Perfectly Maid - de For A Billionaire

Chapter Two.

Anika was swamped with orders. Though she loved her job on most days. Days like this one made her wonder what she was thinking and what kind of tequila had gotten her drunk enough to believe that she could own her own café.

When there was finally a break from the orders that were piled so high that one would think that they were a printer’s shop, she slumped into the seat opposite her aunt. She was in dire need of a massage as the balls of her feet were protesting the labor that she put them through but she was going to settle for a cold bottle of water because that was all she could afford to get at that time.

She couldn’t even convince her chef to prepare a bowl of his awesome Mac and cheese that had a way of making her feel like she had her feet propped on her center table at home because he had his hands full with pastry orders.

Her café was far more successful than she planned on it being when she had set out to open it. And she was proud because she did work her ass off trying to make sure that she excelled in what she did.

As she screwed the bottle cap, she looked round her café again, the tiredness giving way for pride that she had built this herself, with little or no help from anyone else. Before she could lose herself in admiration, her aunt cleared her throat bringing her attention back.

Her aunt, Mrs. Pearl Kaylee had asked to meet her for lunch and though Anika knew that lunch time was the busiest in the café, she had no choice but to agree when she heard the urgency in her tone.

“Do you want something to eat with that?” she asked. But her aunt shook her head. She was still cradling the cup of iced coffee that she ordered over 15 minutes ago when she came in. Anika was glad that she refused because her agreeing meant that it was another order for the kitchen to prepare. Their show glass had already been emptied before mid morning which meant that it was busy in the kitchen as they tried to not only meet up the different orders that were coming from left, right and centre but were also tasked with replacing the goods that had been bought.

Her aunt looked like she was contemplating something and with every minute that passed, Anika felt a bit more uncomfortable as she thought of what was to be said. Finally, after what felt like years but were merely minutes, her aunt pulled at the collar of her striped shirt and laid the news on her.

Apparently, her cousin had been in an accident and was hospitalized. Aunt Kaylee quickly stressed that though it didn't sound fatal, she wanted to be with her son.

Anika didn’t know what to say to that. Though he was not her favorite person in the world, they were still cousins who had grown up around each other until his job took him about 3 hours away from where she lived so she stretched across the table and took her aunt’s hands in hers. She wasn’t sure she was doing a good job at comforting her but at least, it was something.

“Do you want me to drive you down there?“

Although it was going to be a hassle taking her aunt there which meant 3 hours on the road, she was ready to do it because she was family. When her aunt shook her head, Anika did what she thought was best and offered to help her in whatever way she could. However, as her aunt bit her lip and looked away, her heart fell because she knew that she had just sold herself to something that she was not going to be happy with. She was attuned with her aunt’s moods and tell-tale signs, given that they were what people would term as close with them seeing each other at least once a month.

Her parents were dead and she lived far away from her hometown so it wasn’t surprising that she made an effort to see her aunt who was the only family she had in Weston City. When her aunt opened her mouth and made her request, Anika confirmed that it would have been better if she had just kept her mouth shut after her aunt refused her offer of driving her to the hospital.

“I have my business to run, aunt Kaylee” She stretched her hands out to show the café that was slowly thinning out as lunch breaks drew to a close. Then, Mrs. Pearl was forced to open up.

"I need you to help me cover up my job at the Salvador's mansion until I'm back."

Anika stopped the moment she hears her. What? There was no way in hell she was going to leave her café. She had not even missed a day of being in the café. She had come in dutifully to open up and closed it herself even when she had staff that could do it for her. even on the days when she had felt miserable like when her boyfriend of 2 years had cheated on her and left town unceremoniously, her apartment got water logged and she had more than enough to drink, she had come in. Nothing had ever taken her away from her baby and now her aunt wanted her to leave the café to go work as a maid for her client?

The cherry on the cake was that it was a live-in position. So, not only was she to leave her café in the hands of her staff who were more capable than she gave them credit for but she was also supposed to go live in someone else’s house while working for them. To make matters even worse, she didn’t know who they were. How sure was she that they weren’t serial killers?

Okay, there was hope on that front because her aunt looked alive and well as she sat opposite her but still, that was definitely not happening.

“There’s no one to look after him in the hospital, Anika. Please, do this for your cousin” her aunt went on pleading.

Anika cursed under her breath. What was even wrong with her cousin? Why was he so slow at settling down? How difficult was it for him to get a woman to marry? It wasn’t like he was bad looking so he could easily get a woman to put up with him. His hesitance in getting married was what was putting her in such an insane position and she wasn’t happy about it.

She had a business to run and cats to take care of in her apartment. Okay, they weren’t her cats but some strays that she had gotten to feeding. What were they going to do when they came to her window and pawed at it but she wasn’t here to attend to them? They were going to go hungry!

She expressed to her aunt that she would have loved to help her but she couldn’t because of her business. Contrary to her expectations, her aunt sat up and kept on begging. Anika felt like the worst person on earth having to turn down such eager pleas. She knew that she had a very soft spot for people who were close to her which was why she tried her best to stop them from exploiting it.

Most of that came from the betrayal she faced at the hands of her ex but who was interested in that?

The straw that broke the camel’s back was when her aunt mentioned that she was going to be out of a job if she didn’t have anyone to hold down her position in the time that she was gone taking care of her son.

What kind of heartless employer did her aunt work for?

She had no choice but to start weighing her options. She ran a hand through her strawberry blonde hair, the knots in the thick mass getting caught on the rings that she wore as she came to a decision. Just before she told her aunt her terms, she took a swig of water as if preparing herself for what she was to face in the coming days.

“Okay I will take your position as a maid in your place of work but on the condition that I stop immediately you get back” As the words left her lips, the melancholy look evaporated from her aunt’s face and her once slumped shoulders came back up. She looked into a set of hazel eyes that matched hers and hoped that she wasn’t going to regret her decision to help.