Million Dollar Maid ✔

Chapter 45

Ava had never noticed it before, but the shiny black car Sébastien seemed to favor over the other ones turned heads whenever they passed. People would stop dead on the streets just to admire the sportscar and she wondered if Séb himself was aware of the effect it had.

He did like to drive fast, she knew. Even now, as they were speeding along the highway she knew he was going a lot faster than was allowed. It may have been the very reason this car was his favorite and she didn't want to imagine how expensive it had been.

It made her wonder what it would be like to drive one herself. It seemed so stressful, operating a machine that could kill you and the people around you if you made a mistake. Yet, Sébastien didn't seem too bothered and neither did anyone else driving around them.

A squeeze around her hand made her look left at Sébastien, who looked at her with a small smile. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Is it difficult to drive a car?" she asked him, looking at the side of his face as he turned his eyes back to the road.

"Not at all," he replied with a shake of his head. "Why?"

Ava shrugged in response. "I was just wondering. You make it look so easy."

"Because it is. I can teach you some time if you want," he offered up, the excitement in his eyes betraying how he felt about the idea. But Ava wasn't so sure, there were so many things that could go wrong that ran through her mind.

"What if something goes wrong and I ruin your car?" she worried out loud. But Sébastien didn't seem to worry in the slightest.

"You're already worrying and we haven't even started yet," he laughed. "It'll go fine, I promise."

The familiar town came into sight and she directed her worries to what was about to come. What if their date went awful and she did something stupid? The car could wait, she had to focus on acting as normal as possible now.

"Maid," the new butler's shrill voice rang out from the hall. Walter Olson was his name, Lauren had told her. He was apparently a very distinguished gentleman which could be why he'd insisted on being called 'sir' by her before.

She hurried down to where he was at before stopping in front of him. "Yes, sir?"

"The garden. Weeding is required so go down there and get rid of it. Now," he gestured in the general direction of the back door. But Ava hesitated.

"That's the butler's job, I just—"

"It's your job when I say it is," he hissed, stepping forward and into her personal space. "Go."

The tone of his voice and his proximity scared her, making it hard to breathe. She managed to get out a fast 'yes, sir' before almost running away towards the garden where she could finally breathe again.

With a sigh, she grabbed some gloves and tools and set to work. At least the weather was nice, she thought as she bent down to start on the little flower patch closest to the door.

It didn't take long for her knees to start hurting and the nice weather started to turn into a blazing heat. She wiped her forehead with her arm, careful to avoid her muddy gloves. The garden was unbelievably large and she wondered how George had always managed to do everything, even with his frail health.

But she was a young and healthy woman, if George could pull it off so could she. By the time her salvation came, the sun had already started to set.

Sébastien's voice came from the house, calling her. She gladly made her way over to him, ignoring the pain in her knees as she stood up.

When she entered the back door she found Sébastien in conversation with Mr. Olson, so she waited for them to finish. Sébastien noticed her first and turned his attention to her, causing the butler to glare at her from behind him.

"Why are you so dirty?" Sébastien asked confusedly. She didn't want to know what she'd look like but she could imagine. "Working the garden," she replied, glancing at the butler whose eye was twitching. Was he really mad Sébastien had turned his attention to her?

Before Sébastien could even reply, Mr. Olson stepped forward and his face changed. "Oh, dear girl. That's my job. A young lady such as yourself needn't exhaust herself like that. But I do appreciate the effort," he smiled at her. It confused her and made her feel uneasy. He was the one who told her- no ordered her to weed the garden.

She didn't have much time to think about it because Sébastien spoke up, "Okay, well, I thought maybe we could practice your driving skills today," he suggested. This made her ears perk up. Driving?

Excitement and anxiety battled for a spot within her but she did want to try it once. And who knows? Maybe she could actually learn.

"I'll need to take a shower first," she replied smiling. She didn't want to think of getting mud on the inside of his beautiful cars.

"Only if I can join," he winked at her, causing her to laugh.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Mr. Olson look between the two of them with a disapproving glare. But she was too excited to care and turned to quickly take that shower.

Sébastien didn't follow her and she felt a little bit disappointed he hadn't followed up with his teasing. She quickly washed the dirt and grime off her before putting on some clean clothes and putting her hair up and out of her face.

When she looked in the mirror there wasn't a goblin staring back at her anymore but just a normal girl. Content, she made her way downstairs to look for Sébastien.

She found in waiting against a wall close to the front door with his phone in his hand. When she approached he put the device back into his pocket and smiled at her. "Ready for your first lesson?"

"About as ready as I'll ever be," she smiled back. Even if it was going to turn out disastrous, she was just glad to spend some time with him.

She could spend every single moment of every day with him and it still wouldn't be enough. Being near him made her feel more alive, as if she was meant to stand by his side.

"You'll do great," he assured her before opening the door for her.

"Thanks," she replied as she stepped out and looked at the car parked out front. It was large, she noticed, and very high. At least it looked sturdy on its large wheels. From the shiny grey hood, she could read the words 'range rover' but it didn't mean anything to her.

"What, you don't trust me with the black one?" she teased, causing him to smile again. "I thought I'd pick a less... temperamental car for you. But if you really want to I can go get the other one," he replied with a challenge in his eyes. She knew he would, if she wanted. But she didn't.

"No, I was just joking. This one looks cool," she assured him.

"What are you waiting for then?" he teased. "Buckle up."

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Heya guys!

New chapter dropped! What did you think of it?

Just a quick Patreon announcement: Chapters 1 to 50 are up now BUT there will be very few chapters in the month of July (if any at all). This is because I'm taking a road trip of 3 weeks and I'm not going to be writing during this time.

This doesn't mean anything for the Wattpad update schedule, since Patreon is so far ahead chapter-wise. So, updates as usual for Wattpad.

See you next week!

xx May