I lay in bed thinking about tomorrow night. Will Drew be nice to me? Will he try to cuddle with me? I’ve heard of people who get paid to cuddle. I thought it was farfetched at the time, but here I am. I’m getting paid to put someone to sleep. I knew I was boring, but I never thought I’d get paid for it.
“Julie Michaels,” I say out loud, “human sedative.”
Tiffany is right. I do need some excitement.
Chapter Three
My stomach is in knots. I don’t have class on Wednesdays, so I spend the whole day watching the minutes tick by. I try to distract myself with homework and my term papers, but I find my mind wandering to my new employment. More specifically, my future employer.
I look up Drew’s address online. He lives in a gated community about fifteen miles outside Cincinnati. His house is the last house on the street and has a massive backyard. A pond with a dock sits on the back edge of the property. It’s hard to tell from the overhead shots on the internet, but I’m guessing he owns five to ten acres of land. I can’t even imagine how much his house cost.
I also research Drew himself. I don’t come across a whole lot I didn’t already know about him from my brother. He is incredibly private and does not speak about his personal life. He dated a famous model/actress early in his career, but she said in an interview he couldn’t handle the constant attention their relationship garnered.
His stats on the basketball court are impressive. He holds the record for most points scored in a game and the most consecutive games with more than thirty points. His teammates respect him and consider him their team leader.
I nearly fall off my chair when I read: “Estimated Net Worth: $250 million.” According to the article, the bulk of Drew’s earnings come from endorsement deals. He has contracts with an athletic apparel company, a car manufacturer, a food and beverage company, and an underwear line.
When I scroll through the ads for the underwear company, I almost salivate. The man looks good in briefs, I’ll give him that. His pecs and abs are well-defined and you can see the strands of muscles in his thighs. It’s hard to believe such a man exists in real life.
Even harder to fathom? I’ll be sharing a bed with him tonight. And several nights after that.
Aside from looking hot, there is one other common thing throughout all of Drew’s ads. He never smiles. Sometimes he looks sexy; sometimes he looks aloof; sometimes he looks angry. But he never looks happy. Not even a playful grin.
My phone rings around 2:30 p.m. and it comes up as “Matthew Deer”.
“This is Julie,” I say when I answer.
“Hi Julie. This is Matthew Deer, Drew Waters’ attorney.”
“Hi Mr. Deer. How are you?”
“I’m well. You?”
“Good.” What could Matthew be calling me about? Has Drew changed his mind?
Matthew doesn’t keep me in suspense. “I’m calling about your background check.”
My heart pounds. “Yes?”
“I didn’t know this, but it can take a while to get the results of a comprehensive background check,” Matthew explains. “I won’t get the results of yours for a couple of weeks.”
“Really?” I deflate. “Does this mean we don’t have a deal?”
“Under normal circumstances, yes. But given that you passed the Ohio Supreme Court’s character and fitness evaluation, I’m giving you the green light.”
I let out the breath I’ve been holding in. “Thank goodness.”
Matthew chuckles. “I know how extensive the Supreme Court’s background checks are because I’ve been through it myself. If there were any flaws in your character, they wouldn’t let you sit for the bar exam.”
“So we’re still on for tonight?” I ask hopefully.
“Yes,” Matthew confirms, “you’re still on for tonight. I advised Mr. Waters about the situation. He asked me to go ahead and order the background check, which I did, but I’m confident there’s no issue.”
“There isn’t,” I promise him.
“As a precaution, I have to advise you that pursuant to your contract with Mr. Waters, if something does show up in the background check, he can terminate you immediately.”
“I understand.”
“Good. Do you know how to get to Mr. Waters’ home?”
“Yes. I went online and got directions.”
“Excellent. Oh, by the way,” Matthew says, “I called your accountant and worked out the details for the first payment. It will be deposited a week from today.”
The thought of paying off Jeremy’s school debt is amazing, but I still have one concern. I reviewed the contract again last night and noticed a provision I overlooked yesterday.
“Can I ask a question Mr. Deer?”
“Of course.”
“I know your Drew’s attorney and you can’t provide me with legal advice about our agreement, but I was wondering if you can clarify something for me. If I’m no help to Drew and he wants to back out of the deal before the seven days is up, he can. Right?”
Matthew considers my question. “Technically, under the terms of the agreement, he can.”
“And he wouldn’t have to pay me anything. Correct?”
Matthew hesitates. “Yes, that’s correct.”
I sigh. “I should have kept my waitressing job a little longer, huh?”
“I don’t think you need to worry Julie. Mr. Waters understands it will be uncomfortable the first week and may not be indicative of your ability to help him sleep. I doubt he’ll terminate your employment before the seven days is up.”
I’m not so sure about that. If I was Drew and I wasn’t sleeping better by day six, I’d fire me and save the twenty-five grand.
“I appreciate your honesty Mr. Deer. Hopefully things will work out.”
“They will. Unless of course, we get the results of your background check within the week and it tells me you killed three men in Iowa,” Matthew jokes.
I cringe. I’ve never killed anyone, but depending on how extensive this background check is, Drew may not like what Mr. Deer finds.
“Any other questions for me Julie?”
“Does Drew know my height, weight and birthday now?” I ask out of curiosity.
Matthew chuckles. “Mr. Waters doesn’t want to know anything about you other than your name and that you won’t kill him in his sleep.”
“Huh,” I say. I’m not sure if Drew’s indifference is a good thing or a bad thing.
“Just don’t smother him with a pillow, alright?”
I laugh. “I promise, I won’t.”
“Good.”
Before we hang up, Matthew tells me I can call him any time with questions or concerns. I want to ask him what kind of person Drew is, but I don’t. I’ll find out for myself soon enough.
---
My knuckles are white from gripping the steering wheel as I turn into Drew’s neighborhood. I’ve been on edge the entire drive over. I stop at the security booth and a man in his early thirties steps out. The security guard looks at me and my beat up Honda Civic skeptically.
“Can I help you Miss?”