Free Buying Thyme by TJ Hamilton Page A

away to herself as she moves her way around the massive kitchen. Suddenly, she notices me in the corner of her eye and stops dead in her tracks.
    “Oh… ah… Miranda isn't it? Sorry. You startled me. Mr Tench said you would be down, but he said I shouldn’t expect you for a couple more hours yet. I hope I didn’t wake you with my music. Would you like me to fix you some breakfast?” She says as she presses a flat screen TV on the wall, to lower the music.
    “Ah, yeah sure. Thank you.” 
    Is she his mum I wonder? They do have similar features. Then I realise she called him Mr Tench, so I scrap that idea. I move towards the huge island in the middle of the kitchen and sit on one of its stools, under the enormous stainless steel range hood above. The bench is obviously the hub of the kitchen, being home to the gas stove and scattered with various bowls and vases containing fruit and herbs within them.
    “Sorry I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Mrs Oktar.” She quickly glances back at me as she clatters her way through the cupboards. So she’s obviously his housekeeper, “Now what can I get you dear?” She pauses longer this time, and looks at me.
    “Some fruit would be nice. Where is Joe by the way?” I ask, looking out the windows to see if I can spot him out on the terrace. 
    From this angle of the house, I can see across to the other wing where the bar is. A huge grassed and paved terrace separating the two sides.
    “He left early this morning. Didn’t say where, but said he will be back this afternoon. He said to tell you to make yourself at home here.” 
    That is strange. Why would he book me for two full days if he wasn’t going to be around during the day? Why not just book me during the night? Oh well, a girl can’t complain. I am being paid after all. So I will just have to make the most of it. Mrs Oktar notices me looking out the window.
    “Would you like me to set the fruit for you out on the terrace? Beside the pool even? You can make the most of this glorious morning sun and maybe take a dip afterwards?” 
    I giggle to myself as I remember our naked dip together last night, but then I realise that I don’t have any swimwear with me. The thought didn’t cross my mind when I was packing. I usually bring an array of options too when I’m with Tench. For some reason I over looked my bikini. I didn’t really think of them last night either because… well… I didn’t need them.
    “Ah… that’s alright Mrs Oktar. Thank you, but I didn’t pack my bikini.”
    “Oh not to worry dear. There are plenty in the pool house. Go and choose one for yourself and I’ll bring you out your fruit.”  
    Of course there is spare swimwear in the pool house. After all, this is Joe Tench- the party king- we are talking about.
    “Well I guess I can’t argue with that. Thank you.” 
    I make my way out of the kitchen and decide to grab my favourite book from my suitcase. Dickens’ Great Expectations , reading it for nearly the hundredth time. Every time I read it I find myself relating to each of the different characters in the book, as I grow and evolve, and as life’s experiences change. Most of the time I feel like Estella, all cold hearted and willing to crush men after seducing them. Unlike Estella, I have never met my Pip. No man has ever been able to occupy my heart in a way Pip did with Estella. Miss Stephanie is like my Miss Havisham in ways, an eccentric old spinster, educating me in the art of breaking the hearts of men through my powers of seduction. It’s what being an escort at the Agency is all about. I make men descend into a false sense of reality. They actually believe you like them so that they want to see you more and more. The very same words Miss Havisham quotes about Estella resinate through me. It’s what Miss Stephanie and the industry have done to me:
    ‘ I stole her heart away and put ice in its place. ’
     
    The pool house is gorgeous summer chic, with classic beach