The Heir and the Maid

CHAPTER 1 I reluctantly round up my application to the site as Sandra suggested, now she can finally let me live in peace. I immediately go to the drawing board, with the brush in my mouth, I tie my hair up to continue my painting on the olive garden. I look around the empty studio apartment, inhale the scent of wet paint as I continue my painting. Next tomorrow is going to make 5 months since I moved in with Sandra, I’ve been squatting with her since we both graduated college, we’ve been best friends since high school, and as much as I enjoy staying with her for free, I know I have to start making enough money to start paying rent and to send to mama in Mexico, if not I have to go back to Mexico. The money I’m making from painting isn’t enough to cut the bill. I feel bad enough having to stay her rent free, I cant keep stacking the bills on Sandra alone. Just immediately she walks in from her last shift of the day. “care for Chinese?”, I smile in approval, “so did you still apply to the handy maid site?” “you mean the punishment site? yes” I say, stuffing down a dumpling, “yaaayyy, and its not a punishment site, its just a maid application site for maid jobs, besides you need the money remember?, you can't keep waiting for the gallery to respond to your mail”. She was right and I knew that, I’ve just always dreamt about getting my works displayed in the art gallery, but the delay was getting unbearable, I really needed the money. I sigh in disappointment. “I promise its going to be worth it” she says again and hugs me. “also Elena, its your turn to take out the trash”, she says as we both laugh. - The next morning I check my laptop to see how far the application went, and Sandra was right, I had gotten a job offer, this one was at the Esmeralda Estate. I anxiously dial the number underneath the application, a woman picks the call. After we discuss on the application, she describes the address for the interview, and I dropped the phone, screaming in excitement, waking Sandra up. “what is it”, and “I got a job offer”,I say as we both screamed again. “wow, Esmeralda. fancy”, she says as she observes the name. “I don’t know what to wear for the interview”, I say, “that’s why I’m here”, Sandra replies. In an hour, I was done preparing for the interview, tied my very full wavy hair in a tight low bun as I headed out of the apartment. "Good luck", she says as I exit the apartment. I take the bus and train to the estate, which is very far from where we stay, I finally arrive, and I'm welcomed by the serenity of the environment, very quiet and peaceful unlike in town. A woman with red hair and bright red lipstick approaches the gate, " are you Elena, Elena Gonzalez", "yes ma'am", I reply, "Follow me, you're late", just 5 minutes late, I think to myself, I follow her to her office, another woman is there, sitting across the table, "is this the girl" she asks, "yes" replied the other lady, I'm directed to have a sit as the interview begins. " The job is basically for you to cook daily fresh meals in the house, for my son and I and when we have small parties, your application says you know how to cook Mexican dishes?" "Yes ma'am I'm Mexican", "Good," she says in approval, "you're also an artist?", "Yes ma'am", "well I only need your cooking and cleaning skills, you'd clean only the functional rooms, that'll be my room and that of my son's, then probably my office, that would be all" "Alright ma'am when do I start", I ask anxiously after she hands me my payment check, "I'm not done young lady", "you'd be staying here in the room at the end of the hallway from the kitchen, I can't have you coming in late every day". "Oh ma'am I...", She cuts me off before I could even proceed, "Do you wish to object?", "No I just had no idea I was going to be getting accommodation too", I say surprisingly, "Well, it's only temporary, Mrs. Fletcher here, would brief you on the rules of this house, break any and you're out of the house". She says sternly "Yes ma'am". She immediately leaves. "You'd begin tomorrow morning after you move in, you have to be here early, Mason's flight arrives in the afternoon, and the welcome party would be in the evening so you have a lot to do tomorrow" "Mason? Who's Mason?", I ask confused. "Mason Munroe, your boss". _ "He's handsome", Sandra says as we do some background check on our new boss, "and he's young too," she says helping me arrange my clothes in the boxes, "I can't believe I have to move", I say again for the third time, "you'll get used to it she says ", we immediately pack my things ranting on about the new job and my new boss, in no time, we're done, the next morning Sandra helps me load her car and drives me to the estate, as I say goodbye to her apartment. I get there early enough to settle in, the house is really quiet and empty, I meet with Mrs Fletcher in the kitchen as she directs me to the room down the hallway. Sandra and I carry my things in, it has a comfortable individual-sized bed, with a table and chair, alongside a nice wardrobe and glass side doors that give the view of the pool, it's a master bedroom as it also has a small bathroom and toilet inside. "God you're so lucky," Sandra says as Mrs Fletcher leaves, dropping my boxes on the bed, I sigh, immediately missing her already. We set up my things in the wardrobe and my art materials in the corner of the room, Sandra leaves and I immediately have my bath, the bathroom is comfortable, so I dress up and head straight for the kitchen. I get straight to work, as I make some chicken pasta salad with seasonal vegetables, skewers, or kebab, as ordered by Mrs Fletcher. Not long after I saw a line of cars drive into the compound, Mrs. Munroe ran downstairs, "he's here", the other housemaids, went out to meet him, I could barely see him in the crowd of people that hovered around him. He's escorted up the stairs by his mother, as Mrs Fletcher orders that I leave as I'm done for the night, the other hired maids would do the serving at the party which was already starting. At this time the house is already a bit crowded, with people trooping in and out, I'm in my room now, on a video call with Sandra, now comfortable in my night shorts and shirt, as I remember that I haven't had dinner. "I'll call you back okay, let me just get something to eat". I head out into the kitchen and gather up a bowl of pasta salad, I remember seeing my favorite dressing at the top of the cupboard. In that unexpected moment, as I stretched on tiptoes to reach the elusive salad dressing perched atop the cupboard, a captivating aroma subtly engulfed the air. A guy, emanating a fragrance so captivating it momentarily diverted my attention, appeared seemingly out of nowhere. His scent, a blend of musky cologne and hints of citrus, lingered as he effortlessly reached over, his proximity catching me off guard. "Is this what you wanted?" He asks...