Chapter 6: Sweet desserts

Silence ensued after his last statement.

I couldn't find another job to support me on such short notice. This job will have to do, even if it's for only a short period of time until I find a better one. Hopefully, working for a literal ice statue wouldn't be so hard.

"Take her to complete the paperwork and give her a tour of the building," the man said to his butler.

The butler –I didn't quite catch his name, so I'm just going to call him Alfred– nodded, looking pleased for whatever reason and led me out of the office. He had an aristocratic air about him, very elegant and posh, as if he had been serving royals for decades and was now like one of them.

I completed signing the necessary legal documents but a clause on one of the financial documents made me pause. On the position I had been offered, it still said 'manager' not 'secretary', but that wasn't even the shocking part.

I knew the price range for a managerial position for someone like me with little or no experience. However, what was being offered to me was twice what I was supposed to earn.

I even counted the zeroes to make sure I was seeing things clearly.

"Hey," I showed the document to Alfred, "I think there's been a mistake."

He only furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head, "no. The details are correct."

He wouldn't budge on his conviction, so I signed the document, deciding that I had tried my best.

"Come with me, I'll show you around," the butler said, after the paperwork had been taken care of.

The building had over a hundred floors with residential apartments, offices, kitchens, gyms and even a public pool to boast off.

"This hallway leads to the master's private wing," The butler told me as we got off from the elevators on one of the floors. "Under no circumstances are you allowed to come here without permission. The master is very particular about his privacy."

Of course the walking, talking ice statue would be particular about his privacy, still, I nodded politely and filed in this information as one with priority in my memory.

It took us the whole afternoon to go through most of the important parts of the building and by the time we were done, my head was spinning with so much information and details.

"Hey, Alfred, can I ask you a question?" I asked as he got us drinks when he noticed how parched I was.

"Alfred?" His forehead wrinkled at the name I had been calling him all day in my head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." I covered up my mistake with a nervous laugh.

"John," he corrected with a kind smile on his face as he handed me a glass of cold juice. "What is your question?"

"On the contract..." I started to grow timid, wondering if I should just let it go, but Alf– John encouraged me to spill.

"On the contract, why was the job different from the position I was informed of?" I wasn't going to bring up the extra pay because heck, I could use the extra cash. I just wanted to make sure that the position was correct so that I don't have any legal issues with my employer.

His smile grew even wider at my question, like he knew a secret I didn't, "because that's what the master wants," he said with a wink.

I was confused as hell but I nodded and sipped my drink, content with quenching my thirst.

I was checking out of the company for the day when I the back of my neck tingled with apprehension, the odd feeling of someone's cold gaze on me.

I turned around and found out that it was Mr Greyson's little boy staring at me.

I smiled at him and lifted my hand to give him a tiny little wave. He only glowered at me and I lowered my hand.

Maybe the little boy thought that handwaves were beneath him.

I walked up to him, a tiny smile on my lips to show him that I mean no harm or insult. "Hello."

The little boy only replied with a cold mumble I didn't quite catch.

Arrogant. Just like his father.

I wasn't sure what he wanted before it hit me that he might have gotten lost in this gigantic building. I know I would have gotten lost on my own when I was his age. It seemed like the only plausible reason, I mean, why else would he be following me?

"Are you lost? Do you need help getting back to your suite?"

His frigid gaze sent a clear message. "Don't insult me. I can get back to the office on my own."

He seemed quite proud with this declaration.

"Well, if that's all..." I trailed off, turning on my heels and heading towards the exit.

"Wait," he called out before i took my next step.

I paused and looked at him quizzically. He looked almost... Uncomfortable. At least as uncomfortable as a mini ice sculpture could get.

"C'mon," I cooed, "spit it out."

He glowered silently and forced down his retort before finally replying, "your sandwiches were," he swallowed, almost like he has never paid a compliment in his little life, "they were delicious," he said finally.

I smiled sweetly at him. "Thank you."

"What else can you cook?"

"It depends on what you want."

"Do you make desserts?"

"Yes," I answered tentatively, not sure if this was a trick question.

"Can you bake..." he hesitated, then looked at me with yearning eyes, "chocolate cake?"

"Of course! Infact, I'm baking that tonight."

His eyes widened greedily.

"I'll tell you what," I squatted so that I was at his level. Up close, he really did look like the spitting image of his father, but I digress, "If you want to eat something else tomorrow, you can ask the butler to give me a menu. I'll gladly make it for you. My treat." I winked at him.

He appeared speechless at that and as I rose to my full height and smiled down on him, he had a troubled look in his blue grey eyes.

I walked out of the gorgeous building, grinning from ear to ear and proud of the awkward as hell interview and also my fat paycheck. Today's turn of events had been strange but had all worked in my favor.

