Love Me Once, Love Me Twice

She had been surprised to find that Lissa had done an excellent job at picking out an easy, appropriate for dinner outfit. It was a long-sleeved black shirt, with some metallic threads occasionally showing through the fabric paired with slim blue jeans. The maid had even gone so far as to select a pair of dress shoes that laced around her feet in neat leather strips. She hadn't been expecting her maid to nearly shove her down on to the seat before the vanity and begin to dry her hair for her.

Instead of arguing, she checked her phone for the message from Michael. As expected, he'd sent her a smiley face with a brief 'Good to see you again!' He was consistent if nothing else. She sent a quick smiley face back to acknowledge she'd received the message before putting the phone back down. She'd arrange an actual hangout with him another time.

It, uh. It was convenient to have someone gently drying her hair while she did something else. She felt strangely pampered, but for once allowed herself to luxuriate in it instead of scolding herself. She'd had a rough day - she could allow herself a bit of quality treatment, right?

The towel disappeared, leaving only slightly damp hair, but when Lissa attacked her brown hair very carefully with a hairbrush, Anna realized that the maid was way better at dealing with her hair than she was.

It was a humiliating thought, but she couldn't ignore that it was true.

She made a mental note to steal some tips from Lissa later on.

Once Anna was satisfactorily dressed and her hair was properly brushed to Lissa's stringent requirements, she walked to the dining room where Lissa fell away from her to join the rest of the serving staff. Opening the door and stepping into the fancy room, she paused.

"Well, this wasn't what I expected," Anna admitted, looking down at the spread of food on the table. "Isn't this a bit wasteful?"

"I may have gone overboard," Alex agreed, inclining his head. "I became a bit anxious."

Anna stared at him, dumbfounded. "Are you - are you telling me that you're the one that cooked all of this food?"

Alex tapped at his nose for a moment, before setting his palms on the table and nodding again. "It's a bit of a bad habit, but there's just something about being in the heat of the kitchen when all of the burners are going and the oven is heated and you've gotten everything prepped just right."

"How do you keep track of everything?" she asked as she took her seat. He sat at the head of the table and she'd elected to his left rather than at the opposite end of the table. It seemed less lonely that way.

"It's honestly kind of fun," he said, seemingly relieved she wasn't upset. "And don't worry - the food will be divided up by the staff. Any extra after that will be taken to a nearby shelter."

Well, the fact that he already had a plan for this told her this wasn't a rare event. "But how do you do it? Don't you get mixed up while you're cooking everything?"

Alex lifted his left hand from the table to tap at his nose before he realized what he was doing and abruptly dropped his hand once more.

"It's all in the prep work," he told her, a small smile creeping onto his face. "And honestly, prepping for the prep work itself cuts down on a lot of it, especially when you're doing a variety of dishes! It's kind of like a fun challenge, you know? You've only got so many pans, pots, and burners for them, so it's like a nicely calculated, properly choreographed dance that's entirely dependent on your skill at cooking."

He was very obviously enamored with the act of cooking. Anna smiled pleasantly as she made herself comfortable in her seat. "So you're a stress baker."

"I—" Alex couldn't stop the slight flush that touched his cheeks with red. "Yes. It's easy to cook when things are… difficult."

Hmm. It was good to know that he wasn't as unaffected by all of this as he seemed. Actually, considering the sheer amount of food here, it was probably safe to say that he'd been extremely anxious the entire time.

"It's always good to have ways to release stress," she said neutrally. Then, still smiling, she added, "But I'm glad your coping mechanism is something so very useful. Everything on the table looks delicious."

Alex smiled helplessly back at her, unsure of what to say in response. He had given her a lot of information much sooner than he'd expected to and she'd gone out for a run. He'd forced himself not to leave the kitchen to anxiously look at the time, to keep busy. She would come back. It was in the contract. She'd promised.

