“If you’re concerned about your luggage, you can put it in the entryway and then take it with you when you leave this evening.”
Presley Ann’s eyebrows arched. She glanced at her watch and did the math. “Evening?”
Lydia ignored the comment and forged ahead, figuring today’s workload would make or break her. Either way, stuff had to get done.
“Can you work in those shoes?”
“I sure can.”
Lydia remembered her first day at the Oasis Café, twelve grueling hours in flat heels, and actually felt sorry for Presley Ann for a moment. “Okay. Tomorrow, you may want to wear something a little lower. Your feet will probably hurt by the time you leave today. Go barefoot if you want.” Presley Ann bit her lip daintily and nodded.
Lydia took a straightforward tone with her and explained everything that was needed as clearly as possible, taking her from room to room and waiting for her as she negotiated the stairs. She didn’t want to be accused of talking down to the society girl and so explained all the chores and gave her ample time to ask questions. She didn’t ask any.
“All right. Go ahead and get started. I’ll check with you in a few minutes. I have to start lunch. You are welcome to join us for the meal.”
“Why, thank you—” Presley Ann replied, ending on a questioning note.
“Sorry. I’m Lydia.”
“Thank you, Lydia.” For the first time in thirty minutes Presley Ann looked excited about something, namely the prospect of having lunch with the Carlisle brothers.
Great. Just wait until I get my hands on Clayton.
The vacuum cleaner switched on in the family room where she’d directed Presley Ann to start, and she went into the kitchen to start lunch. After a few minutes, it sounded like the vacuum wasn’t moving, so she walked over to the family room to check on Presley Ann. She was moving the furniture back in place. Lydia nodded as she wiggled and scooted the couch back to its original spot. Efficient. Get those areas done first and then vacuum the rest.
Lunch was started when Presley Ann came in the kitchen and said, “The vacuuming is all done.”
“Downstairs? Good, then go vacuum upstairs.”
“Oh…okay.”
Because she paused, Lydia decided to verify the work. “Did you vacuum in all the rooms downstairs, besides the family room? The office, the dining room, the front living room?”
Presley Ann’s shoulders drooped, and she picked at the corner of a nail. “No.”
“We need to do it all, including the baseboards.”
Presley Ann’s mouth popped open to argue, but then she snapped it closed. “All right. Can you please show me how the attachment thingy works for the baseboards?”
“Sure.” At least she was asking nicely. Lydia showed her how to disassemble and reassemble the vacuum cleaner attachments then went back to work in the kitchen preparing a dessert.
The vacuum cleaner whirred and ran for half an hour, and Lydia felt like Presley Ann had to have accomplished something in that amount of time. She walked in the dining room and could still plainly see the layer of dust accumulated under the table, though the chairs were now back in their original spots.
There were tracks from the vacuum only in the main walking areas of the plush carpeting in there and in the living room. Feeling a little more put out with each room she visited, Lydia finally entered the family room, where she found Presley Ann looking at a family photo album.
Lydia marched to the couch she’d seen Presley Ann pushing back into place and moved it out of the way with one mighty tug. She stared at the tile floor underneath and then looked at Presley Ann, who appeared slightly worried.
Lydia squatted down and ran her fingers through the thick layer of dust and then held them up for Presley Ann to see.
“I took time out of my morning to move all this furniture to make your first day a little easier. You moved it all back without vacuuming under any of it, didn’t you?”
“It’s not really that big a deal, is it?”
Lydia dusted her hands off and said, “Yes. It is a very big deal. It is the reason I asked for a helper. I need help. I’m sorry, Presley Ann. You seem very nice but I don’t think—” Lydia removed her phone from her pocket.
Presley Ann trotted over to her. “Please, please, please! Don’t fire me! My aunt will kill me! I promise I’ll do better. I’ll dress for the job tomorrow. I’ll shorten my nails tonight and, and I’ll be here on time, too. Please don’t fire me!”
Lydia doubted that she was going to work out, but she seemed very sincere. “Okay. I’m going to give you until next Wednesday to prove yourself, that’s a full week. That’s all the time you should need for me to know if you can handle this job. But you’re going to have to actually do the work.”