Chapter 2

The week had been uneventful after Mr. Steven gave me a tour of the manor and showed me my little office which is on the ground floor and what I'm supposed to work on he left me alone. The space is nice and warm with tall windows, which I love and comfortable furniture.

And it needed a woman's touch so I brought some personal items day two of my job and decorated the space, it is much more homely and calming now. The whole week's work hasn't been much. Just some filing, arranging them and transferring calls to Mr. Black.

There is a list of calls allowed to go through to his office, Brad told me to cancel calls whose numbers aren't on the list. I still haven't met the mysterious man, which I think may be a good thing, staying out of each other's way.

Checking the time I see it is 4 pm, so I start gathering my stuff to close for the day. My work hours are pretty lenient since there is not much to do, although Brad warned me that sometimes working with Mr. Black can be pretty much demanding.

But for now, it is 9 am to 4 pm and I'm thankful for that. My job responsibilities are receptionist duties, scheduling online meetings and web conferences for Mr. Black, sorting and distributing communications. Yada yada!

'See you on Monday Brad! Have a nice evening.'

'Have a nice evening Miss Violet.'

Yes, we are on a first name basis. When I first saw him, I thought he was a grumpy old man, but it turns out he is a sweet man. When he is less busy we sit during lunch and chat a bit, he told me about his family. His wife died a few years ago, and he has two kids. His older son is a professor and lives with his family in Austin, and his younger daughter is happily married with two children living in Dallas.

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'I'm home aunt lee! Aunt Lee?' I love my home, it is a small and cozy contemporary ranch style house that has a 1950s era vibe to it. Probably because it has been passed done in my father's family, each generation renovating it and adding whatever new technology there is; and it now belongs to me.

'I'm in the kitchen Vee!'

Hmm I should have guessed, the amazing smell of my aunt lee's fajita hits me the moment I come through the door. Both I and Aunt Lee love cooking; hence we usually eat homemade meals and don't eat out much.

Whenever I get the time, I put my twists on our family recipes and experiment. And I watch a lot of cooking shows even those based on competitions such as Masterchef. That reminds me, I need to go grocery shopping, our food stock is low. There are some ingredients I need for something I want to try making.

'How was work sweetie? Did you get to see the mysterious man today? Lunch is ready, eat up.' Aunt Lee asks me and at the same time pushing a plate  of fajita to me.

'It was all right, there was nothing new and I still haven't seen him, I don't think I ever will' I say stuffing my mouth with her fantastic cooking. 'Mmm this gets better and better aunt lee, thank you.'

'How is the business? Did you make new batches today? I ask her while eating. She has a chandlery business, makes the candles at home and sells them to her customers who are mostly friends and neighbors through word of mouth marketing.

'It is good, I haven't made any new batches yet but I have to soon because I'm running low.' She tells me getting up to wash her plate.

After lunch, I wash up and change into casual clothing, skinny jeans, and a black tank top. I release my hair from the bun and tie it up in a ponytail, I love my thick silky hair which people envy a lot by the way, but I hate the way it tingles my neck and back. So I usually put it up to make my life easier. When I came back out Aunt Lee is still sitting where I left her.

'I am going to Joe's, you need anything?' I ask her while wearing my boots.

'No I am good, just the food items and don't forget to get some ice-cream, say hi to John for me.'

I am already on my way out when I hear her say 'Oh can you ask Martha whether she has gotten the books I asked for on your way sweetie?'

'Okay aunt lee!' she loves romance books but still hasn't gotten used to eBooks, she prefers paperbacks. And Martha's bookshop doesn't usually stock up on the new good ones she could have gotten much easier online. So she always has to put in a request, benefits of being friends with the bookshop manager.

My drive back home seems pretty long to me because I am eager to reach home and get ready for the premiere of Game of Thrones season 7. I don't want to miss a minute of it! After all, I waited for over a year for the new season. Reaching home I see Aunt Lee has already set out the drinks and popcorn ready for the show.

'I'm home! I've brought your books along; she got them yesterday and wanted to give you a call' I say to her putting away the groceries.

'Thanks, Vee, join me in the living room it is about to start!' I hurriedly reach the room and plop down on the couch next to aunt vee when I hear the game of thrones tune come on. Okay, let us see what George R. R. Martin have in store for us regarding Daenerys and Jon Targaeryan.

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It has been four weeks since I started working at the Black Manor but I still haven't caught even a glimpse of Mr. Black, it is starting to disturb me. Does he even go out to catch the sun? Hmm. I mean who becomes that closed off just for the sake of it?

Maybe he has his reasons though. Anyway, that is none of my business; I get my first paycheck today! Whoop! It would really help towards running the house, aunt Vee works hard, she is into Chandlery, but it doesn't bring much.

As I am driving in, I see a beautiful luxury car driving out of the manor. 'Hmm that is odd; I've never seen this car here before.' And there are a lot of cars, expensive luxury vehicles. No one comes to the Black Manor apart from the regular staff who are all locals.

The Manor gardeners, a cook, and the cleaning staff. And they all leave after they are done with their work. No one stays overnight at the manor. Which is convenient seeing they all have families in town.

'Good morning Tom, how is Martha?' I greet the floral shop owner who is working with some of the manor gardeners, I'm assuming he has a contract with Mr. Black; and who also happens to be Martha's husband.

'Morning Vee, she is doing just fine. Oh, Thanks for the apple pie by the way we enjoyed it'.

'Oh it is nothing really; let me leave you to your work.' I say to him making my way to the manor front door. Tom is a kind soul, he lives with his wife Martha who treats me like a daughter, and they have been married for 20 years and still have no kids. They have been trying for years now and haven't given up up-to now. I admire their resilience and love for one another.

I reach the door and open it with my set of keys, Brad gave me the keys to rooms I've access to including the front door. He is not close today, so I make my way to my office. I barely make it to my seat when the office phone starts ringing.

'Hello, Mr. Black's office, this is Violet James his personal assistant. how may I help you?'

A deep husky, masculine voice said 'meet in my office Miss James'.

Oh, my! It's Mr. Black! I mean it has to be him right? Who else would ask me to meet him in his office? So I get to see him today, Lord I'm nervous whew! His voice is so sexy though, it oozes this masculinity and sexiness. I fan my face; okay don't get all clumsy and weird on me self. I hate meeting new people and attention, some may say I'm not sociable.

I make my way to the room Brad showed me as Mr. Black's office when he gave me a tour of the manor, his office is on the first floor because he doesn't want to be disturbed. Reaching the room I start pacing, I am really nervous. I finally work up the courage to open the door and go in. As soon I get in I hear him shouting at someone on the phone, oh no he is in a bad mood. I hope he doesn't vent it out on me.

'Spence tidy this shit up! This is the second time this is happening in a year. Smoke them out! Or do I have to do everything myself? Good, I want a report by tomorrow morning.' Then I hear him muttering something like incompetent staff and other things.

'Oh, his sexy sexy voice' hmm I sigh dreamily. Oh! He is done with his phone call, and.... he is looking at me. Wait, did he say something?

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