Chapter 4

[ARIETTA’S POV]

I didn’t know how I was going to get away from him. His hands were planted firmly on either side of me. If I pushed him away, would I be strong enough? With his large frame, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to.

He tilted his head and studied my face closely. It made me feel even more uncomfortable. I really didn’t know how to interact with men. Most of the time, the ones I come across are aggressive—just like the man in front of me now.

The smile never left his lips. He licked his lower lip, making me swallow hard. His eyes also dropped to my lips, and he stared at them for a long moment.

“What can you say about that, huh? Do you want me...to make you remember?” As he brought his lips closer to mine, I pushed him away with all my strength. I put everything into it just to get him off of me.

“Pervert!” I yelled at him.

He laughed deeply. I immediately backed away from him, afraid he would trap me again, and I wouldn’t be able to escape the second time.

“Damn, you’re turning me on!” He laughed and tried to approach me again, but I quickly moved away from him. “You’re making me hard, fuck!”

He clicked his lower lip, sexily. My body trembled with anger at this man. He was so vulgar with his words, and I didn’t know if he knew how attractive he was, giving him the audacity to speak like that.

“I didn’t know I had a thing for a feisty girl until you came.” Then he bit his bottom lip. He’s sexy, alright. I couldn’t deny that he was good-looking and sexy.

“How old are you?” he asked, eyeing me carefully.

I hesitated for a moment whether I should answer him, so I stayed silent for a while.

“Even if you don’t tell me, I’ll figure it out,” he said, full of pride. Tsk, so arrogant! Does he even know he shouldn’t be prying into personal information? I know he’s aware of that, but he couldn’t care less.

“Twenty-two.” I was late to start going to school because of the legal problems with my dad, so instead of already working, I’m still here studying.

“Not bad. That’ll do.” I frowned at what he said. 

‘That’ll do’? Is he serious? What a jerk!

This man is dangerous, a typical fuckboy. The type of guy who’s only after the pleasure and will leave you once he gets bored.

I wanted to say a lot more, but then I remembered his family owns the villa. As much as possible, I didn’t want any negative remarks to tarnish my record just because I argued with the owners.

I forced myself to smile. Every move I made was being watched by this man. I just wanted to disappear in front of him before I ended up hurting him.

“If you don’t need anything else, Sir Pierce, I’ll be leaving now.” I quickly ran toward the door.

I glanced at him once more. He simply crossed his arms and kept staring at me. I secretly rolled my eyes and stormed out of his private house.

I cursed him all the way back to the restaurant. He was the reason my allowance would be deducted. He humiliated me, and now...he was being a pervert! Pierce Grimaldi made me so irritated that I felt like he deserved to be cursed out, even if it was just in my head.

Blaire greeted me when I returned to the restaurant. In fact, not only did she approach me, but almost all the female interns and even the crew came up to me to ask about what happened.

“How was it? Sir Pierce is really handsome! I wish I were the one he approached. I’d be willing to fall for him and serve him!” The women squealed, imagining their fantasies about that Grimaldi guy, the pervert.

I rolled my eyes. Well, they could have had her instead. I wouldn’t have kept him all to myself.

Blaire pulled me away from the noisy women and asked me, “What did Sir Pierce do? Why do you look like you're in a bad mood?”

I sighed to calm my irritation. “It’s nothing. It’s fine. Let’s just get back to work.”

I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Maybe he just wanted to get back at me because he thought I deliberately walked into the room where he was with a woman, when in reality, it was him who didn’t bother to close the door properly.

I almost wanted to pull my hair out every time I thought about what happened. I felt down when I realized that because of him, I might lose my allowance.

By the time my shift ended, all anyone could talk about was Sir Pierce. Even the older women in the restaurant were gossiping about him. I couldn’t understand why they liked him so much, even though he was such a pervert.

Sir Pierce is really attractive. Aside from being good-looking, he has a great physique and is tall; he also has a strong sex appeal. Maybe that’s what drives the women here crazy. Some people are good-looking but lack sex appeal, but in that department, Sir Pierce stands out.

