Mixed messages

The inside scoop

Most of the major work for the day is done. Now all we have to do is discreetly slip in and out of the house cleaning up any mess that may be made as the day goes on. The guests eventually woke up and one by one we directed them to the balcony where brunch was served. As soon as someone vacated a room we turned it over, changing bedding, cleaning showers etc. Now most of them are gone. The only people left are Prince Nathi and a lady that I assume is his girlfriend. They mosied out of bed around 2pm and are currently on the balcony feeding each other grapes. After tidying that last room. Martelize took us on a tour of Prince Andrews living quarters.

It's massive. It's almost impossible to fathom that this is one of 7 like it on the property. ED Manor is insane. The sheer size of it is mind boggling.

Im currently sitting in the staff room having lunch with some of my colleagues. I swear there isn't a single woman over 40 in this bunch. There is laughter in the room. Thina the lady I met this morning is very funny. She has been making us laugh with her impersonations of some of the other employees here.

She does an impeccable Max. She finished her impression of him off by giving one of the other girls a resounding slap on the bottom. We all laughed but deep down I was worried. If Max tries that s**t with me, I'm likely to slap him or knee his jewels. She continued to imitate others that I didn't know. My interest was piqued again when she did her best version of Catherine.

"ahem" Thina clears her throat. "Ladies, ladies gather around please. It's been brought to my attention that some of you think you can mingle with estate residents. Learn your place. You are the help, meaningless and easily replaceable. Oh and one more thing some of you need to go back to uniforms and get more appropriate attire. We don't want to see your asses when you are picking up trash"

Geez whizz! Was that an actual speech Catherine gave. That's insane. I lean over to Martelize to find out.

"Martie, did that really happen?" I whisper, trying not to disturb the rest of Thina's act.

"Oh that's not the worst of it. She at least tries to be civil when she is addressing us as a group. One on one though, that's when the real claws come out." She sounds afraid of her. "One of the other girls was relocated to heavens knows where. Catherine thought the girl was competition for Andrews affection. That b***h is convinced that she is actually dating Andrew. She expects us to treat her like a resident too" she says.

"Why is that?" I ask.

"Well she is the daughter of some fancy CEO. Rumour has it she was disowned after she slept with her father's business acquaintance. I don't know. Anyway her mother couldn't just cut ties with her only daughter. So she asked the queen to give her a meaningless job. She earns 5 times what any staff member does including some of the management. Noone even knows what it is she does." Martelize says. "She comes and goes as she pleases. Mingles freely with the royals and even attends family functions as a guest as opposed to staff"

This new information makes me instantly vow to steer clear of Catherine. It also explains why she treated me the way she did. I really don't want any trouble. So Catherine, Andrew and Max. That's my list of people to steer clear of.

"Well I'm glad you told me. I'm definitely staying out of her way" I say this intending to do just that.

I was extremely successful in my goal to steer clear of drama over the next 2 weeks. I didn't speak unless spoken to and I managed to finish reading the lengthy file on conduct. In the morning Jazz and I would split the bill for an uber, especially on days when we were the only ones waiting for Max. I would quickly slip into a different room if I ever accidentally walked into one the prince was in. And lastly I ensured that Catherine would have no reason to complain about me at all.

Payday was coming up. I was over the moon about it. With that also came the opportunity to be reallocated should the need arise. I was called into Trishal's office this morning so I came to work early.

"Good morning" Trishal says as she enters her office. "Come on in"

I get up and follow her in. Her office is quaint, decorated in various shades of green (clearly her favourite colour). It is also meticulous. All the files are colour coded or stored in numerical order. Pages on the desk are neatly stacked, with little tabs on the sides. She has pictures on her desk of herself in a beautiful pink saree with her husband staring down at her with nothing but love in his eyes. I wasn't even aware that she was married.

"Right" she says getting down to business after we are both seated.

"your work has been great Horizon. All your coworkers have nothing but great things to say."

I'm pleased to hear that. At least now I can relax a little and stop worrying that I'm not doing things right. "Thanks" I say shyly.

Trish continues "As you know we have staff on hand at night, incase there is a party or any other function. Night duty pays double the day price but it results in a slightly longer shift. Starting at 4pm when the day staff leaves and ending the next day at 8 in the morning when they return." She hands me the schedule for this month. There is a few entries highlighted in red. All under the name Lynn.

"this is this month's schedule as you can see it was full, but I have a lady who can no longer do her shifts. That's where you come in." Trish stares at me with hopeful eyes. "Me?" I ask confused. The rules state that overtime is only awarded to those who are permanent employees and I am still on probation. Also the post I had been hired for was for sessional work. I didn't want a permanent post which would interfere with my studies when I return in a few short months.

"Yup, you. We could make your post permanent effective from today" she repeats.

"Trishal, I really appreciate the offer but I really can't be a permanent employee. I have school next semester and I need to be able to attend the occasional lecture even though I won't be attending full time." I say this hoping she understands and won't replace me all together.

"Alright, what we can do is make an amendment to your current contract allowing for overtime duty. But the rate would be less than that of a permanent employee" she says.

Realising that I find myself in a position of strength here, considering she needs the help immediately. I negotiate my wage up to that of the other staff and Trish begrudgingly accepts.

