IV: Is He Disabled?

Maya was so afraid she might ruin something since everything in that house seemed expensive. She recognized at the corner of the room an antique vase she once read that was worth over five hundred thousand dollars. Just the idea to be in the same room with that vase in scary and exciting at the same time.

“Thank you for having me,” Maya replied gratefully.  

Two maids entered the living room holding a tray in their hands, and even the maids looked sophisticated, Maya thought.

Maya was hungry and eager to grab whatever was on that tray, but she tried to mimic the actions of the classy old lady sitting in front of her. However, that wasn’t doing her any good, as she finally gave in to her body and started eating the beautiful, delicious steak in front of her. Food and money were her greatest weakness, after all.

“So Maya…” Mrs. Knight began, “you’ll be staying here as my assistant.”

“Oh, okay. What will I be doing as your assistant, madam?” Maya asked, her mouth full. It was really delicious, but she can make it better.

She would not have asked if Maya knew what an assistant for Mrs. Knight meant being. Maya only knew how to be a sous chef.

“As I just said, you’ll be my assistant. However, your actual job will be finding a suitable partner for my grandson,” Mrs. Knight looked explained as she watched Maya with interest as if highly entertained by how she was eating.

“Huh-” Maya almost choked on the last piece of bread.

‘This woman wanted me to find a girl for her grandson? Why? Why can’t he look for one himself? Is he disabled?’ So many questions went through Maya’s head, but she didn’t dare to utter anyone of them. By a miracle, she found this job, and she was not about to screw it up.

“Alright, I’ll do whatever you ask,” Maya finally said.

“Good! I already have a list of a few designated girls I’ll be sharing with you. However, I still want you to pick the best among them. And when you get the best choices, you’ll then have to set up a meeting for both of them, and no one is to know that anything is set up. My grandson will only know you as my assistant and nothing more. God forbid he must not know I’m setting him up. I’ll keep an eye on everything and if you need anything you can ask me. For now, you can go to your room and take some rest for the rest of the day. Your work starts tomorrow. I hope I can count on you.” Mrs. Knight said seriously.

After the long speech, Maya could only nod before she was led by a maid into her room, while still dazed as she silently processed what Mrs. Knight had said.

***

Maya seemed to be staying in a room on the second floor. The maid told her that the top one was occupied by Mrs. Knight.

The floor where Maya was staying was empty. She wondered why she was to remain on an open floor all by herself, but upon seeing her room, all doubting thoughts flew out of the door.

When Maya entered her room, she was beyond surprised.

This wasn’t like any ordinary room, and it was majestic, worthy of a princess, like a suit in a five-star hotel. This work might be challenging, but for now, I’m taking a break and having a good time. 

With that thought, Maya let her body relax inside the warm water of the hot tub and let herself welcome the heaviness in her eyes. 

That night on the comfy bed, Maya dreamed of many flying dollars and a little boy chasing girls. The little boy was the boss’s grandson.

***

The sunlight crept inside the room and woke Maya up this morning. She was happy, and she hasn’t slept this well in a while.

Maybe it was the bed, or perhaps the hope of a new and better life. She didn’t exactly know what it was, but she welcomed the new feelings with open arms.

After taking a long time, freshening up and enjoying every product she found in the bathroom, Maya got dressed and went downstairs to join Mrs. Knight for breakfast.

Her boss’s full name was Mrs. Sicilia Knight.

The old Lady, as Maya expected, looked polished like a true classy English Lady.

Maya was always amazed by the class and elegance of English ladies, they were well mannered and polished, but they all lacked the one thing that made Sicilia special; the right heart. Even without knowing her, she could feel like she has a pretty big one.

“Good morning, dear. Did you sleep well?” Mrs. Knight asked before she drinks her tea.

“Yes, I had a good sleep. Thank you for asking, madam.” It was a weird and new feeling for Maya, and it’s been like forever since someone asked her about her sleep. Maybe no one ever did. So when Sicilia asked, she felt her insides melting at the idea that someone even bothered to ask her.

“Hush. Just call me Sicilia. Well, now that you rested well, I think it’s time for us to start the real work. Wait here, for me.” Sicilia said seriously.

Maya started eating as Sicilia excused herself and went upstairs. Maya was almost done eating the delicious pancake soaked in honey with nuts and fruits on the side when Sicilia got back to the dining room. She then handed a piece of paper to Maya.

“Here is the list I told you about. It has the name of some potential girls, and I want you to do some research and pick up the top three best girls, then bring me the results. I think you know what kind of girl I’m looking for?”

Maya nod. Yes, she understood. Sicilia wanted a woman who was from a good family, and that would suit her grandson and won’t stain the name of her family.

She was looking for a princess for her throne.

“I need someone pretty from the outside as well as the inside, with a clean history, good reputation and who is from a good family in our high society, kind, smart and disciplined,” Sicilia finished explaining.

Maya took the paper Sicilia gave her and went to her room; she sat in front of the desk and opened the laptop that was giving to her.

She started searching for every name, looking at every picture.

Among those girls, there were actresses, singers, daughters of famous politicians, artists, famous names of famous people. Sicilia didn’t spare anyone.

But knowing their faces wasn’t going to cut it,  she had to cut deep and lift the dirt, and she crossed some names after finding some scandals, boyfriend drama, potential pregnancy, a bankruptcy. The list had twenty names, but the woman to be chosen need to have a safe and stable background.

After two days of non-stop work Maya finally had her top three names.

Adriana Jones

Jennifer Clement

Sara King.

Those were la crème de la crème in the English society. They don’t appear much in the tabloids or news, so their personality wasn’t known. However, they were described as ‘nice,’ ‘kind’ and ‘lovely’ by some people, which was good compared to some other girls.

Maya only finished her work at eleven in the morning of the next day. She went downstairs, hoping to find Sicilia and share with her the result of her work.

Indeed, Sicilia was downstairs giving instructions to the house cleaners and butlers.

Maya wondered what was going on since everyone seemed on edge and extra vigilant that day.

‘What’s going on?’ She questioned silently with a frown.