Maid for Me (5 page)

Naturally, Jameson Daniels had enemies. Even the Mayor could be a suspect since Jameson was a mayoral candidate.

A brilliant idea launched in Mina’s head. Instead of alerting the cops, she decided to handle this threat for the Daniels.

I don’t have what it takes to be Sherlock. But I can be a great bodyguard. Rich Boy could use someone like me by his side to handle blackmailers and kidnappers, the likes.

Mina climbed down the roof and practiced Mina-Jitsu on her front lawn, a form of martial arts she had created. Martial arts was one of Mina’s obsessions. She grew up watching Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Bruce Lee films with her father. Mina-Jitsu consisted of moves she had stolen/borrowed from the masters in the movies.

After an hour of sparring with the air, Mina belly-flopped down on the grass and closed her eyes.

I hope my plan works. I’d rather have a sex change than lose Daddy’s house to loan sharks.

The next morning, she rode her bike to North Uptown, a gated community in the city where only the wealthy lived.

According to the web sources, Jameson Daniels lived on Eighteen Richmond Lane.

With the plethora of information on the Internet, anyone who could browse the web could become a private detective.

Or a super-stalker.

Mina also discovered how she could easily infiltrate North Uptown without a special pass or an invitation from the inhabitants. All she had to do was pose as a delivery girl. She tied her unruly hair in a thick ponytail. Garbed in a black vest, white shirt, black pants and old black shoes two sizes too small for her chubby feet, Mina looked just like a waitress from a Chinese restaurant. Instead of takeout food, she had Jaiden’s cell phone in a brown paper bag.

She stopped her bike by the guard booth at the gates.

“Welcome to North Uptown. State your business please,” said a bored-looking guard inside the booth. He yawned and poked his head out to study Mina.

“I’m from Phoenix Garden Restaurant. I’m here to deliver food to Eighteen Richmond Lane,” she stuttered. Mina hoped her nose didn’t twitch too much and the guard couldn’t read body language well. She forced herself to look him straight in the eye. A trick she had learned was to stare at the area between a person’s eyes when she didn’t feel comfortable enough to make direct eye contact.

The guard tilted his head. “The Daniels ordered takeout? Strange.” The guard narrowed his eyes. Mina gulped.

“Fine. Go right ahead and take a left on the next street.”

“Thanks.” Mina smiled at the inept guard and biked in through the opened gates toward Richmond Lane. Every home she passed was an impressive looking storybook mansion, but none was as magnificent as Eighteen Richmond Lane.

Open-mouthed, Mina parked her bike in front of a large pool-fountain in the middle of an expansive stretch of green lawn. The grass beneath her feet was so green and perfectly cut, it seemed unnatural.

Dogs would kill to do their business here.

She wiped her sweaty face and eyes. The two-story mansion and side structures combined measured at least fifty-thousand square feet. Each bedroom was probably the size of her entire house.

Judging from the number of modern-styled windows, Mina estimated the second floor had at least fifteen bedrooms.

The manse was an architect’s dream, especially its Corinthian-styled pillars.

Four cars, one silver-white limo, and three motorcycles occupied the open driveway. Seeing the red sports car from yesterday, Mina knew this was exactly where Rich Boy lived.

She walked toward the twelve-foot tall white front door and rang the doorbell. Twenty seconds later, the door opened and a bald man in a black suit greeted Mina. Mina arched her neck. He had to be at least six feet three inches tall.

He bowed his head. “How may I help you?” His tone was low and raspy. His face, devoid of emotion and wrinkles, made him look robotic.

The rich could afford robot-servants, right?

He pressed his lips together, studying Mina’s outfit. “Are you the temp-maid from the agency, Miss?”

“
Uh…” Before Mina could tell the bald man no, he pulled her into the manse.

“
You’re a little early, but that’s a good sign. You also look young. Then again, looks can be deceiving. My name is Bunion and I am the Butler. You are?”

“
Mina Lin.” Mina shook the man’s massive hand.

“
A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Lin. Please follow me.”

Mina welcomed the sight of the sheer grandeur of the mansion. A long carpeted hall stood before her. To the left of the hall was a white spiraling staircase with shiny golden handrails. A diamond chandelier hung from the ceiling. Famous looking paintings lined the walls.

Isn’t that a Monet?

Walking along the hallway, Bunion showed Mina the main living room, complete with a fireplace, black leather furniture and a hundred-inch LED screen.

“
This is the Red Room. Every room in the manse has a name, by the way.”

“
Nice.” Dazed, as if she had stepped into a fairytale castle, Mina almost forgot why she was here and that she wasn’t the temp-maid the Daniels had hired.

The next stop was the Black Pool Room, an entertainment and bar room with a nine foot long red pool table in the center. A corner bar with black marble counters held an impressive collection of decades-old wines and liquors.

Next to the Black Pool Room was a gym room filled with treadmills, bikes, elliptical machines and weights that could make a stick-thin man turn into a buff beefcake.

Afterward, Bunion led Mina into a storage room filled with linens and tools. “This is where the clean linens, brooms, mops, and vacuums are. Take whatever you need here.”

Mina looked inside the closet. The amount of linens inside closet could fill a section at Macy’s.

Further down the hallway, Bunion took Mina to a room hidden behind a door disguised as a nine-foot tall painting of snow-capped mountains.

