It was Clariss who first acknowledged her. The woman smiled brightly as if she hadn't shown any animosity toward Emily in the past. Then she approached the kitchen door.

"Hey," she said to Emily.

Emily stared with wide questioning eyes. The woman's demeanor was such a complete opposite of her previous ones. What the hell is this skunk planning, Emily thought to herself. She wasn't one to go about judging people but once given cause, she'd think of the worst.

If this skank starts something I may not be able to control myself, Emily mused. Just leave already, she thought further.

When Clariss remained in front of her smiling, various scenarios played out in Emily's head. Drowning the woman in a fit of rage was one of them.

Emily had been lost in her thoughts when she suddenly became aware of Oliver's eyes on her. The man was standing with other workers near the kitchen window with a chocolate-coated apple in his hand. She felt a pang of discomfort when she saw him approaching. Without a moment's hesitation, she pushed Clariss aside, almost rudely, to make way for herself through the narrow kitchen doorway.

She laboriously made her way towards the kitchen counter, squeezing her body against the many people crammed in the kitchen, unsure where to go. Then her eyes darted towards the coffee maker. She needed something to distract her from everyone's presence. So she brought the coffee machine to life then reached for a piece of bread lying beside it and then grabbed a bottle of jam from the hanging cabinet above the counter. She started to spread jam over the bread using a butter knife, the rhythmic motion of her hand providing a sense of calm.

But when her mind drifted to the day before, the discomfort it gave her made her drop the bread and stick the butter knife on it.

"That thing is innocent you know."

Emily gritted her teeth when she heard Oliver from behind her. She spun around and then glared at him.

"I don't need to talk to you. You don't have to talk to me," was all she said as she sidestepped and walked past Oliver almost colliding with another person who was on their way to the coffee machine.

With anger boiling inside her Emily strode into the cramped and overpopulated kitchen, her eyes scanning the room for the quickest route to the exit. She deftly navigated through the throngs of people, her movements fluid and graceful.

To hell with him and everyone in this Manor, she thought to herself. Internally cursing Oliver.

Just as she was about to reach the kitchen door, a familiar voice called out her name, halting her in her tracks. She turned around to see Clariss, the same woman who had given her nothing but disdain in the past, now wearing a kind expression on her face.

Emily was taken aback by the sudden change in attitude and couldn't help but ask herself, What the hell is this woman up to?

She watched with eyes wide as saucers as Clariss approached her, smiling brightly. But what truly got Emily curious was the apple she had in her hand. Upon reaching her, Clariss held out the apple to her and said, "Here is a peace offering. I know I've been a bitch but peace within our surroundings will make our job easier."

When Clariss finished her sentence the people inside the kitchen - whom Emily suspected had been listening from the moment Clariss uttered her first words - turned and looked at Emily. Their eyes were fixed on her clearly waiting for her response.

Great. Just great, Emily thought to herself. She wasn't naive. There's no way someone like Clariss who held a deep animosity toward her would just wake up one day and say, Hey let's be friends.

But as the gaze of the people around the room weighed down on her she felt like she had no choice but to smile and pretend like she accepted Clariss's friendship. Unfortunately, she couldn't accept the apple. Not that she disliked chocolate-coated apples but she smelled something in them. Something that she couldn't let her mouth touch no matter what. Alcohol.

Just as the thought registered in her head. It finally dawned on her what Clariss was planning. This bitch, Emily thought in anger.

Emily's mind raced as she stood there, staring at the apple. She knew that it was laced with alcohol, and the temptation to take a bite was almost overwhelming. That was probably something Clariss knew. Bitch, Emily cursed mentally again.

But she wanted the other workers to see her for her talent and how good she was at what she does and erase the fog her alcohol addiction wrapped on her reputation. She had to take the apple. However, a part of her knew that doing so would be a mistake.

She was torn between the desire to fit in with her coworkers - except with Oliver and all the men who made a joke out of her yesterday - on the manor, and the need to maintain her sobriety. Even a small sip of alcohol could cause everything she had worked for in the past three years to go tumbling down. God knows how high the percentage of alcohol that she had mixed in that chocolate, Emily cursed.

