What I Did for Love (Wynette, Texas #5)(39)

Chaz’s dark-rimmed eyes narrowed with hostility. “Bram doesn’t like strangers in his office. You shouldn’t be here.”

“I’m not a stranger. I’m his wife.” Words she’d never expected to hear coming out of her mouth.

“He doesn’t even let the cleaning people in here.” Chaz lifted her chin. “I’m the only one.”

“You’re very loyal. What’s that about, anyway?”

She pulled a broom from a small closet. “It’s my job.”

Georgie couldn’t snoop through his computer files now, so she began to leave, but as she got up, she spotted a video camera sitting on the corner of the desk. Chaz began to sweep the floor. Georgie examined the camera long enough to discover that Bram had erased whatever tawdry sexual encounter he’d last filmed.

Chaz stopped sweeping. “Don’t mess with that.”

Georgie impulsively turned the camera on Chaz and hit the record button. “Why do you care so much?”

Chaz pulled the broom handle to her chest. “What are you doing?”

“I’m curious about your loyalty.”

“Turn that off.”

Georgie brought her into sharper focus. Beneath the piercings and scowl, Chaz had delicate, almost fragile, features. She’d pulled one side of her chopped hair away from her eyes with a small silver barrette, and the other side stood out in a spiky tuft above her ear. Chaz’s hostile independence fascinated Georgie. She couldn’t imagine having that kind of freedom from caring what other people thought. “I guess you’re the only person in L.A. who doesn’t love a camera,” Georgie said. “No ambitions to be an actress? That’s why most girls come here.”

“Me? No. And how do you know I haven’t always lived here?”

“Just a feeling.” Through the viewer, Georgie could see tension tightening the corners of Chaz’s small mouth. “Most twenty-year-olds would be bored with a job like yours.”

Chaz gripped the broom tighter, almost as if it were a weapon. “I like my job. You probably think housework isn’t important.”

Georgie quoted her father. “I think a job is what a person makes of it.”

The camera had subtly altered the relationship between them, and for the first time since they’d met, Chaz looked uncertain. “People should do what they’re good at,” she finally said. “I’m good at this.” She tried to return to sweeping, but the camera was clearly bothering her. “Turn that thing off.”

“How did it happen?” Georgie edged around the corner of the desk to keep her in the frame. “How did you learn to run a house at such a young age?”

Chaz jabbed at a corner. “Just something I did.” Georgie waited, and to her surprise, Chaz went on. “My stepmom worked at a motel outside Barstow. Twelve units with a diner. Are you going to turn that off?”

“In a minute.” The camera made some people clam up and others talk. Apparently Chaz was one of the latter. Georgie took another step to the side. “You worked there?”

“Sometimes. She liked to party, and she didn’t always get home in time to go to work the next day. When that happened, I skipped school and went in for her.”

Georgie zoomed in on the girl’s face, taking advantage of having the upper hand. “How old were you?”

“I don’t know. Eleven or something.” She went over the same place she’d just swept. “The guy who owned the place didn’t care how old I was as long as the work got done, and I did a better job than her.”

The camera recorded facts. It didn’t offer an opinion about an eleven-year-old doing manual labor. “How did you feel about missing school?” The low-battery light came on.

Chaz shrugged. “We needed the money.”

“The work must have been hard.”

“There were good parts.”

“Like what?”

Chaz continued poking at the same spot on the floor. “I don’t know.” She leaned the broom against the wall and picked up a dust rag.

Georgie gave her a gentle prod. “I can’t imagine there were too many good parts.”

Chaz slid the rag over a bookshelf. “Sometimes a family checked into a room with a couple of kids. Maybe they’d order pizza or bring burgers back from the diner, and the kids might spill something on the rug. The place would be a big mess.” She concentrated on dusting the same book. “Trash and food everywhere. Sheets on the floor. All the towels used up. But by the time I left, everything would be neat again.” Her shoulder blades slammed together and she threw down the rag. “This is bullshit. I’ve got work to do. I’ll come back when you’re out of here.” She stalked away just as the camera ran out of power.

Georgie released the breath she’d been holding. Chaz would never have told her so much without the presence of the camera. As she pulled out the tape and slipped it in her pocket, she felt the same kind of rush she used to experience after she’d nailed a challenging acting scene.



That night, she found the world’s most disgusting sandwich waiting for her: a towering monstrosity constructed with slabs of bread, thick wedges of meat, rivers of mayo, and half a dozen slices of cheese. She pulled it apart, fixed herself a simpler sandwich, and ate alone on the veranda. She didn’t see Bram for the rest of the evening.