It had been a whole day since he'd gotten sick and there weren't any signs that he was improving at all. At some point, she would have to call in a doctor but every time she brought it up he'd just grumble "It's just the flu, don't call anyone."

The chicken soup had run out so she'd made him a sandwich, which he'd quietly thanked her for but still hadn't touched.

At least he had the strength to drag himself downstairs this morning which meant that she didn't have to walk up and down the stairs every time she brought him anything. To the untrained eye, it looked like he was watching tv but Ava had spent enough time staring at his glazy eyes to see that he wasn't actually watching what was on the screen.

He looked positively miserable and she hated it.

His long limbs were strewn over the sofa he was laying on, making Ava sit on the other one.

"Are you sure I don't have to call anyone?"

"I'm fine," he replied distractedly.

"But what about a family member? A friend? Your girlfriend?" The last one was difficult enough to get out and she silently hoped he'd deny having one. Why it bothered her so much was a mystery to her but she still wanted to know.

"I barely have any family members, unless you want to call my aunt in which case; please don't. I'm not in the mood to see any of my friends and I don't have a girlfriend. So no, don't call anyone."

The tiniest flare of relief made her sit up straighter but it was overshadowed by curiosity. "You don't have any siblings?" she asked, trying to skim around the fact he hadn't directly said anything about his parents.

"My sister died when we were kids," he said, his gaze suddenly sharper than it had been before.

"I'm sorry," she said, suddenly feeling guilty for bringing it up.

"It's fine, it was a long time ago," he sighed while sitting up. "Do you have any?"

Ava shrugged. "If I do I'll probably never know. Maybe they were adopted, maybe they never existed. I don't know."

"And your parents?"

Again, Ava shrugged. "Maybe they just didn't want me or maybe they died. They didn't tell us that stuff." While she didn't particularly like talking or even thinking about the subject, it did provide her with a good window to ask him about his. "What about yours?"

For the first time he looked away from her eyes and she knew something was up. It took him a moment to find the right words but he spoke them very quietly. "My dad died a few years ago. And as for my mother... She's where she should be."

The use of 'dad' and 'mother' told her more than his sentence itself did. He obviously didn't like the woman enough to call her 'mom' but she wasn't willing to press it. She knew better than most what it was like to not want to talk about a certain subject.

In a way, it felt like they were the same. Unlike her, he did have people who cared about him. Friends who waited for him to come back to town so they could hang out and George and Lauren. The latter were employees of his but she knew both of them deeply cared about him. Even his aunt, who she'd met once when she stayed at the estate.

But both of his parents were gone, in some way or another, so he knew what it was like to miss that kind of parental guidance. It made her think about what it would be like to have known your parents and then lose them. Would it feel similar to never knowing them at all? Or did it hurt even worse?

There weren't any correct answers to these questions, she knew, but it didn't stop her from wondering.

When his phone suddenly went off in the most hideously annoying way she jumped. Sébastien let out a drawn-out groan before reaching over to grab it.

"What?" he answered as a greeting. "Today? No. Tell them—No, tell them to move it to a later date. Put them on my desk, I'll pick it up later. Alright." He threw the phone back on the couch before rubbing his eyes with both of his hands.

A slight stubble had started to appear on his face and Ava duly noted that it made him look even more handsome than he already was. With his hands on his knees, he pushed himself off the couch, taking a moment to steady himself before moving to walk back towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" she asked. She'd unconsciously stood up at the same time as him but he shouldn't move around too much in the state he was in.

"I have to pick something up at the office."

"You can't possibly think about going all the way to your office when you have trouble walking up the stairs!"

"I fired my assistant a few days ago, I have to pick it up."

"Isn't there anyone else to bring it?"

"People have a job to do, it's super busy right now due to the merge."

"I'll pick it up, then." The words had left her mouth before she knew it but she didn't regret them. She'd rather step out of her comfort zone for a little bit than watch him suffer to get some papers.

"You don't know how to get there."

"I have an app."

"Right."

"I can do it."

"Are you sure?" he sighed in resignation. One look at his sad state made her resolution grow even more.

"Yes. It's fine, go lie back down."

