Seeing the Count again was great. She had the chance to thank him again for his assistance. Then, working for him seemed to be a nice change from the Prince. Honestly, it was easier to work for him since he was not as demanding as her other boss.
In addition, Count Julius was like Santa Claus, with his bubbly personality, friendly smile, colorful laughter, and slight growth of white mustache and beard. Of course, minus the fat and big belly. In truth, she was amazed at how fit he was for his age.
"Luis, as you might have noticed in my schedule. I have a party to attend tonight." The Count called her attention when she walked back into the room after finishing a simple errand.
So far, she had not done much since arriving at his penthouse suite. Besides a few things the Count asked of her, her morning had been less busy than usual.
"Oh, yes. Wesley already oriented me about it. I will pick up your suit later after you have your lunch." Luisa told the Count as she sat opposite him, doing nothing, while the Count read a book comfortably on the soft, luxurious sofa.
She could not help but think how much money these rich people wasted by paying her for doing nothing. She had been sitting here for the last two hours, just staring at every nook and crook of this room, waiting for his lunch to arrive.
Yes, he occasionally asked her to do something, but it was barely much. She still spent more time sitting and waiting than anything else.
"Ok. About that..." The Count responded, but the bell ringing cut him off, making them both turn their heads toward the door.
She guessed that would be lunch. The hotel staff in this fine hotel were very efficient and on time, as she had observed so far. "Excuse me, Sir. I will get it."
The look the Count gave her told her he was not happy. If she had to guess, it had something to do with how she had addressed him.
He had insisted on calling him Grandpa or something like that when it was just them, but it did not feel right. First of all, they had no relations in any way, he was the grandfather of her boss, and he was Royalty.
She could not just call someone Grandpa. That was just absurd.
Nevertheless, she was surprised at the amount of food served on the table. For a single person, it was just too much. "Sir, are you expecting a guest to join you today?"
Her mind searched his itinerary for today and could not remember anything about a visitor on the list. Nobody had called this morning to make an appointment with him either.
The Count shifted on the sofa and placed the book he was reading on the side table, carefully placing a marker on the page he was reading before turning to her.
"Yes, someone is joining me for lunch." He stood, taking his cane with him. Quickly, she moved to assist him toward the table, unhurriedly guiding him on a chair. "You."
Her eyes registered surprise since she did not expect that he would again want to eat with her. She remembered the last time, in the Shelter where the Count ate everything served to him with appreciation.
She had admired him because of that, seeing him as someone who was not a pompous ass like most of the snobbish rich people she had met before.
"But..." She was about to decline, but the Count would not allow it.
"Come on, please, Luis. It is just food. You are about to have your lunch anyway. Why don't you join this lonely fool and keep me company?" The Count begged her.
How could she refuse? It was just for today, but she had no plan to make it a habit.
At that moment, she had no choice but to take the other chair and join the Count for a leisurely meal. Well, they were not exactly in a hurry, unlike when she worked for the Prince, wherein every minute counted.
"You reminded me so much of my granddaughter, Althea. So, I hope you will not mind if I sometimes insist that you call me Grandpapa. I just missed her so much." His face turned suddenly apologetic.
"You can always call her." She felt sad for the Count, seeing the despair covering his eyes, his face turning melancholy while he seemed to recall a memory.
"I wish that is that simple. Althea would have been about your age if she had lived. I would give anything to see her smile and hear her voice again." The man had tears on the edge of his eyes, suddenly making her feel sad, hearing about her fate.
"I am sorry to hear about her death. It must not be easy to lose someone you loved dearly." Especially at a young age, if Althea was just about her age. She could not even imagine the pain.
The only person she could remember losing when she was very young was her Grandmama, Angela. It had been long ago. She might not remember the pain of losing her, but she still missed her terribly.
"It was the past." His lips curved into a smile, erasing the sorrow etched on his face earlier. "Do you mind telling me more about yourself? I like to hear stories about what the young people are up to today."
"I assure you my life is not as fascinating as most my similar age." Luisa always believed that she was nothing special.
"Let me be the judge of that. Besides, I have nothing else to do. However, I am tired of reading and watching the nonsense on the news." The Count insisted, seemingly having no plan to let her off the hook. "Do you like going to school?"
"No." She answered honestly, figuring that lying about it would not help, and her records would clearly show the proof. "I was never good at studying."
She had found herself telling him a few more things about herself, her mother, and her friends. It seemed the Count could persuade a criminal to confess to all his crimes as she spilled one story about her life after another.
Lunch flew by as they talked more. The Count also shared a few stories about his youth, his family, and even a few things about the Prince when he was young.
She found herself enjoying every minute she spent with the nobleman. Something that she did not expect. But she had already realized he was different from the few aristocratic people she had met.
"I think I should get going and pick up your clothes." She finally made her excuse, seeing they had already used up most of the afternoon just enjoying their chitchat.
"Actually, about that." The Count interrupted her again, making her stop in her tracks. "I will need you to join me. So, I will also need you to pick a dress for tonight. Don't worry about the cost. It is on me."