to the first door on the right and opened it.  “The girls will have to share a room.  Will that be a problem?”

She shook her head.  “They’ve never roomed apart,” she commented quietly as she explored the space.  It was utterly untouched.  It was as though no paint, save the basic eggshell white coat had ever been applied to the pristine walls.  There were two large windows with window seats separated by a large bookshelf.  On either side of the windows were built in cabinets.

“There are other cabinets beneath the seats for storage,” he explained, lifting the hinged seat to reveal the empty space below.

Hannah smiled and nodded.  This was a great room for the girls.  With very little effort, she would have their beds made up and their toys and books unloaded before she went to pick them up.  That should help them adjust.  “This is perfect,” she murmured.

Somehow that admission, the first pleasant interaction between them since her arrival, made a smile tug at the corner of Gavin’s mouth.  It took him a moment to realize what it was.  Ever so slowly, the smile spread across his lips, only to be shattered when she calmly asked, “And where will I sleep?”

It was an innocent question.  He knew the answer; he just could hardly bear to show her.  Trudging down the hall with her on his heels like a trained dog, he finally stopped before a set of double doors at the end.  Inhaling deeply, he gave the doors a push to reveal her room, then stepped aside and allowed her to enter.

Hannah walked in slowly, awestruck.  When she reached the center of the room, she stopped and glanced back, expecting him to be behind her, but instead he had remained in the hall and wasn’t even looking at her.  Rather, his attention seemed to be focused on some hangnail he had just discovered and was picking at absent-mindedly.  She shrugged and explored the immense space.  Her first realization was that the apartment she had just vacated could probably fit in this room, the entire apartment, garage included.  The second realization was that it was utterly destroyed.

It wasn’t just that the king sized bed was naked, without even a mattress pad to cover it, or the empty bookcases in the sitting area off the bedroom.  No, the room had been stripped, almost down to the studs.  There was no carpeting, no curtains, although the dangling assembly on one of the windows suggested that had not always been the case.  There were holes in the walls, which were most likely created by the sledgehammer found on the floor near the closet.

Setting her shoulders determinedly, she walked over toward the window to inspect the view.  On the way she glanced at the Serta iComfort mattress.  She recognized it not just by the exposed tags, but from the hours she spent contemplating how many eggs she might have to donate to even afford the queen sized version of it she found in the mall.  She smiled wistfully.  She hadn’t had to give up any eggs after all.  Instead, Hannah had given herself and her children up to this man.  She shuddered a little at the thought, wondering if the donation might have been a safer way to go.

Turning her attention to the windows, she studied the breathtaking views.  The grounds, the pool, and the lake made an incredible backdrop for her new life.  Turning, she found a double-sided fireplace, which opened into the bathroom on the other side.   Bracing for more debris, she slowly walked in.  The bathroom was opulent.  There was no other way to describe it. Filled with light from the enormous palladium window over the Jacuzzi tub and offset by columns.  Marble covered the floors and vanity.  Off the bathroom was her dressing room and enormous walk-in closet, which resembled a brochure by California Closets.  It was…more than she ever could have dreamed of.  At the same time, it still was not what she wanted…security and love.

Sighing, she returned to the doorway where Gavin stood, looking almost nervous.  He looked her in the eye for the first time since he had shown her to the suite.  “Obviously you are going to need to do some decorating,” he said, referring to the bedroom.

Hannah nodded, thinking of the entire house.  “At least, we are in complete agreement on that,” she said with a smile.

Gavin paused.  “Can you make do for a little while as it is completed or do we need to make other arrangements?”

She frowned as she assessed the room.  It wasn’t so bad.  She had lived in far worse.  Shaking her head in disbelief, she replied, “I guess I’ll just have to rough it.”

He heaved a sigh of relief.  “Well, other than this, what do you think?”

Looking in to his eyes, she thought about tempering her answer for a moment, but then decided she had always tempered her answers.  What had it gotten her?  She was treated like a doormat and left.  Not this time.  Not even for a business arrangement.  She was going to be real.  “I think your decorator hated you,” she said bluntly.

Obviously taken aback, Gavin spoke without thinking.  “What makes you say that?”

Shrugging, Hannah continued with her explanation.  “I guess the idea was initially formulated downstairs with the dark oppressive colors and the angry artwork, but now I’m convinced.”  She glanced over her shoulder into her room once more.  “This was supposed to be your room, right?  But it was never finished?”

Inhaling sharply, he responded, “Something like that.”  They started to walk back down to the foyer and Gavin began to study the place, see it from her perspective.  “Huh,” he said.

“What?”

“I think you’re right.”   He smirked.  “I think my decorator did hate me.”

Hannah scowled.  “I hope she didn’t take you for too much,” she said angrily.

“For more than she deserved,” he answered wryly.

With that observation, he walked back to the study and shut a door behind him.  Hannah, who was used to never having a man to help her out and certainly didn’t expect her employer to start now, thought nothing of moving her boxes in all by herself.

***

He couldn’t concentrate.  For the last two hours, Hannah had been traipsing back and forth, moving stacks of boxes.  She would carry a few in, empty them, then break down the boxes and stick them back in her SUV.  He had watched her struggle some, dropping boxes here and there, trying to lift too many and putting them back.  She had seemed to maintain a pleasant demeanor through it all, laughing at herself, giggling and smiling through it all.

While she did that, Gavin paced.  Not helping went against his very nature.  He was raised to be a gentleman, to assist the fairer sex at every opportunity, opening doors, pulling out chairs, helping them with their coats.  He closed his eyes as he remembered their first meeting and how it felt to help her with her coat.  Gavin rubbed his hands together.  This was silly.  There were plenty of ways he could teach her a lesson.  It shouldn’t be this.  Having made his decision, he opened the door of the study and prepared to assist however possible.

***

For the last few hours, Hannah had been moving boxes.  She hadn’t seen Gavin the entire time, but she assumed he was busy at work in his study, making money so he could keep her in the manner to which she might like to become accustomed.  She giggled at the thought.

The girls’ room was completely finished.  They were always her first priority.  She wanted them to be comfortable and feel as at home as possible in their new surroundings.  She had lugged up boxes of toys and games, their matching comforters, and even stuffed animals.  Each trip had taken its toll.  She had lost count of the number of times she had gone up and down the steps.  Her legs were sore, and her back ached some from the bending, stretching, and like movements.

Now she was on what should be her last trip.  Her legs quivered a little as she added the second box, but it was so much better than the idea of going up and down yet another time.  She balanced the boxes precariously in one arm as she reached up and shut the trunk door.  Hannah pushed her way through the front door and backed into it to shut it behind her.  Moving cautiously, her vision partially obscured by the second box, she made her way to the stairs and felt her way up one curving step after another.  She had almost reached the top when the boxes began to shift and she started to lose her balance.  “Oh.”  That was all she had time to say before she began to stumble.