More Then a Cook (OnnaOtaku & darth22)

Another job, another house, another strange, probably creepy, man. Marie sighed as she left the company's travel car and watched it drive away. She was now entirely on her own to speak to the man and stay with him...alone. This job was always a risk, but in the end, it was always worth it. The pay was great and she got to see how the richer side lived. It wasn't that she was poor, but she never had the right contacts to get into the large houses that she normally works in. She doesn't mind being alone with strange people, no not really. At least she has someone else in the house with her. And her work or the police were just a phone call away.

Lucky for the workers, all of their future customers were screened, making sure that they weren't ex-criminals or creepy old men. Yes, there were different age levels of worker and customers, but the young girls were often times requested by the elder men. Hopefully for Maria, this new man would at least be a bit good looking...

The house wasn't exactly a manor... but it wasn't exactly a house at all either. It was big, that's for sure, since that was pretty obvious to any newcomers. No garage in the front, so at first glance people correctly assume it's in the back. And when the garage is in the back, it means there's more than one car. The house was luxurious and it was very obvious that someone wealthy lived here. The lawn - and a big lawn at that - was freshly mowed with sprinklers wetting it. A walkway was narrowly avoided by the sprinklers. The house was painted peach and though it was big, there was no fancy architecture.

The owner of the house saw the car arrive from his study. He straightened his polo shirt, slipped on his slippers, pressed the button that allowed the gate to open, and went downstairs. He opened the door and smiled.

"Hi. You must be Marie."

He opened the door wide to let the girl come in. He closed it then introduced himself. "My name is Max. I'm your... well, I guess boss is the word for it."

Max had an athletic, 6 foot figure. His hair was short and spiky and he was very neat. His voice was polite and kind. The way he carried himself was very formal and gentlemanly; his head held high and his arms swayed as he walked. His face was chiseled and he was handsome, his eyes a dark black. At first glance, he seemed like he was in his early twenties. Many people have commented that he was lucky to be rich at such a young age.

He smiled politely to his new maid. He quickly scanned her head to toe then said "Why don't you follow me to the study? We'll talk there first."

The inside of the house was neat, organized, and beautifully decorated. It was simple yet elegant. A quick glance at the large living room on the right showed a couch, a number of armchairs, bookshelves, and a large fireplace. The whole floor was covered with red carpet. Max went up the mahogany stairs and headed for the study.

The study had a huge window with a view of the back of the house. It overlooked the house's swimming pool, a large field, and what seemed to be a forest in the back. The study also had a fireplace of its own, many bookshelves, armchairs with a number of books and a couch that was in front of a widescreen TV playing Cartoon Network. There was a desk near the window with a black armchair behind it and three computer screens on it.

Max grinned at the sight of the TV screen playing CN. "I can't find anything else to watch. Please sit." He motioned to the couch.

He sat on an armchair. "I'm dressed like this 'cause I have something to attend to, but I can still show you around the house. Anyways, tell me a little bit about yourself. Would you like something to drink by the way?"

Maria quickly bowed to her new boss before she started after him, doing as he said and sat down in the chair when told to. "I'm alright," she told him softly, holding up her hand a little. "Thank you though. What would you like to know about me? I have so many things but do you have anything in particular?"

Max shrugged. "Nothing really. I'd just like to get to know you."

He smiled at her and to him, she was making a very good first impression. She was polite, kind, and she seemed to be comfortable with the fact that her boss was almost the same age as her. Max rarely let people he didn't know inside his home, which meant that this took some risk.

"Why don't we start with where you live?"

With a nod, she began to softly speak. "I live on the other side of town with a few other women who work with the same company. It's just a small apartment, but we're not really there so it's alright." She smiled at Max and watched him carefully.

She was used to working for me like him, the lonely, work oriented ones. Her job for them was to just cook and leave. That was always the deal.

"I see," Max said, his legs crossed. "Well, I don't want to seem too forward, but if you want you can stay here, free of charge. There are too many rooms in this house anyway."

