[~Song Recommendation: The Mandalorian by Ludwig Göransson~]
'Master' The called ID showed and the phone dropped from her hands on the bed as Layla's heartbeat paced up. All her sleep left her eyes as she clenched hard on her dress.
"Wh-Why is he calling me now?" she muttered as she moved away from the bed in fear. She tried to calm herself by taking long deep breaths and by the time she managed to steady herself the phone suddenly stopped ringing.
Layla slowly advanced towards the bed and took hold of the phone but before she could think further it again started ringing thereby startling her. But this time she showed a little courage and decided to receive it as she had to face him sooner or later. What's the point in postponing?
"He-Hello?" her shaky voice almost sounded like a whisper.
"Hello, Layla." All her confidence and courage evaporated from her body when she heard a husky male voice on the other end. Although the voice just emerged from the phone, it reverberated through her entire being sending chills for odd reasons.
"Ye-Yeah… Who are you, sir?" she managed to utter in a feeble voice as her shaking hands struggled to keep the phone intact.
"I'm the one you think I am." Layla felt goosebumps all over her body and the thought of disconnecting the call did cross her mind but she put it in the back of her mind as the last thing she wanted now was to annoy him.
"I'll be meeting you soon… By that time behave well," the call hung up and Layla took a breath of relief. She felt his voice to be intimidating and as if he could just control her with his voice. Will he treat her well? What does she really have to do for him? The questions lingered in her mind until her eyes gleaned at the clock.
It was half past four. Normally she used to wake up at five to ready herself for the day while working in the Park Mansion. So she had well enough rest to start her day but she questioned herself. 'What am I supposed to do until he arrives?'
Layla exited the bathroom after finishing her business followed by a refreshing shower. Picking up a cloth from her packed suitcase, she left her room. Instead of sitting and doing nothing other than cursing her fate, she decided to continue her work as a maid in the mansion until and unless she got further directions from her Master.
Layla glided down the staircase to reach the ground floor. The room assigned to her was located on the second floor of the mansion. The scene she witnessed before her eyes seemed familiar to her with the maids working in full blast, someone dusting the furniture and couches, someone engaged in cleaning the windows whereas some were busy sweeping the floor.
"Excuse me," her voice was barely audible to the hard-working maids deeply engrossed in their tasks. Some might not have even noticed her too. She approached them and was about to call for another to get their attention when she felt a hand over her shoulder from behind.
"Layla… Did you sleep well?" the calming voice soothed her ears and she turned around to gently bow to Rubina, the head maid of the household.
"I did… Nana," Layla hesitated a bit before addressing her as 'Nana'.
"So why are you here? Do you need something?" she asked with her gaze glued to her face.
"No-No… As you know Nana, I'm a maid and spent my entire life serving the Park Mansion. So as of now, since my 'Master' hasn't arrived yet… I thought maybe I could help everyone in taking care of the household," Layla said in a hushed tone while gazing intently at Nana.
"Alright… Let me introduce you properly to them," Nana said after giving it a thought. But Layla shook her head lightly signaling to not disclose her designation. Nana gently squeezed her hand before she whispered close to her face 'Trust me.'
"She's Layla Mclan, the new personal maid of Michael Specter. As he is not available, she wants to volunteer you guys to do the household chores. Please behave well and welcome your new friend." Layla this time noticed authority in her tone and by the way those maids listened to her with their full attention, she understood Nana was well respected among them.
"Hi everyone," Layla approached them again but nobody responded to her other than eyeing her from head to toe. She checked herself to see if there was anything odd about her dressing but she found none. Nana already left the living room leaving her in the company of the other maids.
She gave in to befriend them as no one seemed interested in her. Fetching a duster from the tub, she advanced towards the windows of the living room that were not cleaned properly. But suddenly something interrupted her foot resulting in Layla tripping over.
"Huh! Personal maid?... More like a whore!" she heard someone taunting her from behind. She glanced toward the voice of the owner to notice a girl maybe older than her standing with her hands resting on her waist. Her face reflected disgust and hatred towards her.
Layla got up on her feet and soon she winced as she discovered she just bruised her knee. Instead of paying any attention to the bully, she again took hold of the duster and approached the glass windows slightly limping on her way. She did feel bad for being addressed like that but didn't want to make her life harder when she didn't even know what her future held.
"Hey! You think you can ignore me?" the bully asked raising her tone but Layla just continued rubbing the cloth over the glass. She could hear advancing footsteps behind her but she paid no attention.
"Maria enough! Leave her…" Layla heard someone speak on her behalf. She instantly turned around to notice another maid who was slightly shorter than her and had blond hair. Her eyes met Layla's and she offered her a reassuring smile.
But that smile was short-lived as Maria approached that blond maid and started confronting her. Soon they were lost in a heated argument and Layla approached them to relieve the situation, unlike others who were enjoying the event. She saw Maria was about to slap her across the face and the blond squinted her eyes to face the blow but Layla caught hold of Maria's hand.