Chapter 18
Even though he'd told her she wouldn't have to work today, she still woke up at nine in the morning. It was a lot later than she'd usually wake up but she still felt tired from her traveling the night before.
With a sigh, she pulled off the covers before stretching her back, legs, and arms. When she first opened her eyes she hadn't recognized her surroundings, making her wake up faster than she'd ever done before.
It took her brain a moment to remember that she was at Sébastien's New York apartment which made her sigh in relief.
Her bag was still slumped over in the bathroom and she crouched down to grab her only other pair of jeans, a shirt, and a fresh pair of underwear. It suddenly occurred to her that since she'd left her uniform at the estate, she wouldn't have any proper clothes for when she'd have to work.
It was something she'd had to ask Sébastien when she saw him again but for now, her regular clothes would have to do. Since it was relatively late in the morning he was probably at work already, giving her a good opportunity to look around the apartment.
After gathering her dirty clothes in her arms she opened the door in search of the laundry room.
The first door she opened was another bedroom, so she closed the door again.
The second one was only a utility closet, but no washing machine could be found there.
She knew the third door held Sébastien's bedroom so she didn't open that one at all but instead made her way downstairs.
As she assessed the empty apartment she suddenly noticed it wasn't all that dirty. It wasn't squeaky clean like the estate always was, but it was hardly dirty enough to fly over your maid from another state.
Maybe he was just a neat freak, she thought.
There were a few doors under the stairs and lucky for her, the first one was a laundry room. The machine was easy enough to use so she put the few items she had in and pressed the buttons. All there was left to do was wait.
Her stomach suddenly growled so loud she grabbed her stomach in an attempt to stop it, even though she was the only one in the apartment at the moment. The kitchen wasn't hard to find since it was connected to the living room without any walls in between.
Upon opening the fridge she found that there weren't many items to pick from and she wondered if he would send her to fetch more tomorrow. There was still enough bread so she decided to make a simple sandwich.
It felt odd eating the same food as he did, servants almost always had their separate kitchen and never ate the same things as their employers.
Usually, her meals were a lot more simple but Lauren actually seemed to make an effort to make something tasty every day, unlike the cooks at her previous jobs who held nothing but contempt for the unimportant maids.
While chewing she thought of the things that she could do today; he'd told her to explore the city but she was a little scared of getting lost so she'd wait until she really had to go out. Maybe she could start on cleaning the place up a little but it wasn't a lot.
The kitchen seemed like a good start. There were a few dishes in the sink and the dishwasher was filled with clean dishes. She'd only have to put those back in the cupboard and put in the dirty ones. It was hardly a day's worth of work so next up she set to work on vacuuming the floor.
The work allowed her to lose track of time while still being productive. It made her lose her situational awareness while she focused on only the task at hand.
Which is probably why she let out a scream when someone suddenly appeared before her.
"Good god woman, what did my poor ears ever do to you?
" the woman in front of her asked. Her hair was cut in an immaculate blonde bob and not a hair seemed to be out of place.
Her clothes looked expensive and not a crease lined the fabrics.
It was odd seeing someone dressed so perfectly, like they were a mannequin at a store.
"I'm sorry," Ava replied timidly, not really knowing how to react to the woman who'd suddenly appeared in the apartment. "How can I help you?"
"Are you Ava?" she asked curtly while looking her up and down. Ava thought she saw something of disgust flash through her eyes but she couldn't be sure so she shook off the idea.
"Yes, that's me."
"Here," the woman said while shoving a large duffel bag into Ava's hands. "Mr. Chastain told me to bring you these so if you don't mind I'd like to get back to the office."
"Thank you," Ava said while taking the bag, curious as to what it would contain.
"Whatever," the woman threw back while turning to walk away. Her rudeness was hardly something she wasn't used to so it didn't really bother her. It was more surprising when people were actually nice to her.
Ava watched the woman walk out again before turning her attention to the large black bag. It was too heavy to open up while holding it so she put it on the floor and crouched next to it. Slowly, she unzipped it and gasped when she noticed the contents.
It was filled to the brim with clothes of all sorts of all shapes as well as two pairs of black sneakers very similar to the ones she wore all the time.
There were more clothes than she'd usually have in a whole year and she couldn't believe he'd gotten her all of these.
Her first instinct was to return them, but she knew he wouldn't accept that. Like with the phone, where she already lost that conversation before. The best she could do was accept them as graciously as she could when she saw him again.
As the realization of what she'd been given sank in waves of excitement rolled over her. New clothes! She had to try them all on immediately so she zipped the bag back up and rushed back to her room.
The clothes fit her like a second skin and she couldn't pick her favorite piece. Every garment was just so pretty and the shoes made her want to walk a thousand miles. At the bottom of the bag was even a winter coat and she couldn't wait to not be cold outside anymore.
