Mis-Judge By His Secretary

7

Eleanor

The ringtone broke the peaceful silence of my new room, pulling me from the internal debate I was having over whether or not I should reorganize the dresser.

My dresser.

In my new room.

In Nathan West’s house.

That was still a surreal thought.

It had only been a few days since he showed up at my apartment like some kind of reluctant knight in a perfectly tailored suit and offered me a place to stay. And now, here I was, standing in front of a dresser bigger than my old closet, inside a bedroom that was about the size of my entire apartment at Orson’s place.

I wasn’t settled exactly, but I liked the room. It was warm and cozy despite being in his house, which seemed too clean and too structured for anything cozy to exist. The walls were painted in soft earth tones, the bed was plush, and the windows let in just enough natural light to make the space feel mine.

Which was weird. Because it wasn’t mine. And I had no idea how long I would actually be here.

My phone buzzed again, vibrating against the dresser, and I finally snapped out of my thoughts. I glanced at the screen and felt my stomach drop.

Mom.

Oh, crap.

I hesitated for half a second before answering in the sweetest voice I could muster. “Hey, Mom…”

“Where the heck are you?” she demanded, skipping right past the pleasantries. “I’m standing outside your apartment, and some man just answered the door saying he has no idea who you are! He looked at me like I was crazy, Ellie!”

Holy. s**t.

Panic shot through me as I realized… I never told my parents I moved out.

In all the chaos of getting evicted, moving into Nathan’s house, and trying to adjust to my unusual living arrangement, I had completely forgotten to tell them.

Crap, crap, crap.

“Uh…” My brain scrambled for an explanation that wouldn’t lead to an interrogation. “Yeah, about that. I moved.”

“You moved?” My mother’s voice sharpened. “When? Where? And why didn’t you tell us?”

I swallowed hard, spinning away from the dresser and pacing the length of the room. “It was kind of… last minute. I got a new job, and the position came with a place to stay, so I had to take it.”

Silence.

Then…

“What?” She exclaimed.

“It was in my contract,” I lied quickly, wincing at how unconvincing I sounded. “It’s part of the job. My employer wanted me to be closer to work, so they arranged accommodations.”

A long pause stretched between us, and I braced myself for the inevitable explosion.

“Why didn’t you say anything, Eleanor?” she asked, her voice equal parts frustration and concern. “I’ve been worried sick since I got here! You just vanished.”

I exhaled, rubbing my temple. “Okay, first of all, I didn’t vanish. I’ve been working and settling in. And second, why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“That’s not the point!” She said.

“It kind of is, though.”

She let out a long, exasperated sigh. “Send me your address.”

I froze.

Crap.

If I said no, she would definitely know something was up. My mother had a sixth sense for sniffing out bullshit, and if I even hesitated too long, she would be in her car, hunting me down like some kind of suburban detective.

“Okay,” I said, sighing in defeat. “I’ll text it to you.”

“Good. I’ll see you soon.”

The line went dead before I could argue.

Fantastic.

I groaned, dragging a hand down my face. This was bad.

It wasn’t that I was ashamed of staying here… well, maybe a little..: but I definitely wasn’t ready to explain the situation to my mother. I wasn’t even sure I could lie my way out of this all.

Telling her the truth would only open a can of worms I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with. The lectures, the questions, the inevitable disapproval. I could already hear her voice in my head: You moved in with a man? A man who is your boss? Eleanor, what were you thinking?

Yeah, no. Not happening.

But she was coming here anyway.

Which meant I had about thirty minutes to warn Nathan and pray he didn’t kick me out for this even before my mother arrived.

Taking a deep breath, I slipped my phone into my pocket after texting her the address, and made my way downstairs, scanning the house for any sign of him.

He wasn’t in the living room. Not in the kitchen.

I finally found him in his office, sitting behind his desk, looking infuriatingly composed as he read through a thick case file.

I hesitated in the doorway, shifting on my feet. “Um… Judge West?”

Nathan didn’t look up. “We live in the same house, Eleanor. I think you can call me Nathan.” He said.

That shouldn’t have made my stomach flip, but it did for some weird reason I wasn’t sure I knew about.

“Right. Nathan.” I cleared my throat, stepping inside. “I, uh… I have something to tell you. And I need you to not be mad.”

That got his attention.

His gaze lifted from the file, sharp and unreadable. “Why would I be mad?”

I gave him an awkward smile. “Well, here’s the thing… My mother is coming over.”

Nathan blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Yeah, so… funny story. I forgot to tell my parents I moved, and my mom showed up at my old apartment today. Obviously, she freaked out when she found out I wasn’t there, and now she’s on her way here to see where I’m living.”

Nathan just stared at me.

Then, very slowly, he closed the file in front of him. “Let me get this straight. Your mother, who doesn’t know you were evicted, doesn’t know the real reason you’re staying here, and is already in panic mode…”

“…is currently driving over to your house to check on me, yes.” I finished for him.

His jaw flexed, and for a second, I was convinced he was going to murder me.

Instead, he just exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Great.”

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t plan this. I just need you to go along with it, at least for today.” If I knew something better to tell her, I would have.

He tilted his head. “And what exactly is the story you’re going with?”

I winced. “Uh… that my job came with housing, and it was part of my contract?”

Nathan gave me a long, unimpressed look. “That’s terrible.”

“I know! But I panicked, okay?” I said, wincing.

He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “So you want me to pretend I’m the kind of boss who requires his secretary to live with him?” He asked.

“…Yes?”

His lips twitched… just barely. “You do realize how that sounds, right?”

I groaned, slumping into the chair across from his desk. “I know, I suck at lying.”

Nathan let out a slow breath, rubbing his temple like I was single-handedly giving him a migraine. “Fine,” he finally said. “I’ll play along. But you owe me.”

I perked up. “Really?”

His eyes narrowed. “I mean it, Eleanor. You owe me big.” He said, something in his voice I couldn’t put my fingers around.

“Okay sir,” I said quickly.

Nathan sighed. “Let’s just hope your mother isn’t as terrifying as you’re making her sound.”

I let out a weak laugh, already picturing the storm that was about to hit this house.

“Oh, Nathan,” I muttered under my breath. “You have no idea.”