Six- Apologies and Gorgeous eyes

“I don’t think I can work under such conditions sir. It is already quite strenuous on my mentality that I am living with a rapist. But him coming onto me, that’s quite too much.”

“Pepper, I know how infuriating that can be, but you need to calm down and think with a cool head. You don’t want to jeopardize what we have going here.”

Chloe shook her head unbelievably. He kept saying he understood, he knew how infuriating it can be, he was not the one working his ass off because of some fucked up mission! “I don’t even understand why I have to live with them. Whatever happened to sending a trained ninja-like agent to tape the house? It makes things easier that way. I wouldn’t have to sit my ass here waiting for them to mention something related to rape or young girls.”

“Agent Pepper, you have to calm down. Yes, we could have taped the house but that would have done no good. That is why we need you to forge a relationship with them. A kind of relationship that would get you into their circle.”

“You basically want my hormones to take over.”

“Excuse me?” Agent Connor asked from the other end.

“If at all there will be a relationship, it will definitely be romantic or something. So, the beloved hormones you didn’t want interfering will get a feature in this at the end of the day.”

“Anything to nab them Chloe. You have to do anything at this junction.” She listened as he cleared his throat. “Just yesterday, like previous reported situations, a new shipment of young girls arrived. They are expanding this thing Agent, we need to act fast. You need to do all you can to catch them in the act.”

Sighing deeply, Chloe finally found the calm Agent Connor had been telling her to have. “When I joined this agency, I did promise to do my best. So Sir, I will.” Her ears picked a knock on the door. “I have to go sir. Later.”

“Good luck Agent.” Dropping the burner phone on the wash hand basin, Chloe walked out of the bathroom and towards the door.

As the knock came again, Chloe opened the door. On sighting who it was, Chloe resisted the urge to roll her eyeballs. “Are you not going to let me in?”

Taking a step back to open the door a bit wider, Chloe said with intended bitterness, “Please, come in Lucille.”

“So, I heard about your little situation yesterday with Amir,” Lucille looked back and threw her a short smile.

Chloe crossed her arms as she watched the slim woman make her way to her bed. “What exactly do you want Lucille?”

“Oh, come on, no need to sound so bitter, I am here to give you an advice.”

“I don’t have time for jokes Lucille.”

“Please call me Lu. Listen, what Amir did yesterday was quite crude, obviously. But I feel you should have given in anyway. I mean, look at that piece of work. He wants you and you had better wise up and grab this opportunity.”

“Are you done?”

“Even though he is not Nathaniel, Amir is really not that bad. I heard that he takes good care of his women.”

“If you know that, why not try your luck with Amir, he should… No, he would love to have you in his bed, in his arms.”

“You and I know it is Nathaniel that is on my mind. You know, don’t you?” Chloe just had to roll her eyes at the stupid smile on Lucille’s face. The lady was just so infuriating without trying. Not wanting to get unnecessarily angry and ruin things, Chloe walked to the lady who was seated majestically on the edge of her bed and held her by the elbow.

“Okay, time to get out.”

“You are joking right?”

She gave her a square look. “Last time I checked, we are not talk buddies and we never will be.”

“Jeez,” she flipped off her bleached blondeness that lay all over her shoulder. “, you are so bitter. It is no surprise why Amir just wants to fuck you.”

Chloe could feel it. The rage. It had set its foundation with the Amir’s incident and at that moment, construction was ongoing. As her eyes closed for some seconds to contain it, Chloe could see herself bashing Lucille’s made up face into the nearest wall.

‘Someday Chloe, someday.’

“Please, leave now.”

“What’s going on in here?” Nathaniel surveyed the scene with narrowed eyes. “Lucille, aren’t you meant to be cleaning?”

Looking suddenly sober, she climbed off the bed. “I am sorry. I had to ask Chloe something.”

“Well, back to your work now.” Chloe was kind of thrilled to be seeing the authority he wore like a cloth in action. Swiftly Lucille got herself out of the room.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Her mind suddenly went to her conversation with Gabriel, the unexpected conversation.

“Are you okay?” Biting away at the sides of her mouth, Chloe nodded. With slow strides, Nathaniel helped himself fully into her room. “Sit.”

She did not even hesitate. Taking his seat next to her, he started, “So, I heard about what Amir did. You must be quite angry.”

‘You have no idea.’

“I sincerely apologize on his behalf. He should be here right now apologizing, but he is yet to come back from wherever he went yesterday. So, take me apologizing as though it is Amir doing so. Is he forgiven?”

His hardened face did not even for once fail as he talked, Chloe noticed. And, having him so close brought out new features. Like his light-blue irises that danced with so much untold stories behind them. They were the kind of eyes that one would never forget because they held so much emotions. And his skin, was quite dark most probably due to the sun, was free of blemishes. Well, if a small scar close to the nose doesn’t count as a blemish that is.

“Yes he is,” her eyes flickered to the floor. “Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“Well, since the apology isn’t coming from him directly, it is just right to accept the apology partially.”

“You do have a point.” His lips tugged with a short smile. “I will make sure to have him do so once he is back.”

“Good.”

“Don’t forget to ask if you need anything.”

“You do realize I am a maid not your girlfriend right?” she had asked the question with an unintended suggestive kind of amusement in her voice when she recalled Gabriel’s words. Saying things like that could give him a wrong idea.

Or…

“I like to treat the women around me right.”

“Hmm,” Chloe shifted to face him. “From what I have been hearing, you don’t have many women around you. So I guess I am lucky then.”

… she could let the hormones take over. Well, partially. We can’t have her falling in love, can we?

“I certainly don’t have many women around me. And, I am fond of keeping the ones around that I happen to like, for a long time.”

Chloe happened to have it easy when it came to flirting with men. “That is nice to know.” Her smile happened to be a killer one too (when she wanted it to be).

Giving a deep chuckle, Nathaniel’s hands went to his neck and as he ran his fingers through his skin, he said, “Gabriel and I were talking and we decided to properly add your girls to the family.”

“What do you mean?” Even when chuckling, he managed to maintain his sternness, Chloe noticed again. It added a dose of sarcasm to his persona.

“Since the three of us are going to be working from home in the next two months, we would love it if you guys uh… were more of our friends than maids. You can have breakfast or dinner with us at the table, we can all have a good time at the pool. You know, stuff like that.”

“Do we also get to have book reading sessions?”

“Uh…hmm… maybe? I think that is kind of Gabriel’s thing. So, what do you say? Sounds okay to you? Don’t worry, Amir won’t be trying anything stupid. I will make sure of it.”

Their decision made her mission a bit easier, Chloe just had to give the most genuine smile. “It actually sounds good.”

“Alright.” He slapped his knees and got up. “I think Madam Lugi needs your help downstairs. So…”

He actually wanted to walk her. “Um, sure.”

Chloe smiled as she realized things were working in a direction that she liked. All that she needed to do was play her games right.

Looking back at Nathaniel who threw her a short smile, Chloe could not help but acknowledge that it will be quite a game.

A very interesting game.