009 - Self-reliance, An Essential Trait to Survive

Seara raised a brow at Daniel.

"She is being disrespectful toward me. Are you not going to say anything?"

Daniel slid between the two ladies, his sharp eyes piercing Seara.

"How is she being disrespectful to you? She has not even said a single word in retaliation, while you ladies showered her with humiliating remarks."

Seara scoffed.

"Am I supposed to apologize to a woman without status? She doesn't even know who she is."

Daniel's face darkened. Apparently, Seara had launched an investigation regarding Izabella's identity.

"Starting from today, she has become part of the Prescott family's ranch. She is mine. That is all you need to remember. My people are not obliged to answer you in any way. Do not make me repeat myself in the future."

Seara threw a poisonous glare in Izabella's direction, but then her demeanor softened and her eyes grew misty.

"I can't believe that you chose to reprimand me in public just for a maid! Daniel, you are so cruel!"

Seara stormed off, and her entourage quickly followed, not without throwing disdainful looks in Izabella's direction.

"Seara, wait for us...!"

Daniel exhaled slowly as he watched them leave.

"Why didn't you defend yourself?" He asked.

"Honestly, I didn't know what to say. She is convinced of her superior position, and I don't know what I am," Izabella said in reply.

Well, it was not exactly wrong, but it should not give Seara the right to bully anyone.

"I don't care who you are in the past," Daniel grunted. "You are part of my ranch now, so you should carry yourself with pride. If someone bullies you, I want you to fight back."

Izabella lowered her gaze to the crackling fire resting atop the pile of firewoods.

"I understand."

"I won't always be around to help or defend you. Self-reliance is an essential trait for anyone who wishes to survive."

"Yes, Young Master Daniel... Ah...!!!"

Izabella slapped both hands against her lips, but it was too late. Daniel already heard her.

The young master of Prescott family let out a small chuckle and grinned from ear to ear.

"That will be $10, Bella."

"..."

Izabella let her head hang in dejection.

If she wished to preserve her salary, she might need to see Daniel less.

Communication flowed smoothly and efficiently within the ranch.

Mr. Bennett held a full gathering the next morning to officially introduce Bella to the entire staff working in the ranch.

"Honestly, I don't know what took me so long to find an assistant," Mr. Bennett declared, never mind that it was Daniel who hired Izabella in person. "Now that I don't have to rush back to the ranch several times a day, I can finally relax a little bit."

Beaming at Izabella, he spoke warmly, "I am going to rely on you a lot, Bella. Don't worry and don't be afraid. The workload might be heavy, but you don't have to shoulder it alone. We have Mrs. Barnaby, who is in charge of the kitchen, Mr. Harding, who is in charge of the fields, and Mr. Everett, who is in charge of the animals.

A lot people will come to you with their problems, but you will work with our reliable staff to solve every problem."

"Nice to meet everyone, my name is Bella. I am new here, and I don't know much about ranch management. Please forgive me if I ask a lot of stupid questions. I will do my best to do as few mistakes as possible."

Mrs. Barnaby gave her a warm, welcoming smile.

Mr. Harding nodded several times with a grin.

Mr. Everett, on the other hand, maintained a frosty expression on his face.

Izabella knew right away that this man was not going to be her best friend on the spot.

The first task Mr. Bennett gave Izabella was compiling ranch reports to send to Prescott family on daily basis.

The basis of these reports were raw data provided by each section, including inventory, material and utilities consumption, sales number and revenue, expenses, and a summary of all current production and labor issues.

Mrs. Barnaby and Mr. Harding provided reports from their sides without needing to be asked twice, but not so with Mr. Everett.

Izabella ended up having to walk all over the ranch to find the middle-aged man.

While he might not be as busy as Mr. Bennett, he had a vast area and a lot of animals to manage.

Izabella found him at the chicken coop, deeply engaged in discussion with a coop worker about a recent issue.

When he caught sight of Izabella, he quickly beckoned her over.

"Wonderful. Miss Bella, thank God you are here. We need your expert opinion regarding something."

The sarcastic tone, with which the words "expert opinion" were said, did not escape Izabella's attention.

"Go ahead and tell her, Mr. Barnes."

One shifty look from Mr. Barnes told Izabella that he trusted Izabella only as far as he could throw her, which was not very far.

"As I said before, the number of chicken has increased from last year. We need a lot of space to accommodate the additional chicken. A second coop needs to be built, stat!"

Mr. Everett smiled at Izabella.

"What do you think, Miss? Should we build a second chicken coop?"

"..."

The abrupt question threw her off the loop. She didn't know what responsible answer she should give. Before long, Mr. Everett gave a snort and shook his head in disbelief.

"A complete rookie who becomes Mr. Bennett's assistant overnight. Pffft! Do you know anything about plants and livestock, let alone ranch management?"

Izabella tightened her grip on the edge of her notebook. Mr. Everett's words stung not because they were cruel, but because they were true.

Izabella wanted to say sorry and leave, but then she remembered Daniel's words...

"You are part of my ranch now, so you should carry yourself with pride. If someone bullies you, I want you to fight back."

"I won't always be around to help or defend you. Self-reliance is an essential trait for anyone who wishes to survive."

This was one such instance.

Izabella clenched her jaw in determination.

"Pardon me, Mr. Everett," she began.