James Maslow Imagines (Dirty) Complete

Cleaning House

It had been such a good idea at the time, mused Margarita as she drove through the late afternoon traffic. A second honeymoon for her parents. A romantic cruise through the Caribbean over New Year’s. A wonderful way to usher in the new year. And what a way to thank them for all the things they had done for her over the years. Besides, who better to have a second honeymoon than the parents whom still were, years later, deliriously in love with each other?

So she had slapped the money down. Bought the tickets. Depleted her savings account. Determined to make this the best Christmas present ever.

And then her boss decided that the division needed some changes.

Read: I want to change you. Preferably into that willowy redhead from Accounting who has been so helpful to me as I get over my divorce.

Jerk.

Margarita sighed. The severance package had been okay, but not enough to see her through after her huge expenditure. And this was NOT the time of year to be job-hunting. It would be late January at the earliest that she would find something: people just didn’t hire before Christmas, and at the beginning of January they were busy trying to do all the projects they’d ignored in favor of eggnog.

Thank god for Lucy .

Her old high school friend had started a highly successful cleaning company called Neat Freak. Margarita laughed when she thought of it. Sure, Lucy’d been the oldest of five and had always called upon to keep things neat. She was very good at it. But then, and even now, her own room always looked like a tornado hit it. Yes, her house, and her office, were immaculate, but people have been known to get lost in the mountains of junk she kept piled in her bedroom. Lucy  was a contradiction.

Even now she was. When Margarita had bumped into her, and poured out her unemployment sob story, Lucy  had offered her a job on the spot. Surprising considering how determined Lucy  was to be seen as a prudent businesswoman. A future "Florida Business Woman of the Year" doesn’t just hire an old friend without checking her out first.

But Lucy  had done just that.

"I’m serious, Marg. I need the help. Desperately," she’d said. "This is a busy time of year for me. Everybody wants their houses spotless in time for the holidays. We are booked and double-booked. And I need people I know will do a good job."

"But…"

"Hell, you know where I am coming from on this. You had to keep up appearances in your family, too. Look, it’s only for a little while. You said you expected to find something in January. So this will help you keep food on the table until then, and believe me; you would be doing me a bigger favour than I am doing for you," Lucy  had insisted.

So here she was a few weeks later, her car filled with a vacuum, mops, buckets, rags, and cleaning solutions. She had to admit; she rather liked the work. It left her mind free to roam, but also gave her a sense of accomplishment. And, as Lucy  had said, the work was steady. And the tips good. Many a busy homeowner had been overjoyed to have that massive task off their busy schedules.

And Margarita could finally understand why Lucy  left her own room a mess. It was nice to have some control over your own space. She chuckled. She had actually gone out of her way to throw a few things on the floor last night because her place had looked too orderly.

She turned down the radio as her cell phone chirped.

"Hello"

"Marg? What are you up to?"

"Hi Lucy . Just heading home."

"Umm… Do you have any plans this evening?" Lucy  asked hesitantly.