Chapter Thirteen
“How can I? You’re standing so close, there’s hardly any space to move,”
“You look ravishing without those load of make-up on your face,” his hand had returned to my hair, twisting a strand of it around his finger.
“You should wear less of the make-up while you are here,” he leaned in to whisper.
I couldn’t handle the closeness, couldn’t look him back in the eyes, so I closed my eyes, hoping fervently that he would take my lips.Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.
“I would be kind enough not to look towards that direction as you get dressed. But that would be just for today princess. You’re now my personal stripper, get used to my presence,” he was back at the sofa when i opened my eyes.
How long was i standing there with my eyes closed expecting a kiss? Damn, I must have looked very silly. True to his word, he brought out his phone and buried his attention into it, not turning towards my direction.
I turned my back at him before peeling the towel off my skin. I took a quick glance hoping to catch him looking, but he wasn’t. Disappointment crawled in the pit of my stomach. But why exactly? Wasn’t I supposed to be happy that he kept to his word?
I pulled out the blue dress from the hanger, slipping it into my body from my feet. It fitted perfectly, almost too perfectly, cutting out my shape finely. I picked out the mid-heels, and slipped my feet into it. That too, fitted nicely.
I tiptoed towards the mirror, trying hard not to draw his attention. I studied the pink hair brush that lay among the bottles of cosmetics. Does everything have to be pink? I decided to pack my hair into a bun instead. It was messy, but didn’t make me look less pretty.
“I’m ready,”
Without a word, he returned the phone into his pocket, walked over to where I stood, and took my hands into his. “Is this necessary?” I asked.
“No,” he was pulling me towards the door.
“So why do you have to hold me, when I can walk on my own?”
“Cause I want to. Damn it! Can you just quit been stubborn about everything?” There was a bit of frustration in his voice.
We walked through the corridors, then descending the stairs back into the living room. The dinning section had an adjoining door to the kitchen and the sitting room. Two guards patrolled the sitting room.
The dishes were set on the table already. There was no chef person in view, so I took it as a clue to serve the meal myself. The aroma quickly traveled through the room as I opened the dishes.
There was tacos, richly made. A very appetizing hamburger sat in another dish, there was chicken and fried chips. I was thrilled to see so many nicely homemade dish.
Running a shift between school and a strip club job hasn’t permitted me so much luxury for meals like this. I had gradually grown contented with my junk meals, except for the few times when Charlie would come to my rescue, cooking a decent home meal.
“You have a chef?” I blurted, settling a plate of tacos in front of me.
“No,” he answered, picking up his own cutlery.
“No? So who made this?”
“It was ordered in,”
“You order all of your meal?”
“Sometimes,” he was chewing in a delicate manner.
The reverse was the case with me. I stuffed my mouth with as much food as it could carry, that speaking became difficult. For the first time since I stepped into the castle, I was beginning to accept that maybe this plan was good after all, if I would get to eat all of this nice meal and sleep on a fluffy bed and skip nights of rolling my waist at the men in the club for slim wads of cash, then the plan wasn’t so bad.
But what happens after Antonio Bernoti is brought down? Would I have to return to the club? Definitely I would be back to my wretched apartment and my bouncer boyfriend and my struggling life. Maybe it was best if I didn’t get to use to this life here, it would be easier recuperating to my usual life if I don’t let this gleaming things get into my head.
“We would have to shop for more clothes for you tomorrow. Especially your lingerie for dancing,”
“I have to be in school tomorrow, I have a test that i can’t miss,” I dropped my cutlery, seriousness returning to my face.
“Easy princess, nobody is saying you should miss school. In fact, I feel impressed knowing that my stripper girl isn’t some college dropout. Jacob would drive you to your apartment tomorrow morning, you would get only the necessary things you’d be needing, he’d take you to school after that and when you done, he’d be there to bring you back.”
“What if …” The ring of his phone interrupted me.
“Excuse me,” he rose from the table, heading into the sitting room as he picked the call. I returned my focus to the plate before me, not entirely though, I eat more silently trying to catch words from the phone call, but that was not working, his voice came out in silent whispers.
I hurried through my meal, clearing the plates, then tiptoeing to the slightly opened door of the sitting room, I pressed myself gingerly, trying hard to listen.
“Do you want something?” A voice called out, making me jump out of my skin. My feet slipped through the short steps leading into the sitting room and I landed with my knee to the ground.
Antonio paused to glance at me from the sitting room, Jacob was staring suspiciously at me from the dinning room. I wanted at the moment for the ground to open and take me in. I quickly gathered myself from the floor, clapping my hands against each other and dusting off imaginary dirt from my dress.
“Are you hurt?” Antonio questioned.
“Er.. m… No, I am okay,”
“She’s bleeding,” Jacob spoke.
“What? No I’m fin…”
Antonio was beside me before I could complete my words. He was starring at my feet with an angry look. I followed his look to realize that Jacob was right. A thin line of blood was crawling down my feet.
“I didn’t…” I opened my lips to speak, but was cut short, when he swept me off my feet in a bridal way, leading me to the nearest couch in the sitting room.
He pulled the dress up to my thigh, there was a little scratch on my knee, that was were the blood came from. He left my knee, examining other parts of my body. “Do you feel any pain anywhere else?” He asked, I couldn’t understand why he sounded so angry about my falling down.
I shaked my head in response, not trusting my voice enough to speak. Jacob was standing in the sitting room now, the suspicious look still on his face. Certainly, he had seen me peeping. I lowered my eyes in shame. Just the first day, and I was already about to blow my cover.
“What’s wrong with You! What were you thinking? Are you always this clumsy?” Antonio barked, his eyes had darkened, and just like Charlie, a vein had popped on his neck.
Clumsy? Did he think I was Clumsy? For goodness sake, the so-called bodyguard he assigned to me had frightened daylight out of me by sneaking up on me the way he did, and he thinks I’m Clumsy? I pressed my lips together, fighting the urge to shout back at him.
“I would take her to her room boss,” Jacob intervened. He did not wait for a response before pulling me up from the couch and leading me up the steps.
“Drop me down, it’s just a scratch and I can walk,” I argued as soon as we got out of Antonio’s sight.
He pretended not to hear, so I wingled in his arms. “Drop me off,” I insisted.
“Fine, suit yourself,” he lowered me to the ground.
What is wrong with this men? Is this what he meant by calling me a little fellow? That I was some kind of kid they could carry around by will? I straightened the dress, eyeing him angrily.
“Now do you mind telling me why you were peeping on the boss?” He asked.
“Is this why you volunteered carrying me up to my room? So you can privately interrogate and accuse me lamely?” I threw back at him.
“This is not an accusation, I saw you eavesdropping.” He maintained.
“Are you aware that I was leading a peaceful life before your boss came to disrupt it and force me into working for him? What then do you think I might want to eavesdrop on him for?”
“Why do I have a feeling that there’s something fishy about you,” he moved closer to me.
“I don’t care what feelings you have. I won’t tolerate your baseless accusations next time,” I threatened bravely.
“I have my eyes on you,” he pointed.
“And…”
“What’s going on here?” Antonio’s voice interrupted.
We both turned to look at him. I glanced at Jacob, praying ardently that he doesn’t mention the subject of the eavesdropping.