Maid For You 3

Chapter 35

Who are you and what have you done with Lucas Prescott? I wondered. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it. If I didn't like this confident, daring, and overwhelmingly sexy Luke who didn't care if Coleman knew. I liked that a part of him wanted Coleman to find out, wanted to push his buttons.

Luke turned around and marched right for the door. He opened it widely for me, and I tried my best to give a merely polite nod at him. The opening of his door revealed conversation from within Coleman's room, and I walked in to see Prince Coleman beaming as he was talking to an early middle-aged man who was speaking in an excited tone. The man's back was to me, but I could see he had brown hair and a fairly slender build.

"Cassie!" Coleman caught my eye, and the man he was talking to turned to face me. There was something familiar about him.

"Your highness," I said, curtseying, internally and externally sweating at what Prince Coleman might say.

"This is Mister Linus Prescott," Coleman said with a great smile. "This is Lucas's father—he was my butler before his son took the position."

His dad... I thought. Oh shoot. I thought about Luke's conversation with Lucille a couple of weeks ago, about his jealousy of Coleman's relationship with his dad. I forgot he was coming, I thought. This must be why Luke was so down this morning. Heck, this must be why he initiated making out in a closet and was ready to screw Coleman over.

"How do you do, sir?" I asked, quickly plastering on a smile. I suddenly felt strange meeting my boyfriend's dad after just having made out with said boyfriend. Though, I had a feeling Mister Prescott didn't know that I was dating his son.    

"I'm just fine," he beamed. I could see Luke in him now, I could see the similarities in their features.

"Mister Linus was my butler from when I was two years old to twenty-three," Coleman said, still wearing a big smile.

Mister Linus then looked at his son. Luke was leaning against one of the bed posts with a dark expression on his face.

"Lucas," Mr. Prescott started. "You're looking rather disheveled."

"Dad," Luke answered flatly, raking his hand through all his loose hair that I had messed up and slicking it to his head again. "Good to see you."

"You too, son," Mr. Prescott said. "Though, I did tell you that it's important to look professional. I hope you're taking your job seriously."

Luke plastered on a pained smiled.

"Lucas is excellent," Coleman piped in, drawing Mr. Prescott's attention again. "I don't know what I would do without him. He's very organized and detail-oriented and efficient."

"I'm glad to hear it," Mr. Prescott said. "And I do appreciate your invitation for me to come visit."

"Of course!" Coleman assured him. "I've—well, it's always good to catch up. Come, let's sit." Coleman was eager, almost like a child who'd met their idol but was trying to keep their cool.

Prince Coleman and Mr. Prescott sat at the table together. Luke left the room. I was about to follow after him when Coleman said, "You can stay and clean, Cassie." He turned to Mr. Prescott. "Sorry, I wanted things to be ready for when you got here but—"

"Well, I was early," Luke's dad answered. "Now, how have you been, Coleman?"

I started on the baseboards, wishing I could go talk to Luke, but deciding that while I was here I might as well eavesdrop.

"I've been well," Coleman said. "I've started learning Mandarin recently."

"Wow, really? How is that?"

"It's quite challenging," Coleman said. "It doesn't use our alphabet, of course, but isn't as easy as the Russian alphabet to pick up."

"But you've always been a natural with languages," Mr. Prescott responded. "I'm sure you'll learn it soon enough."

"Yes, I will," Coleman said. "But I'm not as young as I used to be."

"Oh!" Mr. Prescott scoffed. "You're young yet, lad. Just 25."

"Twenty-six in May," Coleman laughed.

"And do you still draw?" Mr. Prescott asked him.

"I do, yes. I still paint with my mother every week, and I like to draw in my sketchbook as well when I can," he answered.

I didn't know that, I thought.

"Might I see some of your drawings?" Mr. Prescott asked him.

"Of course," Coleman said, standing up and walking over to his bookshelf. I saw him pull out a red leather notebook—I recognized it. I often saw him taking what I assumed to be important royal notes, but apparently there were drawings. Coleman sat down again at the table and was able to hand the sketchbook over to Mr. Prescott but then hesitated. His eyes rolled over to me. "Cassie, don't worry about the baseboards right now. You're dismissed for a few hours."

"Oh," I said. "Thank you, Sir."

Coleman nodded. I gathered up all my cleaning supplies and walked out of his room. I found Luke standing against the wall across from Coleman's door scrolling on his phone—he looked up when he saw me.

"So..." I started, my voice bouncing off the echoey hall. "Your dad's here."

"Yep," he said, emotionless.

"And is that why you looked so glum at breakfast?" I asked. Luke shrugged. I sighed and walked to the supply closet to put all the stuff I was carrying in my hands away. However, when I stepped in, I quickly remembered our kissing just minutes before and realized that I would never look at the boring supply closet the same way again.

I left the closet and walked up to Luke and grabbed his hand.

"Do you want to tell me about you and your dad?" I asked him.

He shrugged and didn't say anything, but it wasn't a 'no.'

"Okay, let's go find somewhere to talk," I said.

"We probably shouldn't leave," Luke started as I began tugging him behind me.

"No," I said. "Coleman dismissed me for a couple of hours anyways."

"He didn't dismiss me."

"He can call you," I said. We walked out of Coleman's hallway and I entered one of the many random rooms in the adjacent hall. I brought Luke to a couch and sat next to him and faced him.

"I didn't know your dad had been Coleman's butler since he was two," I started, hoping to prompt some conversation.

"Yep," Luke said. "Before I was born. My mom had just found out she'd gotten pregnant with me, actually, right when my dad was offered a promotion here at the palace."

And so began his tale.