Chapter 3: First Day on the Job

The next morning

Ana woke up at dawn the following morning, looking out the window to see the pink and orange sunrise peeking up over the mountains along the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, and Ana couldn't help but smile as she sat up, stretching her limbs out while yawning tiredly. Lester snoozed in his little doggy bed near the door, but his ears perked up when he heard Ana get out of bed and make her way over to her closet.

Yesterday had felt like a dream, and Ana was still struggling to process it all. The last thing she had expected when coming up here for the weekend was to meet the family who owned this house. Not only was she getting to work for them, however, but she was getting her student loan debt paid off in full as her salary! It all seemed too good to be true, and part of her was almost afraid it had all been a dream, but deep down she knew it had really happened. The very thought made her smile.

Despite how early it was, Ana was going to head downstairs right away and get started on her job duties. Since Christian had offered to pay off all of her student loan debts as compensation for her services, Ana was more eager than ever to show she was a hard worker who cared about her job. She had spoken with Grace and Christian last night about what was expected of her this week, which included keeping everything tidy while also starting breakfast before the others woke up, so those were the things Ana intended to do first thing this morning.

Ana now put on her comfy slippers over her sock feet and wrapped a bathrobe over her long pajamas, the extra layers necessary due to the cold temperatures of Aspen this early in the morning. She quietly opened the bedroom door and made her way downstairs into the kitchen, hearing Lester silently trotting along behind her.

The two of them headed along the empty hallway into the main living room, where Ana saw the sun rising through the giant, floor-to-ceiling windows facing the mountains. "Want to go outside, boy?" Ana whispered to Lester once they made it up to the patio door. He panted excitedly while making whiny sounds in the back of his throat, and Ana snickered as she opened the patio door for him. Lester immediately bounded outside, jumping into the nearest pile of snow, and Ana chuckled as she closed the patio door after him and turned back into the house.

As far as Ana could tell, pretty much everything in the house seemed to be in order, although several people had left their coats, hats, and gloves lying haphazardly across the living room. She gathered up all the coats and hung them up in the closet before folding all the hats and gloves, placing them neatly in the mudroom near the front porch.

Once she had done that, she went back into the living room, looking around for anything else she could clean, but before she could find anything, she heard her name being spoken from near the staircase:

"Good morning Ana."

Ana turned to see Christian walking down the stairs, wearing plaid pajama pants and a black long-sleeve t-shirt. His copper hair looked very sleep-tousled and messy, and Ana had to keep herself from smiling at the sight of him like that.

"Good morning, Christian," Ana greeted him. "You're up early."

"I usually get up around this time," Christian said, walking up to her. "Being an early riser is kind of a hard habit to break, even when I'm on vacation."

"Would you like me to put on a pot of coffee right now? It might help wake you up a bit more."

"That sounds wonderful - thank you."

Ana turned to head into the kitchen, trying to remember what cupboard the coffee was in. Grace and Carrick had thankfully brought along groceries with them to Aspen, and it was enough to keep everyone well-fed for the entire week while saving Ana the hassle of having to make a trip into town to buy food for over a dozen people. There was a wide variety of breakfast options - fresh milk and eggs, bread, vegetables, sausage, bacon, Canadian bacon, cereal, and several flavors of oatmeal. There were also several types of coffee grounds, and Ana picked out the Starbucks medium roast to start with.

Once the coffee was finished brewing, Ana poured some into a mug - she also found a sugar dish and small cream pitcher in the cupboard, and she arranged all three on a serving tray before bringing it all over to Christian, who was sitting in the living room while reading a newspaper.

"Here you go. I wasn't sure if you wanted cream or sugar, but I put both on the side," Ana said, placing the tray on the coffee table in front of Christian.

"I usually just take it black, but thank you Ana," Christian said kindly, placing his newspaper down and picking up the mug of coffee. "Why don't you grab yourself a cup and join me?"

"Alright," Ana smiled, blushing slightly as she turned around and headed back to the kitchen. She wasn't much of a coffee drinker, but she thought it would have been rude to refuse the man who was paying off her student loan debts. Besides, she found that she rather liked talking to Christian.

I hope that doesn't mean anything.

Ana poured herself a cup and walked back into the living room. Before she could sit down, however, she spotted Lester standing at the patio door, staring at her and panting happily.

