6

Thirty minutes.

It had already been thirty minutes since that damn kiss, but for Amara, it felt like it had just happened seconds ago.

Xavier had nearly finished his breakfast, yet she still sat there looking like she’d seen a ghost.

“Amara!”

Xavier practically shouted her name, making her jump before she quickly turned to face him.

“Y-Yes, sir?”

She bit her lip nervously when she saw the irritated look he was giving her.

“Will you stop zoning out? I’ve called your name, like, five times. You’re just standing there like an idiot.”

He snapped at her. Amara rolled her eyes discreetly.

“Well, excuse me for being distracted—you’re the reason I’m all spaced out in the first place…”

She muttered under her breath as she approached his breakfast table.

“How exactly is it my fault that you look exhausted and like you barely slept?”

He scowled, clearly annoyed. Amara sighed dramatically and glared back at him.

“What?”

Xavier snapped again, and this time she stomped her foot in frustration.

“Ugh, why did you even do that, sir? Do you know that was my first time?”

She blurted out like a sulking child, her voice full of genuine frustration. Xavier frowned even more, clearly confused.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

He asked, still acting like he had no clue what she meant.

“You kissed me!” she cried. “You stole my first kiss! And I always imagined it would be magical… sweet… not some sneaky, stolen moment from my grumpy boss!”

Her voice wavered, like she was on the verge of tears, and Xavier’s expression twisted into something between discomfort and disbelief.

“Don’t be so dramatic.”

He groaned, clearly annoyed. Amara stomped again and slumped into the chair across from him with a loud huff.

“You need to take responsibility.”

She pouted at him, lips sticking out childishly, which made Xavier wince again.

“Have you completely lost your mind?”

“Well, next time, maybe don’t go around kissing people out of nowhere! Seriously, you ruined my dream first kiss!”

She glared at him accusingly. For a moment, Xavier said nothing, just stared at her with a mix of disbelief and annoyance still twisting his face.

Then suddenly—he burst out laughing.

Amara could only scowl at him, clearly offended.

“Are you okay, Sir Xavier? Or maybe that French toast you made wasn’t as good as you thought, and it’s finally driven you insane?”

Her sarcastic question made Xavier immediately stop laughing. He sat up straighter, cleared his throat, and composed himself like nothing had just happened.

"How old are you again?"

He asked, raising an eyebrow. Amara frowned slightly before answering.

"Twenty. Why? Do I look like a fetus or something?"

She fired back with sass, earning another glare from him.

“You’re so snarky. You were the one acting like a lunatic two seconds ago.”

She muttered under her breath, throwing him a sideways smirk.

"No, you don’t look like a fetus. You look like a beautiful young woman who acts like one. You’re twenty and still obsessing over a ‘magical first kiss’ like some high school girl.”

He shook his head in disbelief.

“For your information,” Amara huffed dramatically, “a first kiss is supposed to be magical! And it’s not my fault you kissed me. It’s not my fault that it meant something to me, either. Because one—you’re my boss, which makes that totally inappropriate. And two—you had absolutely no reason to kiss me in the first place. So yeah, I say that kiss was a very big deal. And thank you, by the way, for saying I’m pretty.”

She finished her rant in one breath. Xavier just shook his head again, clearly trying to be patient.

“Fine. It was a big deal, and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do it. You’re right—it was a mistake. I was pissed off and got carried away. Let’s just… pretend it never happened.”

“Pretend it never happened?” she repeated in disbelief, scowling. “Seriously?”

Xavier shot her another glare.

“It did happen, Amara. What the hell do you want me to do? Kiss you again so you can rewrite your precious fairytale first kiss?”

He snapped, clearly running out of patience. Amara fell quiet for a moment—then her lips curled into a sly smile.

“Actually… that doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Let’s try it. Go ahead, fix it.”

She leaned in, eyes closed, lips puckered dramatically as she scooted closer.

But before she could get too far, Xavier flicked her forehead hard, making her eyes fly open as she winced.

“Ow! What the hell was that for? You could’ve just said no—you didn’t have to go full assault!”

She pouted while fixing her posture again, especially as he gave her another sharp glare.

“I’ve had enough of your jokes and childish games. Clean all this up and come see me in my office.”

He said in a firm, serious tone before walking away.

Come see me in my office…

His words echoed in Amara’s head as anxiety slowly crept into her chest.

“Am I freaking fired?”

---

Amara had no idea how long she’d been standing in front of Xavier Peralta’s office door. All she knew was that she really didn’t want to knock.

