CHAPTER TWO

Mrs Reeds walked around with Ms. Grace, inspecting the final. preparations for the party. She looked at the band set up and felt it was too hidden. She wanted them visible to the eyes as they were one of the hardest band to hire.

"Fix that," she said to Ms. Grace.

She then inquired about the food, asking if it was ready.

"Sarah and Emily are on it," Ms. Grace answered.

Mrs Reeds nodded while taking a look around.

"Move Emily and Sarah to serving. They both have good posture, and are eye-catching."

"Okay ma'am," Ms. Grace bowed.

Mrs Reeds asked Ms. Grace to take charge and then left to get prepared.

Emily, Sarah, and two other maids chatted amongst themselves as they prepared the last dish for the welcome-home party that was being organized for the return of the second son of the Reeds family. The maids and Sarah had nothing but praises for him as they couldn't help but express their admiration for him.

"I can't wait to set my eyes on him again. I wish he'd notice me even once," a maid said.

"I don't mind being his play thing,," another maid said, expressing her hunger for him.

"You naughty little thing," Sarah teased the second maid, giving her a playful tap on her back.

They burst into a short giggle, which grew into laughter.

"But for reals though, I wouldn't mind the same thing," Sarah said, biting her lower lip with her eyes narrowing as she fantasized about her boss.

Emily at the corner was quiet as she had nothing to comment. She was new and had not set eyes on the second son. Since she was never a fan of the overly rich and fancy class, she had never bothered looking him up to see what he looked like. Although, with the detailed description Sarah and the other maids gave, she could almost visualize him.

Emily had her attention on the cake she placed in the oven, which she prepared for Mark. He had been a good friend to her for the two weeks she had been working in the mansion. Mark is a driver in the Reeds mansion and with the second son returning, he's most likely to be assigned to him. Sarah turned to Emily noticing her silence.

"Oh, my dear Emily," she said walking over to Emily, "Worry not, as you'll get to see our prince charming tonight."

Emily thought she might end up not getting moved at all, but she dared not say that out loud, else she'd face some heavy screams from Sarah and the two other maids.

"I can't wait too," she said, faking a smile.

"Girls, you know who I don't want to see?" The first maid asked a rhetorical question. "Kelvin," she answered herself after a short silence.

The second maid dropped the knife she was holding immediately the first maid mentioned the name Kelvin. Sarah squeezed her grip on the spoon she was holding.

Emily was drawn to the reaction of Sarah and the second maid. Her curiosity pushed her to ask who kelvin was.

"Kelvin is the first son of the Reeds family. He's the complete opposite to our prince charming," the first maid answered her.

"We don't like to talk about him," the second maid added.

The information caused Emily to raise an eyebrow. She was about to inquire further about the whole situation, when Ms. Grace voice broke out from behind them.

"Should you really be discussing about the family you work for?" She asked.

Sarah, Emily, and the two other maids arranged themselves in a straight line, then they simultaneously bowed to Ms. Grace. Ms. Grace stayed quiet, with her gaze fixed on the maids, observing all four of them. She then turned her attention to the dish being prepared. After a period of deafening silence, Ms. Grace spoke. She said,

"I think, rather than talking about the family you work for, you should place your focus on making sure the dishes are ready at the designated time."

"Yes ma," Emily, Sarah and the maids chorused together.

Ms. Grace ordered them to return to what they were doing. After they had continued chopping, Ms. Grace called to Emily and Sarah. She ordered them to go change as they'll be serving in the party. Emily and Sarah bowed to affirm that they understood.

Ms. Grace took a short glance at the maids. She felt the need to give them a piece of advice.

"Listen up," She said, in a commanding tone. When she had the attention of the ladies, she continued. "All members of the Reeds family are dangerous, and no one is better than the other. It'll do you well if you can choose to keep you mouth shut and not speak about them so openly. If their wrath falls on you and they decide to punish you, it is as good as being dead. So, tread carefully in the mansion and keep your lips tightened." She ended her speech, and then walked away.

All the ladies heaved a big sigh of relief.

"We should really be careful,"  Sarah said.

The two other maids, nodded at her affirmatively.

Sarah asked if they'll be okay working on the dish alone, since she and Emily had to go change. They nodded affirmatively again. She then called out to Emily, so they could go get changed together. Emily asked her to go first, as she was still waiting for the cake to get baked properly.

Sarah smirked at her, before moving closer. She tickled Emily softly.

"What a good girlfriend you are, baking a cake for your boyfriend," Sarah teased.

Sarah let out a soft chuckle. "You had better be joking," she said. She announced nothing was going on between she and Mark, aside the fact that they were good friends.

"If you say so," Sarah rested her case and then left, while Emily waited behind.

A few minutes later, the cake was ready. She got it wrapped and bid the maids bye, before heading to where the drivers gathered.

On her way to the driver's stand, she bumped into a man. The cake fell to the ground due to the collision between Emily and him. The man was obviously strong as he was still standing after the collision, while Emily had fallen flat on the ground.

"My cake!!" She yelled, gathering the smashed cake.

"Next time, watch where you're headed to," the man said.

His tone was soft, yet very commanding.

Emily was almost swept by it, but she managed to maintain her composure. "You need to apologize" Emily demanded.

The man chuckled softly.

