Chapter 2

Gian POV

Fernandez Estate is located in the countryside of New York. From the outside, it already showed extreme power and massive wealth.

The heavily armed security guards let me pass through the huge electronic iron gates, with a gold letter F carved in the center.

"That F is surely bigger than me." I mumbled to myself, as I drove my yellow hatchback inside slowly on the wide cemented road.

In front of the mansion was a roundabout, with a gigantic fountain in the center. A statue of a lion, ready to attack, was in the middle of the fountain.

"I wonder, why the lion? Lion is the king of the jungle. Does Mr. Fernandez see the world as his jungle? Or maybe ... he's just a fan of the Lion King movie." I chuckled, then opened the car window.

I was overwhelmed by the beautiful landscape. Aunt Jodie would love living here. The tall trees, shrubs, bushes and garden were so alive like HD images. The bed of green bermuda grass was trimmed to perfection. The air smelled like heaven, so fresh and clean.

The huge mansion was designed as a solid rectangular concrete that stood in the middle of the vast estate. The back was bordered by a river, and both sides with trees, garden, pool and pond.

I have seen many beautiful houses in magazines, but nothing compared to this mansion. All exterior walls were white, and surrounded with glass windows. It was a modern house, and from the look of it, a bullet could not pass through it.

My eyes darted at the top of the mansion, and I noticed the helipad. My eyebrows rose.

"Well, the Fernandez are mega rich. I shouldn't be surprised if there's an airport here."

Aunt Jodie's employer, Pablo Fernandez, is a very powerful business magnate that owns multiple lines of businesses in the whole world. From real estate, shipping, steel manufacturing, food industries and many more. He's a widower, as far as I know.

His only son, Vincent, is another story. A young billionaire, with a bad reputation with women. Thousands of women flock at his doorstep, waiting in line to date him. He dated celebrities, models, socialites, politician daughters, and many more. I read from the tabloids, that he discarded them easily like a disposable grocery bag. What a heartbreaker!

He's exactly the type of man I avoided. That's a big red flag.

I heard about him, but I never really knew what he looked like. I'm not interested in business, and the people involved in it.

But I could not deny that Vincent Fernandez is really brilliant in business, just like his father. Lately, he made a buzz on the internet regarding his latest invention. An innovation that would change the future. Whatever it is, I don't know ... I don't care.

"This is it." I parked my car in front of the mansion's main door. I combed my long brown hair briefly with my fingers, putting all the wavy tresses on my back, then fixed the zip of my blue skinny jeans that open whenever I sit down for too long.

I got out of the car, then looked around. There was no one, so I headed directly to the main door.

"Hey you! Stop right here."

I froze when I heard someone shout. I turned and saw a slim middle-aged woman, probably in her fifties, wearing black maid's uniform. She was walking towards me. I looked around, making sure she was referring to me. Then I pointed at myself, "me?"

"Yes, you! There's no other person here."

"Oh." I gave her a pleasant smile, and walked towards her.

"I haven't received any memo that a visitor is coming. Who let you in?"

"Um ... the guards?"

"The guards! They have very strict instructions not to let anyone inside, especially a young ... " her eyes scanned briefly my appearance, from my white sneakers to my face, "beautiful woman."

Did she just compliment me?

"I showed them this," I gave her the entry pass.

Her eyes grew big.

"Where did you get this? This is only for the staff."

"My aunt Jodie gave it to me. You're Calliope, right?"

"Yeah, I am," one of her eyebrows rose, "and you are?"

"Her niece, Gian Kasdeya" I extended my hand but she did not take it. I put my hand at the side, "aunt Jodie sent me here to tell you that she can't start working today. She broke her arm and needs two months to recover."

"Two months! I can't wait that long," she touched her forehead in exasperation.

"She asked, if you could find a reliever while she's recovering."

"My goodness! Who would ever want a two month job. Everyone wants a whole year contract or even more. I'm leaving in a week!" she pressed her lips together briefly, looking so upset, "time is ticking. I have no choice but to replace her with the second best among the applicants. I need to train my replacement immediately."

"Oh no ... please don't. She needs the job really badly, and it's just unfortunate that the accident happened. Maybe we can find another solution."

"Like what? Me waiting for her? No!" she raised her hands upwards, "my marriage can't be delayed. The wedding is set at the most perfect time and venue." "How about me? I'll do the job for two months, you won't regret it."

"You? No way!"

"Why not? I'm capable of doing the job. It's only two months."

She stopped, then her eyebrows furrowed. "Who are you again?"

"Gian Kasdeya. Her niece."

