Maya had no words. None at all. She got to live here with all of her debts paid and the robot butler doing things for her virtually for free?!
"Do you like it?" Vincent asked with his hands in his pockets, rocking slightly back and forth on his heels.
"What kind of question is that?" she replied faintly. "What's not to like about all of this? I mean, I'm a little overwhelmed by the splendor, but I don't have words to describe how cool this place is."
His lips twitched again. She was starting to realize that it was his version of a smile. He really was the most expressionless person she had ever met. Even she, who almost never smiled genuinely, had less facial paralysis than he did.
"I'm relieved you find it to your satisfaction. Feel free to do whatever you want for the rest of the day and adjust to your new surroundings. We can get to work tomorrow."
Maya wasn't so far gone in the wonder of this place not to catch on to the last sentence. "Working on what?"
"Oh, I have something I'd like you to design for me. In the meantime, I'll be in the garage. If you need me before dinner, let Cassandra know; she'll patch you through to me. She can hear you anywhere you are as long as you say her name first to activate her," Vincent said with a wave of his hand as he headed back out.
She was left staring at the insanity that was this indoor pool for a while in wonder before scurrying to her room to find her swimsuit. First order of business was taking advantage of this amazingness.
Maya only owned one and it was a patterned one piece with turquoise ruffles on the chest. She scurried out to the natatorium ignoring how cold it was since it was the middle of September and she was hardly wearing anything.
At least it was nice and balmy inside. The water was the perfect temperature too. She sighed as she eased herself into the pool and swam around for a while not believing she was actually here.
And to think she'd had such a rotten morning too. Look at her now! Ridiculously spoiled by someone with money to burn who didn't seem to want all that much from her in exchange.
It really was too good to be true but she wasn't going to worry about that right now. She was at one with the pool.
Awkward as she felt talking to herself, she decided to test Cassandra out. "Cassandra, are there any floaties I could use?"
"I'm afraid not, madam. Master Vincent has no use for them. Would you like me to order some?" the AI replied.
"Sure. Get me a variety. Some pool noodles too. And uh…while I have you, is there a hot tub anywhere around here? I didn't see one earlier." It would be nice to soak some heat into her bones when she was done swimming.
"There is one behind the rocks. A sauna as well. And for your information, there is a stock of fresh towels and fluffy bathrobes next to the sauna. We would not want you to catch a cold."
Amazing. Vincent had actually programmed an AI to this extent. Cassandra seemed almost like a real person, anticipating her needs before she could ask.
After all she had seen today, Maya was quite curious about her husband. He was super rich and could do whatever he wanted yet he always came into that hipster coffee shop she worked at. Couldn't he buy better quality coffee to be brewed at home? Why did he bother?
Eventually she got out of the pool and checked out the hot tub, letting all of her thoughts drain away. She didn't need to think right now. Simply enjoy the peace and quiet her life had largely been devoid of.
"Cassandra, can you play some relaxing music?"
The AI began playing soft piano music. "Does this suit your needs, madam?"
"Perfect. Thanks."
Maya was so relaxed after a few minutes she could have fallen asleep like that. All she needed was a pillow to support her neck. She had been craning it a lot today because of how her new husband towered over her.
The hot tub and sauna both helped with that. Heat was always the best for stiff muscles. But after a while, she worried about overheating so she dried off and discovered the only bathrobes available were Vincent's size. She rolled up the sleeves about ten times to even get her hands to poke out but nothing could be done about how long it was.
She hiked up the robe like it was a princess gown and let it drag on the ground behind her while leaving her feet free so she wouldn't trip. She definitely needed to get herself one of these because it was incredibly soft.
Maya ended up taking a shower in her room and discovered that it was like no bathroom she had ever seen before. The best way she could describe it was waterfall style since the water came out of the top of the cool stone shower area.
There was a huge Jacuzzi-style tub elsewhere in the giant bathroom with a waterproof TV screen imbedded in it. That would be handy for nice long baths.
Vincent certainly didn't do things halfway. His bathroom was probably every bit as high-tech.
She was curious what his exact net worth was and how he had gotten all this money. If she still had phone service, she would have looked it up but she didn't even have her old laptop anymore. She had sold all of her electronic devices to try and pay off some of her debt.
He would probably get her whatever she wanted later but she wanted information now. Hopefully Cassandra wouldn't rat on her.
"Cassandra, is it possible for you to conduct an internet search and display that on the screen in the bathtub?" Maya asked, not knowing if it was possible. But she had already seen so many impossible things today that she figured it didn't hurt to try.
"I can do better than that," the AI promised before bringing up a virtual screen out of thin air.
She had seen things like this on TV but never in real life. The level of technology in this house was unbelievable. Did anyone else have tech like this or did Vincent keep the best for himself?
"What would you like to know?"
Maya was embarrassed but… "Do a search on Vincent Carlisle."
"If you wish to know more about the master, I am sure he would tell you," Cassandra said while simultaneously obeying the order. A ton of search results popped up on the screen and she hesitantly reached out to see if she could click on them. She could.
There were articles detailing his research, how he graduated from MIT with honors at the tender age of thirteen and went on to get a doctorate in robotics at seventeen, and his net worth. Apparently he was the sixth richest person in the world and was not considered an eligible bachelor despite that because of his personality.
He had managed to piss off a lot of important people that wanted to schmooze with him according to the gossip rags. He had no interest in funding politicians but donated to various charities regularly despite not showing up to fundraising events in person.
He was largely considered an eccentric recluse. There wasn't any information on his family available on his Wikipedia page and few public photos of him existed.
Maya frowned. Why would a man like him want to get married at all? Let alone to someone he seemed to have originally thought was a gold digger that spent too much money recklessly to end up in debt.
There was more to his sudden proposal than met the eye but she somehow doubted he would come clean about it. She waved her hand through the screen to see if it would make it disappear and it worked.
She sat on the edge of the bed in her room wearing a pair of sweats, fuzzy socks, and a baggy oversized sweater to hide the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra. Bras were meant to be worn in public not at home. Vincent would just have to deal with it.
Not that she thought he would notice or care about something like that. Considering how many times he said he wasn't interested in anything physical and the complete lack of rumors linking him to anyone romantically either male or female, she was beginning to suspect he was asexual.
That made him the perfect husband for someone like her. She had definitely gotten the better end of this deal.