4: MEETING THE WALKERS 2

"Sir Simon is Mr. Ben's grandson not his son." The maid who was leading Alvira to Simon's room said.

The maid was relentless and was tiring Alvira out, from the moment the walk began, the maid has been giving her numerous rules of the so-called Sir Simon that she was not to violate.

Don't admire the room when you go in.

Don't add any form of sugar or cream to his coffee, he likes it black.

Do not make a joke.

Do not bother acting nice, he doesn’t like people who are too nice.

Don't offer to do anything for him unless he asks for it. Blar…blar…blar..

Alvira did not understand why the maid felt the need to tell her all this. She was an adventurous person by nature and would love to make her own mistakes and learn from them but this maid was bent on teaching her. If she is so knowledgeable about Mr Simon, why didn't she become his caregiver instead? Alvira thought as she came to the conclusion that the maid was jealous of her. 

A lot of workers here are filled with jealousy, she deduced.

"He is not his son?" Alvira asked no longer interested in the conversation.

"No and he’s crippled. Don’t ask for his story, he would fire you." The maid announced before she stopped in front of a large door, "We are here." She said again and turned to Alvira, "Don't fall for him. If you do, it would be harder on you." 

Alvira raised a confused brow. What on earth was this maid talking about, she was here for her family not to win over some rich man's son… grandson…. Whatever he was.

It should be, he shouldn't fall for her instead. She wasn't an extraordinary beauty, she easily fell on the average side but with her care, meticulous ability to draw attention and the extroversion she had inherited from her father, she won over the heart of men without stress.

"No matter what happens, I still think you are too young for this," The maid said again and Alvira raised her brow.

Was this woman finally admitting her jealousy?  She must have wanted the job but the Walkers had wanted it to be given to a much younger person because of the age of their grandson probably. They must have wanted someone that would be able to relate on his level and be a companion. Alvira thought to herself, expanding her theories.

"It doesn't matter, if it is too hard, just quit. Don't endure it. It is useless to do that." The maid said again and disappeared.

Alvira looked at her retreat form struck dumb. What on Earth was this maid's problem?

"I won't give up ever." She muttered as she walked forward to knock on the door.

Alvira knocked for some time but the pleasant 'come in' she expected was non-existent making her wonder just how deeply Mr. Simon slept.

Unfortunately for her, Simon's room was in a part of the mansion not frequented by many and so any noise from there echoed through the whole house. The maids were already aware and the fact that the new caregiver was left stranded outside the room was now a hot topic as it was obviously a new breakthrough that outshines all of Simon's previous ruthlessness to his previous caregivers.

Other maids who were going about their daily chores also looked at Alvira with curiosity and pity, whispering and giving her occasional glance as they hurried off to spread their own version of the latest gist, Alvira's facial expressions.

Alvira who was ignorant had only given them a confused look, one that the tale bearers interpreted as the look of dejection and depression from the new caregiver.

Ignoring them, Alvira decided. No matter how deeply her patient slept, he had to have breakfast and take an early morning bath. Then they would go for a walk to get him some fresh air.

With this plans in mind, she twisted the door knob and walked in, her jaws dropped as she took in the king sized bedroom with many expensive decorations. Even though the room and its decorations, compared to that of other rooms in the mansion was dull and gloomy, they appeared shiny in the eyes of Alvira who had never been in such a room in her life.

"This is basically the size of my whole house." Alvira muttered with wide eyes as she walked in looking around.

"Mr Simon?" Alvira called half-heartedly as she walked out to the balcony to see the beautiful view of a beach.

She didn't even know that they Walker's had a beach on their property.

While she looked around in awe. A tall angry figure whose dark expression blended with the colour of the duvet, laid in his bed assessing her from the moment she came in.

Indisciplined.

Ill-mannered

Gold-digger.

Nonchalant.

Ignorant.

This was not a caregiver. This was someone in need of free cash. He wondered how much his parents have promised to pay her. He was not only going to make things difficult for her, he was going to fire her within two hours.  Simon thought to himself as he concluded his assessment.

Coming back to her senses, Alvira rushed back into the room and look around, then towards the bed, that was a little dark because drapes prevented one from seeing it clearly.

"Mr Simon are you awake?"

"Who asked you to come in without a knock?" Came the chilly reply.

But Alvira beamed in reply happy to finally meet her patient.

"I'm sorry sir, you were sleeping deeply and didn't hear me knock, so I let myself in as I knew you wouldn't let me stay out that long if you were already awake."  She said as instinctively rushed to the window drapes that created a shadow over the bed and pulled the drapes backward.

She wanted to see the face of her patient.

"Shut that window now! Who gave you the right to touch those things!" Simon thundered scaring Alvira. 

She turned to him shocked at not just his temper but his strikingly beautiful appearance. The maid was right, she realized, he was handsome, handsome enough to win and break hearts with ease.

Does that mean all the other things that the maid said were true? No she wouldn't ponder on that. She thought to herself as she smiled.

"Sir, I thought it would be nice to see the morning light through the window. Don't you."

"Shut it now!" Simon said with grit teeth.

And the scared Alvira immediately did but while she thought it was already over, Simon picked up the phone by his table and called.

"Get a maid up here right this minute!" He boomed. 

Without him placing a call to the maids, his voice could easily be heard vibrating though the whole mansion.

But Alvira was still ignorant, "Mr. Simon do you need something? You don’t need to call the maids, I could get it for you. I was also thinking, we should get you breakfast and then you should take a bath and then a walk. What do you think?" She asked with a smile but got no response as Simon had now closed his eyes in bed.

She noticed a business magazine on a table on the other side of the room and walked to check it out.

"Touch anything that belongs to me in this room and you are fired!" Simon announced and the shocked Alvira turned to him.

 Just then a light knock resounded on the door making Alvira sigh in relieve.

"Come in." Simon said and the maid walked in,                               

"Sir Simon you asked for…."

"How dare you send up a woman who doesn't know the rules of the house to me! Have you workers gotten tired of working here?!"

"Sir, you shouldn't be so angry it isn't good for your health." Alvira said agitated as she cut Simon off but this pisses him off more.

"If you interrupt me again, you are fired! How did one so indisciplined get a job like this!" He exclaimed and Alvira's jaws fell but he ignored her and turned to the maid. 

"You take her away and teach her what she needs to know before appearing here. If you don't teach her well, both of you would be fired!" He exclaimed and the maid immediately rushed to pull Alvira out of the room.

"What…..wait….I still have to take care of Mr. Simon…..miss…" Alvira protested as she was dragged out.

The moment the door shuts, the Simon eyes darkened.

His grandparents sure have outdone themselves with this one. He thought.