She knew she couldn't appear at his office in her old jeans, so it was time to bust out the new clothes. She hadn't worn anything besides the coat and shoes but that was only because she didn't want to wear them out while working.

All the clothes were so pretty she didn't have to try that hard to look presentable. She didn't want to wear a skirt of any kind because of the cold but luckily there were pants that somewhat resembled his slacks, but more feminine.

She topped it off with a blouse and looked herself over in the mirror.

To her delight, the outfit looked good on her. What didn't delight her in the slightest was going into an unknown building and talk to people she didn't know.

Before leaving she stopped by him for one last time. "So, I should just bring the papers? Anything else?"

"No, Lucinda at the front desk will help you. She knows where they are so just follow her."

"Alright, I'll be right back, then," she said while turning away when he suddenly mumbled something. It was very low, and she wasn't sure if she was even meant to hear it. But it was just clear enough to make out. "You look really pretty," he'd mumbled, making her internally panic.

But when she looked back at him he'd already closed his eyes.

I must have misheard, she thought. It was the only explanation. Someone like him would never think that. He probably said something like 'I like Cincinnati '.

She quietly fled out the front door and out of the building. I have misheard, she repeated in her mind like a mantra to keep her grounded. If she didn't she'd go insane thinking about him.

Would it be possible for him to care about her that way? The chances were slim. But stranger things have happened before so a possibility would always be there.

No, stop thinking about it, she scolded herself.

The directions to his office were clear enough and she made it without dying in the park. The trees that had surrounded her reminded her of the estate and made her homesick for a place that wasn't even her own home.

Before long the shiny, intimidating building appeared before her. It seemed so tall it could touch the clouds and in shining letters the front told her she was at the right place.

'Chastain Energy Co.'

There were people entering and exiting the building and she could only imagine how many people worked for him. She was one of those people and it would be narcissistic to think he'd care about her more than any of them.

She'd seen the woman he'd so easily fired the other day. She'd been a thousand times more pretty than Ava, and he just didn't care.

With a sigh, she pushed forward and entered the large glass doors, and looked around. She had to find the woman at the front desk, but there was only one man sitting there right now and he seemed pretty busy.

Panic swelled within her as she suddenly didn't know what to do anymore. Should she call Sébastien? Or would he be annoyed she couldn't do this one thing by herself?

"Can I help you?" a male voice came from her left, making her quickly look over at him.

A guy around her age stood there beside her, his head of dark hair was inclined to the side in a questioning look. She thought he'd look annoyed she was taking up space in the hall by just standing here but his gaze was kind and it looked like he genuinely tried to be helpful.

"Um, actually, maybe you can? I'm supposed to ask Lucinda something but I don't know where to find her."

"You're at the right place. You'd usually find her behind that desk but she's having lunch right now so she's not in the building." He scratched his neck with an apologetic look on his face. "What did you need her for? I'm Justin, by the way."

"I'm Ava," she smiled at him. She liked the guy, he had a very honest face and it was easy to talk to him. "I was asked to pick up some papers for Mr. Chastain but I don't know where they are."

"Oh! You should've said to earlier," he laughed. "They're in his office. Come on, I'll take you there."

"Thank you," Ava replied gratefully while walking after him towards the elevators.

Once inside he pushed one of the buttons and turned to her. "So are you like, his new assistant?" he asked while scratching his neck.

"Oh, no. I'm uh, his maid."

"That's cool too. So how is he? He looked pretty sick when he left here yesterday."

"He's still sick but he wanted to come down here to pick up the files himself," she answered, not feeling sure he'd want her to share the details of how badly he was actually feeling with people he knew.

"It's nice of you to do it instead. I'm sure running around town isn't in your job description."

"It's not, but like I said he's really sick."

"He's lucky to have you then."

"Oh, no. It's nothing, his apartment isn't too far away anyway."

"If you say so," he replied with a casual shrug.

The elevator dinged, indicating they'd reached their floor. This floor wasn't nearly as busy as the one below and she could only imagine this was where the directors were seated. In front of every office was a woman typing away on a MacBook, except for the one at the end of the hallway.

"This way," Justin said as he started walking towards that very office. On his way, he threw every assistant a blinding smile and greeted them by their names. "Hey Samantha," and "How's it going Bev?"

