The Billionaire's Mask (Book #1) - Unedited Version

Chapter 12

ALAYNA

It is bad enough that talking to the Master makes me feel anxious, it doesn't help that every time I leave out of his room, I feel as though I'm battling with unfamiliar feelings.

But I don't like to share...

His voice echoed inside my head, wanting to understand what he meant. He is not sharing something with anyone. What does he mean by that?

I must've been walking nonchalantly that I never notice anyone or anything on the pathway.

"Alayna!"

I jerk as I hear a call. Madam Lennie is only a meter away, looking at me with the furrowed forehead.

"Are you okay?" Madam asks, moving closer to my direction.

"Yes, of course, Madam. I'm sorry, I was just trying to think of what to do on my rest day." If there's something I'm pretty good at since I got here; it's the reasoning. Reasoning, so I could never get caught with my own feelings and wonders.

The old lady nods, looking unconvinced. "Sir Oliver is waiting for you in your kitchen."

"I've got to go, Madam. Sorry." I say in a hurry, then step beside her to continue my journey.

"Alayna? Alayna!" I can hear her calling me as I march as fast as I can. I run to my kitchen and find Oliver in my station. He springs up from his seat as soon as he sees me.

"Alayna? What's wrong?" he asks curiously. God, how I wish that there's no hidden camera in my kitchen, of course, that's just a wish. I'm glad all these cameras don't cover sounds.

"I'm fine. I ran because Madam Lennie said that you're here. Do you need anything?"

His left eyebrow shots up. "I don't think you're running because of me." He smiles on the side of his lip and crosses his arms around his chest. "Spill the beans."

I puff. "Nothing."

I shouldn't bother Oliver about it. Maybe what the Master said is he doesn't like sharing me with another employer? Wait, or maybe he doesn't want his cousin lingering around me in my workplace since I'm his personal chef now? Or maybe he doesn't want me sharing the workload with him anymore?

"You seem preoccupied," he observes.

"I'm just amazed that he was finally allowed to come into his room without getting mad."

His expression brightens. "Oh, I told you he's a good man. I guess he's getting used to having you around. He's starting to trust someone again."

I answer a smile, though inside, I'm slightly stunned with Oliver's openness. Of course, he's always been open, but what he said made me think of some other reason why the Master isn't coming out of his room. He may have gone through some heartbreaking past and he lost trust in everything. He just has a very strange way of coping.

My work routine goes on in the next couple of days, and I've not spoken to the Master ever since our last conversation. He doesn't speak to me as well whenever I'm entering his room to bring his food. There are also times that Oliver wants to deliver it so I could extend some rest even for short times. He's always considerate.

In the kitchen, whenever I'm finished cooking the Master's meal, I'm trying out new recipes from Oliver's recipe booklet. There are other dishes here that I find hard to recreate because I can't seem to get the exact authentic taste.

When I was in university, there were times I needed a full week of concentration before getting a perfect dish, especially with meats. I once remembered when we were in a school camp, we flew to Wisconsin mountains to bear meat. Dishes including bear meat is one of the hardest I've experienced. Luckily, the Master's list of dishes isn't as hard as the dishes in my culinary class back then.