"Oh, excuse me one second," Ana said to Christian, setting her coffee down on the table before walking over to the patio door. The moment she opened it, Lester bounded inside happily, his wet fur glittering with white snow. He trotted past Ana to sit at Christian's feet, panting up at him happily. Christian chuckled as he leaned forward and scratched the dog's ear, earning him a happy whine.

"You know, I've never owned a dog before, but this little guy seems like a lot of fun," Christian smiled. "What's his name?"

"Lester," Ana grinned, sitting back down in her chair adjacent to Christian. "My roommate and I have only had him for a few months now, but I've been bringing him with me to Aspen every month so he could keep me company while I cleaned the house. He also really enjoys running around in the mountains up here, so both of us sort of get some enjoyment out of these trips."

"I can imagine. It'll be interesting staying in a house for a whole week with Lester here," Christian chuckled, now scratching him under his chin. Lester tilted his head back and closed his eyes, seeming to enjoy Christian's ministrations.

"He does seem to like you," Ana giggled, but just as she said that, Lester suddenly turned around and trotted off into another direction, possibly going to look for his food dish.

"Ah well - it was good while it lasted," Christian smirked, leaning back on the couch and taking a sip of his coffee. He then turned to Ana. "So why are you up this early, Ana?"

"Aside from putting Lester out, I was hoping to get an early start on my housekeeping duties. I was just tidying up the place before you came down, and once some more people wake up I was going to start on breakfast."

"That's not a bad idea," Christian nodded. "Have you ever worked as a housekeeper for a group of people before?"

"No, never."

Christian smiled. "Well, I would say you're a natural at this, but to someone like you who graduated summa cum laude, that would probably be an insult."

Ana couldn't help but laugh. "It feels like it should be, but considering how I'm currently working at a small art studio in Boulder, I'm not really one to talk."

Christian chuckled. "I suppose that's true, but if it's a job you enjoy, there can be a lot more value in it than just money."

"Do you feel that way about your job?" Ana asked. "I'm sorry, but what is it you do exactly?"

Christian smiled at her. "I'm the CEO of Grey Enterprise Holdings - a mergers and acquisitions company in Seattle. Basically, my company finds other businesses that are struggling financially and we bring them under our management. Usually, with our help, these companies are able to become profitable once again."

"Wow - I had no idea there were companies that did that," Ana said interestedly. "What if you acquire a company and then find out it can't be profitable?"

"We shut it down," Christian said simply. "Sometimes there's no other choice but to put an end to a company that's no longer making money. It's awful, but it's the world we live in."

"You sound like the ultimate consumer," Ana couldn't help but point out, and the look of surprise on Christian's face caused her to giggle. "Wielding your power in capitalist America… you clearly can't be content with mediocrity."

Christian's face brightened, and he suddenly laughed, his eyes shining with amusement. "Are you actually quoting Andrew Carnegie to me?"

"Maybe. You're familiar with his work?"

"Of course I am. The Gospel of Wealth is what inspired me to pursue corporate business as an adult. He was a genius in my opinion."

"He was a very interesting man," Ana conceded. "And I'm glad you knew I was just teasing you - the last thing I would ever want to do is offend you."

"It's quite alright, Ana. I actually find it rather refreshing talking to someone like you."

Ana only smiled, not sure how to respond to that. Before she could say anything, however, the sound of people coming down the stairs came from behind her, and she turned around to see who had arrived.

"Why, good morning you two," Odette Trevelyan, Christian's grandmother, shuffled into the living room with her husband Mitchell beside her. Like Ana, they were both wearing bathrobes over their pajamas, and Odette gave the two of them a sweet smile. "What are you kids doing up so early?"

"I usually get up at this time, Grandmother. And Ana was just letting her dog out," Christian responded, getting to his feet and kissing his grandma on the cheek. "What are you two doing up so early?"

"I always get up around this time to get the newspaper," Mitchell grunted, his low gravelly voice reminding Ana a bit of her dad Ray. "Then I remembered we're in the middle of goddamn nowhere - there probably isn't a newspaper around for miles!"

"Funny you should mention that," Christian smiled, reaching down and picking up the newspaper he had been reading earlier, and Mitchell's whole face lit up. "I paid to have The Aspen Times delivered to our doorstep every morning for the week we're staying here. I thought you'd appreciate it"

"Well, would you look at that! Thank you, Christian," Mitchell laughed, taking the newspaper from Christian and patting him on the arm. "With my newspaper and a cup of coffee, I'll be happy never to leave this house again."

