“Besides,” she said, needing to break the silence and lessen the acute embarrassment she was feeling. “When exactly would I have had the time to accomplish this mystery grocery shop, let alone cook? Huh? I was on my hands and knees scrubbing your kitchen floor until fifteen minutes ago. You live like a pig.” Shit. She regretted the words the second they left her lips. Her breath caught in her chest as she waited for the axe to fall. Would he kick her out tonight? Or would he let her leave in the morning?

To her surprise, he didn’t bellow “You’re fired.” Just shrugged like he could care less. However, that tinge of color had returned to stain his cheekbones, the tips of his ears. “And yet here you are, ready and willing to live in the sty.” The words were harsh, but there was no heat in the delivery. Sarah could see in his dark eyes something that looked almost like regret. “Besides, nobody asked you to scrub my floors.”

“That’s what you said you wanted. A clean house, fresh sheets, et cetera, et cetera.”

“Good Lord, woman, use your brain. I didn’t hire you to scrub my toilets. You are to take shorthand and type when I need you to. In your downtime, I want you to organize my home, make it run smoothly. Hire a cleaner. Keep an eye on the gardeners. Make sure they’re doing whatever it is they’re supposed to do. Handle the details. So I’m not ashamed to entertain in my home. Have you looked at my pool? The damn water is green. It’s disgusting. Figure out why. Have somebody fix it.”