In Ava's mind, the master of the house equaled trouble. She'd never had any kinds of problems with the lady of the house before or their kids.

It was always these older married men who'd just stare at her a little too long or 'accidentally' brush their hands against her body. It always made her feel icky and on alert. So, she learned the best way to tackle the issue was to avoid them as best she could.

And she was getting pretty good at that. For the next few days anytime she'd clean a room she'd close the door behind her. She'd scan the hallway before entering it and made sure that she was nowhere near the dining area when he'd eat.

His sudden reappearance had stressed out George as well as Lauren since they hadn't had the time to make any 'preparations' which, as it turned out, was just making his bed, turning up the pool temperature, and getting groceries. Ava made his bed when she was sure he was eating his dinner that evening.

She'd been in the large room before to clean so she was somewhat familiar with it. The big king-sized bed was the first thing she'd spotted the first time she entered. The next was the beautiful balcony outside his sliding doors where a cast-iron garden set stood waiting to be used again.

Apparently, the decision to come here was a last-minute one. George had told Ava that Mr. Chastain had closed a particularly large deal and felt it was time to take some time off.

She still couldn't believe he looked like that, she'd expected someone older and maybe a little uglier. But she also knew looks could be deceiving and that she should stay out of his sight. Which wasn't hard since despite claiming to be on vacation, he spent most of his time in the main office.

Ava had just finished doing her rounds of the second floor and was currently making her way towards the storage closet when a deep male voice rang out, "Rebeccah."

Her spine stiffened. She knew he meant her, Rebeccah had been the previous maid and he probably hadn't heard about her replacement yet. She blamed herself for not noticing him earlier so she could have made her escape.

As she turned around she let out a small gasp at his surprising proximity. He was way closer than she thought he would be but made sure he didn't notice her surprise. His beautiful eyebrows turned downward in a frown as he inspected her face.

"You're not Rebeccah." It wasn't a question.

"No, she's left. I'm Ava, the new maid?" She wasn't sure what it was about him, but he intimidated her. Maybe it was the way his tall frame towered over her or the way that his dark eyes seemed to see right through her.

"Where'd she go?" he demanded while completely ignoring her attempt at introducing herself formally.

"I heard she got married and moved away," Ava offered up.

"Okay, well, I need you to prepare the living room because we have guests coming over tonight."

"Oh I'm not really supposed to go there, George said--"

"George isn't here right now, is he?" he said, interrupting her.

"N-no." George had left earlier in the day because he didn't work the Wednesday afternoons for some reason.

"Then get it done," was the last thing he said before taking off, leaving Ava to fend for herself.

While she felt bad about making a bad first impression on him she also knew it didn't go as badly as it could've gone. He didn't yell and he didn't touch her, which counted as a win in her book. She followed his retreating figure with her eyes until he was out of sight and quickly made her way to Lauren, who she found in the kitchen preparing his dinner.

"Mr. Chastain wants me to prepare the living room because guests are coming over," Ava started, "but I don't know what he meant by that or what's expected of me."

This made Lauren look up from the sauce she'd been cooking. "Just make sure there are enough glasses and the drink cabinets are stocked up. How many people did he say were coming?" she asked while hovering above the glassware cabinet in anticipation of Ava's answer.

"Um, he didn't say."

"Hm," Lauren replied in thought. "Take this tray and these glasses, if it isn't enough you can come back and get some more," she finished.

Ava gratefully took the tray with empty glasses and was about to walk away when Lauren suddenly threw in a, "When they arrive you should also open the door and serve them drinks."

At those words, her stomach turned. She had to actually interact with these people? So much for staying out of sight. "Wait what?"

"Stay next to the drinks cabinet and they'll call you when they need you. Oh, and don't speak unless spoken to and only talk in clear and concise sentences."

At that Ava had half a heart to offer to trade duties with Lauren for the evening were it not for the fact that she couldn't cook at all. She just had to suck it up and get it over with. So she carried the glasses over to the living room.

Upon opening the door she laid eyes on the expensive furniture and rich wooden walls of the living room. This area was under Lauren's and George's care so there usually simply wasn't a reason for Ava to be there. Everything in the room screamed 'opulence' yet the thing that caught her eyes the most was the grand fireplace at the center of it all.

She quickly went over to her place for the evening and carefully set down all the glasses before tucking away the tray. She wasn't sure what to do next, he hadn't told her when exactly they'd arrive and she knew he hadn't even eaten dinner yet. So, she opted to just wait.

Better to be safe than sorry, she always told herself. She'd learned a long time ago that mistakes could cost her dearly.

For what felt like hours she just stood there waiting for the guests to arrive. She briefly considered sitting down on the sofa but quickly banished the thought from her mind. She didn't dare imagine what would happen to her if they'd find her sitting on the couch instead of working.

Her salvation came in the form of a ringing doorbell. After rushing to open it she attempted to greet the guests with a quick 'welcome' but didn't even get to finish the word before a jacket was flung at her face.

A blonde man and a black-haired woman entered without so much as acknowledging her and she had to maneuver quickly to catch the second jacket without letting it touch the floor. She quickly followed them to the living room after hanging their jackets only to find Mr. Chastain suddenly there.

