The smell of waffles woke Lorena up. She opened her eyes to see Tanika setting a small table beside her bed.
"Good morning, my lady." The maid bowed when she noticed Lorena was awake.
Lorena rolled her eyes in between a yawn and a stretch combo. "We're not in the sixties, Tanika. You don't need to bow to me."
"Oh." She blushed and bowed her head in wait for Lorena's following command.
Shaking her head, Lorena pulled out of the bed into a sitting position. "These smell good." She said, rubbing her hands together, her feet wobbling beneath her.
"Go on, and take a bite." Tanika urged on happily, with a big smile on her pretty face.
Lorena returned her smile and took a massive bite from a piece of the waffle. Her eyes widened as the flavors hit her tongue. She broke into an even wider smile.
"Tanika?"
"My lady."
"Did you make this yourself?" She asked, taking a more significant bite.
"Yes, my lady." The happy girl bobbed her head in excitement. She wanted to be on good terms with the future lady of the house. If her culinary skills could help her with that, she would gladly cook every hour of every day.
"It is delicious, Tanika! Good job." She struggled between words with a mouthful of waffles.
"Gracie, my lady. I'll leave you to eat your food now."
"Before you leave, Tanika, I have something to ask you." She stopped in her tracks and turned around to face her madam again.
"Si madame." She bowed again.
"Raise your head and look at me, Tanika." She ordered, taking a sip of the best cappuccino she ever had.
Maybe coming here wasn't bad after all, she thought. She had not tasted food this good since her mum died. She could already tell she would adore Tanika. But first, she had to win her loyalty.
"Where is Makris?"
"Master Andino left for work about an hour ago." She said, looking everywhere except at her madam. She was still uncomfortable with the pressure of the woman she had only read of until recently.
Lorena let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. At least she wouldn't deal with her arrogant husband-to-be and his flirtatious remarks.
"Did he leave a message for me?" As she asked, her mind flashed back to the previous night.
"Arrogant bastard!" She thought, chewing more furiously now. Who did he think he was to assume she would want to follow him to the luncheon? Just because her father was dead set on seeing them wed didn't mean she wanted to be even an inch close to him.
"My lady, are you okay?" She followed the worried look in Tanika's eyes and realized she had left scratches on the plate with her tight grip on the fork.
"It's nothing," She faked a laugh and sipped from her drink. "So yeah, did he?" She asked, a little too sweet, a smile enveloping her face.
"Actually, yes."
"Oh?" Her brow raised as she waited for Tanika to pass on the message.
"He said to remind you of the luncheon today. He wants you to get ready on time cus he'll be back before noon to pick you up."
"Stupid!" She muttered under her breath, seething.
"My lady?"
"Oh, it's nothing, Tanika. Just, what is the time now?" She asked, chewing the last piece of waffles on her plate.
Tanika took a glance at her wristwatch. When she arrived at the house four months ago, she had been given one. Every worker in the place was required to wear one. It made it easier for them to keep time for whatever needed to be done.
"It's half past nine, my lady."
"Half past nine," Lorena repeated, taking the last drop of cappuccino. "So I have less than three hours to find an outfit for today? Just great!" She shook her head and pushed the table away.
Standing up, she went straight to her bags she had still not unpacked, to search for a befitting dress for the luncheon.
Tanika hurriedly produced a rag from her apron and wiped off the table. Then she picked up the tray. She stood at the foot of the bed, contemplating if she should say what she had in mind.
"Well, don't just stand there, Miss. If you have something you want to say, say it." Lorena, who noticed Tanika fidgeting, said. She wondered what happened to the bold girl she had interacted with when she arrived.
It was as if that girl had been replaced with some docile mute. She understood servants must show respect, but no one said they had to be zombies. Roselina and Francesca could never.
"If you like, I could call someone I know to make you a dress. She isn't famous, though." Her head hangs off their own Accord again as her fingers tremble beneath the tray she is holding.
