Chapter 78 Strange.
For the first time in years, I couldn't concentrate on my work.
The documents spread neatly across my desk blurred together no matter how many times I read them. Numbers that would normally snap into place like obedient soldiers now floated uselessly in my mind.
My thoughts kept drifting—uninvited and persistent—to my housemaid Ashely.
I leaned back in my chair, pinching the bridge of my nose as if that would somehow force my brain back on track. This was ridiculous. I had far more important things to think about than my housemaid who I find very very strange.
And yet, there was something about her that didn’t sit right with me. I still cant get over the fact that she turned out to be younger by some magic when her profile clearly showed that she was an older woman with two years experience.
Thinking about it, I still can't seem to get over the shock. This is beyond strange. I can't believe I hired her without checking probably to be sure that she wasn't an imposter.
What's wrong with me?!
I was still hoping that this might be some prank created by Adrian to annoy me, and I was kind of waiting for the real Ashely to show up, but of course she hasn't which made the whole situation more complicated.
But she also proved to be Ashely Adams when she showed me the text I sent to her that day.
That alone should’ve been enough to make me reconsider hiring her.
But then there was the experience she claimed to have. Her profile says two years, but during the interview she didn't tell me the exact years which is also suspicious. But she said she had enough experience.
And yet she couldn’t prepare a simple breakfast without nearly burning my kitchen down.
I still remembered the smell of smoke, and I shuddered at the fact that if I hadn't gone there in time, what happened could have been worse.
Old woman profile picture. Suddenly young. Two years of experience. Can’t cook eggs without chaos.
Something was off.
I shook my head and straightened in my chair, forcing my attention back to the open file on my desk. Maybe I was just overthinking things. I had a habit of analyzing everything—people included. Years in business had taught me to look for hidden motives and fine print, even where none existed.
Ashley was probably just new and nervous. Maybe she's having difficulty settling into an unknown place. I shouldn't make things hard for her.
I should ask about her family, but I don't want to pry. I think at this point, it's better I leave things as it is.
By the time evening rolled around, I was exhausted and hungry. I barely ate this morning and was too busy overthinking about Ashely to think about food.
I better head home and make something for myself because I don't expect Ashely to prepare anything. If she tries, that might mean I am headed home to a completely ruined apartment.
The moment I stepped inside my house, my heart nearly stopped. My apartment was truly ruined. Not in the sense I feared, but almost.
The living room looked like it had been hit by a tornado.
The television was tilted at a strange angle, half hanging off its stand like it had lost a fight. Clothes were scattered everywhere. There was clothes scattered on the couch before, but now it's on the floor, even draped over a lamp. Cushions were overturned. Items I distinctly remembered placing carefully on shelves were now scattered in places that made no sense. And there was cotton flying everywhere. I looked to see that they were coming from pillows that were torn open.
I stood frozen in the doorway, briefcase slipping from my fingers and landing on the floor with a dull thud. My eyes darted from one ruined corner to another as my brain struggled to catch up with what I was seeing.
“What the hell…?” I whispered.
For a split second, a completely irrational thought crossed my mind. Did a wild animal break into my house?
Before I could move or process anything further, footsteps sounded behind me. I turned just in time to see Ashley walking into the living room, a laundry basket balanced in her arms. She stopped abruptly when she noticed me, her eyes widening in shock.
“Oh—sir!” she exclaimed nervously. “You’re… you’re home early.”
Early? This is almost fucking midnight! And what the hell has she done to my apartment?!
My gaze flicked past her, back to the destruction surrounding us. My chest tightened as confusion and disbelief washed over me in equal measure.
“What the hell happened here?” I demanded, my voice louder than I intended. I have been lenient enough.
Ashley flinched.
She lowered her head immediately, her shoulders slumping as if the weight of the entire room had fallen on her. “I—I was just trying to clean. I guess I underestimated how small your apartment is and tried to do things too fast,” she said softly. “I didn’t mean to… I don’t even know how it got this bad.”
I stared at her, then at the room again, trying to connect the two. She was trying to clean, but she was too fast ended up creating a bigger mess?
How did someone clean a house and somehow make it look like this? That doesn't even make any sense.
I dragged a hand through my hair, feeling a headache begin to form. This had to be a joke. A prank. Something. Adrian probably did something!
I sighed and took a deep breath to calm my growing fristration. I set my briefcase down slowly, forcing myself to breathe. Yelling wouldn’t fix anything. And despite everything, I didn’t want to scare her.
“Ashley,” I said, keeping my tone as calm as possible, “you said you had experience, right?” She nodded, still not looking at me. She was staring at the floor like a kid. "So why can’t you do anything?” I asked gently. “I’m not trying to be mean. I just… I need to understand.”
She hesitated before answering. “I do have experience,” she said. “It’s just… it’s been a long time since I worked. I’m a bit… rusty.”
Rusty? That explanation sounds like shit. Even someone rusty wouldn’t destroy an entire living room just by cleaning. But I was too tired and hungry to argue.
I sighed and loosened my tie, shrugging out of my blazer. “Alright,” I said quietly. “Let’s just fix this.”
Her head snapped up in surprise. “You’re… not going to fire me?”
I thought about it for a second. That was actually tempting, but I'm not going to be that cruel to her. I have to give her a chance. "I'm not going to fire you Ashely." I rolled up my sleeves. “I’ll show you how to clean properly. We'll start with the basics and do it together.”
And so we did. We picked up clothes, rearranged furniture, and slowly brought order back to the chaos. I explained things as we went—what went where, how to clean efficiently, how not to overdo it. She listened intently, nodding like every word I said was important.
But what distracted me wasn’t the mess. It was her eyes. Ashley kept looking at me with those bright blue eyes, smiling softly whenever our gazes met. Not the polite smile of an employee, but it was something different.
It made me uneasy. I have never had anyone look at me like that before. Or maybe I had, and I have been too buried in work to notice.
Either way, her attention made me flustered. “Why are you staring at me?” I asked suddenly, unable to take it anymore.
She blinked, then smiled wider. “Because you’re nice,” she said simply. “I can’t believe I got so lucky. You’re the best boss I could’ve asked for.”
I turned away quickly, pretending to focus on folding a shirt. She thinks I'm nice?
The words echoed in my head. I didn’t respond, but I felt a small, unfamiliar smile tug at my lips, and for the first time since hiring Ashley, despite all the confusion and suspicion, I wondered if maybe—just maybe—I was the one reading a lot into her strange behavior.