"So your father works for Mr. Fernandez also?"

"Yes, in the Finance Department, here in New York."

"I see," she nodded, "you can be trusted, but still, you don't qualify. Mr. Fernandez only hires middle-aged women."

"Middle-aged women? Why?"

"Whatever his reason, I don't have to explain to you. So, our business is done here. Please exit the premises. I need to find a replacement asap," she turned and left, but I followed her.

"No, wait. Please ... my aunt really needs this job."

She faced me again, "stop following me and leave."

"I'm not leaving. You said you can trust me, so please ... hire me. I can disguise myself as a middle-aged woman."

"That's absurd! How can you look like an older woman, when you're only what ... eighteen?"

"I'm already twenty two. I just graduated with a degree in history. I don't have a job yet, so I'm free to do it."

Her expression turned monstrous.

"This is not a history research, but a housekeeping job. You're not here to teach everyone about Victorian eras, wars and heroes, Romeo and Juliet ... or Titanic. You mop the floors, scrub the toilets, clean the whole house and do the laundry!"

I took a deep breath, "of course I know that. I'm very good at housekeeping, my aunt Jodie trained me so well. I grew up doing the chores withher."

"But you're too young. Come back after thirty years."

"Please Calliope, save yourself from too much stress. You don't need to look anymore, I'm here. You can start training me now."

Her hands were on her waist, as she shook her head. "You're the one giving me stress. So leave now."

"I won't. My aunt will be devastated. I can make myself look older, I promise. Let me try on her uniform, I brought them with me. See for yourself first, then decide if the disguise will work or not. I will leave if you still think that it won't work. Promise."

She heaved a long sigh, then said, "Okay fine! You're so hard-headed and pushy."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm desperate. Besides, this is a win-win situation for all of us."

"Shhh ... just get the uniform now, and follow me to the servant's hall." She turned and left ahead of me.

"Thanks Calliope, you're the best. Can I just bring my whole luggage?"

She stopped and faced me again. "What? You brought your luggage already?"

"Of course. I'm always ready."

Her eyes rolled, then continued to walk away from me.

Later, we were in her room in the servant's hall, where I had already transformed myself to a middle-aged woman.

"What do you think? Do I look like I'm in my forties now?"

She assessed my appearance thoroughly, her finger rubbing her chin.

I was wearing thick-rimmed black eyeglasses with plain lenses, that I usually wear for fashion purposes. The unflattering dark red lipstick concealed the shape of my lips. My chestnut brown hair was pulled back away from my face in a loose bun, just like Miss Murphy did.

I wore aunt Jodie's black maid's uniform. It had long sleeves with a turtleneck collar. The bodice was loose, it made me look twice bigger, and the hem was long, that touched a few inches below my knees. I also had a matching black flat heeled shoes.

"Not in your forties, but more like thirty-five," her eyebrows drew together in a frown.

"At least, I don't look 22 anymore," I assured her.

She clicked her tongue in disapproval.

"Don't worry, I'll apply more beige powder to look older," I faced the full-length mirror and put on more, "how about now?"

I saw a tiny glint in her eyes, she seemed satisfied with what she saw.

"It worked, right?"

"Um ... " she said hesitantly.

"Come on, hire me now. So you can start preparing for the wedding."

"It's already done. Mr. Fernandez hired the best wedding planner in Mexico for me."

"Really? That's included in the benefits?"

"Yes. He's a very generous man, he'll give more benefits if you're good."

"Wow, I can't wait to work here. Is the food unlimited?"

"Of course. There's a daily servant's buffet."

"Seriously? Please hire me now."

She finally smiled, then said, "what's wrong with you. Are you deprived of food? No wonder you're so thin." "Of course not. I have a fast metabolism, so I need to eat a lot." "You'll get fat here."

"Oh ... " my eyes grew big, "so that means, I'm hired."

"I did not say that."

"You did. You can't take it back now!" I hugged her and jumped with joy.

"Okay ... you're hired. We have to order new uniforms that would fit your size. I'm sure the tailor could finish them in two days."

"There's no need."

"They're quite big on you."

"It doesn't bother me. I like them loose, they're very comfortable to move around," I stretched my arms to the sides, then turned around, "see?"

One of her eyebrows rose, then reminded me, "just make sure you don't wear any colored dresses inside the estate, okay? Only plain black with long sleeves. You need to look older and authoritative."

"Sure. I'll keep that in mind."

"I'll show you to your room now. Training will start tomorrow," she opened the door, and got out.

Before I followed her, I faced the full-length mirror again and stared at my reflection.

Me, disguised as a middle-age woman.