Page 14 of Beautiful Noise

He was much bigger than I expected which was odd because most of the time, TV made short men appear much taller than they truly were. Eccentric was every bit of the powerful figure I’d fallen in love with. Okay so maybe I didn’t lovehimper se but I did truly love his soulful voice.

And experiencing him in person only sweetened the deal. The man’s presence was imperial and seemed to consume all the space in the room. And damn if he didn’t smell like a first-class trip to a sinful destination. One that included sweaty bodies being pushed beyond imaginable limits.Stop it, Kori.The man was impossible and off limits.

I wasn’t even turned off by his angry brooding after his mother told him he couldn’t put me out and I would swear to that man wanting to murder us both from the way heat and anger radiated from his hard, fine body.

Thank God for small favors.

But he saw me naked and I was in his home. I was also unfairly attracted to him and not because he had the voice of a fallen angel and the body to match. Or because he was one of the most famous singers known to man. Those things were a plus even if they weren’t things I cared about.

He just had that thing. I wasn’t sure how to explain it, or if I even could, but there were people you met and instantly knew they could change your world in ways you would never recover from. That was Eccentric. He was a dangerous combination of temptation and trouble. I was in his house and not going anywhere because, well… I didn’t have anywhere else to go.

“Fuck my life. Seriously, fuck my life.”

There were women who would offer up their kidneys for the opportunity I currently had but I felt anxious and irritated. This was the opportunity of a lifetime and I was in no position to take advantage. I needed to be figuring my life out and refused to bethatwoman. The one who slept with a celebrity and never recovered from the high.

Why the hell am I thinking about having sex with him?

He hates me. And I wasn’t sure I liked him very much either. And celebrities were all smoke and mirrors. How many times had I heard horror stories about people meeting their idols or celebrity crushes only to be devastatingly disappointed because said celebrities didn’t live up to the hype?

This man had flaws, he had to. No one could look that damn good, sing the way he did, and not have some type of imperfection. And who was to say he was even attracted to me? I was getting ahead of myself.

And also back to thinking about him and sex.

Good lord, I’m never going to survive this. Maybe I should just leave.

And go where, Kori? Get your shit together. You have a roof over your head for now and a decent job.

I needed to survive co-existing with Eccentric until I could afford to get my own place.

I tossed the covers back and swung my legs over the side of the bed, gripping the edge. “No more sex thoughts. Kori, avoid him and make this work,” I mumbled.

You can do this!

And I could, because I had to. After a quick shower, I dressed in a T-shirt, yoga pants, and fuzzy socks. Today, I needed to tackle thoroughly cleaning the other four guest rooms and the kitchen.

Not that any space in the house was dirty per se. The house was new construction so most of what I had to tackle was dust,removing stickers and labels from new installations of faucets, tubs, and closet doors.

Then there was mopping floors and vacuuming up dust particles left behind by the crews that worked on the home. Light work, but still exhausting nonetheless. Either way, I had a job to do and since Gwendolyn had been so kind to solve a major problem for me, I fully intended to hold up my end of the bargain.

Armed with my AirPods and phone, which I tucked into the waistband of my yoga pants, I gathered what I needed to get started. Elite had provided me with a cleaning kit consisting of industrial cleaning solutions, mop, dust mop, bucket, broom, and squeegees. Pretty much a high-end cleaning configuration I had been putting to good use. Oddly enough I didn’t hate my new job. It was soothing in a sense, mindless work to keep me busy and my thoughts about what the hell was next for me at bay.

Basically, a distraction.

A distraction that paid well, but also one I hadn’t foreseen as my life plan. If my mother could see me now, I was sure she’d lose her mind. Her precious daughter damaging her hands with cleaning solutions and rough rubber gloves.

As I collected my supplies, positioning them on my rolling cart, I snorted at what I knew she would say. I could literally hear her voice in my head.

That brain of yours is ordained by God Himself. Your sole purpose in life is to broaden young minds and arm them with the ability to shine in the darkest of spaces.

That woman was so dramatic. I just couldn’t fathom spending the rest of my life in blazers and heels peering at the unwelcoming faces of students who would rather be anywhere in the world than under my tutelage. Not that cleaning toilets was any better than teaching but at least this was temporary.

Releasing an exaggerated sigh, I removed my gloves and tossed them on the cart. That damn cartI’dhad to assemble. I wasn’t sure how sturdy it was, but I’d managed. It was just after one and I had finished the three of the four bedrooms, deciding it was the perfect time for a lunch break.

For most of the morning I had been hidden away in the bedrooms, lost in my music and cleaning, but the minute my fuzzy socks touched the bamboo flooring of the hallway, I was painfully aware that the owner of the house was here… somewhere.

Or maybe he’d left.

It wasn’t like he had to check in with me or that he wanted to. I was an intruder forced on him by his mother. The thought of how he’d quietly but defiantly conceded to her demand of allowing me to stay placed a wide smile on my face. She was his boss and he loved her enough to comply.