SAFEHOUSE (A BWWM BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE) by Mia Caldwell Read Free Book Online Page B

know whether to ask her what was going on, or
whether to get out of her way.

 
    She paused when she saw me standing there, trying to collect herself.

 
    “Is everything okay? What was all that noise I heard?”

 
    She huffed impatiently, waving her hand about. “No concern. We go back
to work,” she insisted, walking right past me.

 
    Seriously? That’s the kind
of answer someone who’s hiding something would give. I wanted to wait until she
was out of earshot to have a look myself, but something told me not to. I
realized where exactly we were in the house, and that made me even more
curious. As far as I knew, the room that she had just left was actually
Julien’s.

 
    Marie always insisted that she personally cleaned Julien’s room, so I
had never actually seen it before.

 
    Once I got back to working down the second floor main hallway, I’d
debated on whether I should go up and check on Julien or not. I didn’t even
know if he was actually in his room or not, but I hadn’t seen him anywhere else
in the house.

 
    Dinner time had rolled around, and I was left again to eat by myself
in the kitchen. Even Gervaise was making himself scarce for the night. It was
eerily quiet, and my imagination was trying to get the best of me again. I
didn’t want to drive myself crazy so I headed back to my room, deciding to call
it an early night. Maybe I would see Julien tomorrow. Then he would probably
explain what the deal was.

 
    I had finally drifted off to sleep when I heard the knock at my door.
It was so soft that at first I thought I had just imagined it, but when I heard
it again I looked over, trying to read the time on my phone.

 
    10:18? Who needs me this late?

 
    I hesitated to get up, but I looked around the room to see if I could
grab something to defend myself with… just in case.

 
    The next knock was even louder this time. Giving up on finding a
makeshift weapon, I slowly opened the door.

 
    It was Julien.

 
    He looked… well… he looked like a hot mess. His usual clean-shaven
face was long forgotten, a layer of stubble already in its place. His hair had
not been styled for the day, giving him an unruly look. He had on a pair of
low-slung jeans that were desperately in need of hemming. The most startling of
all was the fact that he was shirtless, giving me a very close and personal
look at his chest. Just as I had imagined he was lean yet toned everywhere
else, leaving a slight definition to his abs and hip bones.

 
    He gave me a petulant look, his eyes completely glassed over. “Aren’t
you going to invite me in?”

 
    Was he drinking?

 
    Given his intoxicated state, I tried desperately not to ogle him with
my eyes. “Is everything okay? You seem a little… drunk.”

 
    He laughed loudly at me, throwing his hands up. “It seems that way,
yes.”

 
    I frowned, but let him in anyway.

 
    Julien staggered over to the tall bureau where I had finally put away
my clothes for the extended stay. He leaned up against it, shoving his hands
into his pockets.

 
    “This day is not a good day,” he mumbled.

 
    “Care to elaborate?” I didn’t care for him trying to beat around the
bush at the moment.

 
    Julien shrugged his shoulders, clearly not wanting to. I huffed and
went to sit back on my bed. I didn’t know what his problem was, but I certainly
didn’t feel like babysitting him either.

 
    “Look, if you’re just gonna stand there and pout all night than we
have nothing else to say. I was trying to go to bed and I’m sure —“

 
    “Wait. I just need to talk to you. I need some friends to talk to, I
never have anyone to talk to anymore,” he slurred, wiping his mouth.

 
    I took in the way he was slumped against the bureau, slowly shaking my
head to myself. What would have possessed him to possibly get this messed up? I
remembered earlier when Gervaise mentioned something about the date. At least I
think that’s what he said. I