15
1974 Words
Joy groaned as a bright stream of sunlight hit her face and she pulled the blanket higher, but it was already too late. Someone had opened the curtains.
She sat up stretched her arms above her head, letting out a quiet yawn.
When she finally looked toward the window, she found a middle-aged woman standing there, smoothing the curtains into place. The woman turned when she noticed Joy was awake.
“Good morning, Miss.”
“Good morning.” Joy answered slowly.
Before she could say anything else, the walk-in closet door opened and Liam stepped out, already dressed for work. He looked perfectly put together.
Joy, on the other hand, probably looked like she'd been dragged through a storm. Her hair always looked like a bird's nest in the morning.
Liam glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. “Finally awake?”
“Good morning to you too.”
A faint chuckle escaped him. He walked toward her, and Joy barely had time to wonder what he was doing before he leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her forehead.
Her entire body froze and Liam straightened as though he'd done nothing unusual.
“Good morning, love.”
Joy stared at him, her brain refused to process what had just happened. Then her eyes darted toward the woman standing by the window.
The older woman was looking down, but the corners of her mouth were twitching suspiciously. She was trying not to smile.
Joy quickly looked back at Liam. He was already walking away. She forced a smile.
Liam picked up his watch from the dresser and fastened it around his wrist. “I’m off to work.”
Joy nodded and smiled sweetly.
“Let the staff know whatever you want for breakfast, the chef will have it prepared.”
“Okay.” She smiled at him. “Have a good day at work.”
Liam looked at her. Joy hesitated and peeked at the woman before adding, “And make lots of money.”
His eyebrow lifted. “Lots of money?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “You're a billionaire, but there's always room for more.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
A small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I'll keep that in mind.”
He gave her one last look before walking toward the door.
“Goodbye, sir!” The woman called after him and he didn’t respond. He was so arrogant.
She climbed out of bed and stretched again before turning toward the woman. The faint smile returned to her face as she glanced at the shirt she was wearing.
Joy knew exactly what the smile meant, and she mentally patted Liam on the back. This woman was eating this up.
“Excuse me?” She called.
“Yes, Miss?”
“Could you show me where the kitchen is?”
“Of course.” The woman smiled. “What would you like for breakfast?”
Joy grabbed her phone from the bed and followed her toward the door. “I don't know. Maybe a sandwich.”
The woman gave her a look that suggested a sandwich wasn't going to be enough.
Joy tried to tame her tousled hair with her fingers as they stepped into the hallway. She suddenly stopped.
“Actually…”
The woman turned.
“I need to brush my teeth first.” She looked around.
“Could you show me my room first?”
“Of course.” The woman turned and gestured toward the door directly across from them.
“This is your room, Miss.” The woman smiled.
“It is quite close to Mr. Owen's room.”
Joy gave a laugh and she opened the door.
“I'll be right out.”
“I'll wait here.”
Joy nodded and stepped inside. The room was enormous. White walls. Elegant furniture. A large bed. Soft lighting, and flowers arranged near the single, oversized window.
Everything looked so pristine that Joy almost felt as though she'd walked into a hotel. It looked nothing like her room back home.
She slowly turned in place. “Wow.”
Finding the bathroom was easy enough. She quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face before returning to the bedroom.
Her box was sitting neatly beside the wardrobe.
She opened it and searched through her things until she found her hairbrush.
As she brushed through her tangled hair, her thoughts returned to the previous night.
She glanced down at Liam's black shirt.
She remembered coming out of the bathroom and finding Liam gone. He must have been so inconvenienced by her presence that he'd actually left his own room.
Joy winced. And then there was the shirt. She'd discovered the tag still attached to it last night. It had been brand new, it had even smelled new.
She searched through her box and found a pair of shorts. She pulled them on underneath the oversized shirt. The shirt nearly covered the shorts completely.
Joy looked at herself in the mirror. “Great.”
She tugged at the hem. It was way too big.
Too bad he'd never even worn it. She couldn't even feel special about wearing the shirt.
She picked up her phone. Now that she thought about it, she had no idea what she was going to do with the rest of the day.
Then a thought suddenly hit her. “Richard.”
Joy slapped a hand over her mouth. She had completely forgotten about her brother. She'd planned to call him the previous night to ask whether he'd already left, but she'd fallen asleep before she could. She hadn't even eaten anything.
She quickly dialed his number while walking out of the room.
The woman was still waiting in the hallway. Joy gave her an apologetic smile as she closed the door behind her.
Richard answered after a few rings.
“Well, look who finally remembered I exist.”
Joy winced. “I'm sorry.”
“Do you know how long…”
“Don't get mad,” she said quickly. “I fell asleep.”
“You fell asleep?”
“Yes.” She lowered her voice even more, glancing toward the woman waiting nearby. “I was nervous yesterday, okay? I couldn't think straight.”