"Mark, Jayla," Mr. Chastain acknowledged as he shook their hands which made Ava wonder if they were friends of his or business associates. The handshake seemed too formal for friends but what did she know, she's never had any.

"Sébastien," the man, Mark, acknowledged while the woman looked around as if she was already bored of it all. Ava couldn't help but admire her shining and healthy-looking hair and compare it to her own brown mop of hair. She wished she knew how to take care of it better but she'd only ever learned how to wash it and put it in a ponytail.

She never wore it loose, that not only looked unprofessional but it also got in the way while she worked.

"You," Mr. Chastain said, grabbing her attention as the guests sat down."Pour us some bourbon." Something in the way he said 'you' made Ava suspect he forgot her name, but she wasn't about to correct him.

After stepping over to the drinks cabinet she faced a problem she hadn't anticipated yet, she didn't know anything about drinks. She felt completely and utterly stupid as she scanned the contents of the cabinet in search of the word 'bourbon'. Except none of these fancy bottles described the product inside and she was left guessing.

From the corner of her eye she looked for Mr. Chastain only to find him deep in conversation with his guests, and she knew men like him hated to be disturbed by their servants. She was about to just risk it all and pour a random drink when she suddenly remembered unpacking boxes of whiskey for a previous employer.

She was pretty sure the guy was an alcoholic but she had to admit it did come in handy this time. She quickly grabbed the bottle she recognized as whiskey and made her way over to the glasses to pour it. Just as she was about to serve it, she remembered her previous employer always came down to get ice for his drinks, so she added that to the glasses as well.

Confident that she had the right drink, she put them on the tray and made her round. While Mr. Chastain took the glass silently his guest, Mark, threw in a "took you long enough" as he grabbed his. The woman didn't even take her glass but just pointed towards the table so that Ava would have to put it down before taking her place next to the cabinet again.

During the evening she'd repeat the action anytime any Mr. Chastain or any of the guests demanded another drink. While the woman barely drank at all it quickly became obvious that the man couldn't hold his drink that well. Mr. Chastain had replaced the bourbon for water a few drinks in so he didn't give off any indications that  he was drunk.

She tried her best to not listen to their conversation but as soon as they started talking about relationships she couldn't help but silently pay attention.

"Jayla keeps me on a short leash, I'm telling you, man. Can't even as much as look at any women and she'll get mad," Mark admitted to Mr. Chastain as if the woman in question wasn't sitting right next to him.

"I have to or you'll fuck that assistant of your again. I swear the next time you pull something like that the wedding's off," she trew back with enough venom in her voice to poison a small village. But Ava couldn't blame her, she didn't want to imagine what it would feel like to love someone only for them to not love you back the same way.

But Mr. Chastain didn't really reply to their squabble, he wisely remained silent as he took another sip of his water.

"Whatever happened to that chick you brought with you to the gala last month? She was a real showstopper, man, where did you even find her?" the man continued, oblivious to dirty look his fianceé threw him.

"She was pretty enough, but not much fun to talk to," Mr. Chastian admitted while shrugging. "Found her at a fundraiser a few weeks ago, she was one of the models there."

The fact that someone as handsome and rich as Mr. Chastain dated actual models shouldn't be surprising to Ava but she'd never actually met a model of any kind. But it made sense, pretty people dated pretty people.

"She doesn't have to be fun to talk to with an ass like that," the man threw back, causing him to fall into a laughing fit at his own joke. But something told Ava that he wasn't joking all the way. Even Mr. Chastain didn't pretend to find it funny but he was too drunk to even notice.

"So what now?" Mark asked, causing confusion to sweep over Mr. Chastain's features. "What do you mean, what now?" he replied.

"Who are you doing now? The maid?" The lame excuse for a joke threw him into another laughing fit but made Ava extremely uncomfortable. She disliked being thought of that way and she was sure that implying sleeping with servants was a great insult to Mr. Chastain as well.

"I'm not," Mr. Chastain replied more calmly than she'd thought he'd be but Mark continued, "Really? Cause I'd do her," he said while looking over to Ava. She held her eyes firmly to the floor in the hopes that they'd all stop looking at her. She felt her cheeks heat up and prayed it wasn't that obvious to the others.

"Shut up, Mark," Mr. Chastain said, now irritated. Even the woman was now glaring at the man in question but either he was oblivious or he just didn't care.

"I mean, look at those legs," he went on before adressing her, "Come over here and show them off for me, baby."

Ava looked at him with wide eyes, like a deer in headlights as she internally panicked. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she was about to step forward before Mr. Chastain's voice stopped her.

"Don't," he told her, "You're dismissed, you can go now," he said as he stood up. "Jayla, take him outside. It's time for you to leave too."

Ava didn't have to be told twice and rushed off and made a beeline for the servant's quarters. After reaching the safety of her room she made sure to lock it before letting out a sigh. She prayed he never had anymore guests over any Wednesday evenings as she was sure no one had ever told George the same thing.

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We don't proofread in this house so please point out any grammar/spelling mistakes I made so I can fix them.

SO!! What do you think of Mr. Sébastien Chastain? And how are you liking the story so far?

I silently hope you're enjoying it :3

xx May