salvation ⟡ noah sebastian

chapter seven: the schedule

Once I arrived back to the house, Matt was bringing pizza's in. I quickly jumped out of my car, and got the front door for him, he muttered a quiet 'thanks maria'. I turned around so I could shut my car off, and grab anything left lying around in there.

I took a deep breath, finally taking in the scenic area he lived in. It seemed to be just outside the city lines, close enough to do quick errands, far enough to not be bothered by the city noises and liveliness. For someone like him, I suppose it was perfect. He had a smaller front yard, flowers lined the garden areas in front of the house. That's really the only pretty thing in front though, no decorations besides the flowers.

I made my way up the entryway, and opened the door. Taking my shoes off and setting them next to the stairs to take them up with me when I was ready. There was a comfortable silence. Mr. Sebastian, likely working in his office, and Matt pulling pieces of pizza onto a plate and walking towards said office. I heard the sound of a vacuum humming upstairs, assuming that his cleaning employee was here. I made a mental note to remember to introduce myself to the person at some point this coming week.

I walked into the kitchen, and waited around for Matt. Looking around, taking everything in completely. It was a beautiful house, but it was lacking so much personality to it. I looked outside from the patio doors. The backyard was prettier than the front. Two small garden beds near the back of the yard, a pool with its covering over it since it was too cold to swim right now, a hot tub, and some small patio decorations.

I heard footsteps make their way into the kitchen, so I turned around, ready to greet Matt. I was shocked for just a moment, when I realized it was Mr. Sebastian, and not Matt that had come into the room. I heard him chuckle to himself, I think he meant to be quiet about it, but he wasn't.

"I don't like calling you Maria, you know?" Baffled. I'm pretty sure my eyes were going to fall out of my head. What the hell was wrong with calling me by my name? I cleared my face of my reaction, "why's that, sir?" I added a little emphasis on the sir. Couldn't a normal person have gotten his amount of attractiveness? Why did the universe make him so hot when he's so off limits?

"You said it's not disrespectful, but I was taught that it was. It goes against my own rules. May I call you Ms. Maria? It's better than just Maria, and not as bad as Ms. Sanchez right?" I nodded slowly. Ms. Maria had a nice ring to it anyway. "Yes Mr. Sebastian, I suppose that's fine with me."

"Are you going to eat? I had Matt get pizza since your duties don't begin until Monday." He seemed like he genuinely cared, but I had met enough rich company owners to know that it wasn't likely to be genuine.

"I was, but I was also waiting for Matt to come back out so I could make sure it was okay if I ate some. I wasn't sure if he brought it for all of us or just you, sir."

He laughed. A loud, deep laugh. Somehow, it brought a smile to my lips. He was odd and different. "Go ahead and have some, Ms. Maria." I nodded and immediately grabbed two pieces. A hearty groan leaving my lips after I had swallowed the first bite. I truly loved pizza, but I didn't allow myself to eat it often because it can make me really sick sometimes.

I continued to eat my pizza, and watch Mr. Sebastian and Matt move around the kitchen. "So...." I started, "Mr. Sebastian, could you explain to me all of what you expect from me throughout a normal day for you?" He nodded with a blank face. "Would you like to write it down while I tell you?" I nodded, and pulled my phone out, opening my Notes app.

"So on a normal day, I'm working from home. I don't like to be in the office if I don't have to be. I wake up around 7:30, and I'd like to have breakfast by 8:15, since my work usually begins at 8:30 or 9. With my breakfast, I'd like to have a cup of coffee, with two sugars." I nodded along, writing everything down. I wanted to do my best to be perfect.

He continued, "I usually take a break from work after lunch, so having something with protein in it would be ideal for me, since I exercise during that break. I'd like to eat lunch around 12:30. And then I don't need much else until dinner. On a good day, I'll be done with work at 5, so I'd like dinner by 5:30. You'll have to learn how I like my nightly drink made, as I'll have it right after dinner, if I'm done with my work. If not then I'll have it whenever my work is finished. It's cliche, but I like to drink an old fashioned every night, it helps me sleep. Theres nothing particular you need to do, I just need you to give me the same amount every time. Too much, and I won't wake up to my alarm, too little and I won't fall asleep at all."

I won't lie. It was a lot of information. Obviously nothing difficult, but I wanted to be good and show him I was the right choice to be his private chef, so my nerves bubbled up in my belly. "Okay. Umm.... is there anything else?" He looked at me with big eyes for a millisecond before he returned to his normal expression. At least what I gathered to be his normal expression.

"Yes, just my allergies and stuff I don't like. I'm not too picky though. I'm allergic to tree nuts, and that's it. I don't really like vegetables, I'll tolerate most of them, besides bell peppers. I hate them." I nodded, he's a simple man. I liked that.

"Okay, and are there any meals that you lean towards, or favor?" I asked, and he could tell I was genuinely curious. It was one reason I loved my job. I could make people feel things through food. I could make their favorite meal, or a meal their late grandmother made for them and it would make them cry with love and happiness, or make them so unbelievably happy that they couldn't tear the smile from their face while they devoured whatever I created. Now that he's my boss, I'd like to do the same for him.

It took him a few minutes to think about an answer, and I happily ate my pizza while he did. "Well I don't really think I have a specific favorite. I have things I really enjoy though. I can always go for a mean spaghetti, or a nice rare steak. I can also go for pizza and McDonald's. I think all that matters to me is that I am fed." It was cute. He seemed shy to answer that way, which was a new way he's spoken to me.

"Okay. Well that seems like enough to get me through a couple of weeks until I feel out what you like specifically. Thanks for the input, sir. Is there anything else at all I need to know?"

He searched my face and then turned around, whispering to Matt. Even though it was quiet in the house, I still couldn't make out what they were saying. Guess my mom was right when she said listening to my metal music at full blast in my headphones would eventually make me deaf.

"You do have a uniform. It's nothing too awful, just a button down with either slacks or a skirt. You don't have to wear the uniform on Sunday's since I don't work that day. Seems unfair to make my workers wear their uniforms when I don't have to. And to be honest, the reason we, I, hired you is because my life is hectic. I can't tear away time to cook for myself, and Matt can't cook. He did his best by feeding me take out food, but it made me feel gross. Because my life is hectic, there are days I may not even be able to come home, or I'll be trapped in my office until I finish work. There are days you may not have to cook at all. And I often like to eat in my office when I am here. Work and eat. Oh, and you'll have to do the grocery shopping, which I can give you a credit card for."

Okay, maybe he's not so simple. The conversation ended there, with him making his way back to his office. I smiled softly to myself, thinking about how life was working out.
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Authors note: are we ready for a Noah pov yet? 🤩🤩 I've thought about how to go about it so we shall see. Also gonna be adding pics at the top bc I like them there. Probably won't have anything to do with the storyline who knows?