"Where do you think you’re going?"
Lake turned around at the cold tone of the person, a visible frown on his face. "Home?" He quietly replied, "I’m done with my duties."
"Like hell you are," Arthur snarled, his gloved hands clenching like he was holding back the urge to hit him.
"You’ll be cleaning the master wing thoroughly and you’re forbidden from leaving until I personally approve your work."
Lake watched the butler storm off with a tired look in his light brown eyes, he really should have known that this would happen.
He ignored the snickers of the other maids beside him who were equally preparing to leave for the day
He knew that he was the least favorite to everyone, but his job paid well, he had no plans to leave.
He had worked for the Mafia family of the Blacks his whole life, he had nowhere else to go.
Dropping out of high school also added to that because it meant that he couldn’t get a better job even if he tried.
So, while the other maids changed out of their uniforms and prepared to leave, he got dressed in the black and white uniform again to resume working.
Lake gathered up his hair in a tight knot to keep it out of the way, his dark brown locks framing his tired eyes.
He had really been looking forward to clocking out early that day but unless he ran out of the mansion while still wearing his uniform, there was no way to escape Arthur.
The butler was like a bloodhound.
He picked up a broom and started for the master wing.
Master Davian Black was usually out till very late, and it was barely sundown, so he wasn’t worried about bumping into him.
He just wanted to get this over with so he could go back to his little studio apartment.
Maybe he should take the weekend off; it was a Friday, and he deserved a year-long break but he couldn’t afford that so he would settle for just the weekend.
Arthur would probably give him hell for it but wouldn’t be able to turn him down because it had been years since he had gotten time off.
Meanwhile the other maids got time off every couple of months.
Lake knew well why no one liked him, it was because of his asshole of a father.
All he had ever done for him was leave behind the grudges of his enemies as he died...
He stopped and blew out a breath, he didn’t like to think of him, and he wasn’t going to help him out of his current situation anyway.
If he worked fast enough, he could be done in less than an hour - that was enough to propel him forward again.
Fortunately, the master wing was always spotless, so he just had to sweep and dust thin air, and hope that Arthur didn’t magically materialize dust from nowhere to make him do it all over again.
He worked quickly, his motions done with practiced ease that came from years of doing menial jobs.
When he was done, he contemplated taking a shower before leaving, there was free hot water at the mansion anyway, and he was allowed to use the facilities freely as an employee.
So, after looking around for the butler and not catching a sight of him, he put away the cleaning supplies and hopped into the communal shower.
He spent several minutes just standing under the hot water and feeling it work on his tense muscles.
Lake wished he could wash his hair, but he simply didn’t have that much time.
He put on a clean set of uniforms before he went off to find Arthur so that he could inspect his work and let him go home.
It was sundown now, but he wasn’t annoyed about the delay anymore now that he knew that he would be taking it easy the next day.
He could just tell Arthur right now that he wouldn’t be coming in the next day but he knew that the butler would find a way to sabotage that, so he would just send him an email the moment he got home.
There were enough staff that he was allowed to take days off without prior warning and he would be taking full advantage of that.
Lake returned to the master wing to check for Arthur first before going to his office to check on him there.
He made sure to double-check his cleaning as he searched for him in the master wing because he would hate to repeat the chore.
He turned into the hallway where Master Davian’s room was located only to freeze up at the sight of him at the other end of the hallway.
The Mafia King wasn’t supposed to be back yet but here he was standing right in front of him.
The house staff didn’t get to see their Mafia King often and Lake was glad because Master Davian was downright terrifying.
He wasn’t scared of a lot of things, but the towering Alpha made him tremble.
So, he was already apologizing and backing away the moment he saw him - Arthur be damned.
He would rather face the irritable butler than Master Davian.
His plans to escape were halted when Mafia King Davian closed the distance between them in a split second, and it took a lot for Lake not to bolt.
He knew well that Master Davian would catch him easily so his effort would be futile, it was better to calmly explain himself.
"I-I apologize, I had no idea you had returned." He managed to string words together, still slowly backing away, his gaze fixed on the ground.
When he didn’t get a response after several long seconds, he bravely looked up and immediately regretted it.
All it took was a close-up of Master Davian’s predatory stare to tell him something was very wrong.
A wall of his scent slammed into him then, his eyes widening in horror.
The Master was having his rut!
Lake didn’t wait after that, turning around and bolting down the hallway.
He wasn’t sure exactly what was happening, but he knew that he needed to get away.