Mia Cara

6

I was already running fifteen minutes late, and on top of that I had hit rush hour. I had left early enough to drop Terra off at school and go grocery shopping and spare myself enough time to return back to our apartment to put the groceries away. I probably could've made it on time, had I not forgotten the phone the second time I left and had to turn around, ten minutes down the road.

So here I was, rushing to park my car near the water fountain and quickly go inside. I was dressed in my blue dress, my name tag pinned proudly to the left side of my chest and the iPhone in hand. I approached the door, quickly opening it and slipping into the uncomfortably silent building.

I made my way to the kitchen, eternally grateful for the map Ginger gave to me yesterday that I had decided to study last night after dinner and overthinking the ridiculously expensive device that sat upon my dresser.

"Rose!" Ginger's voice broke me out of my thoughts, "Hi, honey!" A wide grin spread across her round face, I noticed she had tied her wild red curls up into a pony tail today.

"Hi, Ginger." I smiled warmly, "What should I do today?"

"Well, you can start by bringin' Mr. Rossi his daily tea. Maria, the woman who usually brings it, is out today. Apparently she caught head lice from her daughter." She shook her head at the thought.

"Oh gosh, that's terrible." I said, remembering when Terra had come home with head lice last year and we had to sit around with mayonnaise on our heads for longer than I would've liked. One of the grossest things ever.

Ginger muttered something as she grabbed the tea and shoved it in my direction. I carefully took the hot cup in one hand and slipped the iPhone box into the pocket on the front of my apron.

"He should be in his study, do you need some help?"

"No, I should be alright after studying the map last night." I gave her a warm smile, turning on my heel and heading out of the kitchen and back to the entrance, climbing the stairs steadily.

Five minutes and two wrong turns later, I arrived in front of a wooden door. It was closed so I knocked my knuckles on the surface a few times.

"Come in." The familiar velvety voice called from behind the heavy door, and I felt my heart drop at this. I had been desperately hoping that he had gone out for the day or something, that way I wouldn't have to face him after yesterday.

Once I entered, his eyes never left the page in which he was intensely studying. I set the cup in front of him, and finally his gaze flickered up at me. He was going to return his gaze to his paper but when he realized it was me and not his usual maid, his gaze remained stuck on me.

"Salvatore." He stated, as if tasting my name in his mouth. He looked as if he could chew me up and spit me out, his eyes as cold as they were when I first met him yesterday.

"I apologize, sir. Maria is out today, so Ginger asked me to bring this up to you." I clarified for him, then reaching into my pocket and placing the box onto his desk, "Also, I cannot accept this. Thank you, but I can't."

His cold eyes trailed over the box and then made their way back to me, I felt my heartbeat quicken at his intense gaze.

"You will accept the phone, Miss Salvatore." It wasn't an option, it wasn't something I was allowed to decide, apparently.

"I really can't, I don't even know how to use it! Let alone afford the silly device!" I felt my cheeks flush at my sudden annoyance.

"I will have someone teach you, do not worry about the bill. I have that covered." He stated, standing and leaning his towering frame against his desk as he never lost eye contact with me, "All of my workers have a work phone. You are no exception."

"But-"

"Mia cara, you are treading on very thin ice as it is. Arguing with me will only harm you more than help you." His icy voice cut through me, making my cheeks warm as his native language slipped so easily from his lips.

I realized he was right. After yesterday, I was in no position to fight with him. I said nothing, he sat back down in his chair before waving me off. He sipped his tea slowly, his eyes trained back onto his paperwork sprawled out in front of him.

I took this as an opportunity to leave. I turned on my heel and quickly exited the room. I felt relief rush through my body when I closed the door, finally separated from the cryptic man.

I quickly made my way back down to the kitchen where Ginger was currently cooking some kind of dish for lunch. She saw me, immediately throwing a smile in my direction.

"How'd it go? I know Lucian can be quite-" She paused, searching for the right word, "intimidating, sometimes." She was placing some kind of chicken dish on four plates.

"It went fine." I gave a small smile, trying to not show how flustered I was from the short interaction with Mr. Rossi.

"Good." She said, handing me a dish, "You can start setting the table."

I quietly started working around Ginger, bringing the plates to table, placing the silverware to the side of each plate. As I was finishing, the other three maids came into the room, lining up against the wall.

"You put the silverware on the wrong side." An older lady spat. She was probably in her late twenties, she had a prominent scowl on her face. Her short brown hair was pulled back into a low pony tail, and her expression was shooting the coldest one I'd seen.

"I didn't know there was a wrong side." I furrowed my brows, resting against the wall next to June as the nameless lady shifted the side that the silverware laid on. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"There isn't," June informed me, mumbling so the two other ladies couldn't hear, "Charlotte is always looking for a problem. One time she yelled at me for not hanging Mr. Rossi's clothes up in color coordinated order." She didn't even try and hide her dramatic eye roll.

Charlotte though caught this and sent a deep scowl in our direction as she lined the wall, on the opposite side of the other lady. She had light brown hair and was quiet, something I was grateful for after realizing how aggressive this Charlotte lady was. Cecelia, her name tag stated.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as chairs scraped against the cold tile of the floor. I looked up only to meet the gaze of cryptic Mr. Rossi. He eyed me before sitting down in his seat, digging into his lunch. He was a sight for sure. I was amazed at how calm and collected this man seemed to be at any given time. His aura screamed importance, he was a man of little words but his actions seemed to scream louder than his words ever could.

I shifted my gaze away quickly, afraid he would catch me staring. I instead looked down to my beaten up ballet flats. I cringed at the dried up mud that was splattered on them.

"Rose, could you please grab me the pepper?" A familiar voice called out for me, I looked to see it was Jackson. I nodded, nearing the table and grabbing the pepper before rounding the table and placing it in Jackson's open hand.

"Salvatore, more water." An icy voice called after I had placed the pepper in his hand. I looked up to see Mr. Rossi waving carelessly at his empty glass. His eyes remained on the phone in his hand.

"I can get that for you, Mr. Rossi." Charlotte spoke up, stepping forward. I glanced over to him, hoping he would accept the offer even though she slightly annoyed me.

"Miss Salvatore is fully capable." His dark eyes finally flitted up to me. I finally unglued myself from the spot I'd been standing in, grabbing the water jug from the opposite end of the table before making my way over to Mr. Rossi.

It felt as if time was slowing down, each step I took, I felt Charlotte's gaze burning holes through me. As I took a step forward, only a foot away from my destination, a foot reached out in front of me and before I could react, I tripped and watched as the ground came increasingly closer to my face.