Queen's Favor
Chapter 2
On the bright side, he wasn't a super pervert.
Finding a maid in his closet playing with a cat could have gone much worse if he were, probably.
…Because that was a totally appropriate thought to have while being caught red handed petting the off-limits cat by the (very soon to be ex) boss. But it was that or just feel all the mortification and disappointment at once.
The cat, who really was the one entirely at fault in the whole situation from the start rolled over again and immediately wandered over to greet the tall man who stood at the door of the closet. It bumped its face up against his leg and then curled up to sit next to him. It was hard to say if the cat looked falsely innocent, or if it felt more like a kid hiding behind their parents after lying about someone. It probably wasn't the most important thing to worry about just then.
Behind him, it looked like her supervisor was actively experiencing some kind of heart attack, and that was probably way more important than silly things like 'who pet the cat' and 'the rules of employment'.
…He didn't seem distracted by the supervisor's theatrics, but to be fair, the woman was silent, and his back was to her.
"It seems insufficient time was provided for your duties." Although his expression remained as blank as before, she definitely couldn't miss the annoyance in his voice.
Well at least he wasn't shouting. Sure getting another job would be all the more difficult after getting fired her first day for insubordination, but at least she wouldn't get fired while being shouted at. The cat sat at his feet and watched her with an impassive look. It was a scheming sort of cat, and it seemed appropriate to assign it human-like expressions.
"I…N-No, we finished everything." Did that really make the situation better? Probably not.
A slim brow arched. "And you chose to remain in the closet?"
Well. When looking back at her actions, at least she couldn't say she didn't put up a good fight. For being in an indefensible position. And she didn't resort to 'the cat intentionally sabotaged me' either.
Even if it would have been totally true.
"I–"
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Han!" The supervisor clapped her hands together, pleading and apologetic. "She's a new hire, but this sort of behavior is completely unacceptable! We'll have her terminated immediately!"
…Well the bus didn't need to back over her.
She sighed and brushed off her knees as she stood, offering the man a polite bow. "Sorry for the inconvenience."
He knelt down to collect the white cat in his arms and took a step out from the doorway, clearing her path. He seemed…coldly professional and a little bit judgmental on top of being so damn particular and picky that petting a demanding cat could get her fired…but at least he wasn't mean or aggressive.
And he managed not to look too completely like a Bond villain holding such a cat even if he was her own personal antagonist.
She could hold on to the scraps of her dignity as she walked, at least.
The exasperated supervisor launched into a lecture and a rant as they walked, but it wasn't really that important. It's not as if she didn't understand already what her offense was, and the supervisor wouldn't be over her for much longer.
The man behind her made a soft sound when she was halfway to the living room, and a moment later the white cat appeared in front of her. Pouncing her pant leg.
She stopped and stared down at the cat, which seemed intent on chewing on the hem of her brand new clothes.
She could probably shoo the cat away, provided it didn't result in him suing someone for damages, because that would just make things worse. But she also…didn't actually have to not talk to it, either. He probably couldn't double fire her.
"H-Hey…" She huffed and knelt down to pet the cat's head, and its paws grabbed her wrist instead, biting playfully at her hand. The uptight owner really needed to play with it more or something.
She lifted her hand to try to escape, but the cat just raised up onto its hind legs, tail twitching as it seemed intent on devouring the hand that had done nothing against it.
"Come on, let me go now, Elizabeth." Just being firm with a playful cat wasn't really that effective usually, but if it could scheme maybe it could be reasoned with? She didn't want to risk lifting her hand enough to have the cat hanging from her arm right in front of its overprotective owner.
…The cat let go of her wrist and dropped down again!
Rather than let her actually leave, though, it mewed walked in front of her, moving to attack where her apron trailed on the floor. So maybe it didn't listen and understand like a human.
"What are you doing?" Her supervisor leaned in and hissed at her, grabbing her arm and yanking her upright. The cat's claws briefly caught in the fabric as it lifted up, and as soon as it was free, it skittered away from her, tail flicking those damn white hairs across the ground she'd just cleaned.
