chapter 6

Emma

The entire home was spotless, the floors were sparkling, every corner of the house had been washed, and the old sofa covers had been replaced with brand-new ones with new cushions. After hours of cleaning and cooking, the servants were all exhausted.

Adrian wanted to be comforted about the cleanliness and decorations of the entire house after Martha reminded them that Alexander's birthday was only two days away and that there would be a large number of visitors Alexander's friends. The color scheme was gold and silver.

Earlier in the day, a few men came to the estate to measure the size of the golden-colored drapes that would be required to decorate the hall. Emma was never a lover of golden hues; she adored silver, but golden was simply a filthy form of muddy yellow to her. She like lighter hues. Her jaw dropped open as she noticed the glittering gold drapes falling down the creamy white walls. Her entire perspective was transformed in a matter of minutes. It was breathtakingly gorgeous as if the house were made of gold with a sprinkling of silver glitter on top. It didn't seem overly sparkly or too plain, but the appropriate amount of basic gold and silver complexion.

"Where's your mind at?" Venessa asked breaking her thoughts.

"Oh, nothing", Emma whispered. They were in a room where Martha informed them to wait for her. Nobody knew why.

"Why do you think Martha called us for?" Emma asked Venessa. She just shrugged her shoulders and responded. "I don't really know."

After a few minutes, they heard footsteps approaching the room. The door opened, and a man in his late forties entered, holding a large suitcase and accompanying Martha.

What's in that bag? Emma thought that to herself.

"Sorry girls, you all have to wait here for a long time," Martha said and smiled.

"You all must be thinking about what is in this bag. As you all know that the master's birthday is coming and there will be a party. He wanted all of us to be well dressed and this bag has lots of beautiful dresses for you girls," she said.

It was one of the benefits of having wealthy owners; the employees got to wear things they never imagined they'd get to wear, and if they were lucky, they got to eat meals they'd never eaten before. Some girls were speculating about how elegant the outfits would be, while others were relieved that they would be able to wear anything other than body-fitting maid attire. Emma hoped for the same thing.

"Silence girls," everyone obeyed.

"Master doesn't want any of the maids to look bad because people love to criticize the smallest defect in the party and will turn them into a vast problem. We must not forget that we're working for one of the top billionaires of this country, so we have to look smart and behave smartly. And trust me when I say this if you do anything wrong, master will not hesitate to punish you," she warned the girls. Emma gulped in fright.

He would punish us? I don't even want to imagine what punishment we might receive if we do anything wrong.

"You remember what happened last time?" She questioned.

 Last time? What happened last time? Emma had a clue but didn't bother asking Martha about it at the moment because the last thing she wanted to do was humiliate herself in front of everyone. Martha proceeded to lay down the ground rules for everyone.

"Okay. So, girls, you can see your dresses now," she stated  when she opened the bag. She took out all of the outfits. The maids were dressed in a silver blouse and a jet-black pencil skirt.

Emma was handed her dress, and her fingers caressed the fabrics, which were delicate and practically melted beneath her touch. She'd never worn something like it before. Previously, she wore modest sundresses or sweaters and sweatpants at Miss Garcia's residence.

The attraction of the garment captivated the girls. It was beautiful. Her smile faded as she saw herself in that stunning outfit. She didn't have a physique that guys would like; she'd never worn a swimsuit before, and she'd never gone to the gym to achieve a good shape. To Emma, her body type was unimpressive.

"Beautiful, isn't it? " Venessa asked her with a grin.

"Yes. It's just so beautiful. But I wonder why would he choose such an expensive outfit for us? I mean we're just maids," Emma asked her. Vanessa chuckled and replied.

"It's just the beginning, my dear Emma. You don't know what else he could do to prove to everyone who he really is," she frowned at Vanessa's remark, what did she mean? She thought Alexander must love showing off his money to the media. She had read magazines before about it. However, Martha commanded them to get back to work.

Alexander:

"So that's the theme, did you like it?" Adrian inquired. He appeared to be a shambles as if he hadn't had enough sleep in a few days. His hair was a tangled mess, and his shirt buttons dangled from his shirt. Did he get into a fight on the way to my office?

He had been blabbering about the theme and the decorations for over an hour which irritated Alexander.

"Adrian, I told you to do what you want. Just don't disturb me," he spat at his friend.

"Come on man just look at the theme it's so elegant and it will be mentioned in the invitation card and there is something I have selected for your workers," he said ruffling through the papers in his hand and pulling out a paper, presenting it on Alexander's desk.

"What is it?" Alexander asked taking the paper from the desk.

"This is what the maids are going to wear. I didn't sync them with guards as they will be wearing plain boring black as usual," he said and rolled his eyes.

Alexander looked at the clothing ideas and immediately wondered how Emma might appear in them. The diamond silver top was paired with a black skirt. His eyes darkened at the notion of the garment suiting her body and framing her figure.

"What's wrong, man? You don't like it?" Adrian questioned raising his eyebrow.

"No, it's alright," he replied plainly.

"Just send the outfits to my dad's house, the maids will take care of it."

"I already did that, I had Martha inform me everything I needed to know to stitch the clothes in just a few days..." Alexander excused himself with a nod of his head. After Adrian departed, he returned to work and prepared himself for the meeting.

He picked up the phone and dialed his assistant's number.

"Yes sir?" He replied instantly.

"Are they here already?"

"No sir, they will be here in ten minutes," his assistant replied.

"Okay. Don't forget to inform me," he remarked as he hung up the phone. He was preparing for the meeting. A firm was eager to sign a contract with the Kings, so they arranged for a meeting. Alexander was never a man who would deal with any firm easily, so they had to wait a long time to have an appointment with him.

After thirty minutes, his assistant called to let him know they were on their way. He left his chamber and walked into the conference room, barging in without greeting anyone. He sat down in his usual chair. The two guys cleaned their throats uncomfortably.

The man named Anderson was the first person to speak up, "It's so nice to see you, Mr. King. we're glad that you could make it," he said with a smile which Alexander never returned

His smile faded and he cleared his throat once again, "Sir, you already know the reason why we've come here. Our company is not in a good state right now; we are in debt. We wanted another company to merge with us so that we could get some help and we cannot think of anyone better than you," he explained. His tone was almost begging Alexander to help him out.

Alexander was silent for a moment and then asked, "Well, can I see your financial statement?" Anderson nodded and handed Alexander the file. He opened up the file and started examining it. Does this man really know how to run a business?! This is terrible!

Alexander closed the file and placed it on the table. "Well, Mr. Anderson, I see that your financial statement is very bad. I cannot take any risk working with you."

He looked at Alexander with a horrid expression.

"S-sir please we've come here with a lot of hope, please don't do this to us, sir," he pleaded. Alexander stared at him with no emotion.

"I have a condition," he said. He stared at Alexander with confusion. "What condition?" He asked.

"As you know, if I help your company, your company is surely going to become a success. So, in this case, the profit that the company will receive, you will have to share with my company."

"Of course, Sir. How much do you want?"

"60% of it will be mine," the man was stunned. The other man beside him wanted to protest but stopped when his eyes met Alexander's.

"Y-yes Sir. Thank you," Anderson said.

"You may leave now, Mr. Anderson," Alexander told him. They stood up and walked away a few seconds later. His companionship was worthless to Alexander. However, the amount of share he requested was sufficient.

It was finally time to leave the workplace. Because his friend had arranged an unwelcome party, he needed to remain at his father's house as the party would be hosted there. And staying there meant seeing her all the time.