The Caretaker | Levi x OC

Chapter 5

Mr. Ackerman would prefer to not have a caretaker at all.

Karma poked her head around the grand black door and scanned for signs of life. As usual, the penthouse was a furniture display room. There wasn't so much as a condensation ring on the coffee table. The white pillows were square and stiff. Every thread of the sheepskin rug was undisturbed.

The quiet was welcome though—New Marley hadn't been kind that morning. She slipped off her shoes and tucked them against the wall, a fresh wad of tobacco-stained spit on the laces. Yesterday was chewing gum. The day before that was dog urine.

He certainly dislikes anyone who compromises his independence.

Karma knocked with one knuckle and eased open the library doors. Dim lamps and flames cast the mahogany walls in an orange glow. There were no windows. Without the grandfather clock by the maplewood desk it would be impossible to know the time of day.

A familiar wall of newspaper greeted her from that same leather seat.

The man is too stubborn for his own good.

"Mr—um, Levi?" Karma's toes touched the edge of an oriental-style rug. She paused here, waiting for an answer. The newspaper lowered an inch. She met those cold eyes for a split second before he lifted the paper again.

"Karma, the unorthodox caretaker."

Some caretaker. In the week that she'd been working here, Karma hadn't so much as refilled his tea kettle. Despite Yelena's insistence that he was dependent, he never asked for her assistance. She plastered on a smile and hedged with her usual question. "Anything I can do today?"

She heard him scoff.

"Still?" Karma tightened her lips. "Did you just hire me to—?"

"Beardface hired you."

"Right." Beardface must be Yelena. The nickname had to be some inside joke, though Karma couldn't picture brooding Levi and uptight Yelena sharing jokes. "Well, if you think of anything, I'm here till 6:00." Hand on the door, she added, "Even if you just want some company."

Two fingers lifted off the page in a partial wave.

She closed the doors behind her and returned to the main sitting area, deflated. The sofa felt stale beneath her like it was brand new.

This was her prestigious New Marley job. Nothing.

She wouldn't pester him. That was sure to get her fired. She just needed to tolerate the boredom until her audition for the MSA, June 26th. Once her spot was secured, Levi could fire her all he liked. She tapped her knee and eyed the grand piano, wishing she were brave enough to break the silence of the penthouse.

When she couldn't stand sitting any longer, Karma wandered the room's perimeter along the walls of windows, kicking her heels.

New Marley sparkled like an iron crown on the horizon, Marble Estates as its central peak. She could admire the world from the fiftieth floor. The world Levi Ackerman rescued and Ackerman Enterprises rebuilt.

A tragedy that he could only see half of it.

And just how does one live at the top of the world after saving it? Hunkered in a dim room, staring at a wall of nonsense?

Something wasn't right about that.

It wasn't snooping—examining the shelves and peeking into the end table drawers was basically her job. Levi wouldn't care that she happened upon his loose pens and notepads. An unopened box of tissues. A bookend of a horse rallied on hind legs.