Free What the Heart Needs by Jessica Gadziala Page A

accommodating housekeeper had broken her hand while playing with her grandchildren and would not be able to be at the house to clean for the party.
    Hannah spent all of two minutes wallowing in her misfortune before she snapped out of it, packed her dress and shoes and makeup into her car, changed into a sweatshirt, leggings, and sneakers and drove to EM’s house, bent on cleaning the house top to bottom herself.
    It was the first time she had ever seen his house. But ‘house’ was not the right word to describe where he lived. Perhaps ‘estate’ was more appropriate. She had to pull into the gated community and tell the security guard who she was and accepting a quick set of directions from him. She drove past massive houses with perfectly manicured lawns. The trees were mature and provided charming shade that reminded her of her hometown. Finally she pulled up to the correct house and up the massive winding driveway. Climbing out of her car, she looked up at his house with a sense of awe.
    It was a huge two story house with a stone front and large windows. The front door was painted red like her parent’s front door. Despite its enormous size, it seemed quaint and homey to her.
    It wasn’t what she was expecting at all. She had pictured something in simple stucco or glass and metal. Something cold and sterile.
    Punching in the pass code to the security system he had provided her with the night before, she let herself in.
    The entryway was enormous with a horseshoe shaped staircase. All of the flooring was gorgeous, shiny dark wood. To her right was a study with an executive desk facing away from floor to ceiling bookshelves that were, surprisingly, packed. To her left was an enormous sitting room with couches of buttery looking brown leather and captain’s chairs of brown and cream stripes. Judging by the EM headquarters and his house, either EM or his interior decorator really had a thing for earth tones.
    Hannah walked straight ahead underneath the balcony from the second floor and toward, where she assumed, she would find the kitchen. She passed two full bathrooms and another, smaller sitting room which held a huge flat screen television and reclining chairs. All the way toward the back of the house, she found a kitchen that was bigger than her entire apartment. It was stark in all shades of white, tile, backsplash, and cabinets. The countertops and appliances were stainless steel. He had the largest stovetop she had ever seen with eight burners. Mary was going to love it.
    Past the kitchen was an all-seasons room made completely of windows. There were comfortable looking fabric chairs and an abundance of greenery. She could see a huge in-ground pool set far in the backyard.
    Hannah let out a wistful sigh, and went in search of cleaning supplies which she found in a small closet off of the kitchen.
    As she dusted every surface and scrubbed the floors on her hands and knees, she silently thanked her mother for sending her to her grandmother’s house every Sunday afternoon to help her keep house. Her grandmother had grown up in a generation where men had went out and been breadwinners and the women had stayed home and raised children, and cooked meals, and made sure that their houses were absolutely spotless at all times. If a surface she had cleaned came out streaky, she was forced to go back and redo it until she had gotten it right. And while EM’s house was already very clean thanks to her decisive choice in housekeepers, she knew from her grandmother that there was certainly no such thing as “too clean”.
    She had steadfastly made her way through the kitchen, the bathrooms, and the sitting rooms. She took breaks only to change out the water in her bucket and get more paper towels.
    Time escaped her, huge chunks at a time. And before she thought it was possible, the caterers and servers were already at the door. She let them in and hurried to get back to the study to get it done so she could properly