Melody's POV

Tia gives me a uniform and says, "I don't know how you got this job. There are a few things that you should know about working for the family. No one is allowed near Hunter's wing. He doesn't appreciate strangers in his personal space. You're a stranger, which means you can't get close to him."

That's not how I got off the plane with Hunter an hour ago.

Suri walks into the house and looks at the woman behind me. "What are you doing here, Tia?" She grits out between clenched teeth.

Tia stands taller and looks Suri in the eyes before saying. "I'm working. Your mother has employed me since I was a young girl."

No wonder she's acting like an entitled bitch.

"I know." Suri crosses her arms. "My brother and I didn't invite you here to clean for us. How did you hear about us coming here?"

"I have my ways," she tells us honestly. Your mother wouldn't be happy if she learned that I was told to stay away from the house after I found out that you were here."

Taking a step closer to Tia, Suri says. "All I have to do is call my mother and complain about you. You will be fired before nightfall. Things will be different this time around. Gather everyone in the kitchen in fifteen minutes. That's when I will be assigning everyone to a job. I don't want any complaints about where you will be. Go, now." Suri dismisses Tia.

Tia shoots me a disdainful glare before rushing out of the room.

That's the last thing I need. Having someone like Tia pissed at me for something that's out of my control.

Suri holds her hand towards me. "Hi, I'm Suri, and you are?"

A smile spreads across my face as I play along with her. "Hi, I'm Keegan. Thanks for letting me work here for the winter break."

Suri lowers her voice. "You should thank my Big Brother." Her voice returns to normal. "I'll show you around. Then we'll go to the kitchen, where I give everyone their assignments." She leads me away from the front door to a foyer with two separate stairwells leading to the second story.
There are portraits of family members hanging on the wall. Some of them look like they are from the 1700s.

A smile spreads across Suri's face as she looks at the picture that's captured my attention. "That's Nicholas. He's my something great-grandfather, the original owner of this place. This place has been in our family since the early 1700s. It's been through a lot: rebuilding, fires, wars, and people stealing it from my family, but they fought back just to keep it in our family. My family helped expand this place to its current glory."

She points out different things as we move throughout the mansion and tells me a story about it.

Hunter enters the house as we make our way to the kitchen. He brushes his arm against my shoulders. "I will be seeing you soon, Keegan." Hunter winks at me before heading to the West Wing.

Turning towards Suri, I ask. "What does he mean by that?"

Suri laughs. "I can't tell you yet, but you'll find out soon. This place is huge, so we need staff to work in different areas to keep it clean. There's plenty of time for you also to hit the slopes." She pushes the door to the kitchen open, and we stand before a room full of chefs and maids.

Tia stands at the front with five women who look like they know the house very well. "Miss Westbrook, I want to work in Hunter's Wing this time."

Moving towards the maids, I stand with them and turn my attention to Suri.

Suri steps forward. "This time, things will be different. Hunter decided to hire some extra help because he wants a change from the usual workers who have been with us for a long time."

"No," Tia says. "It's not fair that we're going to lose our jobs to incompetent people."

"You don't know anything about the employees, Tia," Suri says. "We chose the ones we think will make a difference to our stay here. Sometimes it's good to have a change and not keep repeating the same things every time we come here."

"But,"

Suri cuts her off. The assignments are as follows. Tia, you will work in the North Wing with Jasmine, Viviane, Eliza and Thalia."

"No," Tia shakes her head. "I don't want to work in Ayden's Wing. He's not going to leave me alone."

"If you don't want to work in Ayden's Wing, you can work in the kitchen."

"No," Tia stamps her foot on the tiles. "I want to work in Hunter's."

"Too bad," Suri says. "Those spots are reserved for someone else. If you don't like it, please let the door hit you on the ass on the way out."

"Fine, I'll stay cause I need the money." Tia looks around the room. "I will make the life of whoever is working in Hunter's wing a living hell." She vows.

Suri takes a step towards Tia and pulls her close to her face. "You will do no such thing to the person in my brother's Wing. If you do, I will make sure that you regret costing this person."

I'd be scared if I didn't know Suri.

Tia nods. "Okay," she whispers,

Suri moves away from Tia and then looks back at the list. "Arden, Dean, Michelle, Nolan, Jessica, Beatrice, and Lola, you will all be working in the kitchen."

Looking around the room, I noticed all those people were wearing chef uniforms.

A man with blonde hair and blue eyes looks at Suri. "Miss Westbrook, I'll take my team now, and we will start working on the menu for dinner."

