Maid For Beckett Catching The Baseball Legend’s Heart novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7

10 Vouchers

“What are you doing here, Maple?” I opened the door wider. Her tail wagged as she dropped the ball on the pavement, then the other golden retriever and husky appeared by her side. My front door looked smaller now that three huge dogs were sitting in front of the pool house. “Oh no,” I shook my head. “I can’t play with you. The boss already doesn’t like me.”

Maple whimpered, nudging the ball forward. The sloshy tennis ball rolled and bumped against the tip of my sneakers.

I stared at Maple, then at the two other dogs with her, conflicted. Beckett’s hostility made it clear that these dogs are special to him, and he’d rather spend time with them than breathe the same air as me.

I sighed, my shoulders falling. “I really can’t play right now, Maple,” I said, dropping to the ground, cupping Maple’s face, and rubbing her fur. “You saw how your hooman was with me, right? I might get fired if he sees me playing with you.”

The retriever and husky forced their snouts into Maple’s face, demanding the same attention I was bestowing on her. I am at believer that dogs are man’s best friend. Sometimes they are much better than people, and I think these three are going to be my best buddies on this estate.

I placed my hand on top of the husky’s head, checking its collar for its name. Storm. And the other retriever was River. “You guys have such pretty names,” I cooed, rising to my feet. Maple whimpered, dropping the ball to the ground. She looked like a huge chunk of fluffy hot dog pillow in front of the door. It seemed that they weren’t going anywhere. “Okay, here’s the deal: after I finish doing my chores, maybe we can play in the afternoon. Sound good?”

As though they understood me, their ears perked up, and the same quiet ringing sound echoed from the mansion. The dogs stiffened, then bolted away toward Beckett, who was standing in the open doorway. His gaze was dark and narrowed as he glared at me.

—

Those eyes they would be my undoing if he weren’t such an ass. I rose to my feet, studying my boss. Why was he so mad at me? I would like to think he and Lena had some grievance toward me that somehow materialized when they laid eyes on

1. me.

He waited for the dogs to enter the mansion, then slammed the double doors shut as if they weighed nothing but a sack of

cotton.

I blew a heavy breath, shaking off my boss’s nasty attitude. Then I went inside the pool house and headed to the kitchen, making myself a cup of coffee while planning what I would do on my first day. After shooting a message to Caleb, I scouted the outside of the mansion, familiarizing myself with everything before sneaking inside.

I didn’t have any encounters with Beckett for the entire day. He could be watching me, though. I felt eyes on me everywhere I went in the mansion. I spoke to Basil about my boss’s usual routine, making a plan on how I would clean the mansion tomorrow while avoiding Beckett.

Basil said Beckett usually ran with the dogs in the morning, and I planned to clean inside the mansion while he was away. Because no matter how bad his attitude was, I still needed this job.

I slept that night with newfound courage and woke up with the same tenacity. I woke before the sun crept over the horizon, but when I stepped outside the pool house, my jaw dropped to the ground.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said, my voice barely a whisper in the dusk.

The underwater light of the pool revealed specks of neon green color floating in the water. The blue water was now neon green. I clearly remembered how clean that pool was yesterday, so I went to the light switches on the side of the pool house, groaning when I saw hundreds of tennis balls floating in the pool.

My voice was caught in my throat. My fists clenched at my sides as I processed what was in front of me. This was intentional, This was war, and I couldn’t even fight back.

1/3

Chapter 7

10 vouchers

These tennis balls wouldn’t bounce into the pool on their own, and I doubted the dogs would leave their toys in the water.

I stomped my feet and grunted out loud. My bastard of a boss did this. If he thinks this will make me quit my job, he’s damn fucking wrong.

It took me almost an hour just to get all the balls out of the pool. By the time I was done, my skin was like wet paper, white and wrinkled. I was soaked to the bone, teeth rattling, sneezing and in dire need of a change of clothing. The sun was already up, and two sacks of wet tennis balls sat on the side of the swimming pool.

Tired and sniffling, I went inside the mansion to start cleaning, only to be bombarded by even more tennis balls scattered everywhere. The hallway, the stairs, and even in the kitchen. I’m surprised he didn’t think of filling the oven and fridge with tennis balls.

I wanted to pull my hair out by the roots, but I managed to keep my cool. The bastard could be watching me. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had installed hidden cameras everywhere just to witness how he’s beating me down with this childish trick.

“Keep your cool, Andi.” I sighed. “Your boss is a man–child. A man–child; keep that in mind.”

The mansion was a dream. but my boss was a nightmare. While picking up the tennis balls, I thought of happy thoughts that would get my mind off the exasperation. Mom and Caleb, our little trailer haven. That rickety house was my safe place. Thoughts of Mom and Caleb put tears in my eyes. I know I will lie to Caleb about how my day went today, but that’s fine. It’s what I have to do for family. A tiny sacrifice.

Tired and hungry, my back was sore by the time I had picked up all the balls and placed them in sacks by the swimming pool area.

I glowered at the ten sacks of tennis balls with narrowed eyes. Was this his diabolical plan to make me quit? Did he even sleep?

My train of thought pulled to a complete stop when I heard the barking of dogs nearing the swimming pool. Maple, Storm, and River were running at full speed, stopping short of knocking me down.

“Where did you guys go?” I cooed, genuine glee wrapping my tone as I kneeled and petted the three huge dogs.

Behind them, Beckett emerged from the back of the pool house. His fitted gray shirt and jogging shorts were soaked in sweat. The morning sun bounced off his tanned, sweaty skin, making him look like an artwork of the gods covered in shiny oil. I stopped myself from checking him out, smiling as his brooding eyes landed on the sack of tennis balls on the poolside

I rose to my feet, giving him a curt smile. “Good morning, sir,” I said, my voice restrained.

He tipped his chin up. “Did you make breakfast?”

My jaw ticked. He wanted breakfast? He shouldn’t have tossed all the tennis balls everywhere if he wanted a decent breakfast.

“I was waiting for you,” I lied, and he raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know if you were allergic to anything. Wouldn’t want to kill you with the first meal I make.”

Was it me, or was it just exhaustion, because I just saw a ghost of smile on his lips.

“I’m not allergic to anything. Siobhan told you that, so stop making excuses and do your job.”

2/3