"I'm glad you like it," he finally decided on. "Is there anything you'd like to try first?" At his invitation, a servant stepped forward, a white towel folded neatly over his forearm and an apron wrapped around his waist. Unlike previous meals, where she and Alex had served themselves, it was apparent that this middle-aged man was going to take on the task.

"The baked ziti and some of that garlic bread, please," she said smoothly. It was still a bit uncomfortable to have someone waiting on her basically hand and foot, but it seemed as though these people preferred to be actively doing things to help… For a certain definition of helping, anyways. Lissa seemed to just like doing everything in Anna's stead.

"Alright, then," Alex eyed the selection. "Albert, I think I'll have some of the candied salmon with the mango rice." The man, whose name was apparently Albert, served them accordingly. Anna wasn't sure where he was getting the utensils from - or returning them, too. There was nothing to suggest any hint of mess, but surely the sauce covered serving spoon would have left a mark somewhere…

She was quickly distracted from her curiosity when Albert placed a plate before her. Not only had he carefully managed the servings without creating a mess, but he had also placed both the pasta and the bread in such an artful manner!

"I'm impressed," she admitted. "I always thought having so many servants was wasteful when you can take care of yourself, but the level of quality is completely different. There's no way I could have managed to plate this food so neatly." Realizing what was coming out of her mouth, she quickly elaborated, "But you also shouldn't waste so many resources when there are many tasks that can be done to a sufficient level with your own hands."

At this, Alex stared at her thoughtfully. Albert had already stepped back, waiting quietly against the wall until his services were required once more.

"Do you understand how businesses are run?" Alex suddenly asked her. His expression was indulgent and she suddenly felt as though he was gently chiding her.

Frowning, she nodded. "I do."

"Then, what does the manager do?"

"A manager handles the paperwork, supervises workers, and reports the data they receive from their subordinates to their superiors."

"That's a fair answer," he told her. "Now, if the manager is doing all of that, does the manager also have time to tend to the shelves of a store, the register of a check out line, or other various tasks?"

"No," Anna said, speaking somewhat hesitantly, "Though they should be ready to step in when their subordinates are incapable."

"Then, if you were to run a large business, you would give people jobs that are appropriate to their skills, right?"

"Yes, that makes the most sense," she agreed, wondering where he was going.

"But will you have time to go through the hundreds of people that might be seeking employment with you?"

"Probably not," she replied immediately, grimacing at the scale of business he was describing. "I would have hired someone suitable for that task."

"Why would you hire someone else for that?" Alex asked her comfortably.

"Because it would take too much of my time and whoever I hired should be better suited to interviewing candidates, sorting through data, and selecting new employees."

"But you'd still be hiring someone else, right?"

Seeing where this was going, but not entirely on the same wavelength, Anna ventured, "Like a housekeeper or a butler?"

Alex smiled at her. It was a gentle smile, kind and reassuring. That smile made her feel churlish. "Exactly so."

"So it's less about luxury and more about practicality?" she asked, curious.

"That's part of it," he admitted. "Many people have servants and waitstaff solely for the ability to say that they do. Historically, aristocrats might sell all of their family heirlooms and the very furniture they needed to survive rather admit that they couldn't afford servants. It's very convenient and luxurious to have someone to tend to my needs, but it's also more practical. If I don't have to worry about what to wear or what to eat, I can spent that much more time on my business interests or other more useful matters."

"I'd never thought of it like that," Anna frowned, reassessing the person in front of her again. This certainly changed her perspective on both him and the people in this mansion. Before, she'd anticipated some sort of fight because she was a newcomer, but Alex had explained everything very gently, almost as though she were child.

She realized suddenly that he had every right to be upset with her based on the ignorant words she had spoken. "I didn't mean to be offensive," she said, her frown deepening. "I'm sorry. I guess there's still a lot I have to learn about the world."

And wasn't that a slap in the face? She was twenty-six years old, had graduated college and was making her way in the world, but still she knew nothing about how others lived.