“Good, I’ll like to have breakfast now”

Luther doesn’t look impressed. He runs his grey eyes over my form for a few seconds, not saying anything. The look in his eyes convey his disgust. He’s never liked me, even made his dislike for me obvious. Before now, he honestly had no reason for that but right now, I hate that I gave him a reason to actually dislike me. I hate that I’m proving his point and feeding his stupid ego.

I expect him to scold me, or even fire me at the spot. Surprisingly, all he does is to grumble out a firm “you’re late”, then he walks away, not giving me any more attention.

I hurry towards him, his strides are long so it takes me a few seconds to catch up and then when I do, it’s hard to keep up with his steps. He must notice my struggle because he stops walking and turns to face me.

“What are you doing?”, he asks, seemingly unhappy about my skittering around him.

“I, uh, nothing”

He runs that uncomfortable gaze over me again, making me self conscious, then he turns around to face me completely.

“Listen, miss...”.

Is he serious now? Does he really not know my name.

“Richards. Audrey Richards”, I fill in for him, taking a step forward. He takes one back, scrunching up his nose as if I smell. I don’t.

“Miss Richards. Let me remind you that you were supposed to be down before me. Yet here you are, skittering like a church mouse”

“I’m sorry about that. I lost track of time”, I explain. He doesn’t respond to me as he simply turns back around to continue his walk down the hallway. I follow immediately, trying to catch up with him and hoping to overtake him.

He stops again, an angry scowl on his face.

“Miss Richards, you will keep your distance from me. It’s bad enough that I have you working for me. Stay at least three feet away from me all the time, I don’t want to catch even a whiff of you”, he adds the last part with a scrunch of his nose, like he’s disgusted.

Maybe I should consider that I might be smelly to him.

I raise my top, dipping my nose a little into the space and smelling it to know if maybe I didn’t use enough body wash this morning. The one I have is running low but it’s still enough to last me for a

few days. I may have been rationing it to last longer, but I still made sure to use enough. Or is it the deodorant? I still use the same one I use all the time, and no one has ever told me I smell. But at the same time, no one is as rudely blunt as Luther Chapman.

I get lost in my analysis of smell and when I raise my head, I discover Luther is nowhere to be found. Shit

I basically sprint down the hallway and down the stairs. I almost trip but I catch myself on time. By the time I get to the lounge, Luther is already there with Salud.

Salud looks up at me and I’m sure I’m not imagining the disappointment on his face.

Great.

Luther notices Saluds distraction and turns to my direction, frowning a bit as he turns back to continue his conversation with Salud.

A few seconds later, he dismisses Salud who walks away with a little bow.

“I reckon my breakfast is ready?”, Luther says and I look around, wondering who he’s talking to. I don’t see anyone.

He turns to face me. “Miss Richards?”

I blink. “Me?”

Luther’s face reddens with what seems to be indignation.

“I assumed Salud briefed you on your duties?”, he asks “Yes”

“Good, I’ll like to have breakfast now”

“I...about that, I-“

I’m unable to meet Luther’s gaze, so I drop my head, thinking of a way to tell him I didn’t think I’d start preparing his meals till tomorrow.

“Miss Richards?”

“Yeah?”, I ask, and he raises a brow, not indulging me in my attempt to play dumb. “Salud did brief me. I just didn’t expect to start on the meals today”, I say.

He sighs, rubbing his brows in frustration, then he faces me again with a mixture of boredom and frustration on his face. He takes slow, steady steps towards me and I squirm a little at the predator like behavior. Thankfully, he stops shy of a few feet away from me. About three feet between us.

“Miss Richards, Audrey. Is there a reason you haven’t started on your duties?” “I haven’t gone grocery shopping yet”

“But you’ve been briefed?”

“Yes”

“And you’ve been shown to your room?” “Yes”

“You’ve moved your things in?”

“Uh, no”

He frowns at my answer. “Why not?”

“I was hoping to talk to you about something first”, I literally whisper. The frustration on his face increases.

“Miss Richards, I remind you that as of yesterday, you were hired as my caregiver and assistant. Unfortunately, you now work for me and if you didn’t figure it out already, then let me assure you that I do not tolerate incompetence of any form. This is your first strike, I might not be so merciful next time”

He walks out immediately, strong steps resounding through the room. I bury my head in my hands. I wish I didn’t have to work for an asshole.