Even on my way to the dorm, the guy was still the talk of the town. I noticed that some people would intentionally pass by Sir Pierce’s private house just to see if they could spot him.

“How’s your allowance? That drink was so expensive. I saw the price earlier.” Blaire looked at me with wide eyes. “Wow, sis! You spent more on a bottle than on a new phone! I just don’t get rich people,” she said, shaking her head.

I didn’t think much about the allowance anymore. There probably wasn’t much I could do about it. If there was a way to get it back, I’d do it. But if not, I’d just have to accept it.

Others probably thought it was my fault, but the truth was, it was the man’s intention to do that. Even as I lay in bed at night, I’d sigh and curse Sir Pierce.

The next day, I woke up early. My shift was still at the restaurant, and it was better to clock in earlier.

I showered quickly and changed into my uniform. As I stepped out, I ran into some guests, so I greeted them politely.

“Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Romano,” I greeted the couple I often interacted with since I started interning at the villa.

The Romano family is affluent, and they were here on vacation. I wasn’t sure how long they’d been staying at the resort, maybe even for weeks. They were nice to me, so I was always happy to serve them.

“Hello, Arietta. Good morning,” Mrs. Delfina Romano replied.

“Are you heading to the restaurant?” I asked, and Mr. Dante Romano answered.

“Yes. Are you going there now?”

I smiled and nodded. I opened the elegant door of the restaurant for them to enter and guided them to their table.

“I’ll just grab my pad so I can take care of you. Please wait.” I smiled and left to grab the things I’d need. Some of my colleagues greeted me, surprised I was there so early.

I returned to the Romanos’ table and took their breakfast order.

I gave it to the counter and waited for the food to be ready so I could serve them.

“Ari,” I heard my name, followed by the ringing of a small bell. I quickly approached, took the tray of food, and brought it to the Romano couple.

“Enjoy your breakfast!” I cheerfully said to them.

I was about to leave so I could eat when Mrs. Delfina Romano accidentally knocked over her glass. It fell to the floor and shattered.

“Oh, my goodness! I’m sorry!” She stood up in surprise. I immediately went over to assist and told her it was okay.

I picked up the large shards of glass and called someone to clean up the mess.

“What happened?” asked one of the crew members. I explained that the glass had been knocked over and broken.

The crew member gave me a disapproving look. She probably thought I was to blame again, just like what happened last night.

“Did you do this, Arietta?” the woman asked, and I looked at her. I was about to defend myself when I didn’t realize that I was holding the sharp glass, and I ended up cutting myself.

It hurt, but I kept it to myself. I didn’t want them to think I was just overreacting.

“No, it wasn’t her fault. I accidentally knocked over the glass,” Mrs. Delfina said worriedly. “Please, don’t blame Arietta.”

She grabbed her handkerchief and immediately came over to me.

“You’re hurt, Arietta! I’m really sorry. I was so clumsy. Can someone please clean this up?”

Mrs. Delfina made me sit down. Someone quickly came over to clean up the glass shards.

“Are you okay?” She gently pressed the handkerchief against my wound to stop the bleeding. It wasn’t deep, but it was a bit of a big cut.

“I’m fine, thank you.” I felt embarrassed that she had to take care of me. “I’ll leave for now to clean the wound. I’m sorry.”

I politely excused myself and left. I headed to the locker room and found a first-aid kit to clean and bandage the cut.

I sighed. After what happened last night, some of the people here in the restaurant probably think that whenever something breaks and I’m around, I’m automatically the one to blame. It’s frustrating.

Once I put the band-aid on my wound, I returned to work. My face immediately soured when I saw Sir Pierce at the VVIP table. Another waitress was already attending to him, which was good. I wasn’t in the mood to serve him anyway.

I get chills every time I remember the things that perv said last night! His words were full of filth. He probably needs to be sprinkled with holy water to cleanse him.

“You’re in a bad mood this early! What happened? Did seeing Sir Pierce ruin your day already?”