"Mitchell, stop," Odette chided her husband lovingly. "We're all going to go skiing today, remember? We came here this week to spend some quality time with the family, not be holed up in the house all day."

"Yeah, yeah…" Mitchell grunted, not sounding very enthused.

"Can I get you guys a cup of coffee?" Ana asked Mitchell and Odette politely, and they both agreed. "I was going to start breakfast soon too. How does French toast sound?"

"That sounds great, Ana," Christian smiled at her. "Will you be able to handle making enough food for thirteen people though?"

"I'll be fine - I've made French toast tons of time before," Ana smiled reassuringly at him before heading into the kitchen. French toast was actually a specialty of hers, since she would often make it for Kate back home. She was confident she could feed thirteen people with her favorite breakfast recipe.

Ana poured out two cups of coffee for Mitchell and Odette, emptying out the carafe as she did so. At that moment, however, several more people began to make their way downstairs - Elliot, Eliza, Justin, and their little boy Bradley, all of them still in their pajamas.

"Oh, is that coffee?" Elliot spotted Ana in the kitchen. "Can I get a cup of that?"

"Ooh, us too!" Eliza called from the living room.

Ana glanced down at the empty carafe in her hand before sighing, looking back up at Elliot and forcing a smile. "Of course."

It's going to be a long morning.

A couple hours later, everybody in the house was wide awake and ready to head out to the slopes. There was apparently several ski slopes they all wanted to hit up today, and they needed to get there early if they wanted to get up on the best hills. Ana made sure to stay on top of making breakfast for everyone, and she was very pleased to hear all of them loved her special French toast, most of them even coming back for seconds.

"That was an awesome breakfast, Ana," Mia grinned, bringing her empty plate and glass into the kitchen. "You have to get me the recipe for this French toast."

"I'll write it down for you," Ana smiled as she loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher.

"Thank you so much," Mia smiled.

"Mia - we're heading out now!" Carrick called from the front door. "Are you ready to go?"

"Just a second!" Mia called over her shoulder before turned back to Ana, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry that we're all sort of ditching you here, Ana. Especially with all these dirty dishes to clean…"

"Oh, please, don't worry about it Mia," Ana insisted, smiling sincerely at her. "This is what your brother's paying me for. You guys go and have fun skiing today."

"Mia!" Grace called from the front door.

"Coming!" Mia called after her mother before turning back to Ana. "We have to go now, but we'll see see you when we get back. Alright?"

"Alright," Ana couldn't help but smile as Mia turned around and hurried to the front door, waving goodbye to Ana over her shoulder. The sounds of a dozen people talking to each other while moving out the front door with all their winter gear filled the house, and after a few minutes, Ana heard the front door slam shut, and finally silence.

Lester trotted downstairs and into the kitchen, panting happily up at Ana. She smiled down at him.

"Just you and me now, buddy," she giggled, and Lester let out a happy bark.

Ana finished loading up the dishwasher, which thankfully fit most of the dirty dishes used during breakfast. Only a few of the frying pans needed cleaning, which Ana washed by hand in the kitchen sink. Once finished with that, she wiped down the counters and dining room table with a washcloth, and made sure all the food was put away in the fridge and cupboards.

Once done with that, Ana set to work cleaning the rest of the house. The whole place hadn't been cleaned since November, so a lot of the floors, windows, and furniture were a bit dusty from disuse. Ana took the next couple hours moving through each room, dusting everything that needed it, and by noon everything on the first floor was dusted and polished, looking good as new.

The others weren't going to be back until later this afternoon, so Ana fixed herself a small lunch. The weather today was bright and sunny, despite the cooler temperatures, so after she ate Ana decided to bundle up in her winter coat, hat and gloves, and take Lester for a walk through the mountains.

The scenery up here was absolutely gorgeous, and Ana and Lester had a great time walking through the snow while wending their way around the evergreen trees surrounding the house, taking in the nature around them. Ana had brought along her cell phone, and even though she had no reception up here, she couldn't resist taking several pictures of the scenery they passed along. She would be sure to paint some of these into beautiful landscapes when she got the chance.

After a couple hours out in the forest, Ana decided to head back to the house. It was almost three o'clock in the afternoon now, and the others still weren't back, even though the sun began to sink lower along the western horizon.

