"When we strive to become better that we are, everything around us becomes better too." - Paulo Coelho

I met Calliope downstairs. She was seated on one of the padded chairs, holding a brown envelope.

"You have to sign this first," she said, and gave me the envelope, "it's a contract emailed by the Master's executive secretary."

I scrutinized the contract carefully, read what was stated, then signed it. Stipulated were my duties and responsibilities, which Calliope already enumerated earlier, and the length of my employment, two months, which I should abide strictly.

"Now that I'm officially hired, maybe you can tell me why Mr. Stavrakos prefers middle-aged maids?" when she hesitated, I reminded her of my duties, "I should know as the overseer, so any mistakes won't be repeated. How can I serve him better if I don't understand his concern."

"Okay fine, I'll tell you," she twisted her lips with a long sigh, "it happened two years ago. A young woman was hired as a maid, she was about your age."

"What happened to her?"

"At first, she was very efficient. Hard working. She did her job very well as a cleaner. But later on, she started to have this obsession with Mr. Stavrakos. She kept on stalking him and sneaking behind his back. One day, he arrived from work and found her on his bed, totally naked."

"Oh my God, that surely shook him."

She nodded, "he was so mad. During the investigation, the head security, Jack, found Mr. Stavrakos' personal things in her closet. Shirt, underwear, ties, pens and others. There was a picture of him under her pillow, and cut outs of his photos from the magazines, posted inside her closet. So, from that moment on, he hires only middle-aged maids. But no issue with the men staff."

"Well, that's understandable. The experience surely traumatized him."

"Of course, that's why he doesn't want to repeat that incident."

"I pity the girl. There are just some girls who prefer older men."

Her eyebrows frowned in disagreement, "The Master is not old!"

Oh. Suddenly I felt very inconsiderate. The last thing I wanted was to argue with her. I should understand that for her age, he is still young. She's in her fifties, and Mr. Pablo Stavrakos could be in his mid sixties.

"Of course, he's not," I smiled at her, then she continued talking about things that I should keep in mind.

"You're the only one who can enter the Master's bedroom. You clean his room and the bathroom everyday, make sure that the personal products are not empty, his wardrobe should be neat and in order... blah...blah... blah," finally she stopped, then asked, "any questions?"

"Where is he now?"

"He's in Texas. He's been gone for two months already," she shrugged her shoulders, "it happens most of the time, when he's super busy with a project. He probably won't be back while you're here."

"I really hope so. Since I'm in disguise."

"That's what I considered also when I hired you. He wouldn't find out because he's not here," she took the contract from me and put it back in the envelope, "anyways, you will know if he arrives. You'll hear a helicopter at midnight."

"I see. I'll keep that in mind."

"Come, let's go to the dining area, it's time for lunch. I know you're anticipating the buffet. You'll meet the staff there.

My heart fluttered with excitement at the prospect of eating a buffet. My stomach gurgled, I suddenly became hungry.

___

The servants' hall dining area was huge, very homey and airy. The dining table was long, the longest I've ever seen. It can probably fit 30 to 32 people. Above it were two modern chandeliers, a man and a woman both flying and holding torches.

The staff welcomed me warmly with smiles on their faces.

"Hi Pia, I'm Tess, the kitchen maid," an older woman with rounded curious eyes, came forward first.

"I'm Jean, the cook," another middle-aged woman said.

A very smiling guy, with snow white gray hair introduced himself, "I'm Hector, the butler. I'm her husband," pointing at Jean.

"Sammy here, your pantry pretty boy," a jolly younger man, with blue hair, wearing a red lipstick.

Everyone took turns to introduce themselves. Mica, Debbie, Charry, Dave, Arthur, Larry, and others.

"The only missing here is Connor, the driver. He's on leave," Calliope informed me.

"That boy is always on leave. I heard he's always in the pub picking up girls," Tess whispered, with her very convincing eyes.

"You can't blame him, he's only 26, he wants to explore," Larry, one of the gardeners, defended.