Richard sighed. “Are you settling in fine?”
“Yes. Everything's fine. I’m about to have breakfast.”
“I've got to go,” Richard said. “I'm about to play ball with some friends.”
A voice shouted in the background. “Richard!”
“Yeah, I'm coming!”
Joy smiled. “Okay. Have fun.”
Then she hung up as she followed the woman downstairs.
Even the kitchen looked expensive. Everything was polished. The marble counters gleamed beneath the lights, and the appliances looked like they belonged in a luxury showroom.
This was what a billionaire's home looked like.
Joy had seen kitchens like this mostly on TV.
Her family was comfortable enough to afford beautiful things, but they had never lived like this. She felt strangely honored to be here. Everywhere she looked, money practically screamed at her.
Then she recognized Harold. She'd seen him the first day she'd come to look at Liam's house.
She smiled. “Hello.”
Harold returned her smile. “Good morning, Miss Roberts.”
He gestured toward the woman who had brought Joy in.
“I see you've met Patricia Hayes. She's the head housekeeper.”
Joy looked at the woman. “Nice to meet you.”
Patricia smiled and waved her hand dismissively. “Please, call me Patty.”
Joy nodded. “Okay, Patty.”
She took a seat on one of the stools beside the marble counter.
Patty looked at her. “Don't worry about the sandwich. The chef will prepare a proper breakfast for you.”
“Oh, I really don't need…” She started to say but changed her mind. “Okay.”
“Do you need anything while you wait?”
“Coffee would be nice.”
“Of course.”
Patty called to one of the younger maids. “Janet?”
The young woman came running in. “Yes, ma'am?”
“This is Miss Joy. Please make her some coffee.”
Janet smiled politely. “Good morning ma’am. How would you like it?”
“Black, please.”
“Right away.” Janet moved toward the coffee machine.
Joy watched her for a moment before turning back.
A few minutes later, another man entered the kitchen carrying a tray of fresh vegetables. He looked to be in his early thirties.
Patty looked toward him. “And this is Anthony Grant, he's the chef.”
He smiled warmly at Joy. “Welcome, Miss Joy.”
“Nice to meet you.” She smiled back.
Anthony placed the tray down. “Don't worry. You're going to be eating nothing but premium meals while you're here.”
Joy laughed. “I'm looking forward to it.”
Just then, Janet returned with Joy's coffee. “Here you go, ma'am.”
“Thank you.”
Joy took the cup and immediately took a sip. The warmth settled pleasantly in her stomach.
Patty walked over and smiled at her. “I’m glad you're here, Miss Roberts.”
Joy blinked. She wasn't quite sure how to respond to that.
“I'm glad to be here too.”
Before anyone could say anything else, footsteps sounded from the hallway. A young man walked into the kitchen.
“Good morning, everyone.”
He said it to the entire room without stopping as he crossed toward the fruit bowl. He picked up an apple and took a large bite.
He looked around Richard's age.
Harold immediately frowned. “Victor.”
Victor paused mid-chew and looked at his father.
“What?”
“Where are your manners?”
Victor looked genuinely confused. He glanced around the kitchen as though trying to figure out what he'd done wrong.
Then his eyes landed on Joy. Joy took another sip of her coffee.
“I've never seen her before.” He said, taking another bite.
Joy slowly lowered the cup, and Harold moved toward his son.
“I'm sorry about my son.”
Joy smiled awkwardly in response.
Harold sighed before gesturing toward the young man. “This is Victor. My son.”
Joy nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
Victor didn't respond. Harold cleared his throat.
“He doesn't work here. He just comes around sometimes to help out.”
Joy nodded again. “Okay.”
Harold looked at Victor. “This is Miss Joy Roberts. The boss's fiancée.”
Victor looked at her again. “Okay.”
Then he took another large bite of his apple. Joy blinked. That was it?
She looked down at her coffee. Victor turned away from her and looked around the kitchen.
“Is there no breakfast?”
Harold's jaw tightened. Patty and Anthony, however, continued with what they were doing as though nothing had happened.
When nobody answered him, Victor grabbed two more apples from the fruit bowl and stuffed them into his backpack.
“I'm off to school.”
And with that, he walked out. The kitchen fell silent for a moment, and Joy stared at the doorway.
She'd finally met someone in Liam's household who didn't seem to like her. And somehow, that made the entire situation even more uncomfortable.
She looked down at her unfinished coffee before raising her eyes toward Anthony.
“How long until breakfast is ready?”
“About fifteen minutes. I'm just finishing up a few things.”
Joy nodded.
She picked up her phone and glanced at her messages. Fifteen minutes. She could survive that.
Victor made her realise that being Liam Owen's fiancée wasn't going to make everyone in this house automatically like her.
- Writer