Bunion waved Mina inside the room. "Finally, this room is called the White Piano Room. This is our Young Master’s favorite room.”

Rich Boy’s favorite room?
Mina inspected every corner of the White Piano Room. In the center of the room rested a white grand-piano. To the far left was a long lounging cream sofa next to a crystal-surfaced coffee table. Atop the table was a beautiful porcelain vase filled with fragrant white orchids with purplish-red centers.

“Since you’ll be the Young Master’s maid, there are some rules you shall follow. First, make sure this room is spotless everyday. The Young Master will not play the piano if the keys are oily.”

“Got it.”
That’s right, Min. Just play along. Being a Daniels’s maid will make everything else easier. Being Rich Boy’s maid? Even better!

“Next. The Young Master wakes up every morning at exactly nine. By nine-thirty, his breakfast must be in his bedroom. Sometimes, the Young Master eats in the dining room or the gardens. Let me show you the kitchen and then we’ll go to the second floor.”

Bunion led Mina into the kitchen at the end of the hallway.

Mina wondered if the Daniels had imported a kitchen from a five-star hotel. The large walk-in stainless steel refrigerator in the center of the kitchen could house a small family, Mina mused.
Bigger than an igloo!

Busy chefs hustled around the kitchen as if they were late in preparing a feast for a royal family. Bunion whistled as he popped a ripe strawberry into his mouth. He introduced Mina to the other employees. Then he handed Mina a heavy platter.

“
Every morning, make sure the platter is complete with coffee, grapefruit juice, bird’s nest congee, brown sugar on sliced avocado and honey on toast. Check, check, and check. Got it?”

Mina thought all the food on the platter seemed too delicate for a young man. Maybe she should taste-test the food for him first. She licked her lips. “I got it.”

“The agency had said you were the best of the best. The Young Master may be picky, but I’m sure you’ll do a fine job. I can tell because you even brought your own uniform.” Bunion winked.

Mina grinned. Lady Luck finally liked her. “Just how picky is Jaiden?”

Bunion waggled his finger. “You must address him as your
Young Master
.”

You’re kidding right
, Mina wanted to say.

“Let’s just say you’re the tenth maid hired for him this year.” Bunion sighed before he became expressionless. “Do you have any other questions?”

Nose twitching, Mina beamed. “Since I’m a professional maid, I have no questions.” She covered the platter with a lid before balancing it on her arms, marching out of the kitchen behind Bunion.

I’m a pro-maid, thanks to all the pro-bono maid training I get at home.

“Let’s go upstairs then,” Bunion said.

At the top of the spiraling stairway, Mina stepped onto a long hallway, her feet sinking into plush royal blue carpeting. Water flowed down the stone walls—waterfall walls. Mina arched her neck up and looked at the ceiling, a holographic projection displaying the real-time sky.

“The last room to the left is the Young Master’s room. At this time, he should be expecting his breakfast.”

Mina bowed her head and smiled. “Alright. Thanks, Bunion.”

“
You’re welcome. See you later and good luck.”

Bunion made his way down the stairs, leaving Mina alone in front of Jaiden’s bedroom. She inhaled three deep breaths and braced herself to confront the guy who had almost killed her yesterday.

Will he recognize me?
She knocked on the door and pushed it open, not waiting for an answer from him.

Fifteen minutes ago, Jaiden stretched his arms overhead and rolled out of bed. Having spent the entire day with Madison yesterday, he overslept this morning.

And all they did was shop, talk, and eat.

Never in his life had he carried ten filled shopping bags in each arm and walked through the Uptown like the socialite’s personal assistant.

If asked, he would admit he had expected to do something else fun adults did with Madi. He wasn’t exactly disappointed, but he would never have guessed that in Madison’s book, adults went shopping for fun. After shopping, they had lunch, dinner, and midnight dessert. She didn’t leave him alone until one in the morning.

He took a quick shower in the bathroom adjacent to his bedroom. He combed his hair, shaved his face and brushed his teeth. Fifteen minutes later, he entered his bedroom, wearing nothing but a dark blue towel wrapped around his torso and thighs.

Jaiden had forgotten a temp-maid would come in today, having been maid-less for the past week. About to remove the towel to change into fresh clothes, he heard a gasp. At his doorway stood a wavy-haired, openmouthed female pervert. She dropped his breakfast platter and bolted away.

Jaiden grumbled, clumsily putting on his clothes. Three minutes later, red as a beet, he stormed outside to confront his highly unprofessional new maid.

*FIVE*

Mina stood at the end of the hallway with her legs shoulder-width apart. She positioned her hands to fight. She had no idea why she felt so embarrassed. So what if Rich Boy had six-pack abs and muscular legs? So what if she had almost seen him completely nudey-pants? And so what if she stared at his body agape for a little too long?

Calm down, Mina!

Jaiden squinted. Glaring at Mina, recognition sparked in his eyes.

“Are you stalking me? Five hundred dollars wasn’t enough? You know I can easily have you arrested for trespassing on private property.”

Mina relaxed herself and reached into her pant pocket for the bag with Jaiden’s cell phone. She took the phone out and waved it. “I came to give this back to you.”

Jaiden grabbed his cell phone out of her hand.