Chapter 7 Chapter Six

• Getting to the kitchen, he saw Paulina discussing with a maid, he had passed the dinning table and had seen that breakfast is ready, two maids were adding the finishing touches but none of them was the person he wanted to see and now in the kitchen, he couldn't find her either.
• "Good morning master Shane" Paulina greeted when she saw him, causing Nora to look back at him, a tiny blush appeared on her cheeks as she remembered the sight she saw him in this morning.
• Ah, the blushing maid, Shane noticed when she looked at him but ignored her and answered to Paulina "good morning to you too Paulina."
• "Sir, is there anything I can help you with?" Paulina asked, surprised to see him in the kitchen.
• "Yes, I'm looking for Lillian, I need her to help me with the studio."
• "Sir wants to clean it up?" Paulina asked more surprised.
• "Yes."
• "Madam is with the key, don't worry sir, I would ask her for it when she comes down for breakfast."
• "I already got the key from mom Paulina."
• "Oh, then sir should just leave it with me, I will assign Lillian and some others to have it cleaned up for you."
• "Thank you Paulina but I want to do it myself. A lot of my father's valuables are in there, only I can know which."
• "Then if sir wants it like that, then so be it. Breakfast is ready, won't sir be eating first?"
• "No not yet. Just send Lillian to meet me there with a bucket and a mop or something."
• "I can help you sir, as the oldest of the young maids, it's my duty to serve you" Nora butted in.
• Shane looked at her not knowing what to say, the girl is finally turning into a leech, "I em, I already asked for Lillian."
• "But Lillian is not available now sir."
• Shane frowned, "why isn't she available?" It's not been long she left his mother's room, he wondered.
• "Well em...em... she...she..."
• "You go on ahead Sir, I will send Lillian to come find you immediately" Paulina smiled.
• "Thank you Paulina" Shane muttered and left through the kitchen door.
• Paulina turned to glare at Nora who had her head bowed, "mind the games you are playing Nora. I don't know what you are hoping to achieve, first you rushed this morning to dress his bed which I'm sure you woke him up with your knocks, then you left without cleaning it, leaving it for the others to do. Now you want to force yourself into working with him, I don't want to assume but don't let my assumptions be true, is that clear?"
• "Yes Mrs. Paulina" she nodded while the older woman turned and got herself busy.
• "Go call Lillian for me."
• "Yes" Nora nodded and left the kitchen.
• Lillian was shocked when she was told by Mrs. Paulina that master Shane wants her to help him in cleaning the studio. She couldn't stop herself from thinking about last night, wondering if he was cleaning it for her sake. God, can it be true?
• As she walked to the studio, her mind was occupied with bizarre thoughts like Shane being attracted to her and all that. Even she herself knew it can't be possible. When she approached the studio, she turned the doorknob and for the first time since she arrived there, she hadn't been much happy as she was when the door opened.
• She was met with a cloud of dust and male's coughs, even she had to fan the air from her face for her to see clearly. Then she dropped the cleaning utensils she was carrying and rushed immediately to open all the windows, turning back, she saw Shane gazing at her with a small smile playing on his lips, she looked down quickly to avoid her mind from storing the beautiful sight in her memory, "I'm sorry sir but you forgot to open the windows."
• "Indeed" Shane chuckled, "it's good you arrived just in time, if not I might have been choked to death by dust."
• A small smile appeared on her lips at his humor, "sir could have just ran out if worst comes to happen."
• "Right, I forgot about that too."
• Lilly's smile was now obvious but she was at lost on what to say, she looked around the now cleared from dust studio, "if I'm permitted to ask sir, why did you suddenly want to clean this place?" She asked but unable to hide the happiness in her voice.
• Shane smiled, he knew she would be ecstatic, he joined her in looking around the studio, although really dirty but one could see that when cleaned up, it will be a sight to behold, "to be honest with you, I wanted to have it removed yesterday."
• Lilly swung her head to his side in shock, "why would you want to do that?"
• "It hold a lot of memories for me, a lot of my father and" he looked at her "of you."
• Lilly looked down, her feet suddenly had a mystery to it that she would prefer sorting out than looking at his face.
• "Do you remember the day I brought you here?" His voice rang in soft whisper and she nodded, "do you remember that beautiful bird he was painting?" With another nod from her, he smiled, "later in night I came back here and drew a little thing beside the bird, do you know what it was?"
• Lilly finally looked up to him and shook her head, he chuckled and moved to the big wooden shelf, "after taking the whole day to ask him to gift it to me, he finally agreed but I didn't want it for myself. You loved the painting so much that you couldn't get your eyes off of it. You even said, 'come on baby bird, fly away'" he chuckled, "you seemed to forgot that it was a painting and it's lifeless" he continued as he kept searching for something in the shelf.
• Lilly hold no memories of what he just said, she knew she loved the bird and she remembers it but she just can't recall asking it to fly away, how could a painting fly away? She must sound really stupid then. But cut her some slack, she was only five.
