Chapter 14 Picking a Maid
He bowed deeply, thanking me again and saying I was too nice. His posture was a bit stiff, as if he still wasn’t used to expressing gratitude, but it was genuine enough to make me smile. As he straightened, he cleared his throat and asked, “So… when should we go to the courthouse?”
I blinked, momentarily forgetting that was even on today’s to-do list. “Are you going right away?” I asked, tightening my towel around my shoulders.
He shook his head. “No, ma’am. I’ll be going in the afternoon.”
“Alright,” I said, doing a quick mental calculation and stretching my neck. “Then we’ll go in about two hours.”
He nodded respectfully. “Okay.”
He turned as if to leave, his hand reaching for the doorknob, but then he paused. His fingers curled back, and he shifted awkwardly, almost nervously, before reaching into his pocket. He brought out his phone and held it in both hands like he was presenting a sacred relic.
“I actually have something to show you,” he said.
I frowned slightly, puzzled. “What is it?”
“Well…” He scratched his cheek. “Do you remember you assigned me to look for maids for you?”
I nodded. “Yes, I remember.”
His shoulders relaxed a little, relieved I hadn’t forgotten. “Good. Because I found five candidates I believe are up to the task. You just need to choose one from them.”
“Alright,” I said, taking the phone he offered.
On the screen was a simple slideshow of candidate profiles. The first slide displayed a woman in her early thirties, her age neatly written in the corner. She had a sharp, professional look, almost too sharp. Something about her expression felt a bit too eager or too polished. Without thinking twice, I swiped left.
The next woman was a half-Asian lady in her late twenties. She looked elegant, poised, almost like she was applying for a modeling gig rather than a maid position. Her hair was styled immaculately, her smile graceful. But still… something didn’t click. I swiped left again.
The third slide revealed a nineteen-year-old girl with her hair tied in a clean black ponytail. She looked timid but determined, the type that tried her best at everything. Too best, maybe. I shook my head immediately.
“No way,” I muttered under my breath. “She’s too young to be doing this sort of thing.”
Her appearance reminded me too much of Felicia, bright-eyed, innocent, and not someone I’d ever want working under the pressure of my household. I swiped again.
The fourth candidate appeared, and I instantly burst out laughing. She was a grumpy-looking woman aged forty, with an expression so sour it was almost cartoonish. Her eyebrows were permanently knitted together like she resented the camera for existing.
“She looks like someone who’d be easily compromised,” I said through my laughter.
Eric stayed quiet behind me, either amused or trying very hard not to show it.
I sighed and was about to hand the phone back, ready to give up on all four, when I swiped one last time.
The fifth and final slide appeared.
A blonde-haired girl, mid-smile—or maybe half-smile. Honestly, she wasn’t as attractive as the others, and she had this sheepish, goofy expression that made her look like she wasn’t even sure why she was taking the picture in the first place. Her posture was awkward, her grin lopsided, and her eyes unfocused like someone had called her name mid-photo.
But something about her…
Something about her felt real.
She didn’t look pretentious. She didn’t look like she was trying to impress anyone. She didn’t even seem aware she was being evaluated for a job.
I glanced at her age.
Twenty-four.
Not too young. Not too old. A good age range. But it wasn’t the number that hooked me, just the odd spark she gave off. The others felt rehearsed or predictable. She felt… unpredictable.
I didn’t know why, but she piqued my interest more than all the polished candidates combined.
I turned the phone toward Eric. “Tell me about this one.”
Eric’s mouth curled upward in surprise, his eyebrows raising almost to his slicked-back hairline. “Honestly, ma’am, I would never have guessed you’d choose the last girl.”
“Well, I did,” I said simply. “So, talk.”
He leaned forward a bit, slipping into a more informative tone. “Her name is Anna. She was formerly a CIA agent.”
My jaw actually dropped a little. “A CIA agent?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Why is she no longer a CIA agent?”
He cleared his throat and clasped his hands behind his back. “According to her file, she joined at a very young age due to her exceptional skillset. She was one of their special recruits. But after some years, she simply… resigned. Said she wanted to leave the agency life behind.”
I stared at the goofy smiling girl on the phone screen again. This girl? CIA? It felt surreal. She didn’t even look like she knew where the camera lens was.
Eric continued, “There’s something else.”
“What?”
“She’s a quirk user.”
That made me blink again. “A quirk user? What kind of quirk?”
He straightened his posture. “Her blood can cause an explosion.”
I looked up sharply. “Her blood explodes?”
“Yes, ma’am. When activated or exposed under specific conditions. The details are redacted, but that’s the general information available. She’s been monitored before, but she has full control over it now.”
I looked back at her picture on the phone.
A twenty-four-year-old ex-CIA agent with explosive blood… smiling like someone who just accidentally photobombed her own application picture.
I couldn’t help it.
I smiled.
Something inside me whispered that this girl was going to be interesting.
Very, very interesting.