Esther slipped into her bed and shut her eyes, not that it made much of a difference. Her vision had started ebbing the second they got to the house. Thankfully, for some reason, he had led her to her door. She just didn't expect what happened next. She raised her hand and stared at her red palm. She must have hit him really hard. She frowned; he deserved it! But now that her fury was burning out, she wanted to cry. She was definitely fired. Dahra would kill her. She picked up her phone and began typing a text.
"You won't believe the awful thing that happened to me t..."
Before she could type another word, her phone started ringing. The caller popped up, and it was Dahra. Esther's heart skipped a beat. Had a contract termination email already been sent? Her finger hovered over the decline button, but she tapped the green button with a wince.
"Hello?"
"Hey babe, what's up?"
"N-nothing... is anything up on your end?"
"Well yes..." Dahra sounded mad.
Esther swallowed and began to defend herself. "It really wasn't my fault, I..."
"...I met a total douchebag at the bar yesterday," Dahra hissed.
Esther blinked. "What?"
"I went to Rave's bar yesterday for Ami's bachelorette party, right? And they had all these hot dancers over and there was a lot of booze... like a whole lot. I think I drank my body weight," she chuckled.
"Then what happened?" Esther asked eagerly, the weight lifting off her shoulders. Perhaps tomorrow she would meet with Mr. Narok and beg not to be fired, else she wouldn't know how to face Dahra.
"...Well, I'm not really sure what happened after that. All I know is I woke up next to a guy this morning and he told me the most awful things."
"Shit, the jerk didn't want to take responsibility?" Esther cursed.
"That's the problem. He says I assaulted him and wants me to take responsibility!"
Now this was something. She knew her friend was a beer-chugging, kickboxing, party-going freak. They had met over a decade ago as teens at a kickboxing training center and had been friends ever since. So Esther knew that when drunk, it was more likely for Dahra to challenge a random stranger to a kickboxing match than to sleep with them.
"He can't simply accuse you without proof," Esther sputtered.
The other end of the line went quiet. "Actually..." Dahra drawled sheepishly, "he had CCTV footage that showed me coming onto him. But you can hardly call that an assault, okay? He is a big man. If he wanted to, he could have swatted me off like a fly."
Esther was amused. "You would be a rather buff fly."
"Oh, piss off," Dahra groaned. "I gotta go. Hell, drinking will be the death of me."
Esther chuckled and disconnected the call. She was sure Dahra would be having a drink by tomorrow morning. That girl never learns.
The next day, Esther dragged herself down for breakfast. Even though she planned to apologize, she loathed to see him. Despite thinking all night, she couldn't figure out why he had kissed her. She hadn't done or said anything that could be misconstrued as an invitation. Hence, she had concluded that he was just a pervert, eager to hump anything in a skirt. Unfortunately, only these types of men seemed to come her way.
Reaching the dining room, she didn't see him nor Bloom. A maid saw her looking around and offered, "The master and young miss left early, ma'am."
"Oh," Esther nodded. "Thank you."
The table was already set. The kitchen must not have known that Mr. Narok and Bloom wouldn't be around for breakfast. There was too much food prepared. Esther turned to the maid who had spoken to her earlier.
"The food is a little too much. Care to join me?"
The maid seemed surprised as she shook her head rapidly. "No, no, miss."
"Why not? It'll be a shame if this all goes to waste."
"I can't eat at the master's table."
Esther blinked in realization. Of course, the maid couldn't simply sit at the table. She herself was a mere hired worker, lucky enough to eat with the Narok family. Perhaps she was getting too used to the comfort.
"Still, you can clear some of the dishes and share with the others."
The maid hesitated a bit before finally dropping the feather duster in her hand and making to clear the table. As she packed the dishes, Esther asked, "What's your name?"
"Ah?" The girl startled. She lowered her head in a bow and replied, "Rosa."
"Wow, you're pretty and you have a pretty name too, lucky."
Esther wasn't simply being nice. Rosa really was pretty. Unfortunately, her maid's dress fit her way too loosely, like a hand-me-down, and her bangs covered up her eyes. At the unexpected compliment, the girl nearly dropped the plateful of shrimp she was holding. Esther could see her cheeks heat up in a faint blush.
"T-thank you, miss... you're also very p-pretty."
Esther grinned, knowing the girl was just being polite, but no one can resist a compliment.
"ROSA!" A voice hollered.
Rosa was so startled that she knocked over a glass of juice, staining the bright tablecloth. Esther turned to the source of the commotion and cringed. Why did she have to deal with this witch so early in the morning?
Phoebe stomped over to their side and grabbed Rosa by the wrist. Esther saw the girl flinch.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? Who gave you permission to pack up the food?"
Esther stood up and separated them, standing protectively before Rosa. "I gave her permission. Mr. Narok and Bloom are not around for breakfast. Am I supposed to eat this all by myself?"
Phoebe's face turned red. She huffed and puffed before narrowing her eyes at Rosa, who stood cowering behind Esther. "Go to the kitchen. I'll deal with you later."
Rosa whimpered and scampered off before Esther could stop her. She turned back and glared at Phoebe. "YOU have a problem with me, don't take it out on others."
"It seems you've grown bolder?" Phoebe sneered, sliding into a seat at the dining table. She sat in Mr. Narok's seat.
Esther clenched her fists in annoyance, recalling the sight in his office. "I thought maids didn't sit at the table."
Phoebe blinked, looking at her with a derisive expression. "But I'm not just a maid." She tilted her head and curled her lips in triumph. "You should know that by now."