He checked his watch. "I'm sorry, but I must be going. I'll be back in an hour but I will be eating here. I guess this could be the best time for you to start. I'll show you the kitchen."

Grabbing his suit from his desk, he walked down stairs and showed Marie the kitchen.

"You'll find everything you need in there. Feel free to go around the house... though there is that one room locked in the third floor. Don't worry about that. Meanwhile, go ahead and think about my offer."

Another woman suddenly walks into the kitchen wearing a suit, gray skirt, glasses, and a Bluetooth headset on on ear. "We're ready, Max," she says.

"Thanks, Lisa," he replied. He turned to Marie and winked. "Have fun."

He strode off with the woman, leaving Marie alone for one whole hour in her new boss's house.

Waving sweetly to her new boss, she waited until they were out of the room before letting out a large sigh. "Finally alone," she muttered to herself and pulled out a small set of speakers and her mp3 player. Quickly, she plugged the speakers into the wall, leaving them on the table and starting up her music. With a smile, she began to search for what food he had. He had enough that she could do something with, but she just had to figure out what. She wanted to impress Max so that he would keep her there for more then a few days. She really needed this job and needed to keep it. It shouldn't be too hard to do that, it would just take some effort.

"Chicken paprikash it is then," she said happily and nodded. The next step was to start the chicken. It would take a little over an hour to make, allowing time for her to find everything, but she could definitely do it in time.

As Max got in the car with Lisa, she asked "New maid?"

"Cook," Max clarified.

"So she staying there with you?"

"Asked her if she wanted to, I dunno," replied Max, staring out the window.

"I wasn't informed of this, sir," said the driver, a man with a British accent with an athletic build like Max.

Max laughed. "Don't worry, Jeeves, she's just cooking. You're still my butler. Just can't stand your cooking anymore."

Jeeves laughed. "Fair enough, sir."

Around an hour later...

Max and Jeeves entered the house and went to the kitchen where they found Marie.

"Smells good," exclaimed Max. "Marie, I'd like you to meet my butler, bodyguard, driver, and close friend: Jeeves." Jeeves bowed to Marie in greeting.

"Jeeves, set up the table will you and make it a dinner for two," said Max. "I'll just get changed."

Maria quickly looked towards them and smiled. She nodded, even though Max spoke to Jeeves and quickly began to finish the dinner before Max returned. There was only the final stirring in of the spices and then serving it.

Max walks down the stairs in casual clothes: a jeans and a tshirt. Jeeves had finished setting up the table for two and Max went to the kitchen were he saw Marie putting in the last touches for the dish.

"You'll be eating with me, if you don't mind," Max said, leaving the kitchen and sitting down waiting for Marie.

She followed him with her eyes, blinking a little before nodding and following him out with the two plates. She gently set them on the table then looked towards Max, waiting to be told when she should sit.

"Go ahead, sit," said Max as he dug into his dinner. He called for Jeeves, whispered something to him, then Jeeves left, returning later with a bottle of wine. He poured two glasses for him and Marie.

"I just like to get to know the people I hire," Max explained. "So... a pretty girl like you must have a boyfriend right?"

Taking the wine gently, Maria nodded with a small smile. She brought it gently to her lips and took a sip before facing Max and setting the glass down. "I don't, actually," she told him softly. "I live with a few other women and when I'm not there, I'm at work. I don't get to meet a lot of people outside of work. So the only men I really know are the ones that I work for and my boss. But he's married already, so we all tend to leave him alone."

Max raised his eyebrows.

"You tend to leave him alone?"

He sipped at his glass, leaning towards her.

"And how about those who aren't married? What do you do to them?"

"We treat them very nicely," she told him, also leaning forward. "Because they normally end up paying more then married men do."

At this, Max raised an eyebrow. He glanced underneath her shirt, licking his lips at the sight of her cleavage.

He leaned towards her.

"Can you... show me?"

Maria smiled and leaned back, waving her hand towards the food. "I am," she told him happily. "This is what we do."