Unrequited Love

Unknown Territory

Dawn awoke to the sounds of crashing. She grabbed her night robe and quickly went to check out the disturbance. "Good morning," she was met with the kitchen staff who had dropped numerous cookware on the floor.

"Good morning", she replied. "Let me go get changed and I'll be back to help." Dawn rushed back to her room so as to not be seen indecent. In her hurried state she did not see Luther and ran right into his chest, knocking herself off balance. He wrapped his arms around her to catch her from falling and held her there slightly longer than necessary.

"I'm so embarrassed!" Dawn started to ramble, "There were crashing sounds and I went to investigate. I should have gotten dressed first, please forgive me," She pleaded. The sounds of quivering in her voice caused something to stir in Luther. He took in her body from head to toe as if trying to memorize her.

"This is very unprofessional. Go put clothes on at once," he snarled. She could tell there was a hint of excitement in his voice and it sent a tingle through her body.

"Yes, sorry sir. It won't happen again," she said with her eyes now on the floor.

Dawn made it back to her room. Her cheeks were flushed and her face was hot. What was that about? Dawn took a moment to pull herself back together and then got dressed for the day. Her mind kept wandering astray for the rest of that morning and into the afternoon. Why had he looked at her like that? Was her mind playing tricks?

"Dawn!", Callie shouted out as if she was a best friend that she hadn't seen in months.

"Good Afternoon Miss Callie," Dawn replied.

"How was your first night?" Callie asked cheerfully.

"I had the first day jitters, so there wasn't much rest for me," Dawn realized that she may be opening up too quickly.

"That's totally understandable!" Callie smiled.

Dawn found herself wondering why Callie was being so nice after their short encounter. She then remembered that Callie said she was her parents greatest disappointment. That must leave her feeling alone in an already vast and empty house. "What do you do for fun around here?" Dawn found herself making small talk and could see it lit Callie's face up. This went on for at least a few hours as the girls got to know each other.

"Oh!," Dawn exclaimed. "It's almost 5 p.m. and I have barely made way of my duties. I'm so sorry, but I really must get to work." Callie was very understanding and dismissed her to complete her work.

Dawn finished around 8 p.m. and was exhausted from the lack of sleep the previous night. She found her sitting by herself in the dining area closest to her room. "Finally clothed I see," Luther said with a hint of teasing in his voice. Dawn startled for the third time in 24 hours, leaped out of her chair and turned to Luther. Her jumpiness caused him to chuckle.

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't realize anyone was still up." Dawn was flustered at this point. Why was she so uneasy in this house?

"No need to apologize. I was just walking about. How was your first day?" Dawn had a puzzled look on her face. Why was he suddenly so nice?

"It was good. I finished my duties by 8 p.m. and also got acquainted with your sister."

Luther rubbed his forehead. "My sister? Is that what she is telling people now? Callie was adopted. We are not blood related and she has no claim to any of us." Adopted? The difference in appearance had started to make sense. Why would she have left that part out though? There are more questions than answers with this family. "More unprofessionalism I see," Luther said callously. "I do hope you start to value your work more and gossip less Miss Mooney."

Dawn felt her heart sink into her stomach. She had only just started here. She was not ready to fail at her job already. "I'm so sorry Mr. Luther! It won't happen again. Please give me a chance to show that I can work well for you," Dawn's eyes pleaded with him. Luther felt himself growing with excitement. He was getting off on the power and wanted more.

"I just don't know how many times I can turn my head to your insolence, especially in such a short period of time." His lips twitched trying not to smile. "I will let you off with a warning just this time. Now, head off to bed. You need to be rested for the morning." Dawn's eyes were fixed to the ground in shame.

"Yes sir," she said hastily and almost sprinted for her room.

What was going on here? Dawn couldn't help but overanalyze everything that had happened today. Why was Luther so hot and cold. She wanted so badly to make this job work and in or for that to happen she needed him to like her. She wanted him to like her. She wanted him. Dawn shook the thought away. What was she thinking? That is not something that she needed to complicate things more. Still, he was quite irresistible.