After trying everything on she carefully folded them again, not wanting to dirty them up already when she'd just put on clean clothes that morning.
There were still a few rooms that hasn't been vacuumed yet so Ava continued doing that until she was happy with how the floors looked. Tomorrow, she'd mop them and they would look spick and span again.
The phone indicated that it was only three in the afternoon but she was absolutely exhausted.
She normally wouldn't sit on her employer's furniture but she didn't have the energy to walk up the stairs again.
She only needed to rest for a bit until she could go on so she sat down on the black leather sofa in the living room. Just for a little moment.
"Ava," she heard someone whisper from up close while her hair moved from her face. "Ava."
"Hm?"
"I brought dinner," Sébastien said in a low voice, making her gasp and sit up straight.
She'd fallen asleep on his sofa while she hadn't meant to, making embarrassment threaten to consume her.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep here. I don't know what happened," she mumbled while her heart raced in her ears. This might be the single worst thing she'd ever done in front of him, save for that one time he had to take her to the hospital because of her clumsiness.
"It's fine," he laughed. "Come on, I'm starving."
He stood up from his crouching position next to her and walked over to the kitchen. Ava eyed the takeout bags he held and was curious as to what he'd brought but she wasn't sure she could even eat while feeling nauseous from embarrassment.
Still, she stood up and followed him to the large kitchen island in the middle of the dining area and sat down on one of the stools. Her gaze swept over every item he'd unpacked and she was delighted to note it was Chinese food he'd brought.
This also came with the realization they'd need some plates, so she got off her stool in search of them. She vaguely remembered the general area they were in and it didn't take long before she found them.
"Thanks," he said off-handedly as she placed one in front of him before sitting back down opposite of him.
As soon as the taste reached her buds she had to stifle a moan, it was the best Chinese food she'd ever had and she quickly shoved more into her mouth.
Luckily, Sébastien was oblivious to her enjoyment because she felt like it was weird to love takeout so much. It was just takeout, after all. He'd probably had meals a thousand times better than this.
"So," he started after swallowing a bite. "Did you go out today?"
She'd just stuffed a huge bite into her mouth so she quickly had to chew and swallow it which felt like it took an eternity.
But she refused to answer with her mouth open, it was something she'd learned as a child.
If you talked with food in your mouth you might be in for a firm spanking from one of the nuns.
Which wasn't as fun or kinky as it sounded.
"No, I didn't. I didn't know where to go and I was afraid I'd get lost."
"What about the park?"
"It's a pretty big park and I'd probably forget which exit to take," she replied when suddenly a thought entered her mind. "Oh! I forgot to thank you for the clothes, so um, thank you."
She didn't know why but halfway through her sentence she'd gotten shy. His dark brown eyes watching her tended to do that to her. She never knew how to act when he looked at her and became hyper-aware of every move she made, even if he probably didn't pay attention to that.
"No problem, I didn't pick them myself though. I had Alice do that this morning," he replied casually before taking another bite.
"Right. She seemed... nice," Ava replied while thinking back on her perfect outfit and cold eyes. "Still, thank you. I appreciate it a lot."
"I suppose," he replied while seemingly thinking very hard about something. "And you're welcome. Please wear the jacket when you go out; it gets a lot colder here than at the estate."
Even colder? She hardly felt like that was possible. She had gotten so used to the California temperature she barely spend any thought about living in colder climates.
"I will," she nodded. There was no reason not to, after all. The coat would keep her nice and warm which would only benefit her. This, combined with the new shoes that didn't have any holes in them would make a great winter outfit.
"And thanks for dinner, although I'd been wondering," she said before trailing off, not sure if I'd be smart to give him any ideas.
"What?" he asked, urging her to go on before swiping a few stray hairs from his forehead. The action almost distracted her while she wondered how his hair would feel in her hands before she continued.
"Shouldn't I be cooking? I mean, I work here, right?"
"But Lauren said you made an egg explode so I didn't think you could cook. I'm sorry if I was wrong."
"You're not..." she replied miserably. How could Lauren betray her like that? She thought they were friends.
"I can just get takeout when I get back from the office, I always do that anyway. Is there something, in particular, you want to eat tomorrow?"
After thinking about it for a bit she shook her head no. "Anything is fine," she said with a small smile. Why did he have to be so nice to her all the time?
It was almost easier when she thought he hated her, since it made a lot more sense than this.
He bought her clothes, after all. There was literally no reason for him to do that. But it would be rude to ask him why he did, never look a gift horse in the mouth is what people say. So she wouldn't.
But that didn't mean it wouldn't occupy a portion of her mind for a while. Her guard was still up and despite everything he'd done for her, she couldn't afford to get it down for him.
She'd just have to wait to find out his intentions.