Attractive Offer

One month later.

 “How much is the salary?” Clara repeated the question one more time. She had to ask again because she couldn’t believe what she heard.

 “Fifty thousand dollars a month. This is a fixed salary. If you do well, you can receive more rewards. Anne – Clara’s friend said. “This job is a bargain, Clara. If it weren’t for me being busy studying, I would receive it right away. When my mom told me about this job, I couldn’t even believe it. No job makes fifty thousand dollars a month just by cleaning, right?”

 “It’s hard to believe. A cleaning job can earn you tens of thousands of dollars per month. Unbelievable indeed. Are you leaving me a chance to do this? You can use your time to study and work.” Clara asked. She still finds it hard to believe Anne recommended her for such a good job.

“I don’t have time to work and study at the same time. My mother also said that I should focus on studying first, as she did not allow me to work part-time. Clara, there aren’t many opportunities like this. If you don’t accept it, someone else will right away, so think carefully.” Anne replied.

 “I will take the job. You know I need money too. Anne, thank you for recommending this job to me.” Clara smiled. She looked at Anne with eyes filled with gratitude and hugged her to show her affection. Clara needs money to pay tuition fees. She has tried to find a part-time job but has been unsuccessful. During this difficult time, Anne introduced her to a job. Clara is grateful to her and feels lucky to have a friend like Anne.

 “Okay, it’s just a small thing. Don’t get excited too soon. You can have a good job, but you have to do a lot. Besides, I heard that the owner of that villa is a weird person.”

 “It’s okay with that salary. I can stand it no matter how difficult he is.”

 Clara is optimistic. She was already thinking about how she would hold that dream salary. Tuition or rent will no longer be an issue.

The next day.

 Clara was standing in front of the large mansion and was about to call the house’s butler. That’s right, this mansion has a butler as well. When she heard the news, she felt shocked. She didn’t think anyone would hire a butler anymore. But when she saw the luxurious mansion in front of her, she felt that was normal. Someone like her who had nothing, of course, couldn’t understand the mindset of a rich person.

 Clara called the number given, but no one answered. The same thing happened when she called more. It was only when Clara made over ten phone calls that someone answered the phone.

 “I know who you are.” The butler interrupted Clara’s words and then he started talking, without giving her a chance to respond. “I am the butler of the Edward James mansion… Well, I should say that the old butler is correct. I quit my job, later I will leave my work for you.”

“What?” Clara stammered back because she understood nothing. She thought she would have someone with her when she accepted the job. Now that the butler said that he had quit his job, from now on, this large villa will only be cleaned by her alone?

“It’s like you just heard, I quit my job. You are the only one left to work there. I was supposed to give you the instruction, but I had an unforeseen situation. The house keys and the keys to the rooms I left under the flower pots outside the door. You should arrange the work for yourself.”

The butler finished speaking, then hung up the phone. He didn’t give Clara a chance to ask questions.

Clara froze. She stared at the black screen of her phone, her mind going blank and unsettled. Why is that butler talking like he’s just lifted a burden? Does he feel that working in this mansion is a burden to him? A job with such a salary like that still not satisfied him? Or is it because this job is so stressful that he feels relieved as if a burden has been lifted? Clara had a bad feeling. She didn’t know if she could do this job.

After a few minutes of thinking about everything that had just happened, Clara calmed down. She looked for the keys to the mansion after remembering the butler’s words.

Clara found the key and got into the mansion. The moment Clara opened the heavy door of the mansion, an icy wind blew from nowhere and hit her face, making her shiver. Clara stared into the darkness that was coming from ahead. She felt like she was entering a dead-end road. There may be no turning back on the path Clara chose.

Clara went inside the mansion. In the dark space of the mansion, Clara felt herself become tiny. The whole big house was like a monster and Clara was the delicious bait that was offering itself to the mouth for the monster to enjoy. Clara had such funny thoughts and associations about herself in this situation.

“Hello, is anyone here?” Clara asked. No one answered her but her echo.

“Hi, I’m the new maid. Mrs. Smith introduced me to work here. Is anyone at home?”

Clara asked again, but no one answered her. Clara wasn’t sure what to do. She was told to come here soon. She would have become self-centered if no one was home.

While Clara was wondering whether to stay and wait for the host or leave, she heard a loud noise coming from upstairs. It sounded like a falling object, but there was no shattering sound.

“Is anyone here? Did something happen up there?” Clara asked, then kept quiet to listen to the movement from upstairs. No one answered her, nor heard any more noises. Clara worried and thought of some critical case.

“No, I have to go up and see what’s going on,” Clara said to herself then hurried upstairs. She didn’t care if she was ungrateful or not. The noise was so loud, that if it weren’t for the owner, something bad must have happened. She had to know what the situation was like before she could think of other troublesome things.