Diamond quickly reached for one of the rooms nearby.
She leaned against the door, her breathing ragged.
The voices suddenly stopped in front of the room she was in before continuing down the hall until they could no longer be heard.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she couldn't hear the voices anymore.
She finally looked around. She had been in such a frantic state that she didn't notice the extravagant room she was in.
Her eyes widened as she took in the room. It wasn't like anything she had seen before.
It was an extremely large room with an extravagant interior design that seemed to say a lot about the owner's refined taste.
The room's color scheme was predominantly gold and white, accented with black.
Her eyes widened as she took in the enormous bed that could fit five people, and then the large reading table stacked with books, which told her that the owner of the room must love reading.
She looked up at the large P.O.P ceiling which had a beautiful chandelier hanging from its center. Its design was not one you'd see anywhere. She looked down at the nicely polished tiles.
Everything complemented each other. She wondered who the owner of the room could be.
She may not have known the owner, but she knew the person had a high taste for beautiful and rich things.
She quickly pushed aside her train of thought as reality dawned on her.
She listened for any sounds around to ensure it was safe to go out, and when she couldn't hear any, she quickly snuck out of the room.
It wasn't that she was guilty of anything, but anyone who saw her coming out of the room would quickly assume and accuse her of theft, considering that she was just a server and she wasn't meant to be there. The last thing she wanted to cause was a scene.
She tried recalling where she had come from and swiftly navigated herself down the path when she suddenly stopped upon hearing a voice and hid behind a huge flower vase.
She recognized the voice. It was the woman who had shown her the kitchen, and who she now knew as the owner of the house.
The woman seemed to be talking to someone over the phone.
She pressed her back against the wall as the woman paced back and forth.
"Hello, son," the woman said and then paused. "What do you mean you won't be able to attend the party? Everyone is present and asking for you, and you wouldn't want to disappoint your younger brother."
The woman went silent and began to speak again.
"I understand, but you have to make time," she paused and then spoke again, "alright then, we will be waiting. Goodbye, son."
She felt bad for eavesdropping on the woman's conversation, but it wasn't like she could block her ears.
She waited for the woman to leave before finding her way out.
She could finally relax as she found herself among the crowd, and then went down the stairs to the extremely large parlor filled with people and quickly made her way to the kitchen.
"Where have you been?"
She quickly swiveled at the sound of the voice.
"I, uh..."
She was suddenly cut off by the lady.
"There's no time to waste. We have work to be done. The food needs to be served now."
She followed the lady to where the food was being dished and kept for them to serve.
She could see other girls already getting their trays filled and heading out.
She quickly got her tray filled and headed out of the kitchen and up the staircase.
She would stop now and then, and sometimes even wait for the guests to make their choice of food before she would continue her journey.
She finally collapsed on one of the fancy kitchen chairs after she had gone up the stairs three times and twice again to carry the empty dishes.
She breathed a sigh of frustration when she found out that she would still have to go up the stairs to serve the cake.
She watched the kitchen staff as they brought in the cake and cut it into reasonable portions.
She decided that she would only go up the stairs twice, so she filled her tray in order to achieve that.
She quickly filled her tray and ventured out to go serve, and by the second time she had served everyone.
She smiled to herself as she approached the kitchen door.
She was surprised to find the kitchen empty.
She stealthily moved toward the confectioneries table.
She had been dying to have a taste of those pastries, so she reached for one and stuffed it into her mouth.
Her eyes widened at the taste.
"Wow," she gasped.
Since they had served everyone and there was still plenty left, she snuck some into her bag. She quickly spotted some packed foods, grabbed two packs, and stuffed them into her bag also.
She didn't consider herself a thief, and justified her actions as a deserved reward.
She adjusted herself before going to sit on one of the fancy kitchen chairs when she heard beeping sounds coming from her phone.
She shifted to one side before carefully reaching for her phone in her back pocket.
Her hand swiftly flew to her mouth as she saw the alert.
The woman who was the owner of the house, and who she now knew as Mrs. Martinez, had sent her four hundred dollars.
That was a lot, she thought.
The woman was really generous, or maybe she knew about how hard she had worked.
Anyway, she thought she deserved it, as she had worked tirelessly.
She glanced up from her phone as the other girls walked in.
She observed carefully as they were now sneaking pastries into their bags.
She smiled to herself as she realized that she wasn't the only one playing this game.
Soon the party was over and she went in search of Mrs. Martinez.
After much thinking, she thought it would be right to thank her for her generosity.
She finally found Mrs. Martinez bidding a guest goodbye.
She waited patiently until she was done and briefly walked toward her.
"May I have a word with you, ma'am?"
"Yes, sure," Mrs. Martinez said, and they briefly walked to a corner.
"I would like to thank you, ma'am, for increasing the payment."
"Oh, it was nothing. This party wouldn't have been a success if it weren't for your hard work, and I must commend the fact that you work hard."
"Thank you, ma'am. I really appreciate it."
"And thank you. By the way, did you have something to eat?"
"Uh, yes, ma'am," she said, adjusting her bag filled with food. "I'll take my leave now."
"Okay then," Mrs. Martinez said and gave her a brief pat on the hand before leaving.
_She's such a nice woman,_ she thought to herself as she made her way out of the mansion.