The Billionaire's Contract

Chapter 2

LILY'S POV,

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I groaned at the sound of the alarm on my desk. Twisting and turning on my bed, I finally looked at the time with heavy-lidded eyes. It was 7:00 a.m. I was never much of an early riser unless I needed to be. Normally, I slept until 10 or even 10:30, but now that I had this job, I needed to be careful not to sleep in accidentally.

I took a quick shower, put on the maid’s clothes, and strapped on the tracker. Looking at myself in the mirror, I frowned at how the outfit clung to my curves like a second skin. The top of the dress showed more cleavage than intended, too. Well, there was no use crying over spilled milk. I would just keep my head down, do what I was told, and mind my own business.

Since my room was at the far end, it took me a while to figure out where the other maids were. I spotted two girls leaving their room and called out to them. They turned, both wearing annoyed expressions.

“Um, excuse me, do you happen to know where we’re all gathering?” I asked politely, hoping to ease some of the tension.

One of them replied curtly, “It’s down the hallway. There’s a room with a sign on the door that says Maids Only. You’ll know when you see it. Now stop bothering us.”

They left without another glance. That hurt, honestly. I don’t know why she showed sudden hostility toward me, but at least she answered my question.

I hurried to the room, careful not to risk unnecessary punishment. Opening the door quietly, I saw everyone already inside, chatting among themselves. I stepped in and stood in a corner, trying to be less noticeable.

Looking around, I noticed Madam Mariam wasn’t there yet, nor was her assistant. The two girls who had been rude earlier were talking to a tall, slender blonde with a small waist, just the right amount of hips, and long, elegant legs. If not for the maid outfit, I would have thought she was a model.

Speaking of maid outfits—almost everyone’s uniform looked different. Some were so short that even a slight bend would reveal everything. Some had necklines so low that one wrong move would cause a spill. Others were so skin-tight it seemed impossible to sit down. Compared to theirs, my dress looked modest.

It didn’t look like they came here to work. Only a few had normal uniforms like mine. I wasn’t slim, but I wasn’t chubby either—just thick in my thighs and hips.

Finally, the head maid arrived, and silence fell. She walked to the front with her assistant, scanning each of us. I could swear I saw a tiny smirk on her face when she noticed the outfits, but it vanished as quickly as lightning. Her gaze lingered on me for a second before she cleared her throat.

“Now, ladies, you will be divided into groups. There’s cleaning, cooking, laundry, and more that you’ll come to know later. For now, this is what you’ll be working with. Miss Kim here will assign your duties. I will take my leave now.”

We watched Madam Mariam leave, then turned to Miss Kim. She smiled warmly and pulled a piece of paper from her pocket.

“Everyone, I’ll call your names and give you a badge with your name and your assigned work. You’ll also be handed new uniforms to differentiate your jobs.”

She began calling names one by one, handing out badges and uniforms.

Finally, it was my turn.

Laundry.

Relief washed over me. At least I got to handle clothes. Cleaning and cooking seemed like too much work. Besides, it was just one man—how hard could it be?

I got my badge, and my uniform was beige. Cooking was grey, and cleaning was light brown. The primary color was still black, but the apron, collar, and headgear had changed.

Once everyone’s names had been called, we returned to our rooms to change and begin our first day of work.

I went to the laundry room and saw other maids who were probably here before us—something I had completely forgotten about. Some looked to be in their late twenties or early thirties. They didn’t pay us much attention, just glanced once and continued their work.

One of the older maids approached, introducing herself as the person in charge of the laundry team. She explained that she would assign tasks which would rotate weekly depending on circumstances.

She looked around and asked, “Is this all of you? It’s quite small.”

I glanced around. There were at least fifteen of us. How was that small? Weren’t we working for just one man?

We exchanged uncertain looks, but she quickly added, “No worries, no worries. We’ll just make do with you lot. I still have other maids.”

She showed us around the spacious laundry room. There were areas for handwashing, washing machines, dryers, and other necessities. There was even a sewing area, though she explained no one really used it since they didn’t want to risk ruining clothes worth more than their salaries combined.

That space was mostly empty—except for personal mending. My heart leaped at the thought. I could make clothes here. I tried not to show my excitement.

We got to work. Since it was our first day, nothing major happened. We simply followed orders. The master wasn’t back yet, and the staff seemed relaxed.

After supper, we returned to our rooms. I lay on my bed, smiling to myself.

If this was how it was going to be, it might not be so bad after all.

Or so I thought…