Some would only roll their eyes playfully and some would greet him back. It was obvious he was familiar with the place and the people who worked there and it made Ava wonder what his position within this company was.

Without hesitating he swung open the door to Sébastien's office and Ava could barely believe this entire room was just for one person. She only now noticed they were probably on the highest floor and she could see even more from here than from his apartment.

"Oh, these say confidential," he suddenly said as he held the papers in his hands.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I have to call Sébastien to verify that you can take these. I don't want to offend you or anything, but it's just protocol."

"You don't want to hand over important papers to people you don't know, I get it," Ava reassured him. She definitely wasn't offended as it did make sense they'd check these things.

What she did notice however was that he hadn't called him Mr. Chastain, as would be usual for employees. Instead, he called him Sébastien, indicating that they probably were closer than just co-workers.

"Thanks," he said while looking relieved that she didn't take offense. "Take a seat I'll be right back."

She nodded but didn't sit down. The windows called to her and she was curious as to what she would be able to see from up here.

Heights didn't bother her as long as there was a thick sheet of glass separating her from the depths. The people below were barely visible anymore which meant that she didn't get to see much more than just the other buildings.

"Hey, Ava?" Justin said as he came walking back into the office. "He said it was okay, here," he handed her the stack of files which she carefully took from him. She didn't want to crinkle anything because that would almost feel like a crime.

"Thank you, Justin."

"You're welcome. May I accompany you back down again?" he asked in a bad English accent which made Ava laugh out loud. "You may," she replied. This might be the first of Sébastien's associates that didn't appear to be running in a 'most conceited person ever' contest.

Instead, he seemed genuinely nice and didn't look down at her when she admitted she was only a maid. It made her happy to know there were still nice people in this business world of Sébastien's. And who knows? Maybe they'd run into each other again some time.

It started raining halfway through her journey back. The thick coat sheltered her from the icy drops and her shoes didn't soak through at the first puddle she encountered. It made her see winter downpours in a new light and gave her the chance to appreciate it.

The park had basically emptied out as people scrambled to find shelter and the only thing that remained was the nature within this concrete maze city.

As soon as the first drops fell she'd quickly stuffed the files in her jacket to protect them from the elements. She probably should have brought a bag to carry them safely but it didn't matter now that she was almost back at the apartment.

When her exit came into sight she almost didn't want to leave the park. The tall buildings depressed her while the greenery rejuvenated her. It was strange how much noise a few trees and some bushes could block out but when she left the park it all came back in full force.

At least the apartment building shielded her from the harsh rain so that she could take off her hood and stop carrying the papers as if she was pregnant with a pile of documents.

Sébastien was still in the same spot he'd been an hour ago and looked as pale as he possibly could. He did look up when she entered and she threw back a small smile.

"Hi," she greeted quietly while approaching. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he answered in a voice that didn't sound fine at all. "How'd it go?"

"I have the files but I couldn't find Lucinda but apparently she was on her break," Ava explained while handing the files over to him. "But I ran into someone who knew where they were and he called you to check if I was allowed to take them."

"Right, Justin."

"Yes, he's seemed nice," she replied while nodding. The friendly face in an ocean of people who ignored her was a welcome sight and she wouldn't mind meeting him again.

"I'm sure he did."

"He called you Sébastien though? Are you two close?"

"He's a friend. He's also one of the senior partnership managers. Did he say anything to you?"

"Just small talk," she admitted. "Don't worry, I didn't tell him exactly how sick you are."

"I wasn't worried about that, and I'm not that sick."

"Sure you're not," she said before realizing what she had done. Being a smartass to your boss was probably up there among the most stupid things you could do. There was nothing she could do but stare at him with wide eyes while trying to gauge his reaction.

But he just snorted in a half-laugh before focussing on the papers in front of him. "Cute," he mumbled under his breath but it was heard loud and clear by Ava. He'd meant it in a sarcastic way, she was sure, but it still didn't stop her cheeks from burning up.

At least he wasn't mad about it.

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Let me know what your opinion is about how this story is progressing!

Have a great Tuesday!

xx May