Sugar on the Edge Read Online Free Page A

answered the door.
    Shrugging my shoulders, I adjust myself not so discreetly. I turn my back on her to fill the coffee machine up with water. Setting the pot on the burner, I flip the switch. Turning back around to face her, I lean back against the counter and cross my arms over my chest. She can’t help herself… her eyes involuntarily flick down to my crotch and while I’m sure I’m completely covered after my adjustment, I’m betting I’m tenting my underwear nicely. Her face flames pink, and her eyes quickly come back up to mine.
    Giving her a tiny smirk, I say, “So… I need you to come probably twice a week to do general housecleaning… probably my laundry since I suck at both.”
    “You aren’t going to get dressed?” she blurts out.
    Pinning her with a direct stare, I curve my lips up and say, “No, Savannah, I’m not. Got a problem with it?”
    “It’s slightly awkward having you standing in front of me half naked for a job interview,” she says, and I’ll have to give her some credit for having a sass mouth. Oh, the things I’d love to do with a girl that smarts off to me.
    “You’re lucky I had my boxers on when you woke me up. Half the time I walk around naked,” I tell her with a serious look. I don’t, but I sort of like the blush she’s wearing and I wonder if I can get it to go a shade brighter. “Think of it this way, the less clothing I wear, the less laundry you have to do.”
    I watch as Savannah clutches her purse a bit tighter to her body, and indecision filters into her gaze. I wait her out, certain that I’ve scared her off for good, which is no skin off my back.
    “I really need this job,” she admits, and then her gaze falters to the floor. “But I’d be wasting your time if I stayed to discuss the details. I just can’t work here if you’re going to walk around naked all day. Thank you, Mr. Cooke, for your time, and I’m really sorry I woke you up.”
    She never looks back at me but spins on her heel and heads for the front door. I watch her for just a millisecond, and then I push off from the counter to go after her. “Wait a minute,” I call out.
    She stops and turns to look at me over her shoulder, her eyebrows raised.
    “I don’t really prance around naked all day,” I grudgingly admit. “You woke me out of a sound sleep this morning, and I didn’t even realize I only had my underwear on when I answered the door.”
    Savannah doesn’t say anything, just levels those brown eyes… which now that I look at her some more, are really quite lovely.
    “Besides… I’ll be in my office most of the time, and you will probably never see me,” I add on, hoping she reconsiders my offer. I really don’t have time to interview other companies, and I’d like to get this taken care of so I can get working on my manuscript.
    “What exactly would my duties be? And the pay?” she asks as she turns fully to me.
    “Like I said… clean the house, do my laundry. Nothing too hard… twice a week. I’ll pay you five hundred dollars.”
    She blinks at me in surprise, and I realize the money I just offered her was ridiculously generous. I didn’t know that until she blinked, but based on the look on her face, it’s clear I have no clue what the value of a cleaning service is. Oh, well… too late to take that back now. I’ll just have to make sure she earns it… like maybe scrub the floor with a toothbrush or something.
    “That’s too much,” she tells me, and now I’m the one blinking at her in surprise.
    “Excuse me?”
    “You would be paying me way too much. It will probably take me about no more than three hours a day if I were to come twice a week. That’s got to be something like… eighty bucks an hour or close to it. Way too much.”
    Seriously… this girl… woman, just had a major opportunity to make some serious cash off me, yet here she’s telling me that I’m overpaying her? Who the fuck is that honest these days?
    “Tell you what… how about