Chapter 5

"They have arrived." A maid knocked on the door of the room and stood at the entrance without stepping in as she divulged the information.

She had been the one who was told to inform Ben whenever the cleaning agents arrived.

Ethan subconsciously smiled at this news. And a hint of excitement could be noticed dancing in the corner of his eyes.

"Thank you." Ben replied to the maid and then she left immediately. He then turned his head to Ethan.

"Please stay put, young master. Let me speak with them before you do whatever you wish to do." He said with a slightly pleading tone. He really didn't want Ethan to mess things up.

Ethan frowned. "Alright."

He still conceded. Just a little bit more patience was required.

Ben sighed slightly in relief and turned around to leave the room with well coordinated steps to go and meet the women.

Sophia and Maya were inside the big reception of the large mansion just behind the door where they waited for Ben.

Maya was quite laidback in her posture but underneath the facade, her eyes gleamed with anticipation and curiosity. She also wanted to meet Ethan and see him up close for herself.

Sophia meanwhile, was quite anxious at the fact that she was back in the same house she had met Ethan. Her whole body seemed to be awash with different emotions and her mind was in disarray. She tried to calm her agitated heart by subtly placing her palm on her chest.

A subtle blush was lingered on her cheeks.

"It's good to see you once again." The butler Ben, greeted with a warm smile as he descended from the intricate flight of stairs that stood in the center of the house and led to the upper floors.

The gaze of the two ladies were drawn to the top of the stairs and they watched as he made his way down the stairs towards them with cautious steps.

"Thank you for having us again. We didn't expect that you'd appreciate our work so much that you would seek for a more semi permanent deal." Maya said.

As she was the more composed of the two, she had to speak in place of herself and Sophia.

For a brief but noticeable moment, Ben paused his descent from the stairs with an awkward expression appearing on his face.

"I might not be entirely responsible for that..." He said with a low voice, earning curious stares from the two ladies.

'He's not behind the request?' Sophia didn't fail to hear what Ben said and her mind went wild.

'Perhaps he is interested in meeting me again? Could it be because I ran out on him the last time?' Sophia pondered quietly.

She knew that she had been quite the spectacle the previous day. She had met with a stranger and ran out of the house as though she was seeing a complete stranger. Surely, the man would be curious as to what happened.

'I hope he doesn't misunderstand.' Sophia prayed.

"In any case, I look forward to seeing you both around in the near future." Ben said.

Afterwards, he guided them to the quarters he had taken them to the previous to get prepared.

"You can use this room for the time you'll be working for us." He said.

The two ladies nodded and got prepared.

Sophia was still nervous and fluttery. Unconsciously, she checked every corner she turned as they walked around the house in hope of catching a glimpse of the elusive billionaire.

However, she didn't see him. Then, she got separated from Maya again.

The subtle tension she was feeling subsided in her body and she went on about to continue her work.

The mansion was very big. It had been impossible for just the two ladies to finish cleaning the whole house the previous days.

Even though the mansion had few maids, they were not able to cover the whole house and some of the work still needed to be done by professionals.

It happened as Sophia was cleaning one of the master bedrooms of the house.

She suddenly noticed some movement from the corner of her eyes. Startled, she jerked her head towards the door and saw a figure standing by the doorway.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Ethan had come looking for her. He awkwardly changed his body positions to show off a good impression by striking a good pose. But Sophia had caught him before he could announce his presence.

Ethan coughed awkwardly and began approaching the young woman. He flashed a small smile to seem more friendly but he saw Sophia freeze up and her eyes enlarged.

He failed to notice her dilated pupils and was worried that he might have startled her...

Far from that, Sophia couldn't keep her eyes from the dashing figure of the young billionaire who approached her casually.

He was wearing a simple shirt and a pair of jeans. His height made him seem like an imposing figure as his body also happened to be perfectly sculptured. His dark brown hair was styled leisurely and his perfectly shaped face was covered with a few scruffy beards. His steel blue eyes kept Sophia enamored.

"Hello..." He said as he approached and stopped in front of her. His voice had a deep baritone that seemed to excite Sophia more.

Sophia unconsciously took a step back and dropped the broom in her hands.

"Hi..." She replied with a bit of difficulty as she couldn't tear her eyes away from his perfectly handsome face.

"We met yesterday... But you ran off suddenly. Did I scare you?" He asked.

He had put a little bit of distance between them so as to not intrude her personal space. There was a glint in his eyes as he stylishly scanned her from head to toe.

In Ethan's eyes, Sophia was the most beautiful woman he had ever met.

"Of course not!" Sophia unconsciously blurted out in reply. Scared? It was the total opposite!

"It's just... I remembered something that I had to do at that moment so I excused myself immediately. Sorry if I seemed rude." Sophia apologized shyly.

As she spoke, she hid her face from him as best as she could without looking awkward. Her cheeks were tinged a deep shade of red. It was such a heavy blush that she hadn't ever experienced before. Thankfully, Ethan didn't notice her heavy blush for some reason.

"Not at all." He replied dismissively. "I just thought I did something spooky to scare you off."

Then he smiled. Though it was different from the smile he had first displayed, the sincere smile was much more dazzling to Sophia. Sophia felt like she was in a trance. She was once again speechlessly dazed.

As the two of them stood there silently, they became caught up in the moment.

Their eyes remained locked, and for that suspended moment, it was as if the world had faded away, leaving only the two of them.

Ethan's eyes held a warmth that seemed to pierce through Sophia's nervousness, making her heart race even faster.

He took a step closer to her and stopped. His smile disappeared and was replaced with a gaze of burning intensity. He opened his mouth and uttered careless words.

"I've been hoping to see you again." He spoke softly.

Sophia breath was caught up in her throat and she froze.