Chapter 2

Ama was contemplating an effective way to gain access to the Blackwoods mansion. Mr. Reynolds had already given her a file containing everything she needed to know about the family, and she had spent all of last night reviewing it and conducting her own research.

The Blackwoods came from old money, which they gained from their construction business, and talent for creating unique art pieces. Which have aided them in their money laundering.

Mr. Edward Blackwood, the current head of the family, was married to Violet Blackwood née Conner. Their marriage was not initially founded on love. When the Conner family found themselves in significant debt, the Blackwoods lent them a helping hand, leading to the arrangement of Violet's marriage to the Blackwood's eldest son.

Edward and Violet Blackwood had three children who stood to inherit their father’s legacy: two sons and one daughter.

The eldest son, Sebastian Blackwood, was the golden boy of the family, the one everyone cherished. He maintained a spotless reputation, never getting his hands dirty as he delegated difficult tasks to others. He was always seen in a suit.

In contrast, the second son, Julian Blackwood, was someone no one wanted to cross. He had no qualms about getting his hands dirty to achieve his goals and often resorted to violence when confronted with a problem. He was known as the black sheep of the family, frequently disregarding orders and doing things his own way.

Ama knew she needed to avoid Julian at all costs.

The only daughter, Emma Blackwood who's the art prodigy of the family. She said to be a shy and always to herself, even at events. Ama concluded that it was unlikely she would encounter Emma.

The Blackwoods also had other cousins and distant relatives who contributed to the family's business success, but the focus remained on the Blackwood brothers.

They are going to host their annual gala/ art exhibition this week, and according to the file Mr. Reynolds gave to her- the necklace she needed to steal would be deployed during the event.

“Jesus Christ, Ama! What are you doing?” 

Ama was jolted back to reality by the angry voice of her colleague, Stella.

She shook her head in surprise and looked down at her hands, realizing she had left the water running in the sink, causing it to flood the floor.

Lost in thought while working her part-time job, she couldn’t believe she had done this again.

“I cannot believe you did that! This is unacceptable, Ama. Seriously, if you don’t want to work like the rest of us, just quit and go home…”

Ama rolled her eyes at Stella, who had taken it upon herself to list all of Ama's mistakes and shortcomings since she started working there.

Had this happened before? Yes, but she was only human and had a lot on her mind right now.

“Are you even listening to me? Don’t tell me you’re blocking me out again.”

“I can hear you loud and clear, Stella. I’m sure everyone out there can hear you too,” she replied, searching for a rag to wipe her hands.

Stella glared at her. “You’re the one making mistakes, and you think you can insult me?” she said, hands on her hips, still glaring at Ama.

“I didn’t insult you; I was just stating the obvious.” Ama finally found a rag and began cleaning the outer part of the sink.

Stella opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, their senior colleague, Julie, walked in.

“What’s going on here?” Julie asked as she approached them.

“Nothing, Julie. Just cleaning up,” Ama said quickly, wanting to avoid any trouble that could jeopardize her job.

Stella opened her mouth to object, but Julie interjected, “Well, your dishwashing shift is over, and we have a full house, so get out there.”

“Sure,” Ama replied gratefully, dropping the rag back in the sink and moving to remove her dishwashing apron.

But before she could leave, Stella spoke up.

“But she made this mess. Why does she have to leave?” she said, hands on her waist, glaring at Ama.

“Well, it’s your turn to do the dishes, so why don’t you just help her out?” Julie suggested.

“Why would I do that? That’s not fair.”

“Stella, it’s really not a big deal. Just do the damn dishes, okay?” Julie ordered, giving her a stern look.

Ama wanted to feel sympathy for Stella, but the girl had been nothing but mean to her since she began working there. With no pity to spare, she walked out while Stella continued to plead her case.

“Hey, which table should I take?” Ama asked Gracie, the friendly colleague who often helped her.

“You can take table 17; some guys just sat there,” Gracie said, pointing to a table in a hidden spot by the large window on the left.

