A Maid for the Mullens

Amberly had already grown fond of her new job, and she hadn't even reached the Mullen's huge home yet. The simple fact that they sent a luxury limo out to her parents house to pick her up made her believe automatically that any negatives of the job could instantly be canceled out by the fact that her employers were so powerful they could do whatever the hell they wanted, when they wanted, and what they wanted could include their close employees, as well.

“Good morning, Miss Gardner,” the elderly man greeted from the drivers seat, tipping his stereotypical chauffeurs hat. He grinned in his rear view mirror as Amberly looked around, wide eyed and excited. “Overwhelming, yes. But do you get used to it? Oh, yes.”

Amberly smiled, wiping her palms on her jeans nervously. They inched their way through traffic, drawing ever closer to their desired destination. Fiddling with her thumbs, she watched as the buildings changed their architecture every so often, and smiled. As a kid, she loved when they spent the weekends driving all around New York. Of course traffic was the biggest obstacle when it came to driving yourself around such a hustling and bustling city, but Amberly enjoyed the constant movement and energy that was contained inside.

After driving for what seemed like only seconds more as she contemplated her love for the city, they pulled up in front of a sleek, almost all windowed building. It seemed even taller than anything she'd ever seen in the city before and it looked like it could literally touch the ever blue sky.

“Impressive, isn't it?”

“Uh huh,” Amberly replied stupidly, staring at the building through the window, until she was drawn out of her daze by a cold wind through the door the driver had opened for her. She smiled at him, tossing her bag over her shoulder, and took his hand.

“I'm Frederick, by the way Miss Gardner,” he introduced, as Amberly stood in the chilling breeze. She shook his hand, grinning like a fool. She glanced over his shoulder at the trunk that contained her belongings, but he pushed her towards the doors of the building.

“Don't worry. Dex'll get them for you. Now, here,” he said, placing an identification card in her palm. “You're going to need this to show them.”

Impressed, Amberly walked in through the heavy glass doors of the building and walked to the front desk. The woman behind the desk glared at Amberly with bored eyes, as she silently flashed her the I.D card. The woman flashed a charming smile and advised her to swipe the card by the elevator for access. Amberly did as so, stepping inside a roomy elevator all alone. She glided up silently all the way to the very top floor of the building.

Stepping out of the elevator, there was a short, decorated hallway leading to white French doors. Ringing the doorbell, she stood outside their home fiddling her thumbs. A few shouts, thuds, and curses later, Dakoda answered the door with an aggravated smile and a small blonde girl attached to her leg.

“Hey, Amber,” she muttered through gritted teeth. Amberly choked back a laugh as the little girl clutched even tighter. Dakoda drug her leg behind her, after letting Amberly in. “By the way, this is Rosalind Mullen.”

“Why won't you play with me?!” she whined, her voice raising an irritating octave. Amberly winced awkwardly, wiping her palms on her jeans. Dakoda smiled apologetically, kicking off the sky high heels she was wearing in an attempt to shake the little girl off.

“Rosie, this is Amberly. She's our new maid. So don't be a brat,” she muttered, shaking her leg slightly. Light piano floated around the room, coming from a further distance.

“Yeah, great. But why won't you play with me?! I'm bored!” Rosalind exclaimed rudely, her blonde curls bouncing with every slight shake Dakoda made. Amberly, intruiged by the music, stood inattentive to their argument. Wandering off on her own, she made her way through the massive living room, one of their kitchens, and into an enormous hallway, lined with priceless masterpieces and huge white doors. Dakoda skidded to a halt behind Amberly, a whining little girl still by her side. She leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath.

“Amber, don't wander off like that!” she scolded breathily, pointing a finger at her friend. “You missed, like, half of the tour!”

Dakoda reached for Amberly's hand, but nearly fell over when she stepped down the hall. Rosie trailed behind Dakoda as she followed Amberly's long footsteps down the hall. Amberly, curious as she was, only wanted to find the source of the flawless piano playing. A familiar tune wafted through the halls of the house and she smiled.

“That's gorgeous!” she exclaimed, stopping in her tracks. Dakoda, with a little blonde demon wrapped around her leg, caught Amberly's thin arm.

“Stop! You...can't go down this hallway!” she warned halfheartedly, trying to keep Amberly from walking any further and tame the miniature beast clinging to her. Amberly had managed to pull hersel away from Dakoda, who swore under her breath while dragging Rosalind along with her.

“Seriously, who is that? It's amazing!”

As she reached the door she was hoping to find, a familiar tune flowed from the cracks above and beneath. She opened the door, finding herself standing before a gigantic, pale green room with shining hard wood floors and a white grand piano right next to the fireplace. A small, brunette head was visible over the lifted top and Amberly continued into the room while the pianist kept playing flawlessly. As Dakoda stomped through the door, shouting at the girl who glued herself to the nanny, and the girl begging for her attention, the piano stopped and the brunette head popped up. She smiled foolishly, rushing out from behind the bench.

“Hey! You must be the new maid! I'm Flannery,” she introduced in a bubbly manner, holding out a small hand. Amberly took it happily.

“Amberly Gardner.”

Flannery smiled, and Dakoda quirked a brow at her. She wrinkled her nose slightly and pushed her glass up her nose. Her hair was thrown up messily and her clothes were ratty jeans and a baggy Yankees shirt. Dakoda returned her wrinkle with a laugh and finally wrestled Rosalind off her legs. Holding the little girl in her arms, she motioned for Amberly to follow her out the door.

“C'mon, Amber. Let's finish this tour up before lunch.”

--- ---

“I hate pickles!” Rosalind whined, plucking them off her gourmet hamburger. Flannery rolled her eyes, picking up a french fry from her plate and swirling it in ketchup. Dakoda threw back a glass of wine and pinched the bridge of her nose.

A young man waltzed into the dining room, dressed in only a pair of athletic shorts with a towel draped over his shoulders. His stomach was toned and well defined, either a sign he was a health nut like A.J, or a self centered bastard, like most of the men in this building.

Amberly believed he was the latter.

Sipping a Shirley Temple, Flannery gestured to the handsome man taking a seat next to her. “Amberly, this is Jonas, my brother. Joe, this is Amberly, our new maid.”

He looked at her with piercing eyes and a charm-your-panties-off smile. She flushed under his stare, finding him intimidating and intriguing all at the same time. Dakoda rolled her eyes in disbelief and tossed part of a french fry at Jonas.

“Stop eying the new maid. You've screwed the rest of them out of a job,” she scolded, as a shaggy haired red head brought out his food. “Literally.”

Flannery rolled her eyes and smiled at Amberly comfortingly. “Dex! Could you get me another? Please?”

The red head smiled toothily at her. “Sure thing, kiddo.”

He smiled at Amberly, leaving her wondering if every guy from an area such as this was so highly attractive. Even the people who worked for the Mullen's were attractive. She felt overwhelmed with her new job already, even though she was just a cleaning lady.

Dakoda leaned over closer to Amberly. “Whatever you do, don't wear the maid's outfit Jonas gives you, because you don't actually have one.”

A fiery blush seared Amberly's cheeks. She could see Jonas laugh to himself out of the corner of her eyes, only sending her blush through her entire body. Flannery slapped the back of his head with her palm, giving him a disapproving look, all the while Rosalind was crying out for attention.

It was at that point that she realized her job might actually be a little bit too good to be true.