Mary smiled.
“I expect a hundred percent effort. If you fail to deliver a hundred percent, then I can find someone else.”
Lucia gulped and could feel her eyes well up with tears. She was shocked and thrilled at getting offered a job and at such great pay. She felt excited and ready to take on the challenge of whatever Mary had in mind for her to do. Suddenly things were looking better for her, and as if she might actually make it through this winter.
“Oh, I promise to give a hundred percent. I’m just worried I may not be qualified for certain aspects of this.”
“Lucia, I’m pretty good at reading people.” She looked Lucia over, and Lucia nervously dried her palms on the dingy sweater.
“I’d say you’re an educated woman, finished college maybe, and even came from a nice family.”
“Well, I—”
“It doesn’t matter. I have this feeling that things are going to work out fine.”
The sound of the doorbell ringing drew their attention, and Lucia quickly followed Mary out of the room. The woman sure did have a lot of energy and no time to stand still. As she followed her to the front door, Lucia nearly gasped aloud. As the door opened and Mary greeted her guest, Lucifer came into view. He wore snug-fitting blue jeans and a tight flannel shirt that showed off his muscles, and the white of the flannel he wore underneath peeked out from the rolled sleeves on his elbows.
He also wore a worn-out baseball cap that had the word Texas on the front but immediately removed it as he greeted Mary. His dark-brown eyes and crew-cut dark hair were enhanced by the small earring he had in one ear. She could also see the tattoos on his arm. The man was gorgeous and older. She swallowed hard as Mary introduced them.
“We saw one another at Francine’s during lunch,” Lucifer said and eyed Lucia over.
Mary smiled.
“Great. So you know one another. Come in and let me show you what I need done. It’s great that Lucia is here too since she’ll be overseeing the job.”
“Overseeing the job?” he asked with an attitude that instantly put Lucia on guard.
“Yes, she’s my new personal assistant and helper. She’ll be keeping a close eye on you and your workers,” Mary added as she led the way up the stairs. Lucifer motioned for Lucia to go first, and she couldn’t help but feel the man’s eyes upon her. She was practically shaking, he was so big and attractive.
As they first entered the room below where the ceiling leaked onto the flooring, Lucia watched Lucifer inspect the damage. “Damn, I assume that Bob got the leak fixed and did his repairs?” Lucifer asked.
“Yes. You’ll see the damage in the walls and the floor from the new installation of pipes upstairs,” Mary said.
“This is a shame. Was that all original wood?” Lucia asked.
“It was, and I was very upset over it. But Lucifer here is a great finisher. He does excellent woodwork and can make it look just like the original. Isn’t that right, Lucifer?” Mary asked as she headed out of the room.
“Yes, Ma’am, I’ll try my best,” he said but looked at Lucia and gave her body the once-over.
Lucia pulled her sweater closed and lowered her eyes as she followed Mrs. Higgins from the room.
She couldn’t get over the feeling she had. Lucifer placed her on edge and made her feel a bit anxious. She wanted to place some distance between herself and Lucifer. He was tall, at least six foot three, and he had a presence about him that made her feel small and inadequate. It was odd, but instead of being angry or turned off by feeling such emotions, Lucia felt an attraction.
As they entered the upper bedroom, Lucia gasped at the sight. Walls were partially torn down, flooring wasn’t in place, and the glistening new pipes didn’t even make the room appealing. It was a mess.
She watched and listed as Lucifer whistled.
“This is one hell of a mess,” Lucifer acknowledged as he stood there with one hand on his hip and the other rubbing the small dusting of facial hair on his chin. It made him suddenly appear older, more intriguing, and her belly did a series of flips and flops.
“I know, that’s why I called you, Lucifer. You can handle this. You can make it look beautiful again,” Mary said as she carefully walked between the open planks of wood and looked at the window.
Lucia saw the emotion in Mary’s eyes from across the room. She felt badly for her. This was a very large bedroom and would be gorgeous once the renovations were complete.
“Do you want it to look exactly the way it did before?” he asked Mary.
“Well, it needed some updating anyway. The layout is fine, and really, I intend to use it as guest’s quarters.”
“Was there anything about it you wanted to change before the plumbing problem?” Lucia thought to ask.