"He said he'll report tomorrow, early morning," Arthur, the electrician informed everyone.

"Come on, let's eat, and continue our discussion at the table," Calliope instructed, and all went directly to the buffet table.

My goodness...

Garlic shrimps, grilled lobsters with cheese, buttered scallops, beef wellington, rib eye steak, chicken cordon bleu, pork loin, glazed ham, lasagna, Fried Chicken, Roast Duck, Poached Salmon, carbonara, croissants, pancake, bacon, sausages, bread rolls, corn bread, salads, mashed potato, corn, pizza, chicken noodle soup, fries, apple crumble pie, pecan pie, blueberry cheesecake, chocolate truffle tarts, chocolate mousse, mascarpone brownies, and different flavored ice cream.

The sight of the food overwhelmed me. It was similar to the ones served in a five star hotel buffet.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Tess noticed me staring at the food.

"Actually, I'm starving. I just don't know where to start."

"You should start with the Beef Wellington, it's the most popular one."

Luckily, I got the last piece. I sat between Tess and Sammy at the table.

"Does Jean prepare these foods everyday?" I asked them.

"Of course not," Sammy flipped his hair, "some of the food came from the Stavrakos Hotel. They have their daily lunch buffet served for the guests, and we're lucky that the Master included us."

"No," Tess butted in, "these are excess from the breakfast buffet in the hotel. Why would there be pancakes, sausages, bacon, chicken noodle soup, and croissants, right."

"Not everything, Tess," Sammy argued, "some are intended for the lunch buffet, like the Beef Wellington, roast duck, poached salmon, and others."

"Yeah... yeah. But Jean prepared the others, like the fried chicken, bread rolls, salads, and desserts."

"By the way, Pia. Are you sure you're 45?" Sammy stared at my face, "I'm 32, but you look way younger than me."

Oh-oh...

Before I could reply to him, Tess saved me by asking about my secret skin care for anti-aging. So, in the next five minutes, I explained to them my made up skin care routine.

The Stavrakos staff were composed of the following.

Inside the house, there was the butler, the cook, a kitchen maid, a pantry boy, two floor cleaners, five maids and a driver. Outdoors were the two maintenance workers, five gardeners, and ten other staff who guarded the place. Thirty all in all, including myself.

After lunch, Calliope continued to orient me while she showed me the garden.

"Most of the staff have been working here for many years already, they don't need supervision to make sure that they're doing their work. Everyone takes their job seriously, and mind only their duties and responsibilities. So, things will be easy for you here."

"That's a relief."

"Whenever the Master's here, there are more people in the house. He brings along with him his ten bodyguards."

"Another ten bodyguards?"

The thought of being followed and watched by one bodyguard must be uncomfortable, how much more, if ten.

"Of course. He's not an ordinary person, he's a billionaire."

"So he's untouchable."

"Yeah, and dangerous,"

Dangerous? What does she mean by that?

She showed me the inside of the huge mansion.

The interiors of the house were very simple, minimalistic and modern. One can tell immediately from its furnishing that it was a man's house. No pink or pastel colors could be found, only neutral and dark shades.

I learned from Calliope that the construction materials were extraordinary. They were all transported from different parts of the world. The walls from the mountains of Iceland and igneous rocks in New Zealand, block concretes from Egypt, marbles from Indonesia, granites from Germany, and many others.

"Is this a new house?"

"Not really. Mr. Stavrakos built this house four years ago. This has ten large bedrooms and another ten rooms for the amenities."

I scanned every detail of the house. The furniture and ornaments all looked rare and priceless. Everything looked clean and shiny. I could not even see a single spot of dirt.

"Who lives here?"

"Only the master. The other rooms are occupied only if he has some guests."

Wow. A very huge house for only one person. While the servants' building was smaller, and occupied with many people. Thirty staff plus ten bodyguards, forty all in all - serving only one person.