“Okay, thanks,” Ama replied, grabbing her order pad and pen.

She walked over to the table Gracie indicated.

“Good afternoon! Sorry to keep you waiting. What can I get you guys?” she said, looking for an empty page in her notebook.

“You seemed to have taken your sweet time coming over. Don’t tell me you were getting all dolled up for us,” came a voice.

Ama looked up and was unimpressed. The guy looked like those rich Guy who usually stays uptown and had no business being in a dinner like this.

He was dressed in a dark blue suit that was opened with a white T-shirt underneath it, his light blonde hair pushed back and his blue eyes staring into Ama's soul.

“ I apologize if my lastness has offended you, but as you can see we have a full house and we don't have time for special treatment.” She said glaring at him.

The man looked like he'd be strucked by Ama's words. 

She wouldn't be surprised if she found out no one had ever spoken back to him the way she did.

These pompous rich folks were unbelievably.

“With that attitude of yours I wonder how you even got the job,” the man seems to had recovered from he's initially shock.

“By being able to do simple chores like cooking and cleaning which you are not able to do, now can I take your order.” Ama replied while still glaring at the man.

The man sitting beside him let out a laugh.

Ama's attention was still on the blonde guy, she didn't notice the guy who was sitting opposite from the blonde guy and was staring at her.

“Ahh, right people like you are meant to do the shitty work while people like me are meant to watch.” The blonde guy finally found his tongue.

Ama smiled slyly,

Before she could respond, the dark haired guy who was staring at her spoke up 

“That's enough Chadwick. Just place your order.” He said, finally looking away from Ama and leaning back on his side of the booth.

Ama took the opportunity to observe the booth, which had an interesting mix of personalities. 

The guy who had just spoke was a dark haired guy with dark green eyes Ama could get lost in and a bit of facial hair. He was dressed in a black round-neck polo, black jeans, and a black denim jacket, creating a strong presence.

Next to him was a blonde girl who had her attention focused on her phone during the entire conversation between Ama and the blonde guy. Despite her distraction, she showcased beautiful hazel eyes and wore a black jacket over white cropped top with black trouses, Ama admired her style. 

Finally, there was a Black guy with a buzz cut who seemed to be genuinely enjoying the dynamic unfolding between Ama and Chad. His attire, consisting of a white T-shirt and corporate trousers with the top two buttons undone, gave him a relaxed yet polished look. This diverse group certainly added an interesting layer to the atmosphere.

Chadwick looked like he wanted to protest but the look the dark haired guy was giving him shut him up.

The black guy looked like he was trying really hard to fight a laugh.

Ama took wrote down their order, careful not to make any mistakes cause she definitely didn't want to look incompetent to in front of this group.

While she was writing she could feel the eyes of the dark haired guy on her, she didn't know what to think of it so she didn't bother trying to figure out why this stranger with a dark aura found so intriguing about her.

“Your food would be her shortly.” She said after cross checking for any errors on her part.

“ Oh no, take your sweet time you seem to be really good at doing that anyway.” Chadwick said.

She just rolled her eyes and walked back to the kitchen to place their order. Thankfully the chef didn't have a lot on his hands so he would prepare their meal next.

Fortunately Ama was tasked with working at the counter with Gracie so another waitress had to deliver their meal.

While Ama was replacing the finished ketch up on the counter with a new one, she felt a prickling feeling on her neck that made her look up and she caught the eyes of the dark haired guy from the group she attended to.

He smirked at her and looked away.

What was that, was that man just checking her out while she was working.

Well if he was doing it she could also play along. It wouldn't hurt that he's very attractive too.

And so it went on, they kept on playing this little game of checking each other out and when they make eye contact they look away.

When Ama came back she held herself back from looking towards the direction of one particular table. But she eventually carved and looked at the table but it was empty.

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, she couldn't decide if she was disappointed or glad to find the table empty.