High School Again: The President's Secret Lady Boss

Instead of a warm and pleasant welcome, all that greeted Winter was a whole household set on going against her.

She wonders what happened all those years. She wonders how her parents were to them. She wonders why they aren't even a bit least grateful – or why they can't seem to treat her good in respect to the memories of this couple who had given them their livelihoods. She wonders where all this audacity is coming from.

'Is it because of my Uncle and Aunt's support? Or Bianca egging them on…?' she contemplated as she continued to watch the commotion from the side.

'Or maybe they're testing me to see if I'm fit to be the head of the family or something? Hah. Yeah, right. How foolish.'

No matter what their reason is, Winter is not planning to let them do whatever they please with her. 

They may still be strangers to one another at this point in time. But there stands the fact that she now owns the whole Middleton estate. Having that said, she is not going to tolerate this kind of behavior in her domain. Trying to get along with them would only be a waste of time, especially since Bianca had been manipulating them for years. Pretending to be all nice and friendly would not help either. 

'Come to think of it, why must I be the one to adjust, anyway? And why wait to take action? Because Uncle and Aunt are still around? Because they're the ones in charge? Letting this attitude of theirs persist might only lead me to food poisoning…' Winter pondered over. 

'If they don't want to do their work properly, then they don't have to work at all.'

At the moment, August is still arguing with the head chef.

The entire kitchen is already in chaos by then. Still, no one is admitting their wrongdoings. Just as she had seen coming, they were only letting his complaints fall on deaf ears. Now, it appears like he's merely throwing a fit for no good reason. 

"We've got no idea what you're talking about, Sir. All the meals we've served are always of fine quality. Not even the Young Lady nor the Sir and Ma'am have ever complained about it," the head chef explained condescendingly while the others snickered mockingly. 

Of course, this made August flare up even more.

Winter waited until the kitchen was fully packed before she finally joined the scene. The more, the merrier, after all. For this announcement that she's about to make, everyone has to be there. Once more, she reminded herself that this wasn't a part of her plan. But seeing how disdainful their actions are, she's starting to think that it's okay. 

And so, with a confident stride, she steps in at last. 

"Clause two of the Power of Attorney presented to us by our family's lawyer, Sir Victor who is also the executor of my parents' Last Will and Testament, has clearly stated…" Winter began, reciting a certain excerpt from the legal documents that Victor showed her before.

"We bequeath all of our assets to our biological daughter, Winter Middleton. All the rest, residue, and remainder of our estate both real and personal, including but not limited to all household goods, land, jewelry, clothing, and any other items of personal property, of whatsoever nature and wheresoever situate, we give, devise, and bequeath absolutely to her." 

The whole room fell silent then. 

All the cooks and the maids are too stunned to say a thing. They still can't quite get what she's trying to get at all of the sudden, but they reckon that she's narrating a particular passage in a written authorization. She emphasizes the power that her words hold when she stands in their midst and firmly holds her ground there, giving all of them a good view of how serious she is.

"To put it simply, everything around you right now belongs to me…" Winter continued, voice stern and steely. 

"The things you used to cook my food, the floor your feet are stepping onto, the roof and ceiling above you, the whole estate overall – these are all 'legally' mine. And so are the funds allotted for your salaries, which I believe are one of the highest out there, is that right?" 

The head chef stiffens, his eyes widening in both surprise and enlightenment. 

Still, she can see that he's not totally fazed yet. There's still a hint of mockery in his incredulous expression. He's probably thinking just what she can do even if she has the legal ownership. And it's not just him. They all believe that she doesn't even know how to manage a household as huge as the Middleton's. 

"You're right, Ms. Middleton. You do own everything here. We're not saying anything otherwise. We're just saying that we don't have any idea about what you're complaining," the head chef scoffed, obviously messing around with her.

"Still got no idea, huh? Alright. Fine. Thank you for your time…" she replied curtly, crossing her arms. 

"Now, pack up your things, head chef. You're fired."

Everyone was shocked to hear her order. 

Even August didn't see that coming. He had only let Winter talk then since he thought she would just further defend herself. But it seemed like she's angrier than she let on. Still, seeing the house workers' reactions had been worth it. 

"M-Ms. Middleton, what are you saying…?" the head chef snorted halfheartedly, not buying it.

"You can't just decide things on your own-"

"Why? Because Uncle and Aunt are the ones in charge…?" she snorted back, giving him a death stare. 

"Didn't you hear what I said? I own everything here, which means I'm the one who pays for your wages. You think they're spending a single penny on you? No, they don't. They ain't spending anything on you lot. I'm the one who's got the money here, so I'm the one who decides if you're staying or not." 

That's right.

She may not have the power that Cyrus, Grace and Bianca have on them. But she's still got the power of money and the law. They may be thinking that she's making decisions impetuously and that she doesn't even know anything about managerial accounting in a household. But if she just fires them, they don't have to think about such things anymore.

"P-Please, don't play around, M-Ms. Middleton," the head chef breathed in disbelief.

"Oh, you think I'll play around like you? If you want to work for Uncle and Aunt, why not ask for your salary from them? Oh, and move to their place too, alright? Besides, they're the only ones you've been serving 'fine quality' meals to…" she taunted, indifferent to his inner turmoil. 

"Now, go on. If you're still not out in ten minutes, I'll call the security."

With that, Winter turned to the maids who were at the dining hall earlier. 

They're cowering in fear at the corner of the kitchen, afraid of losing their jobs like him. Acting all petrified and pitiful in front of her is not going to cut it, though. Not one of them had even apologized yet. And they still seem to have no plan of doing so.

'Hmmm… Letting them leave just like that is no fun. I'll make them work a lot harder from now on. Perhaps, cleaning the whole mansion by themselves will do? So, for now, let's pretend that I'm going to forgive them…' Winter contemplated for a moment as she continued glaring at them. 

'Then fire them at once the moment they've got their hopes high up.'

Little by little.

She will definitely wipe them all out little by little.

In the meantime, she'll think of ways to use them to her advantage. She knows that she will not be able to completely get them on her side, so she just has to make use of them before she kicks them out of her mansion. 

"So then, everyone, do your work properly from now on, okay…?" Winter announced to all the house workers present there, faking a courteous and trusting smile at the same time. 

"Either that or don't work at all." 

Eventually, she turned around and took her leave with August in tow.

Completely satisfied by the thunderstruck silence that filled the kitchen then, he childishly stuck out his tongue to the head chef, teasing him and everyone else for the first and last time. It really serves him right. Him getting fired is probably better than punching him in the face like what he's been itching to do. 

All that they just wanted here was for them to admit their misdeeds and apologize to them. But because their core is already rotten from the first get-go, it has come to this. 

"And they totally deserve it. How did those people pass the interview and get their jobs in the first place? Is being rude a part of the Middleton's qualifications for their employees?" August voiced out his thoughts, earning a giggle from Winter.

"Well, who knows? Maybe because the ones who took them in have a similar mindset."