Maid for the Billionaire(11)

―Yes, I know.‖ Abby sighed. ―I don‘t mean to be rude, but if I wasn‘t going to say yes to him, why does he think that having his secretary call me is going to change my mind?‖

―Personal Assistant,‖ the woman correctly gently, but continued on in a sweet, woman next door tone. ―I apologize for interrupting your evening, but after everything Dominic has been through this week, I had to try to help him.‖

―Everything he has been through?‖ That caught Abby‘s attention. She leaned forward, not caring that Lill practically pressed her own ear to the other side of the phone. In resignation, Abby turned her hand so Lill could hear better.

―He didn‘t tell you? I should have known he wouldn‘t. He‘s not very good at asking for help.‖

―I have no idea what you‘re talking about,‖ Abby said with growing interest.

There was a short pause. ―Miss Dartley, Dominic‘s father passed away a few days ago. He came back to Boston for the reading of the will.‖

―Oh, my God,‖ Abby and Lill said in union. Abby shushed her sister with a wave of her hand. ―So, tomorrow he wanted me…?‖ It was almost too embarrassing to ask. She‘d assumed that he was sending a limo over to whisk her away for an afternoon of lovemaking in some secluded suite. However, it was looking more like her initial instincts about him were correct.

―He was hoping you would join him for the reading of his father‘s will,‖ Mrs. Duhamel said, confirming Abby‘s sinking feeling. Had she completely misread the entire evening? She‘d let her own attraction to him blind her to the reality that Dominic was a man who simply didn‘t want to be alone due to a recent loss.

That stung.

So much for being irresistible.

Her nurturing vibes must have drawn him in. People turned to her when in crisis. She should be used to it by now. ―Doesn‘t he – I mean shouldn‘t he bring someone he knows better than me to something like that?‖

―My dear,‖ the older woman‘s voice was full of the kind of emotion a mother would have for a son, ―Dominic is a busy man. He doesn‘t have time for friends. Business associates, yes.

People who want to say they are part of his social circle, yes. But no one he felt he could take to something like this.‖

Abby and Lill exchanged a look. To have everything and still have nothing was so sad. No matter how awful their parents‘ death had been, at least they‘d had each other. ―I feel for him, Mrs. Duhamel, but I just met him for the first time tonight. I don‘t know what he told you, but we barely know each other.‖

―He said he needed you there. That was enough for me.‖

―He said that?‖ Abby‘s heart clenched in her chest. Lill practically clapped her hands in excitement and then made a form of a heart on her chest with her hands. Abby swatted at her.

He needs me? Was all of his tough talk just that – talk? He‘d lost his father and didn‘t want to face a painful situation alone. She understood, too well, how the loss of a parent could shake ones very foundation.

Mrs. Duhamel said, ―Yes, and you should know that I have never, in all the years I‘ve worked for him, made a personal call for him.‖

So, he wanted her there enough to involve his assistant in this endeavor. What did that mean?

―Did he ask you to explain about his father?‖ Abby asked.

Mrs. Duhamel dismissed the idea with a short laugh. ―Oh, no. I think I was supposed to call and threaten you or wave some magical wand and convince you to go with him. All he said was that he knew if anyone could get you to come it would be me. I‘m flattered by his confidence, but I think your decision will have more to do with your level of compassion than my ability to persuade.‖

―Don‘t be too sure about that,‖ Lill muttered.

Abby shushed her.

Lill shrugged and stage whispered while pointing to the phone, ―Come on, she‘s good!‖

Too true. The older woman‘s soothing voice had made fulfilling Dominic‘s outrageous request sound like an act of kindness, rather than recklessness.

Mrs. Duhamel added, ―I realize that Dominic said the limo would come for you at 11, but if possible I‘d like to pick you up at 7 for a morning at a local spa and then some shopping.‖

Oh, first I’m fat, now I need a makeover? ―Tell your boss that if I‘m not good enough as I am…‖

Mrs. Duhamel hastily interrupted, ―Oh, no! Dominic didn‘t suggest this. I just thought that if I were going to attend a multi-million dollar will reading, I‘d want to primp first.‖

Wow. Put that way, Abby was in full agreement. ―Mrs. Duhamel, I think I love you.‖

The woman laughed sweetly. ―I‘m just doing my job. And call me Marie.‖

Abby suspected it was a bit more than that. This woman obviously cared about Dominic.

―Then please call me Abby. Don‘t take this the wrong way, but you don‘t seem like you‘d be Dominic‘s assistant. You‘re so…nice.‖

The maternal tone returned. ―Don‘t let your first impression of Dominic taint your opinion of him. He‘s much more than he lets people see. My husband worked for him when he first started his company, but left before it took off. Stan was a good husband, but not much of a businessman. He died about seven years ago and left me deeply in debt. There I was, in my late fifties, broke, with no skills to get a job. I called Dominic on some desperate whim that he might remember my husband. He did. He said Stan had been a good man and he hired me as his assistant that day. I‘ve worked for him ever since.‖