I wanted to figure out his personality from his taste in his furniture and ornaments. The sofa sets were all plain white and simple design. The tables and cabinets were either black and gray. No television, stereo, computer systems, or any entertainment appliances could be found in the living room.

Most wealthy people love to collect any sort of painting. But here, the walls are all bare. No painting or photo can be found.

No wonder he was not always here, there was no fun inside the house. There was not even a single book!

Aside from the many sports cars inside the garage, no other collectable items or whatsoever that could tell me what his interests are. I could tell that he lived a very dull life.

"Now, I'm going to show you the master's bedroom," Calliope guided me upstairs.

My opinion of Mr. Stavrakos changed when I saw his bedroom. Though the walls were still so boring, no painting, photos or whatsoever, my heart was overwhelmed with joy when I saw shelves with plenty of books. I loved books so much, and I enjoyed reading them, especially about history.

I scanned the titles, they were futuristic books. About space ships, galaxies, planets, and robots. There were also about travel, history, documentaries, philosophies and finance. I could tell that he was an intelligent man according to his book preferences.

"These are limited edition books!"

"I don't know much about books, so I can't tell. There are more books in his study, but no one's allowed to enter when he's not here," she shrugged her shoulders.

"These are very interesting books," I could not take my eyes off from the books, "can I borrow any of these? Do you think Mr. Stavrakos would mind?"

"I don't know, but they're just books, I don't think he would mind. Just get one at a time, and return it immediately once you're done."

"Thanks. I'll take this," I got a book with a red cover.

His wardrobe closet was really huge. All clothes were locked in all the crystal glass closets. Business suits were arranged neatly in gold hangers, plain shirts in wall shelves without creases. The ties were arranged like those in luxury stores.

His shoes were so many, from rubber shoes and sneakers, to formal leather shoes. My jaw dropped at his watch collection. All were expensive brands and limited editions.

Calliope showed me the rooms in the mansion. There was a gym, loaded with exercise machines and equipment. An indoor pool and a sauna. There was also a wine room of extremely expensive bottles. Others were the theater room, a game room, a study room, a bowling alley, a sunroom, a balcony and many others.

Now I understand him. He is not a boring person at all.

"You have to meet Freda."

"Freda who?"

"One of Mr. Stavrakos' creation."

Yes, FREDA. The Future Robot Electronic Device Assistant. The A.I. (Artificial Intelligence), so high tech that controlled all the electronic features of the whole mansion.

"When the master is here, FREDA is activated. So, I'm going to teach you how to operate her."

"Activate Freda," Calliope instructed.

"Enter passcode," the AI responded immediately.

Calliope gave a number and instructed her to close the door.

"Instruction received," a brief pause, followed by a beep, "securing door." Freda said, and the door snapped closed immediately.

I was fascinated at the AI, Freda, and had fun as Calliope taught me how to instruct her. She could open not just doors, but windows, curtains, roof and walls. She could bring music to the whole house, and change the lights to different colors and brightness.

"Always remember, Pia. All servants are not allowed to use the front door. We only use the side door. That is intended for the servants." She reminded me before we retired for the night.

"Don't worry Calliope, I'll keep that in mind."

I had fun during my first day and got so tired too. I slept early, but I woke up at midnight to the roaring sound of a chopper, followed by men's voices. Then I realized what was happening.

Mr. Stavrakos has arrived.

__________

Hey dreamers!

Here's my playlist for you:

Leave The Door Open by Anderson .Paak, Bruno Mars and Silk Sonic

Back to December by Taylor Swift

Ice Cream by BLACKPINK and Selena Gomez

Butter by BTS

Still With You by Jungkook of BTS

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship

I'm trying to update every other day, so please bear with me, if it's late evening already. My internet is very slow, not yet fixed after the supertyphoon. I hope you will help me, by sharing the update to your social media accounts. I would greatly appreciate your help.

Thank you so much for reading the story. I hope we will keep on growing here and create more connection with each other.

I love you so much guys, I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight, mwah!

Love and kisses,

Neilani