Chapter 143: Maid Outfit

[Chapter 143: Maid Outfit]

Seeing Nicole Kidman looking utterly shocked, as if she might faint, Eric walked in, threw the pillow he held onto the big bed, and picked up the recorder from the floor to silence it. "Silly girl, you don't even know to lock the door when doing something like this?"

"I forgot, next time... next time..." she stammered.

Eric laughed at her misfortune. "You still want a next time, huh?"

Collecting herself, the girl quickly shook her head. "No... I'm sorry, I'll never do it again."

Eric stepped closer, lifting her chin and delicately touching her pretty, slightly innocent-looking face, as if he were stroking a fragile piece of porcelain. "You realize this does absolutely no good, right? Even if I end up not keeping my promise, giving the recording to the media won't affect me much. It's your acting career that would be finished. No film would hire a foolish woman."

"I didn't think like that, I just wanted to protect myself," Nicole weakly defended herself.

"I can understand that, but I'm still quite unhappy. What do you intend to do about it?" Eric asked.

The girl trembled slightly and automatically reached for the buttons of her blouse, but Eric stopped her. "Forget it; you look so unappealing like this, just get some rest. Don't forget what I told you earlier."

After saying this, Eric tossed the radio onto the bed and left the bedroom.

...

Nicole sat there for quite a while before finally getting up to lock the bedroom door. Mechanically, she got out some bedding from the closet and made the bed. Lying down, she found it impossible to sleep, her mind a jumble of thoughts: her life in Australia, experiences in the entertainment circle, the warnings from family and friends when coming to Hollywood, the tough times she faced during her few months there, encounters with Eric, and dreams for the future...

Lost in this aimless thinking, she didn't notice the light outside starting to brighten. Checking her watch, it was six-thirty. Though she was now feeling sleepy, she forced herself to get up, hung her simple outfits from her suitcase in the closet, and walked to the bathroom to brush her teeth, wash her face, and do her makeup. After preparing herself nicely, she changed into a white shirt and jeans, then slipped on a pair of black flats before heading out.

Not knowing where Eric's bedroom was -- and even if she did, she wouldn't dare call him to wake up -- she quietly made her way down the stairs, opened the door, and stepped outside the villa. The high walls and lush trees shrouded the place in quiet. Standing by the now-empty swimming pool at the front of the villa, she took a few deep breaths of the cool morning air. The fatigue from a sleepless night dissipated somewhat. After familiarizing herself with the surroundings for a bit, she went back into the villa and headed for the kitchen.

...

Eric rose at seven o'clock and went downstairs. Upon entering the kitchen, he greeted the tall figure there before heading toward the gym to start his workout for the day. Half an hour later, after showering and changing clothes, he came out, grabbed the newspaper for the day, and sat in the living room reading until past eight. Finally realizing the girl seemed to be busy, he curiously walked into the kitchen.

The kitchen table was already filled with several dishes: sandwiches, sweet soup, steak, and salad. It seemed she was still busy making fried eggs.

"Nicole, that's enough; we can't possibly finish all this," Eric said after taking a bite of a sandwich.

She turned off the gas, plated the eggs, and explained, "I didn't know what you liked, so I made a bit of everything."

"I told you to be casual. I'm not picky about these things."

They carried breakfast together to the dining room. Nicole hesitated, standing next to Eric, seemingly quite "into character" as a maid. Eric couldn't help but chuckle, "Sit down and eat with me. I didn't plan on paying you, so no need to be so professional about it."

"Okay, thank you," Nicole replied, and obediently sat down across from Eric at the table.

...

And so, this somewhat odd life officially began at that breakfast. After finishing, Nicole watched Eric drive away before heading back to her bedroom to carefully review the documents from the night before, especially the actor's contract. She read through it multiple times but found nothing wrong.

Even though Eric had instructed her to avoid leaving the mansion to prevent being photographed by paparazzi and causing a scandal, she still sneakily went out that morning to find a law firm and, for several hundred dollars, had a professional lawyer review whether the contract was legally sound. Only when the lawyer confirmed there were no issues did she finally relax her mind.

...

When Eric returned home in the afternoon, he noticed Nicole seemed like a completely different person. The anxiety she had earlier was now gone, replaced by a pleasing smile, and the villa appeared spotless.

Nicole eagerly took the several bags from Eric's hands and asked, "Eric, should I put them in your bedroom?"

Eric shook his head. "No, that's for you. Go upstairs and pick out an outfit for me to see."

"For me?" she asked, opening one of the bags to peek inside, discovering a black and white lace outfit. "Is this pajamas?"

"No, you'll find out once you put it on."

"Oh," she obediently nodded, taking the bags and heading upstairs.

Eric sat down on the sofa, picked up the remote, and turned on the TV. After waiting half an hour, he heard the sound of boots clacking on the stairs, the steps filled with uncertainty.

Turning to look, he first saw a long, white leg in a pair of black ankle boots stepping into view, followed by the unmistakable maid's dress. As he raised his gaze, the fitted bodice accentuated her curves, and a delicate white lace neckpiece adorned her collarbone. While Eric had initially wanted to choose a choker, he thought better of it -- this was already pushing it a bit -- though the lace neckpiece looked lovely.

When Nicole finally emerged fully, Eric instantly dropped his head into his hands, exclaiming, "Oh my God, how could I forget about this?"

...

Initially displeased, Nicole took half an hour to change.

Had it been a typical maid outfit, she might not have felt so much resistance. After all, she had seen maid outfits before. But this particular outfit was quite different; not only was it a sexy low-cut design exposing a large portion of her skin, but it was also adorned with lace and ribbons, making it look very fancy. This was nothing like the plain styles she had known -- more crucially, whether intentional or not, this outfit was clearly one size too small.

Seeing Eric's pained gesture only intensified her apprehension. Lowing her gaze to inspect her outfit for mistakes, she saw nothing wrong and couldn't resist asking, "Eric, is... is there a problem?"

Eric continued to avert his gaze and waved his hand dismissively at her. "Go and change back. We'll go out later and help you pick something else."

*****

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