Color - Artistic Maid

The months pass and day after day Roseline’s performance improved. Despite her track record of pratfalls and broken items, she was starting to become something reminiscent of a professional. Despite her slip ups, no other maids were hired. She worked very hard and would find herself taking on the work of two or three maids, which came with it a salary increase, and this pattern just repeated over time. Not to mention she felt quite fond of her boss, which was just another perk of the job.

It was a night like any other. The boss came home from work, exhausted as usual, removing his time as he went to the living room. Roseline was there, equally as exhausted, hair frayed and maid outfit unkempt but still full of energy.

“Roseline, I’m home,” the boss said, hanging his coat and tie on the rack near the doorway.

“Oh master!” she said turning to greeting him and accidentally hitting a nearby vase with a duster. Immediately four of her hands went to catch it, intercepting it before it hit the ground. She wiped a bead of sweat from her brow in relief.

“That was close,” the boss laughed. “It looks like your reflexes have improved.”

“Yes master!” she said with pride. “I haven’t broken anything today.”

“That’s good. How long have you been at it?”

“Since this morning” she said with a huff. “Excuse my appearance, I’ve been very busy.”

“Oh Rose, please, take a break,” he said with concern. “I don’t want you hurting yourself.”

Roseline gave him a small smile “I’m not tired at all. Don’t worry, I’ll be finished in a jiffy.”

The boss gave a small nod, following Roseline as she moved to clean the kitchen. “Your stamina is incredible. Is it because of your mutation?”

“Maybe!” she said. “These certainly help” she said holding up her many hands.

“I think this much effort deserves a raise,” he said, patting her on the head. Roseline just blushed and continued her work.

The boss sat down for dinner, a wonderful meal prepared by Roseline herself. Her culinary skills alone were worth keeping her around. Meanwhile, Roseline went from room to room, tidying up, putting everything in its place. They met again in the office.

“I think this deserves about a 20% raise, wouldn’t you?” said the boss, picking up his book of accounts.

“Oh master, you don’t have to, I don’t want to be trouble.”

“Nonsense, you certainly deserve…” he suddenly stopped with a perplexed look on his face. Inside the book wasn’t his normal ledger but instead a sketchbook full of illustrations. Landscapes, characters, still life portraits, some even completely colored. “Roseline? Is this yours?”

“Oh! Sorry Master! I…uh… well… you see… they look similar and… er… I must have… uh… switched them… when I was cleaning my room. Just give it to me and I’ll change them back immediatley!”

She reached for the book but the boss raised his hand to stop her, flipping through the pages. There were illustrations of the many rooms of the house, of the town around the manor, a few pictures of the boss himself, and some rather raunchy pictures of mutant girls posing nude, some which looked mysteriously like Roseline herself. The boss flashed an amused grin.

“Please master… don’t look…”

“So you drew all of these?” the boss said, closing the book and setting it down on his desk.

“Y-yes. I tend to draw in my free time…” she said, shuffling her three feet a little.

“Free time? You do all this work and still have free time?”

“S-sometimes I draw with two arms while the rest clean…” she said with a massive blush.

“You find new ways to impress me every day Rose. Tell me, have you ever thought of pursuing a career as an artist?”

“Art doesn’t really pay the bills master…” she said with a heavy sigh. “It’s nice to have passion, but it’s even nicer to be able to eat.”

“Ah, so that’s why you went looking for this job. Your clumsiness was a dead give away. You never worked as a maid before in your life. I guess the paycheck was just too much to turn down?” he said with a hearty laugh. Rose just blushed even harder.

“You aren’t going to fire me for drawing when I should be working, are you?”

“Rose, you really have to worry less, now go get my actual ledger please…” Rose took her sketchbook and came back with an identical looking one, this time actually filled with the boss’ accounts. He scribbled down a few notes, put it in his desk, and then took out a checkbook. “I’ve made a decision Rose, I’m going to fund your art.”

“W-what! But master!” Roseline said in shock.

“No, no, no protesting. A talent like yours should not be wasted.” He scribbled down a check, tore it out, and handed it to Rose who accepted it with shaking hands.

She was petrified. Her pupils swelled like a deer in headlights. “A… are you sure master?”

“Don’t call me master,” said the boss. “Call me Mark, I’m your sponsor now, and I think we should probably be on a first name basis.

Roseline tried to keep her composure, but she struggled. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She sniffled, whimpering. She barely squeaked out “t-thank you so very much. I… I don’t know how I can ever repay you I-“

“Draw…” said Mark. “Draw and become the best artist you can be.”

“Yes!” said Roseline. “I… I promise I will!... but…” a look of worried “does this mean I have to move out?”

“No, by all means please stay. It would be less expensive than finding you another place to live,” Mark said putting his checkbook away. “Though I’ll likely have to hire some new maids to fill your role.”

“What… what if I said I like being your maid?” Roseline said with a heavy blush.

Mark laughed to himself again. “You are full of surprises. Not many would keep wanting to work a menial job like this. But if it’s what you wish, I accept. I’ll pay you for both jobs. Just, be sure not to neglect one for the other.”

“I won’t! I’ll do both to the best of my ability! Do I still have to wear the uniform?”

“Haha, only if you want to, though I would certainly prefer if you kept the heels.”

“B-but…” Roseline responded. The heels certainly made her more clumsy.

“Now now, I’m not ordering you to do anything. You can take them off if you want. Call this a personal request, not from an employer but a friend. There’s just something nice about seeing you in those stunning shoes when I come home from work. So, please? As a favor for me?”

“Y-yes mas… I mean Mark. I think I can do that.” Rose said with a small laugh. ”S-say, the last picture the one…” she gulped “you know the one…”

“The nude, yes,” Mark said bluntly.

Roseline winced with embarrassment but gathered her courage with a breath, looking directly into her former master’s eyes.

“D-did you like it?”