Ana entered the house and then went upstairs to her room to change out of her winter clothes. She decided since the others likely weren't coming back for awhile, she could take a little time to get started on painting some of the pictures she had taken outside. She changed into her favorite painting clothes - old tattered jeans, a tank top and an overlarge button-down shirt with paint stains all over it. She pulled her hair back into a messy bun before setting up her easel and chair near the empty space beside her window. She grabbed one of the clean canvases she brought with her, her box of acrylic paints, brushes and her wooden palette. She then looked through her phone to find the best picture she wanted to paint, eventually settling on the one she took of the evergreen trees right behind the house. She liked it because she could see a bit of the house's porch in the background.

After squeezing the dollops of acrylic paint onto her palette and mixing some of them to create perfect color combinations, Ana set to work. She stroked her brush along the canvas, coloring in the intricate blues and purples of the mountains - painting came naturally to Ana, and the familiarity of working with beautiful colors and brush strokes soothed her psyche in a way nothing else could. This was just what she needed after today.

Lester napped on Ana's bed as she worked, and she was focusing so hard on her painting that she hadn't realized that several hours had passed and the sun had set outside. She only looked up from her painting when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

Blinking bemusedly, Ana glanced down at her watch to check the time. It was a little after five. "Come in!"

The door opened and Christian stepped inside - he was wearing a gray fleece shirt and black jeans, and he was holding Ana's suitcase in one of his hands. "Hi, Ana - this just arrived for you from your roommate."

"Oh, awesome," Ana grinned. "Thank you."

"No problem," Christian smiled, walking into the room and setting the suitcase on her bed. Lester perked his head up and started sniffing the suitcase interestedly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you guys had come back from skiing," Ana said apologetically, setting her paintbrush down. "I would have gotten dinner started for you guys."

"Oh no, it's quite alright - we all ate at the ski lodge," Christian explained. "That's why we were a bit late coming back. Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"Not yet, but I'll be fine for now," Ana said. "I was hoping to finish up a bit more of my painting before I grabbed something to eat."

Curious, Christian moved closer to her and gazed down at the unfinished painting sitting on her easel. Ana blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"That's beautiful, Ana," Christian said sincerely, his gray eyes roving over the canvas with avid interest. "You're extremely talented."

Ana blushed even harder, letting out a self-conscious chuckle. "Thank you," she blush. There was a short silence as Christian continued to examine her painting.

"Seriously, Ana - I'd pay good money for art like this," Christian insisted. "Have you sold any of your other pieces?"

"Only a few," Ana said honestly, gazing at her painting as well. "And just to family and friends. I've kind of learned the hard way that not many people want to buy art from an unknown like me."

Christian looked down at her and smiled. "Well, maybe once more people see your talent, all that will change," he said kindly, and Ana couldn't help but smile back. "As much as I would like to stand here and admire your beautiful art all evening, I actually came up here to ask if you would like to come downstairs. We're all having some of my mother's homemade hot chocolate while warming up around the living room fireplace, and we'd love it if you'd join us."

Ana raised her eyebrows, surprised and flattered by his request. "You would?" she asked, unable to hide the hint of skepticism in her voice. She couldn't quite believe these people wanted to talk to her - a housekeeper whom they had only known for about a day. Wouldn't they think she was encroaching upon their family vacation?

"Of course we would," Christian said sincerely, looking almost surprised at her reaction. "All of us are very happy you're here, Ana, and we'd all like to get to know you better while you're staying with us. Have we given you any impression otherwise?"

Ana blinked, realizing he was right - she knew these were all good people who'd treated her with nothing but kindness and respect since they arrived. She was just being silly. "Of course not," she said after a moment, smiling sincerely. "I'd love to join you guys downstairs. I just need a minute to change out of these dirty clothes."

A certain look crossed over Christian's features, almost as if his eyes had darkened as they roved over her body. He blinked before looking back up at her and smiling. "Please, take all the time you need - we'll be right downstairs whenever you're ready."

Ana smiled and nodded, and Christian shot her one last look before walking out the room, shutting the door behind him. Ana stood up from her chair, feeling her cheeks burning and her heart pounding for some reason as she went over to her suitcase to find a clean outfit to wear.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please leave a review.

And for all of you here in the United States, I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving! :)