The fact that she dared even suggest to THE LORENA CICERO about a struggling designer friend was brave but probably stupid.
"Well?"
"Excuse me, my lady?" Her head shut up.
"If she can get me a good dress in time, why not? I'll give you my measurements so you can send it to her. Also, I don't have enough time, so she needs to quickly get here with whatever dress she makes."
Tanika's face lightened up. "Gracie, my lady," She bowed over and over again. She had not expected the lady Lorena to be so open-minded with her suggestion.
The lady, who probably wore the best designer in the world, was open to getting a dress from her poor friend. She couldn't wait to tell Maria. "I'll go tell her now." She hurried outside.
"Tanika?" She stopped dead in her tracks, afraid the lady had suddenly changed her mind.
"My lady."
"My measurement." She replied, amused at the sudden dampening of Tanika's mood. The poor girl probably thought she had changed her mind.
"Oh, sorry." She breathed out and even managed a smile.
"You know what, take out your phone and save my number instead. It'll be easier to communicate on the phone instead of always having to come up." She felt sorry for the poor girl and her hand, especially because she had been holding that tray for quite a while now.
"Okay, my lady!" Tanika quickly dipped her hands into her apron and brought out her phone.
Lorena dismissed her after she had made sure she had saved her number and also received the details of her measurements. She proceeded to the bathroom after to take her bath and clean up. Just an hour later, she heard a knock on her door.
"God, I hope it's not him." Her heart jumped as she called for the person behind the door to enter.
Tanika burst into the room, followed behind by an interesting-looking lady with a zipped-up leather bag in her hands.
This was Tanika's designer friend. She didn't want to judge her skills based on the shouty appearance of the petite woman. After all, it was a bold choice to dye one's hair both blue and green on both sides.
"My lady, this is Maria." Tanika turned to introduce her friend, who had already pushed past her.
"You're even more beautiful in person!" Maria blurted out.
"Well, thank you, my dear," Lorena smiled. "Now, my dress?" She stretched out her hands.
"Yes, yes. I got the perfect dress for you. You're going to be the standout today." She said excitedly, removing the dress from the bag.
Tanika clasped her hands beside her friend excitedly while Lorena prayed that she had not made a terrible decision, seeing Makris would be home in no time. She also did not have a backup dress in mind. Done removing it, Maria presented the dress to Lorena.
"I'll go try this on," Lorena said, heading to the bathroom.
"She's gorgeous!" Maria said as soon as Lorena disappeared into the bathroom.
"I know, right?" Tanika did a dramatic jump.
"And she'll be wearing my dress, Tani. My dress!"
"Imagine the publicity you'll get. In no time, celebrities will reach out to you to design dresses for them. Do you know what this means, Mar?"
"What?"
"You're going to be famous!" They squealed in excitement at the same time, grabbed themselves, and began to jump like little girls.
"This is quite the scene." They heard someone clear their throat, putting a quick halt to their little celebration.
Tanika turned around nervously, recognizing that voice.
"Master Andino." She quickly bowed. Unsuspectingly, she kicked the legs of Maria, gawking shamelessly at her boss to do the same.
"Where's the lady Lorena?" He frowned.
"She's changing in the bathroom." Tanika stuttered.
"Leave." He commanded. She didn't need to be told twice. Tanika dragged Maria's hands, and they hurried out of the room.
Alone in the room, Makris took his time to do a little survey. This was his first time entering this room since she moved in. Nothing seemed to have changed.
It still looked the same. She had not even bothered to unpack her bag. He didn't like that. His eyes caught the attention of a painting on the wall. Now that was new. He went straight to it and began to study the strange art.
"Tanika, you need to help me zip up the dre..... What the hell?" She screamed, seeing Makris in her room instead.
"Sure, Emerald, I'll help you with your zipper." He turned to her, a dangerous grin plastered at the corner of his lip.