• "Ah, here it is" Shane's voice disrupted her thought, she looked at him to see him blowing off dust from a folded canvas, he turned and handed it to her with a small smile, "open it."
• Lilly took it from him, her eyes hardly leaving his face as she unknot the thin rope holding it in place, she sprayed the canvas into it's full size to reveal a beautiful painting of a rainbow feathered bird, besides it was a drawing of a white lily flower and then at the edge was written 'for you my little flower' her heart became water as she read it. It melted in her chest and then it flowed to his feet. She looked up at him with countless emotions in her eyes.
• Shane shrugged and looked away from her, he was suddenly too shy to withstand the look she gave him, "I know I will not take credit for the painting but as it was gifted to me by my father, it has automatically become mine. I drew the flower, wanting to give it you when you become older, say fifteen or thereabout but I never expected the next day to be the last day I will see you, until yesterday" he sighed, "you can keep it now, it was intentionally left for you so..." He shrugged once more, what is wrong with him?
• Lilly opened her mouth to speak but she was devoid of words and she did the first that came to her mind, she walked up to him and hugged him.
• Shane was shocked at the action, never in one million years did he expect her to hug him. Oh but it's been so long he had her in his arms, he curled his arms at the small of her back, burying his face in the nape of her neck, breathing in her natural scent that smells just like a lily.
• His breathing on her neck woke Lilly from her childhood memories, she stiffened, not knowing what to do as she realized she was hugging him and not just that, he was hugging her too. The thought of what would happen if anybody see them now made her jumped back like she has been burnt, "I'm so sorry sir, I didn't mean to, I was just...I'm so sorry....please forgive me" she let out series of apologizes.
• Shane who had been taken aback by how quickly she left his arms just as he was enjoying the feeling of holding her again, was a little hurt when he heard her apologizes. Now, he would be apologized to because she hugged him when she used to do that a lot back in the days. He cleared his throat to hide the hurt he felt, "it's fine. Get em...the...the bucket and towel, there is a restroom here, get water there and let's begin with the clean up" he turned to the shelf and started arranging it, not wanting to look at her for the moment.
• Lilly wanted to say something but she didn't know how to, watching his back as he got busy with the shelf, she couldn't help imagining how good it felt to be in his arms, his chest was strong and his cologne so lured her in. Realizing her thoughts, she rushed out immediately to pick up the cleaning utensils she dropped, she then entered the restroom to fill the bucket with water.
• Shane watched her from the corner of his eyes, he didn't know why he was feeling hurt. In truth, she shouldn't have hugged him in the first place, he is her master and she is the maid, it's right for her to apologize but why does he feel hurt she did? Why does he want to join her in that restroom and drag her into his arms? Why did he feel at peace when she was in his arms? Why is her flowery scent itching his nostrils and burning his throat? Why? Why? Why? Why is he thinking about all this and feeling like this? What in the world is happening to him?
• He was still lost in his thoughts with his whys, his face in a frown when Lilly came out from the bathroom, seeing the frown on his face, her heart missed a beat, is he thinking of the punishment to bestow on her for hugging him? "Sir?" She called, not sure about her stance with him anymore, is he going to berate her now?
• Her soft voice sipped into his thoughts and he looked at her, seeing the guilty and fearful look on her face, his frown deepened, "why are you looking like that?"
• "Sir, about earlier, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to..."
• "In case you have forgotten, I hugged you a lot when you were little. I don't know why you are so worked up about earlier, you have already apologized and I said it's okay. If you apologize one more time, I will be forced to punish you, is that clear flower?" He interrupted with a stoic face.
• "Ye-yes sir" she bowed.
• Realizing what he called her at the end of his warning, Shane sighed, is he ever going to stop calling her that?
• "But sir, you seem to have forgotten, my-my name is Lillian sir" Lilly thought she had to remind him, it's not that she doesn't like him calling her flower but that it will be a great risk to her job should anybody hear him. She can't afford to lose this job, it's her only source of raising money for her mother's surgery and her education.
• Shane smiled when he heard her, his previous anger already forgotten, "but I have been calling you that for a long time, it won't be easy to drop."
• "But sir, I was only a little girl then, I don't want ma'am..."
• "Don't worry, I won't address you like that in the presence of anybody, just the two of us. How about that flower, it will be our little secret" he winked when she looked up at him.
• Lilly was lost, their secret? Why does it sound like a taboo and at the same time alluring? Unknowingly, a smile curved on her lips.
• Seeing her smile, Shane knew she agreed and he let out the breath he had no idea he was holding, "now, with that decided, let's clean this place up."
• "Yes sir" Lilly nodded, bringing forth the bucket filled to half with water and the towels, along with the detergent and others. She had no idea that simply agreeing to be called flower by him will bring her many sleepless nights with her thoughts all about him.
• Shane took a dampened towel to clean the shelves while Lilly focused on the floor, sweeping and mopping. It was such a rare sight to observers, a boss and a maid cleaning an old studio that hold much memories to them. They were just like little lovers or so it appeared to the person that came in, hoping to help but ending up leaving without being seen.