The Billionaire and His Driver

CHAPTER TWELVE

The next day Jockey returned to work completely sober and embarrassed, claiming he had gone to a bachelor party that weekend and partied too hard, and Brina gladly resumed her housekeeping duties.

But she found that she missed being around the boss. She found herself, whenever she was cleaning a room on the front side of the house, looking out the window to see if she could see him going or coming. But in the three months’ since, she’d only seen him once. And that was a few weeks after she cried in his arms.

It was a hot, mid-morning when she decided to take a peep out the window. She saw Jockey standing at the big, black Mercedes-Maybach, and then she saw him open the car door. She leaned in when the door opened. That was when she saw Mr. Bradshaw walking down the steps in that hurried way he always had. Then he hopped into his car. The windows were tinted so she couldn’t see him inside the car. And Jockey drove him away.

She inwardly wished him well, thought that was that, and returned to her duties.

Ronny went back to his lifestyle too: Work, work, and more work. But he found he missed Sabrina too. Three weeks after she cried in his arms he called Elvira to his private dining hall in the residence. He was having breakfast his chef had prepared, and he offered her a seat and poured her a cup of coffee.

They talked mainly about the housekeeping budget, upcoming events, and if she noticed any further issues with Jockey. It was a rare meeting, but it happened occasionally. Elvira loved those rare meetings because he always agreed to increase her budget. Not nearly as much as she needed, but any thing was better than nothing.

But when Elvira stood up to leave, the heart of the matter was spoken. “Don’t overwork her,” Ronny said. He didn’t look up at her as he placed two more sugar cubes in his coffee and began to stir.

“Don’t overwork who?” Elvira knew who he meant. That was also why she knew he wasn’t going to answer her question. He had a favorite, and everybody in that household knew who that favorite was after Tex blabbed about the breakfast he sent out to her at the club, and the money he offered her for clothes. Although everybody to a person thought she was the fool of fools for not accepting the money, Elvira admired her more. “I don’t overwork any of my staff,” she finally said.

“Let additional maids work with her,” he said, but this time he looked at her. “Don’t overwork her.”

Elvira stared into Ronny’s deep blue eyes. She’d known him since he was around ten years old, when she first came to work for his father, and from that day to this she’d never known him to give a darn about any woman, including his own mother. He treated them like objects for his own gratifications rather than equals or even human beings with feelings and emotions. But why, she wondered, was he so enamored with Brina?

But he was. There was no getting around it. She even caught him on several occasions watching from the fourth-floor windows whenever Brina was out back cleaning different guest rooms. Or helping to unload vans. Or laughing with other maids during breaktime. He favored her. Maybe was a little obsessed with her. But given how Ronny treated every woman he’d ever been with in the past, Elvira was certain his favoritism was not a good thing for Brina.

And for him to order her to provide Brina with help when the staff was already stretched too thin, was a tall order. But it was his world. She was just working in it. “Yes, sir,” Elvira said, and left.

But it all came to a head when at the end of a hectic work day nearly three months after Brina sat on that couch in Ronny’s bedroom and cried her eyes out, Mrs. Dash saw that she was leaving with the other maids and called her back. “Where do you think you’re going?”

The other maids were heading out of the staff room to get on the van. Brina was surprised she would stop her at all: she knew those van drivers did not wait around. “It’s five-thirty. It’s time to go. I’m going home.”

“No you aren’t either. I told you to be on standby because Jockey didn’t come to work today.”

“I was on standby. Mr. Bradshaw never requested transportation.”

“He just did. He has a dinner party engagement tonight and he needs a driver. Mr. Prado just gave me the word.”

Brina was floored. “But I can’t work at night. I’ll miss the van, Mrs. D. How will I get home afterwards?”

Elvira knew she was putting the younger woman in a tough situation, but it couldn’t be helped. Service workers provided service. And the boss needed service that night. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” she said. “But you’ve got to do it. There’s nobody else.”

“There has to be. Couldn’t Tex drive him?”

“Tex is his bodyguard when he chooses to use him, which is only on trips out of town or out of the country. Tex doesn’t hang around here when the boss doesn’t request him. He’s at Corporate and has been all week. Besides, Mr. Bradshaw doesn’t want his bodyguard driving him around.”

“But he doesn’t mind his maid driving him around?”

Elvira shook her head. “You’re wasting your time arguing about it. You were assigned Jockey’s duties this morning. That included all of his duties no matter the time. There’s nobody else to do it.”

“But just for tonight, right? Jockey will be back tomorrow. Right?”

“If Mr. Bradshaw gives the okay, yes, he will.”

That was a new line to Brina. “What okay? He’s his driver.”

“He’s his driver who didn’t show up to work this morning, and who has been known to show up drunk before.”

“But that was three months ago.”

“That’s the only reason I haven’t fired him yet. But I had to let the boss know about it. And besides,” Elvira added, “Mr. Bradshaw requested you personally.”

Brina’s heart dropped. “He did?”

Elvira nodded. “Unfortunately yes.”

Brina didn’t mean to display it, but a part of her was pleased to hear it.

“Don’t do that,” Elvira said quickly. “Don’t you dare do that.”

Brina frowned. “Do what?”

“Get your hopes up over that man. That would be the height of foolishness on your part, Brina. Don’t you dare do that.”

“I don’t want him! Why would you even fix your lips to say something like that, Mrs. D?”

“I’m just telling you. He’s got more ladies than he can handle already. Why did he ask for you? Maybe he liked the way you drove him around three months ago. Maybe he remembered your name.”

Brina recalled how he remembered her from that nothing encounter they had nearly a year ago. He certainly would have remembered her crying in his arms.

“I don’t know why he asked for you,” Elvira continued, “but he did. Just don’t let it go to your head. Just don’t make it out to be more than it is. That’s all I’m saying.”

Brina could see the concern in Elvira’s eyes. And she got serious too, and nodded. “Yes ma’am.”

“And most importantly of all, Brina: If he asks to sleep with you, tell him no.”

A look of horror came over her face. “ Sleep with me ? He sleeps with his maids?”

“He doesn’t sleep with anybody on his staff,” Elvira said bluntly. “But he’d never requested anybody by name before either.”

Even Elvira could see that Brina had that special something about her that a man like Ronny would find compelling, and that a man like Ronny would also exploit and then cast aside. “If you need this job, you’d better say no,” she said, “because sleeping with the boss will be a sure way to lose it when he doesn’t want you around anymore.”

Brina frowned. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m not like that.” Then she leaned her head back. She didn’t want to be his driver. She didn’t want to go to all those fancy-dancy places and be reminded of how far she’d fallen. She didn’t want people staring at her as if she was less than. And, if she were to be true to herself, she didn’t want to rekindle those feelings she felt for him when she sat on that couch in his bedroom three months ago. Because she knew Mrs. Dash was right: it was a dead-end street. “Couldn’t you drive him, Mrs. D?” It was a question she knew wouldn’t be answered favorably.

Elvira gave her that don’t play with me, girl look. “Go put on Jockey’s uniform, and I’ll have the valet bring the car around.” It wasn’t answered at all.

Brina, defeated, made her way to the locker room.