It wasn’t just because she had no idea what to say if he started asking questions about who she really was—she also had a strong gut feeling she was about to get fired.

Out of all her bad habits, why did it have to be her sass and big mouth that she couldn’t seem to turn off?

“I know you're standing outside the door. Just come in already.”

Amara nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Xavier’s voice booming from inside the office. She whipped her head around, trying to figure out how the hell he knew she was there.

She even glanced around the expensive wooden door, brows furrowed when she didn’t spot a peephole.

“How did he even know I was here? Lucky guess? Or maybe my charisma’s just that strong—”

“Get a grip, Amara. There’s literally a CCTV above your head. I can see you.”

She flinched again when her grumpy boss shouted, this time looking up and realizing—yep, there was a tiny camera staring right back at her. She gave a nervous, crooked smile, then finally turned the knob.

“H-hi…”

She muttered as she stepped inside, sneaking a subtle eye roll at her scowling boss. His thick brows were practically touching, and his lips were drawn so tight they nearly aligned with the bridge of his sharp nose.

Geez… how does someone still look like a freaking Greek god with that kind of expression?

Amara mentally grumbled, forcing herself to meet his gaze.

“You said… you wanted to see me, sir…”

She bit her lip, trying to sound polite, which felt completely unnatural. She wasn’t used to being this nice, and frankly, it was making her skin crawl.

Her awkward politeness made Xavier raise a brow.

“You’re unusually polite today. Done with your first-kiss meltdown?”

He asked mockingly. Amara pouted and shook her head.

“Not even close. You did steal my first kiss and no, I’m not okay with it, sir. But I do agree—it’s best if we both just pretend nothing happened. Especially since I don’t think it’d be good if the other maids found out.”

She gave him a strained smile, knowing she was overdoing it with the good-girl act—and hating every second of it.

“Hmm. Okay. But why are you suddenly playing nice?”

He asked suspiciously, one brow still raised.

“Wait, is that not allowed? You should’ve said so. If you prefer me being sassy, I can definitely bring that back.”

She replied with a sarcastic grin. Xavier’s frown deepened.

“Being nice is fine. What I don’t want is you acting like some naive, clueless kid. I’m your boss—and I’m paying you to serve me.”

He said firmly. Amara nodded quickly.

“Understood, sir Xavier. I’m your personal maid. I got it. And… I’m sorry about the breakfast. Honestly, I can’t cook. But I can learn. Just… please don’t fire me. I really need this job.”

She pleaded, and silence filled the room.

After a few moments, Xavier stood from his chair and slowly walked toward her.

Panicking, Amara instinctively backed away. For every step he took forward, she took one back—until her back hit the edge of his large desk.

“S-sir?”

She stammered, her voice shaky as she looked up at him. He didn’t say a word, just kept moving toward her. Her knees felt weak with nerves, but she stood her ground, forcing herself to meet his eyes with fake courage.

“Who said I was going to fire you, Amara?”

Xavier’s voice was low, but there was a fire in his eyes—intense and unreadable, like a locked vault of secrets. Just looking into them felt like staring down a wild animal.

Danger.

That was the only word that echoed in Amara’s mind as she forced herself to speak.

“I-I mean... if you’re not firing me for messing up breakfast, or for that k-kiss—which, by the way, you initiated—then... why did you call me here?”

She stumbled over her words, barely finishing the question before he took one step forward, closing the small space between them.

Now he was just inches away.

Amara could smell him. That masculine, clean scent that clung to his skin—it was dangerously addictive.

She hated that she wanted to breathe it in like it was oxygen.

What would it be like to wake up every morning with that scent wrapping around her like a blanket? And why the hell was she suddenly acting like a creep?

Her chaotic thoughts were cut off by the sound of his low chuckle, followed by a playful flick to her forehead.

“I called you here to give you these,” Xavier said casually, handing her a sleek paper bag and a white envelope.

“Open the bag when you get back to your room. I want you to start wearing what's inside—beginning tomorrow. The envelope has some cash, in case you need personal things. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be officially working as my maid, just like you applied for. And once you start, I expect full focus—no more silly games like what happened earlier.”

His voice turned serious, almost cold. “I don’t tolerate mistakes. So learn whatever you need to learn, fast. Understood?”

Amara nodded quickly, swallowing her pride—and her nerves.

But just as she started to relax, he spoke again.

“And one more thing… I owe you something.”

“Owe me? W-what do you—?”

She didn’t get to finish.

Because just like earlier, he leaned in—and kissed her again.