Chapter 4

"What do you mean "no way"?"

"I don't want that job." Sophia weakly refused. But she wasn't convincing enough.

"Are you sure about that?" Aisha raised an eyebrow and clasped her hands on the table in front of her as she leaned forward.

"Th- Yes..." Sophia stuttered.

"Is something like this even acceptable?"  This time, Maya asked the most important question on her mind.

It was something that they had never experienced since they started working in the company so they both had no idea if it was even possible.

"It's acceptable..." Aisha nodded while still keeping her eyes on Sophia who was quite disoriented.

"You just don't know about it because it's a very rare occurrence. Only people who are interested and can afford a daily service can request for such a thing. And it's even rarer for them to be specific with the agents that carry out the job."

Sophia listened blankly as Aisha explained.

"Can we refuse?" Maya asked once again.

"What?" Aisha faced Maya

"Can we refuse the job? Can't you just send some other employees instead?"

"No can do." Aisha declined firmly. "The client requested for you directly."

Maya sighed and turned to her friend. "We have to do it Sophie." She said.

"You know that you actually want to. Don't you?" She asked with a slight tone of teasing in her voice.

"I-I'm not sure..." Sophia stuttered again.

When she had first walked into the boss's office, she had been able to temporarily forget about Ethan. But the thought about going back there made her feel complicated emotions.

She wanted to run back there and at the same time she felt like avoiding the place altogether.

The most stronger feeling however, was that she actually wanted to meet with Ethan again. Her heart even  harboured a bit of hope that the young billionaire would like her too. Though she felt it was a pipe dream, she couldn't dismiss her emotions.

The conflicting emotions made her hesitant to make a decision... She didn't have to make any decision though. It was already a done deal and she had to fulfil her role.

"But why did such a request come in?" Maya had fully accepted the situation and was only now curious as to what had prompted whoever made the demand to request such a thing.

'Is the butler the one behind this?' Maya thought silently. There had to be a reason for such a request.

" The client didn't share any such details in the contract." Aisha replied.

"You girls don't have to worry though, the client said that you both would be compensated individually and generously for the trouble." She added with a grin, causing the Maya to raise her eyebrow in suspicion and even Sophia got dragged out of her muddled thoughts and stared in bewilderment.

"It's a really good deal. I don't understand why you should have a problem with this." Aisha said with an exasperated sigh.

Then she turned her attention on Sophia who was still lost in thoughts. "That little 'prince charming' might be there, or not. You don't know what's in store for you so don't hesitate to go." She advised.

"Yes." Sophia nodded blankly.

Aisha nodded. "Now off you go. Your work continues today. And you're running late already."

The two ladies threw glances at each other and made their way to the opulent mansion to resume their work.

Maya looked forward to it, that was a given since money was involved.

...While Sophia was drowning in a flood of complex emotions.

'What should I say if I come across him?' She thought worriedly among a myriad of her other concerns.

****

"When are they to be arriving?"

At the Delacroix mansion. Inside a broad room, there were paintings of popular artworks that couldn't be found anywhere else in the world hanging on the walls. The floor was covered with a green carpet which gave the room a cool feeling along with its white walls.

It was a room where precious art was displayed. Anyone who was interested in the artworks could simply enter the room and admire the various artworks hanging on the walls while relaxing.

The ceiling of the room was higher than a normal room and light permeated every corner of the room but  contrary to how it looked, the air was quite stale and had a dusty smell.

On one corner of the room, a full length mirror stood and a piece of cloth that had just been taken off the mirror was spluttered on the floor beside the mirror.

Before the mirror stood a casually dressed man who was checking himself out as he asked his butler an important question.

It was Ethan Delacroix. The billionaire heir of the Delacroix family.

"They should be arriving soon, young master."

The butler who had attended to Maya and Sophia the previous day stood some two meters behind Ethan as he focused on himself through the mirror.

"Since the request was made late in the evening, I'm guessing the boss would just be briefing the two ladies about the new development." He explained.

"That could have been done sooner." Ethan grumbled with a low voice as he turned his attention away from the mirror. His blue eyes radiated a feeling of impatience.

"You seem eager to meet the two ladies, young master." The butler remarked.

"You think so Ben?" Ethan asked with a stifled chuckle as he took a glance at Ben the butler's face.

Ben nodded.

"Ah, well you caught me." Ethan conceded.

"However, it's just one of them I'm interested in." He revealed.

"Oh... I hope this is something trivial young master. Your mother won't be pleased if things get out of hand." Ben said with a subtle tone of warning in his voice.

"No need to be bothered with such things Ben." Ethan replied dismissively.

"Mother won't need to hear a single word about this."

'It's just a little bit of interest.' He thought to himself.

'She's just a maid. After playing around for a bit, I'll be done with her and we'll go our separate ways.'

He was convinced of how it would all play out. His position and societal status wouldn't have him settling with a lowly maid.

"Then I hope you keep it as quiet as possible. A scandal about you can't be made known to the public so please make your decisions wisely and be very discreet." Ben advised again.

"Don't worry, I can be as discreet as possible." Ethan said confidently.

Ben looked at him with an uncertain gaze. He wasn't so sure of Ethan's declaration to be discreet. If his memory served him right, the Ethan that he had known from the time he was a little child wasn't the discreet type.

Ben sighed deeply in worry.

'The matriarch would skin me alive.' He lamented inwardly.

But he couldn't stop Ethan from doing what he wanted to do.