It was the next morning by the time Lyra opened her eyes. She was surprised it was morning already. When did she sleep off? She rubbed her sleepy eyes with the back of her hand and looked at her side. She couldn't remember locking the window last night but they were locked.
She sluggishly got down from the big bed and wore the flip flops that were beside the bed. She walked towards the window and opened the curtains letting in the bright light from the morning sun. She turned to the french door that led to the balcony and ran towards it excitedly. She opened the door to behold a beautiful sight of the whole estate. "Wow" she muttered to herself. She was still enjoying the cool air when something suddenly clicked in her mind. Last night. She was supposed to meet the Madam's son last night! How did she forget? Oh no, you're so dead Lyra. She told herself and rushed back into her room and out into the long corridor.
She ran on the corridor forgetting she was still in her nightwear. All she could think about was how angry the Madam and her son would be at her. She ran faster without looking at her surroundings. Her thoughts were occupied with thoughts of what would happen if the Madam and her son saw her.
Suddenly she collided with something hard and stumbled back falling to the ground. She closed her eyes anticipating the pain the impact of a fall would cause but a minute passed and there was no pain. She didn't hit the floor. That's weird. She thought. Or did she die? She felt like she was on the air. She had collided with something hard. Since when was there a wall in the middle of the hallway. She felt something strong holding her back and decided to open her eyes. Peaking from her long lashes, she noticed it was a person. A person was holding her! She opened her eyes fully and pushed herself out of the embrace of his arms and stood straight with her eyes on the floor. Whoever it was, she was certain it wasn't Mr. Brooks or any of the people she met before. The man had strong arms and he was definitely the wall she had collided with. She couldn't bring herself to look up at him. "Are you alright Miss?" She heard and she quickly nodded. She felt his eyes on her and she was tempted to peak at him again. Who was he? She didn't see this person before. She needed to find the Madam to apologize for last night. She simply had no time for this. Be bold Lyra. There's no need to be scared of a stranger. She exhaled and nodded internally. "I'm sorry for bumping into you." She quickly apologized and tried running but stopped when she heard a cold voice that was different from the one she heard earlier. "Who are you?"
Lyra turned back to the man and faced him. She now saw him clearly and her jaw almost dropped to the ground but her self control was enough to keep her mouth closed. The man before her was beyond human. She had never seen such a beautiful person before. He was tall with broad shoulders and from the suit he wore, you could tell how strong and hard his body was. He had long curly back hair that reached his shoulders and a well sculptured face that was designed by God himself. His pale pink lips complemented his lady like skin. His blue eyes were sharp and felt like it could cut through anything yet serene and cold like the ocean. He was wearing a grey suit that fitted him perfectly. This was the man that held her a few moments ago. Another man was behind him. Compared to the man that held her before, this one was just okay. Julian's eyes were narrowed and a frown appeared on his face when he noticed she ignored him.
"Are you deaf or are you dumb?" He asked again and this time, his question brought her back to reality. "Huh?" She asked cluessly still not answering his question. After a pause, she remembered he asked a question. "Maid." She simply replied him and he scoffed. Caleb became confused. Maid?, She was definitely not a maid. He leaned in and whispered something to his boss who looked back at the woman before him with a new found curiousity. Lyra wondered why he stared at her so keenly.
The man probably thought she was crazy with the way she stared at him before.
Lyra had no idea who this man was and she decided it wasn't her business. "Excuse me." She said and turned to leave.
"Should I stop her sir?" Caleb asked him but didn't get a reply. This was the woman for the contract job. He had paid no attention when he saw her at first but her milky face and amber eyes didn't go unoticed. She thought she was a maid? Last night, he had gotten home later than he expected and couldn't meet the lady yesterday.
He had been dealing with something very important . As usual, Those nosy bloggers were at it again.Those people had the audacity to spread out disgusting rumors about him, accusing him of being gay because he had never been sighted with a woman who was not his Mother or sister. At first, he had ignored the rumors but not anymore, He was gonna put an end to this rumors once and for all.
His Mother informed him about her new found plan to seal the mouth of everyone. She wanted him to get engaged to the daughter of their business partner but he wasn't going to do such a thing, instead he had a better plan.
"Caleb. Did you do what I told you to?" He asked his PA, the man who stood behind him. "Yes sir. The papers are ready." He sighed and turned around. "Bring her to the study." He ordered and walked towards the direction he had come from.
He would rather pretend to be in love with a stranger than marry some spoilt brat. The girl he had just met didn't seem to know what she was doing. With how weird she acted, he wasn't sure she even knew who he was.
Lyra finally got downstairs and found Mrs. Donovan sitting on a sofa in the living room and her heart skipped a beat. She slowly walked towards the woman. Getting to where she sat, Lyra decided to apologize first before anything. "Madam, I..." "There you are. Good morning and how was your night?" Mrs. Donovan asked cutting her off. Lyra was surprised the woman wasn't angry. She was even smiling at her. She quickly answered her. "It was very good Madam." "Great. I'm really sorry about last night dear. Julian got back late and you were already asleep so we moved the meeting to this morning. Have you had breakfast?" Mrs. Donovan asked her again and she shook her head side ways to say no. She couldn't believe it. Mrs. Donovan apologized to her. She sighed in relief. At least now she was sure the gorgeous woman and her son weren't angry. "Okay then. Have breakfast quickly so you can meet my son." She said to Lyra who nodded and turned to leave. "Actually, sir wants her to meet him in his study now." Caleb said walking down the stairs.
Lyra noticed it was the other man from earlier and was starting to put the pieces together. Could this be?.. "Oh um, Lyra. My son wants to meet you now so you'll have to eat after." Miss Donovan told her with her usual smile. I felt awkward at that moment. Her son. Was the stunning man her son? Probably. The young master that Lyra had been waiting for. Lyra recalled the incident from earlier of how he held her but quickly shook away the thought.
Why did Mrs. Donovan want her to meet her son so bad. "This way Miss." The man who had come to call her said gesturing towards the stairs. She followed him hesitantly and soon she was back to the corridor. They passed a few doors including her room and stopped at the last door. The man knocked on the door. "Come in." she heard a cold voice from behind the door that sent shivers down her spine. The man beside her opened the door and led her into a well furnished office. It was painted in the same color as her room, grey. The leather chair behind the desk was backing them. "Sir, she's here." The man with her said and the leather chair turned around swiftly and behold, it was the stunning man from earlier. His eyes were fixed on a file in his hands.
"Lyra Levine." He called out her name. The hairs on Lyra's body stood in anticipation. "21 years old, graduated from a local college, has no real job experience." He read out. Lyra couldn't agree to that. Although, she had only worked in small places, she felt that was enough experience. "Caleb." He called to the man that had brought her there and without anymore words, it seemed Caleb got the message and faced her. "Miss Levine, the job you will be given is different from the one you had come here for." He began and she twitched her eyes in confusion but not surprise as she had a hint she wasn't there to work as maid but then what was the job? She wondered. " You will sign a contract with Mr. Donovan that'll last only three months. You'll be paid $80 000 every week till the contract ends." He told her and her eyes went wide.
$80 000? That was huge. She had never seen such amount of money before and now, she would receive that every week. What kind of contract was she supposed to sign?. The Stunning man, Julian Donovan continued from where Caleb stopped. "There are rules and conditions guiding the contract and on no circumstances must you fail to adhere.Also, you can only leave once the contract ends." Lyra needed to know what contract they talked about. She wouldn't sign something she couldn't understand no matter the amount of money. "What kind of contract is this?" She asked cautiously and the next thing she heard blew her mind into bits.
"Be my wife for three months."