Unable to control my excitement, I phoned Tylor to tell him the great news.

"Tell me something good, princess. Am I speaking to the new manager of Greyson Hotel or what?" It was obvious from his voice that he was almost as excited as me, if not even more.

"Not quite," I explained. "It turns out that the owner of the hotel had other plans."

Tylor's happy bubble bursted immediately. "What do you mean the owner had other plans? Did he give you any trouble?"

"He had a strange temper but nothing I couldn't handle. Anyway, I'm the secretary now. Sometimes I'll be cooking for him and his son."

"What do you mean by 'sometimes cooking for him and his son'? And how're you the secretary? Giselle clearly said the position of manager was yours."

"I know I know and I don't mind, really. He has the sweetest son and I like cooking anyway. They really seem to enjoy my cooking."

"Can you even hear yourself, Ana? All that work you did abroad, all the money you spent going to a business school while you were pregnant with a fucking asshole's child might as well go down the drain. You're a genius, a hardworking genius, not somebody's slave girl that cooks for a rich guy and his spoilt son."

I paused, a little hurt but understanding that Tylor's words were coming from a good place. "B- but I don't mind, really. It's fine."

"You deserve to be taken care of, Ana. You did not cook for me when we were abroad, I did it all for you! Then you accepted a job to make food for a well-known strange-tempered man!"

I sighed and continued walking towards my car, "listen, Ty, I know you care about me but you have to let me figure this out on my own. I love cooking, I'm fit for the job and the little boy I cook for has amazing manners. I think I'll like it here. Don't be so hard on me, it was either this or nothing. Do you want me to be jobless and depending on you for the rest of my life."

He saw meaning in my words and let out a frustrated huff. "I'm sorry, Ana. I'm just trying to look out for you. I don't want anyone taking advantage of you like a certain prick–"

"Ty!" I stopped him.

"Okay, sorry, I'll stop now. Get home quick okay? I'll show up for dinner. We can talk better about this new job later."

"Sure," I quipped, getting into my car and shutting the door. I cut the call and focused on putting on my seatbelt when I heard the door to the backseat open and shut.

I froze immediately, flashbacks of when I had been snatched up and kidnapped flashed in my head. Frigid fear froze my veins and I turned around immediately and felt all the fear wash away.

In my backseat was the little ice sculpture, Mr Greyson's little son, looking bored and out of place in his rich little suit, seating in my cheap Toyota.

"Hello," I chirped, "do you want to go somewhere?"

He pursed his lips. "My father never lets me have sweets for dessert."

"Should I drive you somewhere you can have some chocolate?"

"No, go to your home. I want to have home-made cakes for dinner."

In retrospect, I should have questioned him some more and inquired if he had cleared this with his father before sneaking up on me like this... So that, you know, I don't get slammed with a lawsuit for kidnapping someone's son. But in that moment, I just shrugged, thinking nothing of it, buckled my seatbelt, started the car and drove out of the parking lot.

Greyson's pov:

"How did she react when she read the paperwork?" I asked John, my butler, appearing disinterested but holding on to every word he says concerning Ana, my new employee.

For whatever reason, I cared about how she was going to fair working for me.

"Anastasia is quite efficient. She read every line and even called my attention to the change of positions in the contract. Of course, I let her know that it was exactly how you wanted it and to not worry at all about it."

"How was she during the tour around the building?"

"She was calm and collected. Not overwhelmed in any way. She remembered what floor was for what. She was kind and respectful and didn't even complain when she was tired and thirsty. She even remained smiling with a pleasant disposition at the end of the day."

My hands wrapped around my pen as I tapped it repeatedly on the table, deep in thoughts.

Could it just be all an act? Her sweet and innocent act? Why would she show up after all these years, right here in my building? Does she want to threaten me with a lawsuit? Do I need to threaten her to get her to sign an NDA? Or was I just being paranoid?

I sighed and reclined in my seat, pushing those intrusive thoughts away before I realized the lack of presence of my son. "Where is Lucas?" I asked, looking around.

"I saw Young Master get into Miss Ana’s car."

I frowned in annoyance. "Why would the little bastard get into a strange woman's car? He's usually wary of strangers, that boy."

Old John didn't even try to hide his pleased smile at this new piece of information. "Should I call Miss Ana to send him back?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. John was a loyal butler that has served me since I was a little boy but I was beginning to believe he was going senile with this tactical game he was playing all of a sudden.

"You old fox, without your tactic approval, how could he get out the building alone? Give me her residence address. Move, we’ll have dinner at her place."

John only smiled and nodded. "Of course. I'll get her details right away, sir."