"You want me to apologize?" He asked, sounding bemused.

"Yes, right now." Emily said, as she got up "You hit me, and ruined my cake," she added.

"You weren't looking at where you were headed. You bumped into me," the man said.

Emily was shocked by the man's words. She didn't understand his resistance to apologize. She was about to speak, but he walked past her.  She ran over and blocked his path.

"My cake," she said, staring into his eyes. The man tried to evade her by going left, but she blocked him. He tried going right, she blocked him again.

"You have to apologize," Emily said.

The man was already angered by Emily's behaviour. He moved closer to her, and stared at her deep in the eyes.

"You would end up regretting your actions, if you don't tread carefully."

The tone he spoke with, froze Emily up. She was unable to speak or move. He walked past her, and left.

Moments later Emily regained herself.

"What just happened?" She asked herself.

While she was still pondering on it, Sarah arrived. She gasped when she saw the cake. She inquired on what happened to it. Emily was about to speak but Sarah shunned her when she saw the time. She asked Emily to leave it for later as they were already late. She then helped Emily gather what they could of the cake. Before Emily left, she looked over at the man's direction as he was already in a distance. She swore inwardly to make sure she squeezed an apology out of him.

Hours later, the party had begun and guest began arriving. Sarah and Emily stood behind the long serving table, waiting for the signal to serve. As Emily watched on, she secretly searched for the man she had bumped into earlier.  She wasn't done with him. Her plan was to force the apology out of him.

The band toned down their music and then the sound of a table knife tapping a glass drew everyone's attention.

Mr. Richard Reeds stood up to make a toast. He held the glass in his hands, and had a big grin on his face. His wife, Mrs Jane Reeds also stood beside him. He kicked off his toast aby appreciating his business associates for honouring the invitation. He then gave a short power speech on success, and expressed his joy on how his second son has been nothing short of success, and how it made him proud. Lastly, he encouraged the guests to continue in their hard work, and promised them that this was only the begining of their run of success. The room was filled with the uproar of applauds. The guest clicked glasses and drank. Then servings began.

Emily and Sarah were dispatched, taking orders and serving food. Sarah took a guest's order, and was about to leave when the guest stopped her. He held her wrist and was urging her to seat on his thigh. Sarah politely declined, stating they weren't allowed to do such.

The guest insisted still. He drew her closer to himself, wrapping his hands around her waist. Emily saw this from afar and immediately made way to intervene. Sarah managed to get herself away from the guest but in the process he fell to he ground. Sarah immediately apologized and bowed at him. He raised his hands in an attempt to slap her. Surprisingly, his hand was caught in the air by someone from behind. He turned swiftly, to see who dared to hold his hand. He was shocked to see who it was.

Emily arrived at the scene and helped Sarah up. The guest's hand was still stuck in the air. Emily looked up to see who the man that had helped her friend was. To her surprise, it was the man she had bumped into earlier. The man released the guest's hand and returned his hand to his pocket. The celebration had gone still, watching what was happening.

The man stared at the guest for some moments, before moving closer to him. When he was just inches away, he  pulled his hands out of his pocket. The guest blocked his face, thinking he was about to get hit but instead a smirk cut across the man's lips.

"It is not that kind of party," the man said. He moved his hands to arrange the tie of the guest. "I know you are really excited, but you shouldn't overstep and just wait till the appropriate time for such."

Emily watched him speak with calmness but his words had a commanding effect. She looked around, and noticed how the other guests were frozen. She looked in their eyes and saw fear. Emily began wondering who the man was to have such an effect on people.

"Is that noted?" The man asked the guest.

The guest couldn't speak, he just nodded.

"Good, then let's enjoy the party," the man said.

He made the guest sit and then turned to other guests. He encouraged them to enjoy the party. His attention turned to Sarah. He locked eyes with Emily for a bit then broke it and focused on Sarah. He asked her to stop working and get some rest. Sarah thanked him and he left.

Sarah took Emily with her and they went to a corner. Sarah was pacing left and right, while Emily stood at the side. Still unsure of who he was, Emily was deep in thoughts, trying to figure it all out. She was so lost, that she didn't hear Sarah calling her several times.  Sarah tapped her shoulder to bring her back to reality.

"Why aren't you excited for me?" Sarah asked.

Emily was perplexed by the question. What did she need to be excited about? "I'm sorry,I don't follow," Emily said, a little confused.

The two other maids from earlier came in. They quickly locked hands with Sarah, and squeaked with joy. Emily was driven into further confusion. She had to stop Sarah and the maids celebration.

"What are you guys so happy about?" She inquired.

"Don't you know who came to Sarah's rescue?" The first maid asked.

Emily stared at them, treating the question as rhetorical, and waiting for them to answer.

"William Reeds!!!" Sarah and the two maids chorused loudly.

Emily's heart almost missed a beat, not because of the loud scream of the girls, but because she just realized she was doomed for if what the girls said was true. William's words from earlier echoed in her head.

"You would end up regretting your actions if you don't tread carefully."

Emily got weak in her legs, that she almost dropped to the floor.

"I'm doomed," she said, inwardly. Being a Reed's son meant that he had a lot of power which he could wield at will, without having anybody question his decisions. He could ruin her life and this truth worried her. She walked to the side, leaving the girls to continue their joyous celebration.