During her lunch break, Emily had only taken one bite of her sandwich and nothing more; the fear of being caught using a false identity had a tight grip on her and it was not letting go.
So far, the house seems nice, if slightly big, and therefore it needed to have more than fifteen house helpers to accomplish all the daily tasks.
"Maria!" Emily rose from her seat, turned towards the entrance of the servant's kitchen, and there Dorothy stood in front of her. Emily swallowed the lump in her throat. Fear gripped her.
Oh no! I've been caught. She thought to herself.
"Yes, Madam Dorothy," she managed to respond. Instead of responding to her, Madam Dorothy simply stared at her from head to toe and nodded her head towards the exit, and Emily followed behind the older woman.
Both women walked to a side of the house that had not been shown to Emily during the orientation, but all she knew was that there was no time for asking questions, rather all she needed to do was follow orders. The more she walked behind Madman Dorothy, the more she began smelling the sweet aroma of food, which was creeping its way into her nose canals.
They entered the kitchen; this kitchen, unlike the servant's quarter's kitchen, was cleaner, and the women working there were people she had not seen before. Madam Dorothy then turned her attention back to Emily.
"You're probably wondering why I brought you here." She asked Emily, who nodded her head in agreement.
"I am pretty sure you've noticed that this house is run like a military camp, and that is because our employer likes things done in order. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, madam," Emily was quick to answer.
"Well then, I called to inform you that from today you are going to be delivering the boss' coffee or tea," Madam Dorothy informed Emily, who stared at her in disbelief.
"My apologies for asking, but why this all of a sudden?"
"If I were to be honest with you, this morning he fired the girl that delivers his coffee" Madam Dorothy responded to her plainly, as though firing had been a regular occurrence.
"Permit me to ask, but how many helpers has my employer fired?" Emily pressed on, and she watched Madam Dorothy look up in the air; her head moved from side to side until she stopped.
"In the last month, he's fired eight employees; you might be the ninth, but only if you don't know the rules."
"And what are the rules if I may ask?"
"Always have your head bowed down; after pouring either his tea or coffee, step at least three feet away from him, and leave only when he tells you so," she informed Emily, who all of a sudden felt anxious.
"Here you go" Emily turned around, only to see a younger woman, also dressed in a maid's uniform, handing her a silver tray with both crockery and cutlery on it.
"And where am I supposed to take this exactly?" Emily asked, confused as to where she was supposed to take the tray.
"You need to go up the flight of stairs, all the way to the third floor, three doors down, and there, on your left, you will find Mr.—". Madam Dorothy paused as she was interrupted by yet another employee, but once she was done, she turned her attention back to Emily, who still stood there waiting for further instructions. "And Emily"
"Yes, madam," Emily answered with haste.
"Deposit the tray on the coffee table in his room and wait for him to dismiss you," Madam Dorothy clarified. By simply looking into her eyes, Emily could almost see the fear in the older woman's eyes, which only added to her list of worries.
"Okay, madam," she agreed before walking away. Even as she walked away, Emily could feel several eyes watching her, as though each of them were quietly saying their goodbyes.
Standing at the very foot of the steps while holding her tray filled with cutlery and crockery, she lifted her head and looked at the very top of the steps and swallowed the lump in her throat. Without wasting any time, Emily began ascending the steps, thinking of the direction that she had been instructed to follow.
There she was, standing in front of a door that was wide open. She walked into the room, and her eyes widened. The room was extremely quiet and plain. Grey-coloured walls decorated the interiors of his room, and every inch of décor looked as though it were a professional office showroom rather than an actual room.
Emily nearly jumped up when she heard the shower turn on. Looking at the direction of the door adjacent to her, she knew immediately that her new boss was taking a shower, and now all she had to do was to wait for him.
She deposited the tray on the coffee table, and while stepping back from it, she knocked into something, and less than a second later, she heard something fall onto the floor. She quickly turned to see what it was and all she saw was a photo frame lying face down on the white tiled floor. This sight of this made Emily's heart beat faster; surely something like this was enough to get her fired for good.
**
Angelo was without a doubt sure that he had heard something or someone; being as high-profile as he was, being aware was what kept him alive all this time. He carefully turned the shower taps off and listened for noises coming from his bedroom, but there was nothing. Once he stepped out of his shower, he slowly grabbed the towel from the tower rack and wrapped it around his waist.
While still half naked and with water dripping from his wet hair, Angelo wrapped his hand around the door knob. He waited for a second and then quickly opened the door, ready to knock out whoever it was that had walked into his room without his permission.
Once he unlocked the door to his bathroom and entered his room, Angelo paused because right before him was someone he knew but also someone he considered an intruder.