Almost Dead

He looked down at the coffee, which had splashed up through the vent in the lid and onto his hand. A few drops had spilled onto the floor. He reached into his pocket for a Kleenex and bent to mop it up.

Cassie guessed he was in his early thirties. He looked immaculately groomed. His brown hair was fade-cut to perfection and he wore a short, well-trimmed beard. She picked up a hint of an Australian accent in his voice.

Straightening up, he glared at her.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Cassie Vale, the au pair. Who are you?”

His eyebrows rose.

“As of when? You weren’t here yesterday.”

“I was hired yesterday afternoon.”

“Signora hired you?”

He emphasized the last word and stared at her for a few seconds, during which Cassie felt herself grow increasingly uncomfortable. She nodded wordlessly.

“I see. Well, my name is Maurice Smithers, and I’m Ms. Rossi’s personal assistant.”

Cassie gaped at him. He didn’t fit her picture of what a personal assistant was like.

“Why did you sneak into the house?”

Maurice sighed.

“The front door lock is difficult to open in cold weather. It makes an unholy noise and I don’t like to disturb the household when I arrive early. So I use the back, as it’s quieter.”

“And the coffee?”

Cassie stared at the mug, still feeling blindsided by the strangeness of his appearance and his purported role.

“It’s from an artisanal brewery down the road. It’s Signora’s favorite. I bring her a mug when we have our morning meetings.”

“So early?”

Although her tone was accusing, Cassie was feeling embarrassed. She’d believed she was being heroic, acting in the best interests of Ms. Rossi and her children. Now she was discovering she’d made a serious mistake, and had gotten off on the wrong foot with Maurice. As her personal assistant, he was obviously an influential figure in her life.

Her visions of a future internship were suddenly looking less certain. Cassie couldn’t bear to think that her dream might already have been compromised thanks to her own foolhardy actions.

“We have a very busy day today. Ms. Rossi prefers to start early. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to give this to her before it gets cold.”

He tapped respectfully on the door and a moment later, it was opened.

“Buongiorno, Signora. How are you this morning?”

Ms. Rossi was dressed and perfectly made up. She had a different pair of boots on today; these were cerise, with big silver buckles.

“Molto bene, grazie, Maurice.” She took the coffee from him.

The Italian pleasantries seemed to be a formality before the conversation switched to English, Cassie realized, as Maurice continued.

“It’s chilly outside. Shall I go and turn the heating up in your office?”

Up until now, Cassie hadn’t known that Maurice could smile, but now his face was stretched in an obsequious grin and he was practically fizzing over with the desire to please.

“We won’t be there too long. I am sure the heating will be adequate. Bring my coat, will you?”

“Of course.”

Maurice took the fur-collared coat from the wooden stand near the bedroom door. Following close behind her, he began talking animatedly.

“Wait until you hear what we have in the pipeline for Fashion Week. We had an excellent meeting yesterday with the French team. I’ve recorded the whole thing, of course, but I also have the minutes and a summary prepared.”

Cassie realized that Ms. Rossi hadn’t said a word to her. She must have seen her standing there, but her attention had been completely focused on Maurice. Now the two of them were heading toward the office where Cassie had been interviewed the day before.

She didn’t think Ms. Rossi was deliberately ignoring her—at least, she hoped she wasn’t. It was more as if she was completely distracted by work, with her full attention on the business day ahead.

“I have the sales reports for the past week, and there was a reply from the Indonesian suppliers.”

“I hope it is good news,” Ms. Rossi said.

“I think so. They’re requesting more information but it seems positive.”

Maurice was practically fawning over Ms. Rossi and Cassie had no idea whether he was ignoring her unintentionally or doing it deliberately, perhaps to show how much more important he was in her life than Cassie was.

She followed them to the office, trailing a few steps behind, waiting for the moment when there would be a gap in the conversation, so she could ask about the children’s schedules.

It soon became clear there was going to be no gap. With their heads bent over Maurice’s laptop, neither of them was giving her as much as a glance. Cassie became certain that Maurice was ignoring her on purpose. After all, he knew she was there.

She thought about interrupting them but felt nervous to do so. Their attention was so focused, and Cassie didn’t want to make Ms. Rossi angry, especially since the conversation she’d overheard yesterday proved that the businesswoman had a short fuse.

She’d been on top of the world after being hired, commended and praised by this influential woman. This morning, it was as if she didn’t exist to Ms. Rossi.

Turning away, Cassie felt discouraged and unsure. She tried to push the negative thoughts away, and firmly reminded herself that her role was to look after the children and not to monopolize Ms. Rossi’s attention when she was so busy. Hopefully Nina and Venetia would know what their schedule was.

When Cassie went to the girls’ rooms, she found them empty. Both beds had been immaculately made, and their rooms were tidy. Guessing that they must have gone to have breakfast, Cassie headed to the kitchen and was relieved to find them there.

“Good morning, Nina and Venetia,” she said.

“Good morning,” they replied politely.

Nina was sitting on a chair while, behind her, Venetia wrapped a hair tie around her ponytail. Cassie guessed that Nina had just done the same for her sister because Venetia’s hair was already neatly tied.

Both girls were dressed in pink and white school smocks. They had made toast and orange juice, which was set out on the counter.

Cassie was struck by how they seemed to behave as a unit. From what she’d seen so far, they had a harmonious relationship; there was no sign of squabbling or even teasing. She guessed being so close in age meant that they were more like twins than older and younger sisters.