There was a small parking lot at the side of the house. Mr. Robbins had told her that it was reserved for the staff. There would be a side entrance just around the corner on her right. Elizabeth got out of the car and took in her surroundings. She could make out a part of the beautiful backyard. The Sheppard's house was outside Washington, approximately 30 minutes away from her and Julie's apartment.
She locked the car and made her way towards the side entrance. Elizabeth felt nervous. She spotted the door around the corner and made herself walk towards it with determined steps. She could do this. Mr. Robbins had been nice. Very nice in fact. Elizabeth guessed that he was in his sixties.
She stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath. She then straightened her jacket and knocked. Within seconds the door was opened and she looked into the friendly face of a blonde woman. Elizabeth was startled for a second before she found her words again.
"Good morning. I'm Elizabeth Weir, I'm..."
"Oh, great, there you are" the woman said happily and pulled her into the house, closing the door behind her. She was now standing in the staff lounge. To her right was the door that led to Mr. Robbins's office and a few feet ahead of her was the door that led to the kitchen. Mr. Robbins had given her a short tour after her job interview.
The woman disappeared around a corner to Elizabeth's left and came back a few seconds later with a bundle of clothes in her hand.
"Here, these are yours" she said and shoved the bundle into Elizabeth's arms. It was a black skirt and a black blouse. "Shoes are around the corner. Your locker is the one at the window. I'm Mia" she grinned and extended a hand. Elizabeth took it with her free hand.
"Elizabeth" she said and looked at the woman in front of her. She was very young, maybe 21 or 22. Her hair was tied back in a knot. She was almost as tall as Elizabeth and she had bright blue eyes.
"I'm glad that dad finally found someone" she said happily. Elizabeth gave her a confused look. "Mr. Robbins. Mia Robbins, I'm his daughter. He's not here at the moment, don't ask me where he is. I bet it is 'something of great importance'. It's always important" she explained. "You can change your clothes now, I'll be in the kitchen. The lords and the lady await their breakfast" she said and disappeared through the door in front of Elizabeth.
She stared after Mia. Lords and lady? Elizabeth swallowed. What had she gotten herself into? She then turned around the corner to find her locker. A pair of black slippers was standing in front of it. Mia seemed to be very energetic, maybe a bit too energetic. She was quite the opposite of Mr. Robbins. He had seemed quite calm and quiet.
Elizabeth shrugged out of her jacket and put it in the locker. She then changed her jeans and t-shirt against the skirt and the blouse. She was used to wear skirts, but she preferred pants. She decided to pull her hair back in a pony tail, thinking that it would be best to follow Mia's example. She wasn't used to wear her hair like that, she always wore it down, but it was something new. New job, new hair.
"You're ready, that's good" Mia greeted her when Elizabeth entered the kitchen 5 minutes later, dressed up in her new uniform. "You can help me to get the breakfast into the dining room. Oh and that's Josh" she pointed to a man to Elizabeth's right. He was reading in a book. "He's busy finding a new extraordinary recipe. He's the cook. He'll eventually talk to you later" Mia said and handed her a basket with bread. She then walked across the room to another door.
Elizabeth followed her and found herself in the large dining room. There was a massive table in the middle, offering seats for 8 people, but with only 3 place settings. Elizabeth put the basket with the bread on the table and helped to get the rest of the dishes and food inside the room. When they were finished, she and Mia disappeared in the kitchen again.
"Ok, who am I working for?" Elizabeth finally asked. She didn't know a thing about her employers.
"The Sheppard's? Nice people. Richard Sheppard is owner of one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. and Kelly Sheppard is teaching at an elementary school. She really doesn't have to work at all, but she likes her children and she would never stop teaching. John Sheppard is...well, he's the complete opposite of his parents. He's a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force and he runs a flight school just a few miles away from here. He just came back from a mission or something like that a few weeks ago. You'll see the difference between him and his parents when you meet him" Mia explained.
Elizabeth nodded. She could understand Mrs. Sheppard. Her father had told her many times that there was no need for her to work and make money, especially not with a job as a negotiator, but Elizabeth had always wanted to be independent. Her family had money, yes, but she didn't want it. She wanted to have her own life, her own work and her own money.
It was somehow ironic that she had landed herself here. She had wanted to take a break from the UN and the military in particular and now her new boss was an Air Force Colonel. That was just great.
"You can go and check if they need something" Mia said and Elizabeth snapped out of her thoughts.
"What?" she asked, feeling suddenly terrified. This job was really different compared to the work she did for the UN. She was good with people when she needed to solve problems and negotiate treaties, but this was something else. This seemed more personal.
"Don't worry, they won't bite you. Just ask if everything is ok" Elizabeth straightened her blouse and went back to the door that led to the dining room. She then knocked and entered. She found only one person standing at the window.
He was standing with his back to her, his arms folded in front of his chest. His head was somewhat tilted to his right. Elizabeth had to suppress a smile when she saw his hair. It was black and seemed to follow its own rules. It was pointing wildly in every direction. Elizabeth cleared her throat.
"Good morning" she said politely. He whirled around and looked at her. His eyes were a sparkling green. He looked at her for a few minutes more and Elizabeth wanted to apologize for interrupting him when a smile spread across his face.
"Morning. I'm sorry, I just let my mind wander a bit too far" he smiled and scratched the back of his head. Elizabeth's heart gave a small jump at the picture. "Since I haven't seen you here before, I assume that you are Elizabeth" he said friendly and stepped towards her.
"How do you know my name?" she asked confused. He laughed slightly.
"Nicholas told me that there would be an addition to the staff. He was pretty enthusiastic when he told me about you. John Sheppard" he said and extended a hand. Elizabeth looked at it for a few moments and then took it.
"Elizabeth Weir. And with Nicholas you mean Mr. Robbins, right?" she asked. So this was John Sheppard, the Air Force Colonel. His hand was warm and she had expected it to be rough, but his skin was soft.
"Yes, Mr. Robbins" he said, his hand still holding hers. Neither of them made the move to draw their hands away. Elizabeth looked at his face. A slight stubble was shadowing his chin. A smile framed his lips and Elizabeth felt suddenly drawn to him.
"Oh, John, you're already here" a voice said and they both jerked away from each other. Elizabeth's gaze wandered from John Sheppard's face towards a door at the other end of the room and fixed on another man, undoubtedly Mr. Sheppard senior. He wore a black suit, matched with a perfect tied blue tie.
"I'm an early riser, dad. You should know that by now" John said and folded his arms again in front of his chest. Richard Sheppard laughed slightly and then his gaze turned to Elizabeth. He gave his son a questioning look. "That's Elizabeth Weir. It's her first day here today"
"Good morning" Elizabeth said. Sheppard senior gave her a quick smile and sat down at the table. "Enjoy your breakfast" she added and made her way back to the door that led to the kitchen. She looked a last time at John Sheppard who was still watching her and closed the door.