I didn’t notice that Blaire had already arrived. She must’ve been late, so she probably didn’t know about the commotion earlier.

“No. Why would I ruin my day just because of one person’s presence?” My whole internship was ruined because of him.

I found myself staring at Pierce Grimaldi without realizing it, lost in my thoughts as I mentally cursed him. I only snapped out of it when our eyes met, and I saw him smirk. I quickly looked away.

Why was I staring at him? He might think I like him.

We got busy the whole morning, so I didn’t have the chance to focus on Sir Pierce. Not that I wanted to give him attention.

I was exhausted when my shift at the restaurant ended. I stretched my stiff body, ready to head to the locker room when I noticed Sir Pierce talking to the supervisor.

The other crew members were staring at him and whispering among themselves. They were, of course, daydreaming about him. Who wouldn’t? Well, me, of course.

Sir Pierce stands out too much. You can’t deny that he grew up with a lavish life, with a golden, if not a diamond spoon in his mouth, and that he’s a Grimaldi heir.

I glanced at the women who were fawning over him. Even though they were at a distance, it was as if they were about to push each other just to get his attention. I shook my head. If you’re not in their league, you’re just left dreaming. People like Sir Pierce, who come from wealthy families, will look for partners who are on their level or share the same luxurious lifestyle. That’s why people like us, who aren’t rich, can never reach their level.

I’m not dreaming about that either. Besides, it’s not on my mind. I want to focus on my career. I’d rather get rich myself than marry someone rich. It feels so much better to spend money you’ve worked hard for.

I was about to leave when the supervisor called me.

I turned to look in their direction. I saw Sir Pierce and the supervisor looking at me. I glanced toward where the women were fawning over Sir Pierce.

"Come here," the supervisor called again. I had no choice but to approach, even though I felt like someone was about to yank my hair from the women who were into Pierce Grimaldi.

"Why, sir?" I asked as I got closer to them. I avoided looking at Sir Pierce. I could see his smirking face from the corner of my eye.

"Your allowance won't be deducted because of the Macallan glass that broke yesterday. You'll get your full weekly allowance," the supervisor said, smiling at me. My eyes widened. I didn’t expect this kind of news. I had been worried about it since last night.

"Really?!" I almost shouted. I was so happy. I felt like hugging the supervisor out of pure joy.

"Yes." He pointed to Sir Pierce, so I looked at him as well. "Sir Pierce explained everything to me. He said it was an accident that you were bumped into, causing the glass to break. Thankfully, Sir Pierce clarified what really happened."

My smile slowly faded. He tilted his head to the side and looked at me, as if waiting to be praised.

"R-Really?" My smile trembled. I didn’t know whether to be happy or upset about what he did. "Thank you, Sir Pierce." I still had to thank him. At least I'll get my full allowance! It would be a big help with my savings and expenses.

He didn’t say anything, just kept smiling at me. I cleared my throat and avoided his gaze. I forced a wide smile as I looked at the supervisor.

"And also, Arietta, Sir Pierce was impressed with your excellent service last night. The way you assisted him in his private villa was exceptional. He even requested that you personally assist him while he’s here in the villa."

I was stunned by what I heard. My jaw almost dropped from what the supervisor just told me.

"B-But I’m just an intern. Wouldn’t it be better for a permanent staff member to assist Sir Pierce—"

"I think this will be a good experience for you. You can apply everything you've learned in school to assist me. Don’t worry, I’ll grade you fairly."

At that moment, I felt like this guy was just messing with me.

What did he find so impressive? All I did last night was push him away from me!

I didn’t want this! I wanted to shout it, but I felt like I had no right to refuse.

The supervisor leaned in closer and whispered, "This is a great opportunity for you, Ari. If you put your affiliation with Mr. Grimaldi on your CV, I’m sure you’ll have no trouble finding a job in the hotel industry after you graduate."

Since it sounded good, even though it was uncomfortable to be around Sir Pierce, I agreed. Damn, I wish I hadn’t!