Needless to say, Jade had no fun cooking with a bunch of muscular men wearing aprons and hairnets. In fact, she hated it. One was either chopping the vegetables too large or too small. Another would randomly open pots without her asking, and their bad habit of tasting the food before it was even ready was something that truly pissed her off.
So much for saying she was in charge, because as far as Jade was concerned, these men invaded the kitchen. But at the end of the day, all seven dishes were ready by five pm and properly packed. According to him, guests would start to arrive at eight, so she had three hours to get some rest and get ready, because if he could not hire other caterers to assist her in the kitchen, then he also would not hire waiters to assist with serving either. Probably the bodyguards would do it.
"What is even up with him?" Jade wondered as she returned to her bedroom and collapsed on the bed. "I wonder how much blood he has shed that he cannot let anyone else into his life unless they are his servants, or he bought them." For a brief second she felt a little pity for him. His life must be very lonely. But just as quickly, the empathy vanished. "That is what he gets for being a murderer. But come to think of it, what exactly is his job? I did not even know his name to begin with."
Jade hissed and got out of bed, immediately closing that chapter of thought and replacing it with trying on the dress that had been sent to her. Before that, she rushed through a bath to erase the smell of food. Then she stood before the mirror, with the dress in front of her.
"It's beautiful," she admitted, while wishing it were in a brighter color, red or pink.
She also placed the shoes in front of her without putting them on and tried to imagine what she would look like in them, when suddenly his voice came from behind her, straight and soothing.
"Does it fit?" He asked and it was strange how he spoke without a layer of emotion.
Jade turned, almost startled. She was getting used to anyone barging into her room, but not this way. It was so quiet that she did not realize when he had come in, leaving her to wonder how long he had been watching. It was a good thing she was covered in a thick white towel all the way to her thighs.
"I… I haven't tried it on yet, sir," she replied.
"Okay." He nodded the same way he did in the kitchen. Without another word, he closed the door behind him and took a few steps forward, stopping halfway through the room. "You will only serve me tonight, no one else." He dropped the sentence without warning, and Jade, who had been trying not to look at him, had no choice.
"But you said…"
"I know what I said," he interjected, dipping his hand in his pocket. "You cooked all day. You are not trained like my guards are, so overworking you might break you down. Also, you are a woman. Fragile."
"Ouch." Jade did not say it out loud, but it hurt. She thought he was wrong, but in actuality, she had shown him so far that she was fragile.
"I will have other people serve the food," he continued, but Jade chimed in immediately, in the most sarcastic way possible. "Your guards?"
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, sorry." She buried her head in shame. Apparently he did not take that joke well.
"As I was saying, you will serve my food only, and that is it. However, it does not stop you from monitoring the service. Like I said, once it comes to the kitchen, you are in charge. You will meet the waiters in an hour so you would know their faces."
Jade nodded. "Okay, sir."
It seemed like he was done talking and turned to leave, but then he remembered something and turned back around, this time dipping his hand into his pocket and taking out a card.
"Take this."
Jade could not believe her eyes. He was outright handing her an access card, the same kind that opened almost all the doors in the mansion, the same one she had been trying to steal from the bodyguard.
"It is a card, sir," she said, staring at it as though she had never seen such a thing before.
"Yes," he replied. "It is an access card. It should open almost any door in the mansion, but that is not why I am giving it to you. I do not expect you to go about opening doors. Got it?"
"Why give it to me then?" Jade asked without answering him first. He seemed amazed by her boldness. Unlike yesterday, she spoke to him with a little more confidence. Her voice was more audible and audacious compared to those subtle whispers, and yes, he noticed.
"John will be with you shortly," he said. "The president and I have a meeting in the conference room on the top floor. I want that room ready, food served across the table, all kinds of food and drink. The president will select what to eat by himself."
Jade heard everything else he said in a jumble after he mentioned the president. Now it really made her question his identity, because the president of the country does not just visit any random man.
"Is there a problem?" he asked, noticing that she appeared lost.
But Jade quickly regained her composure. "No, not at all," she replied. "I was just wondering who John is." She lied. Well, not entirely. She suspected John to be the bodyguard she was currently avoiding, and if she was right, then it was going to be an interesting evening.
"You don't know John?" he asked, a bit surprised.
"I do not know anyone in this place," Jade clapped back, but respectfully. "I do not even know your name, sir."
He inched closer to her, his hand sliding under her chin, which he lifted so she could see his face. "I think it is safer, and less terrifying for you, Jade, if you do not know my name." He stopped and withdrew. "Get some rest. Dinner is in less than three hours."
With that, he left the room, while Jade had to deal with the thoughts in her head, as well as the card in her hand. There was a probability that she might want to do other things with it… a probability.