I walk out of there with a pip in my step and some overnight shifts scheduled for the next few weeks.

I head towards Prince Andrews residence, narrowly escaping Catherine as I walked out of Trishal's office.

"Guess who's got overtime this Friday," I say beaming at Jazz. She immediately jumps up and down. "Really? That's great guess it's me and you baby." she's genuinely happy for me. You gotta love Jazz. "Yeah, I'm taking over all of Lynn's shifts for the month. Who is Lynn anyway?" I ask realising that I have not met someone by that name.

Jazz frowns. "She was a lovely girl. Got relocated just before you arrived. Catherine didn't like the relationship she had with Andrew. Poor girl had done nothing wrong but HR took Catherine's side and moved her. No one knows where to. We haven't seen her around since."

That sounds strange. Surely if she had been moved, she would still be seen. Unless she was moved to another estate all together. We head to the kitchen and get to work. Charles is the head chef. He is busy whipping up breakfast for the prince. Jazz and I play rock, paper, scissors to determine who delivers it to Prince Andrew. I lost and am now stuck on delivery duty. Where is Martelize when you need her? She usually jumps at the chance to see the prince.

Pushing a room service table, I head towards his home office and gingerly knock.

"Come in" he growls impatiently. Someone is in a mood. I walk in with the food and set it in the middle of the room in front of the couch.This is where he normally eats when he is working. He doesn't look up at me and I'm glad. He has his head buried in paperwork and seems frustrated to say the least. I quickly move towards the door. "Thank you" he grumbles still not looking up.

"Horizon? wait" he says just as I'm about to make my escape.... Dammmmn

Andrew POV

It's just not adding up. Millions seem to be missing from the estate fund and mother has asked me to take a look. Now instead of working on my own business, I'm stuck on this. I can see the money is gone but the source still eludes me. A dainty little knock interrupts my train of thought as I stare at the numbers again. "Come in" that came out harsher than I would have liked. I would however, prefer that today the blonde doesn't linger unnecessary when she brings in breakfast. I hear the door open never once looking up. I'm expecting the inevitable "room service, your highness" that she usually draws out in her sexiest voice.

"Thank you" I grumble. Still silence, why can't it be like this everyday? The sweetest scent then hits me as the door swings open again. Its that which makes me look up just in time to catch Horizon making her exit.

"Horizon? wait," I say not even sure why I've stopped her. Im perfectly aware of the fact that she has been avoiding me. I've seen here dashing out of a room that she sees me in, like bees are on her tail. Initially I found it amusing but now it's downright irritating.

She freezes at the door. The fact that her back stiffens just at the sound of my voice makes me even angrier.

"Come in and close the door" I command. Happy when she complies. Now she just stands there at the door not even looking up at me. Determined to pretend that I don't exist. I stand up and walk towards her. Standing directly in front of her I lift her chin with a finger forcing her to look up at me. I didn't expect the sudden spark of electricity when I touched her. Judging by her gasp and the startled look in her eyes, she felt it too. "Yes your highness?" she says quickly masking her shock and managing to amp up my frustration by refusing to use my name. I still keep a finger on her chin, reluctant to let go. "Why have you been avoiding me?" I ask. Really, she doesn't owe me an explanation but I wish she would give me one. She has constantly been on my mind and it's upsetting to see her around and never get the opportunity to talk to her.

"Excuse me sir?" she asks feigning confusion. "Sir?" I say raising an eyebrow at her. "Andrew" she says rolling her eyes at me again before blushing red around the nose when she realises what she's done. I can't help but laugh at that. I let go of her chin regretting the loss of her warmth as I step back. "You have deliberately been avoiding me. I've noticed, now don't deny it. Just tell me why" I say.

She looks extremely uncomfortable but I don't care. I want to know why she avoids me like the plague. I've never had a woman run away from me like she does. Especially not one who's attention I would welcome. "I just want to do my job sir, please. You are my boss, I'm not avoiding you. Im just doing what you hired me for." she says steadily. Ok so she isn't afraid to speak her mind. I like that. "And how am I getting in the way if you doing your job?" I ask.

"You aren't, but me calling you by name is unprofessional. It's also against house rules. So is this. Unless you need something from me. I shouldn't make my presence known to you. That said, do you need something SIR?" she says.

Im both frustrated and further enthralled by Horizon. The deliberate Sir she threw in at the end just for extra emphasis irks me a little though.

"Yes there is something you can do for me." I say this as I step closer to her, wanting to see how far her bravado extends. She looks away but doesn't retreat. I take hold of her chin again and she looks at me visibly taking a deep breath and holding it. "First drop the sir, Im serious Horizon. Then get me a copy of those damn rules. I would like to take a look. Oh and Horizon... bring them yourself." I let go of her chin once again. I expected her to run out of here but instead she seems frustrated that I've let her go. Pressing the advantage I've been given I step even closer to her until there's barely a hairs breath between us and I slowly lower my head towards hers. I'm giving her ample time to stop me from kissing her, if that's what she wants.

She closes her eyes and I smile to myself, feeling triumphant.

Knock knock knock... "Andy... it's me".

Damnit I flinch when Horizon jumps as far away from me as possible before heading to the door and practically flying out of here.