"Please ensure that she arrives a half hour earlier tomorrow." The voice of the man behind them cut through the fresh wave of Mary's choice words.
"Huh…?" She glanced over in the direction of the voice. That cat had once again retreated to near where he was, though it seemed more interested in the toy it found than him.
"Well, of course we can't guarantee it will be another woman–"
"Another?" His brows knit slightly in what might have been confusion or perplexity if the rest of his face knew how to express itself. "The penthouse is sufficiently cleaned, there is no reason to change anyone. However, I would prefer not to retrieve anyone from my closet in the future. Ensure everything is finished on time tomorrow."
Wait…
Wait.
What?
She turned to her supervisor, but the woman looked as confused as she.
"…If there's nothing else." The man behind them made an expectant sound.
If she was apparently forgiven for touching the cat, it was probably best not to wait for him to dismiss her twice.
Her supervisor muttered in confusion the entire way out of the building…but apparently she wasn't fired by the cat after all, so as bizarre as the entire day had been…it certainly could have been worse.
Making it home and getting to flop down in a bedroom that was…yes, it was definitely smaller than the closet she'd been caught in earlier…while still having a job made the day pretty worthwhile. Even if she'd almost died a couple of times.
–
She really wanted to complain about the extra half-hour, considering the fact that she did finish everything on time the first time, but then it was probably a punishment of some kind for still being in the house when he arrived. Technically that could have been grounds for termination even if she'd done nothing else.
It was a bit of a relief that she could leave a little bit early and not worry about crossing paths with him, anyway. It made her less anxious about the demanding cat.
Mary hadn't been sure about why he'd made the decision he did, but…ultimately she decided he probably cared more about people spooking the cat or tripping over it than just giving it attention. And lo, not ignoring Elizabeth did wonders for her productivity and her "not breaking her neck" status.
After a few days, Elizabeth even left her alone most of the time. Like they'd worked out some kind of an understanding that avoided near misses with dirty towels.
She sighed as she flopped down on the ground, legs sprawled out in front of her. This was Mary's day off, which meant it was her first day alone cleaning the place. It also meant she didn't feel so bad about just sprawling on the ground during her break. Though she'd gotten to a point where Elzabeth didn't intentionally sabotage her work, her breaks were mostly taken up with entertaining the ever-vocal cat. Sitting on furniture just encouraged the cat to jump on it. Not that it ever seemed to care in the first place.
Spoiled brat.
No way in hell would she lay down on marble, but the area rug in the living room might as well have been a down comforter, so it was more than comfortable as a place for her to sprawl out on and play with the cat.
She laughed as the cat rolled around on its back as if such a position would increase its chances of catching the fluttering toy she danced around it, and the door to the suit opened.
Elizabeth immediately rolled over and looked up at the door.
She blinked up at the figure standing in the doorway, and then immediately looked down at her watch. It should have been two hours before he came back home!
He tutted lightly as he walked into the room, loosening the cuff-links of his jacket. "It's not an error, I've returned early."
Oh…well. Damn. She hadn't even finished completely! Considering he was aware he'd come home early though, that meant she probably wouldn't be held responsible for not finishing her work ahead of the schedule set out for her, right?
Though it probably didn't look good just playing with the cat instead of working. It wasn't like she had a sign up saying 'This is a break! Will return!'
She shot up to her feet quickly, straightening her uniform. "Um…s-sorry, I'll head home if you've returned."
"Aren't you on break?"
She couldn't help but squint up at him in surprise. Did he keep track of his employees' schedules that closely, or did he just make an assumption? "Well, I am, but.."
He hung the business jacket up in the small (…small for the penthouse) closet near the door. "There's no need to leave prematurely, under the circumstances."
He took a step, before a ghost of a smirk curled slim lips. "However…try to stay out of the closets."
He wandered off into his room and the snowy white cat trotted after him.
…Wait.
Was that a joke?