"Thank you, Chef Dean. You may take your team. Please show me the menu before you start making it."

"I will, Miss Westbrook." Dean turns towards his team. "Let's start work."

The group walks out of the kitchen, leaving the rest of us to find out our assignments.

Suri looks back at the piece of paper. "In the South Wing, we have Bianca, Liana, Heather, Tori and Cathy. We have Diana, Zara, Naomi and Mina in the East Wing. Finally, in the West Wing, we have Keegan."

Tia steps forward. "She's the one you choose to do everything in the West Wing. Are you crazy?"

A smile spreads across Suri's face. "I trust her with my brother. Everyone else needs to stay away from his wing." She claps her hands. "You are all dismissed. Get dressed and start working."

When I walk out of the kitchen, I crash into Hunter, and before I fall, he catches me. Under my hands, I feel his muscles under the shirt he's wearing. "Sorry," I say, looking into his brown eyes. Are you here to escort me to your wing?"

"Right," a smile spreads across his face. "Follow me to the West Wing. I will be dining in the West Wing tonight, and you will join me."

Someone gasps behind us, and I see that it's Tia. "Why is she getting all the privilege and we're left picking up the shit, Hunter?"

Hunter turns towards her. "Tia, I didn't ask you to work here for the winter break because I am sick of how you control who works closely with me. Mom employed your parents because they needed the work, and they took you on once they couldn't work anymore. Since then, you've been nothing but trouble. You're not entitled to anything from my family. You work for us and that's it. No one from my family will marry you. Use your body, yes, that's exactly what Ayden does to you, and it looks like you want more than having a friends-with-benefits type of relationship."

Tia raises her hand and is about to hit Hunter. I blocked her arm. "You should leave Tia. It's not wise to raise your hand to your boss. If Miss Westbrook finds out about this, there will be a problem."

At that moment, Suri steps out of the kitchen, and her mouth drops open at what's happening in front of her. "Tia, this is the first warning I'm giving you. If you do anything else, I will tell my mother why we got rid of you."

"Argh," Tia screams before walking away from us.

Suri steps next to her brother with a smile on her face.  "I knew I chose the perfect woman for you." She winks at her brother before heading towards her wing.

"Your bags have been delivered to your room. I want breakfast at 8 a.m. sharp, not a minute later."

"Okay, is there anything else I need to know?"

"A list of rules has been put on your bed. My wing will be easy for you to do alone, as I don't have much in it. You'll work at least four hours a day. After your shift, you can have free time, be back before it gets too dark." Hunter looks around before saying. "You will find the access code on a piece of paper in your room. Don't show it to anyone. No one will have access except for Suri and you."

We stop before a door with a small box connected. He types in some number before the door swings open, letting us in.

Once inside the West Wing, I see pictures of Hunter holding a trophy and some awards from the business he runs. One picture stands out the most: it's of him with Suri, and they are standing before the Golden Gate Bridge with fireworks behind them.

Hunter touches my back. "I'll show you to your room." He leads me towards a small hall with two rooms close to each other. One is at the end of the hall, while the other is on the right side.

When we get to my room, I open the door to find a king-sized bed close to the window and a nightstand on the opposite side, both with lamps. The bed are unmade.

I will have to do that.

"Find me once you've finished your chores, Miss Jennings."

"I will see you then." I quickly shower and then change into my work clothes. Walking over to the closet, I see linen on the second shelf. Grabbing them, they have the fresh scent of being washed recently. I make my bed quickly before dusting the surfaces and moving onto Hunter's room.

Knocking on the door, I wait for Hunter's voice. When it doesn't come, I open the door slightly and say, "Mr Westbrook, I'm here to make the bed." I move over to the closet, pick out a light blue sheet set, and start making the bed.

After the bed is made, I dust the room and then open closets until I find a mop, bucket, and vacuum cleaner. I vacuum the floors and then mop them before moving to the kitchen and cleaning the outside of everything.

Hunter has his own kitchen, so it's no wonder he doesn't want to join everyone for their meals.

After cleaning everything, I find Hunter sitting outside on the balcony with a heater directly behind him. I open the door. "Mr Westbrook, I've finished cleaning the wing."

"Good," Hunter says, looking up from his laptop. I want you to shower and dress nicely for dinner. I will have someone bring us food while you get ready. When we're in the privacy of my Wing, I want you to call me Hunter. None of that, Mr. Westbrook bullshit."

"Yes, Sir," I salute him before heading to my room to get ready.