Another week had passed by and Stevie was making regular visits to the Malibu house. On one hand, she kept a close eye on the work being done and on the other, she was getting to know Chad too. She couldn't tell if he suspected anything or he thought she was just being nice. Either way he enjoyed her company, never had he gotten this close with any of his previous employers. Although, Stevie still tried to do her best not to get too much into the man, she was convinced he could only want her as a friend.
It was strange. Stevie considered her dating days long over, at most she had hook ups now, which was quite out of her character as well. Of course, she would mostly see Lindsey. She wasn't proud that because of her he was cheating on his wife, but hey, he never complained or said no. And that was only during tours anyway. Meeting Chad, it was like some sort of switch was flicked on inside her. One thing was being attracted to him, but it was an entirely different matter when she wanted to get to know him, be around him.
That day, Stevie arrived before Chad did. As usual, Karen left right away, saying to call when she was needed. Stevie checked the time and she knew Chad would be coming soon as well, but she had just enough time to make breakfast. Why are you even doing this?, he probably will think of you as his grandma now you're making food for him!, Stevie could hardly believe the way she was acting.
Thirty or so minutes later, the front door opened and she heard two voices instead of one. The talking was getting louder, so Stevie knew they were coming in any moment.
"Something smells good!" Chad said with a wide smile, causing Stevie to face him.
"I haven't eaten anything yet today and you said you don't have the time usually to either, so... And who's the pretty girl?" Stevie smiled, getting down to the child's level. Not that she had to get that low...
"Introduce yourself, sweetie?" Chad encouraged his daughter, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Hi, I'm Greta."
"I'm Stevie. It's lovely to meet you."
"I know who you are."
"Oh?"
Greta nodded and looked up at Chad. "Daddy talks about you."
"So, how about breakfast then, huh?" He lifted his daughter on a chair and moved past Stevie to get the plates, as the kitchen was near finished, while she couldn't fight back a grin.
The three of them sat around the table, eating Stevie's made omelette, Greta munching on it as if it was the best thing the girl had ever tasted. "I hope it's okay I brought my daughter with me today. Amanda, my brother's wife, who usually watches Greta, was busy today."
"Of course it's okay. Besides, I'm here. I'll look after you, would you like that?" Stevie asked Greta, who nodded, while washing the last bite down with a gulp of water. "See? Problem solved."
"Greta has actually made you something as a thank you for that day you let me go home early."
"Oh? And what's that?"
"We'll bring it from the car when I'm finished, sweetheart, okay?"
"Yes." She nodded and sat back, waiting patiently.
After breakfast, Stevie went to wash the dishes, while Chad and Greta made a short trip to his car and back to the kitchen. The girl approached Stevie presenting her with what she had made.
"Cookies! Aw, aren't you the cutest little thing." Even though she didn't actually allow herself to eat something like cookies that often, Stevie wasn't going to deny a four year old kid. "Did you make them all by yourself?"
"No, Daddy helped me. We had fun!"
"And we made a mess. It was all Greta's idea though."
"We'll have them with tea later, how does that sound?"
"Great!"
"I have a surprise of my own." Chad said. "Follow me."
"What kind of surprise?" Stevie looked puzzled.
"You said you couldn't wait to move in here."
"Well, yes. I fell in love with this place the second I saw it."
"Close your eyes?"
"Why?"
"Please?" Chad asked, adding. "And no peeping."
"That might be a hard task for me."
"I could help you?" He stood behind her, placing his hands over her eyes. "Now walk slowly forward."
Gee, this does not feel like he works for me. Boundaries? Never heard of it! Not that I'm complaining. God, he's so close..., Stevie did as asked.
"Now reach for the handle on your left.... Take a step forward." Then he withdrew his hands away from her, as she opened her eyes, blinking a couple of times, her mouth agape.
"No way!"
"What else do you really need so you can move in here besides a bed to sleep in?"
"I can't believe you've finished the whole room already! I mean... it was just wallpaper and carpeting a few days back."
"Your assistant called me, saying the furniture would be delivered, so I worked longer for a few days and here."
"It's amazing, it's all so together. I love it! That's it, I'm spending the night here!"
"So, no change of heart? Everything works?"
"Everything works perfectly. I am going to pay you extra."
"You don't have to, I wanted to do it myself."
"Thank you." Stevie said sincerely, getting out a modest smile from Chad.
"Well, I better get down to work then. You ladies, have fun." He said to Stevie and Greta and picked up where he left off the night before.
"What would you like to do then, beautiful?"
"Can we sing? I love to sing! Daddy and I watched you sing on his computer."
Stevie laughed softly. "Oh did you? We sure can do that! Come on, let's jump on this bed."
Maybe she had the wrong idea after all. Chad surely seemed to be spending a lot of time introducing her to his daughter...
