His Greatest Treasure

Something Missing

Reid’s POV

I wake up to my alarm at five like I do every morning. I look at the woman sleeping next to me, her naked body partially exposed from beneath the white sheet. She’s the very sexy blonde I met at the party last night, who had one too many champagnes. She was great in bed last night, but I didn’t feel like there was anything else there beyond the s****l attraction. I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for, just something more.

I change into my workout clothes and leave her in my bedroom as I head to my personal gym. Blasting my workout playlist through the gym’s speakers, I lift weights and do cardio until my body is plastered with sweat. The gym has its own shower and I usually keep a few pairs of clothes handy in the mini closet by the shower so I don’t make the staff uncomfortable going through the house naked. Just as I’m toweling off and getting dressed, my phone rings. Glancing down at the caller ID, I see it’s my brother Quin.

“What do you want, Quin?” I ask, my usual response when my brother calls.

“Hey, lover boy. I saw you leave with that model last night. She’s the one from Norway, right? Bet you two had a great time last night,” I can just see him winking at me and giving me his annoying little grin.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“You guess so?”

“You know how I feel about it, Quin. She’s obviously hot and a good lay, but I probably won’t see her again. In fact, I’m kind of hoping she’ll leave while I’m downstairs.” I’m a playboy, but not necessarily proud of it. Obviously I like being with beautiful women, but I am hoping that one day I will find a girl that will make me never want to leave my bed, as long as she’s in it.

“Yeah and you and your soulmate crap,” he scoffs. I haven’t admitted that to anyone except Quin, and swore I’d kill him if it got out, especially if it leaked to one of those gossip magazines. While I’m sure there would be girls who would swoon at the idea of a billionaire who believes in soulmates, dad didn’t build a tech empire from being soft. I inherited that empire, and I have to keep it thriving.

“Is there anything else you want to talk about, Q? Or did you just want to talk about my love life?” I asked, annoyed. I walked up to the kitchen and opened the fridge looking for something to eat.

“Consuela said you were hiring another housekeeper. Why didn’t you ask me for recommendations or have her ask Paul for recommendations? I’ve had a lot of great housekeepers.

“Yeah, and they all quit because you’re too much of a flirt,” I snapped back. Quin was harmless but often couldn’t handle his urge to flirt with women, even though it was very inappropriate to do that with women who worked for you.

“I don’t need your help hiring a housekeeper. Why are you bothering Consuela?”

Consuela was my estate manager and Paul was Quin’s. I did a lot of things for myself like driving, cooking, laundry, and errands, but because it was such a big house and I had a busy schedule, I did need some help. Estate managers are usually in charge of all the major responsibilities of running the house, but Consuela was basically just there to help with what I needed. The only other staff I needed were two housekeepers to help me keep up on the house and a landscaping crew to maintain the grounds. Consuela was their direct supervisor. She oversaw any repairs that needed to be done and on the rare occasion I had guests over, she helped me entertain. When I wasn’t home, Conseula was, making sure that everything was taken care of.

“What are you talking about, she loves me! Anyway, tell her to have fun with interrogations today!”

“Interviews,” I grumbled before hanging up. Little brothers never outgrow their abilities to annoy their older siblings.

I ate an apple and drank some coffee as I read the newspaper. Before hurrying out the door, I peeked in my room and saw that my date from last night was still asleep. Consuela was walking through the door just as I was leaving, and I knew she could handle that situation.

“Good Morning Mr. Parker,” She said with a warm smile. She was a very kind woman, almost like a motherly figure to me. I had insisted that she call me Reid, but always the professional, she stuck with formalities.

Good morning Consuela. There may or may not be a sleeping young woman in my room,” I admitted sheepishly, even though Consuela knew all about the lady friends who spent the night, and she knew the drill with getting them to leave.

She winked at me with a smug smile. “Okay Mr. Parker. I’ll offer her something to eat and tell her you’ve left for the day.” Then she got a mischievous look on her face. “Should I promise her that you’ll call tomorrow?”

“Oh Consuela, please don’t do that. Also, interviews are between two and four this afternoon, right? How many applicants do we have coming?”

“I only have three so far, so we should be done by three thirty.” On the job ad, potential applicants were requested to call the number to schedule an interview and to bring their resume, so it was possible that there could be more interviews if anyone else called today.

“Sounds great, see you later.”

“Goodbye Mr. Parker!”

I hurried to my truck in the driveway. Most rich guys have drivers, limos, or flashy sports cars, but I didn’t need all that. I enjoyed driving, and I loved my truck, a black Ford F-150. My office was only about ten minutes away and I left early enough that I usually beat the traffic.

Work was the same as it ever was, monotonous and mind-numbing, but I did what I had to do. My dad built this company with his bare hands and it was an honor that I got to continue to run it for him after he passed. After plenty of meetings, emails, and phone calls, the day was wrapping up. It was four, and I had finished everything I needed to that day, so I decided to head home. When I pulled up in front of the house, I noticed an old blue bicycle propped up near the door.

I walked inside and could hear Consuela’s voice coming from her office. The interviews must have gone late. I walked towards her office, wanting to sit in. I opened the door and saw Consuela sitting behind her desk with a few papers where she was taking notes. On the other side of the desk was a beautiful woman with long dark hair and piercing green eyes.

“Mr, Parker, glad you could join us. We had a last minute applicant interested in an interview. This is Makenna Walters.