As she stood there, battling with herself, Emily could feel the eyes of everyone on her. They were all watching, waiting to see what she would do. If she took the apple, she would be seen as just another one of them, someone who was willing to compromise for the sake of the team and leave them with a good impression. But if she refused, she risked coming across as aloof and stuck up, someone who thought she was better than everyone else. But worst, fall into alcohol addiction again.

For a moment, Emily wavered, unsure of what to do. But then she took a deep breath and made her decision. With a polite smile, she took the apple. She planned on throwing it in the trash somewhere. But when she turned to exit the kitchen, she heard Clariss yell, "Emily why don't you take a bite right here and tell me what you think of it?"

This bitch! Emily cursed internally.

She turned around and smiled at Clariss. But in her heart, she wanted to storm over the kitchen counter, grab a knife and sheath it on the woman's neck. "I'm not really hungry, Clariss. I'll take it with me to the third floor and save it for later," she said politely, bile almost rising from her gut to her mouth at the absurdity of it all. She wasn't a pretentious person but damn she needed to make everything work with this project.

"Aww. You're hurting my feelings Em. That chocolate-coated apple is a delicacy of my town, and the recipe for the chocolate I used to coat that Apple with was something my dead grandmother thought me." Clariss then turned to the people inside the kitchen, tears almost spilling out from her eyes. "She can just say she doesn't like it. I feel like she's planning on throwing it away. Besides, we've all read the article about Emily Hudson's hate for sweet things, right? She said in an interview once that she'd accept the sweets but throw them away once given the opportunity."

Murmur erupted inside the kitchen and Emily was nearing the end of her patience. This bitch. This bitch. This bitch! Her mind repeated the words over and over wishing she could telepathically send them to Clariss and drown her with them.

"If that was the case then why pressure her into eating one?" The people inside made a commotion as Jasper stepped into the kitchen.

Emily released the breath she held when she saw the man. Thank God, she thought to herself.

Clariss and the rest fell silent. Not a word was thrown as Jasper walked to where Emily was. When he fell to a step beside her, he turned to look at the people inside the kitchen and said, "Shouldn't you all be outside by now?"

In an instant, hurried footsteps, murmur, and scattering of utensils rang around the kitchen as everyone scampered towards the exit.

When it was just Emily and Jasper left inside, the man smiled at her, took the apple from her hand, and said, "I know what she did to the apple. I apologize Miss Hudson."

Emily smiled and said, "It's okay."

"But you almost fell for it," Jasper retorted.

Emily took a deep breath. "Almost. But I had it under control."

Jasper stared at her a moment longer, and it felt to Emily like the man wanted to say something more. So she egged him to speak by asking, "Is there something else you wanted to talk about?"

Jasper sighed. "I heard about what happened yesterday and I apologize for that too."

Emily's eyes turned wide. Then she smiled. "That wasn't your fault."

"The workers here are under my supervision. Whatever happens here is my fault. I'm sorry for what they did, Emily. I guess I have myself to blame for that. Truth be told I was prejudiced when the company said that they hired you. I thought it was a mistake." He took a step back and then bowed. "I apologize for the judgment and for allowing that to be seen by the others. That was perhaps what gave them the courage to have done what they did to you."

Emily wanted to jump and hug the man. She wanted to cry and tell him that his words meant the world to her. She wanted to shout that having someone finally see past her alcohol addiction lifted some of the weight inside her. But she didn't. She instead smiled, bowed her head too, and said, "Thank you."

Jasper smiled at her. "Well, with that said. I think it's time for you to roam the grounds outside. I believe you haven't had the chance to look at the gardens here."

Emily shook her head. "I have to start working on the third floor. I've already lost a lot of time and I..."

"Miss Hudson," Jasper cut her off. "You're in distress since yesterday and adding what happened moments ago, I believe you're not in the mood or would have the inspiration to work your magic on the third floor."

"B-But I...I have."

"Take a breath, Miss Hudson. The third floor is not going anywhere. Work on it tomorrow. "

After that Jasper bid her goodbye and made his exit leaving Emily wondering why it seemed like she was on a vacation rather than a job. She hadn't done any work since she got there. But... Emily threw a glance at the window and looked past the shining glass, But it didn't seem like a bad idea to check the gardens. She thought to herself.

So she took a deep breath and stepped toward the kitchen door, unaware of the entity who had been standing beside her all along, silently seething with anger.