Chapter 3

I tugged anxiously at Beck's sleeve, my heart pounding. Something was seriously off about this place. The whole room was in complete disarray, with piles of unrecognizable things heaped together. This couldn't possibly be normal.

Beck remained unperturbed, casually kicking aside the shattered glass at his feet.

"Don't worry. This is just from yesterday when Mr. Greenfield and Miss Sue had an argument and smashed everything. Nothing unusual," Beck told me.

Nothing unusual? Really?

Beck glanced at his Patek Philippe and continued, "Right on schedule. Every few months, Mr. Greenfield and Miss Sue put on this show. Mara, our housekeeper, will tidy everything up when she comes to work. Don't worry. She's a pro at this."

"Mara?"

It was the first time I had heard Beck mention a coworker.

"Mara has been with the Greenfield family since before Mr. Greenfield was born," Beck explained gently. "When Mr. Greenfield grew up, she became his primary caretaker. That's been decades now.

"But that's not her real name. It's just what they call the head housekeeper—makes it easier to remember."

I stared at the disaster zone before me, still unable to process what I was seeing.

Even if Mara had been with Bennett for decades, she couldn't possibly handle this massive cleanup job all by herself. At this time, I finally got why Beck hesitated yesterday when I told him I wanted to work as Bennett's housekeeper. It was definitely no walk in the park.

"How much does Mara make a month?" I blurted out. With this kind of workload, who in their right mind would take this job?

"20 thousand dollars," Beck replied.

"How much?

"How much did you just say?"

My voice cracked with disbelief.

Beck probably thought I found the salary too low. "The 20 thousand dollars is just the base monthly pay," he explained. "With monthly bonuses, year-end benefits, and holiday gifts, it easily adds up to over 300 thousand dollars a year. Among the wealthy households in this area, Mr. Greenfield's compensation package is actually quite competitive."

Rather than being too low, the salary was nothing short of astronomical for me.

"I've made up my mind. I'm working here."

I clenched my fists, absolutely determined.

I was going to make that 20 thousand dollars, no matter the cost.

Beck's expression twisted in disbelief, as if he couldn't fathom how I could still be so determined after witnessing this disaster zone.

To make me reconsider, Beck decided to give me a taste of the real challenge.

"Then try cleaning these up yourself before Mara arrives. Discard anything that's broken, and if something's still in good condition, you can keep it. Mr. Greenfield would never want anything that's been thrown on the floor like this."

Beck was trying to scare me off by throwing me into this mountain of work.

But when I unearthed countless perfectly intact treasures in the ruins, my enthusiasm for this job shot through the roof.

"A Chanel necklace."

"A three-carat diamond ring."

"And... Is that a check for 1.5 million dollars?"

I swore that I was staying here until Bennett went bankrupt.

When Mara, the gentle 50-year-old housekeeper, arrived for work, I was already slumped exhausted on the stairs, arms full of treasures. Beck sat beside me, still trying in vain to talk me out of it.

"Beck." Mara greeted us with a beaming smile.

Beck was carefully explaining the situation at home and my sudden appearance to Mara. I barely had time to introduce myself before I saw her face twist into a terrifying scowl.

Mara exclaimed, "That little rascal Bennett is at it again, throwing a fit!"

She called Bennett a "little rascal."

That didn't sound like what a head housekeeper should say.

Beck leaned in and whispered, "For us the salariat, losing it happens all the time.

"Mr. Greenfield has already chased Miss Sue all the way to Harvestia. As usual, they'll be running across continents in their classic cat-and-mouse drama before they finally come back."

Beck's words seemed to cool Mara's anger a little.

"Mara, about these things..." I said.

I hurried to hand over my haul. Mara was the kind of person no one dared to cross. No way was I angering my boss before even starting the job. Though it pained me, I was still going to hand everything over.

Mara didn't even turn around as she dismissed me. "Just keep that junk for yourself."

Junk? Seriously?