"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, that he knew how infuriating it can be. But, 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 around that. 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 previously 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 some 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 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 talking 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 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 many untold stories behind them. They were the kind of eyes that one would never forget because they held so many emotions. And his skin, which 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 the wrong idea.“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.”'Or… she could let those 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, and 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 sounds good.”“Alright.” He slapped his knees and got up.” I think Madam Lugi needs your help downstairs. So…”He 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.Chloe looked at the little group that hovered over their laptops and she wondered why they decided to do their boring finances in the library. It was even more annoying that they kept talking at intervals. And it annoyed her even more when they were not having a conversation that could give her a lead.Raising the book in her hand to make it seem like she was still interested in its content, Chloe wondered how on earth Nathaniel's words of them being a family was going to work out.There is Lucille who is always either doing something in her room or throwing dagger glares at her whenever Nathaniel happens to pass by. Amir on the other hand could be in a corner of the house making phone calls with his women if he is not busy with work.Gabriel as usual is his quiet self. He spends most of his time in the library while Nathaniel was always looking so serious and having one call after the other most certainly about business.Chloe did not see how them being like a family was going to help
Deep in thought, Chloe wondered when she was going to get that one lead she was looking for. Time was moving fast and having nothing to do but chores upon chores was starting to get on her nerves.True, it was part of her work so she had to be very patient and vigilant to get what she was there for. But, she didn't have all the time in the world to spend months in a huge house working her butts off. She had issues of her own to deal with.Her hand clenching the edge of the tiled surface, Chloe let out a swear word.Then, her train of thought drove in another direction.Recalling Gabriel's and most importantly Amir's words about Nathaniel liking her, she wondered if she wanted to use that channel to get what she wanted.Toying with real emotions was something that could become dangerous for her.She let out a huge sigh, nothing was clear to her anymore. Maybe that was because her reason for being there was not yielding results. Assuming she had gotten that one lead she was so desperate
“How do you manage to make any dress look good?” Gabriel complimented from the doorway.“Oh, Gabriel,” Chloe said shyly as she played with the end of her curled hair.“I think the dress just happens to fit me. But, isn't this a bit too much?"She looked into the huge mirror that came with the team that had come earlier to take care of her appearance. The dress which was long and black with a bit of silver sprinkled at its silted ends, really took Chloe aback who was just expecting a regular-looking gown.“I think you look amazing.” Gabriel moved closer and stood just behind her to continue admiring her look. “I love how daring your eyes look, it suits your personality even more.”“But what do you know about my personality?”“I know for sure that you have a crazy side that you are managing to keep in check because of your job.” His hand came up to help adjust the strand that was resting uneasily on her shoulder. After, he looked at her image with a small smile that brought out his cuten
Chloe hated the fact that she was finding it hard to get the feel of his lush lips against hers out of her mind. She hated, even more, the fact that it was the next day already.As she almost unconsciously recalled the night, Chloe turned on the tap of the wash hand basin and let the sound of rushing liquid ease her a bit.Nathaniel didn't come back after he left her standing in what one might as well call shock. Instead, after she had stood for almost an hour, he sent a driver to come get her and take her home.It was quite rude of him, but it was established that he did weird things sometimes.Sucking her lower lip in, Chloe got off the toilet seat and walked to the door handle where her smartwatch which kept vibrating was hanging.After she successfully connected her headset, she said, “Agent Pepper here.”“How did yesterday go?”“It was a short night. I noticed a few things though.”There was a brief silence before Agent Connor said, “Do tell .”“Well, Nathaniel Stone seemed to be
Nathaniel kept a hand on his waist as he almost confusedly watched her crawl out from under his bed. “And what on earth are you doing under my bed?” He finally asked once she was standing.“She gets weirder every day,” Amir mumbled loudly earning himself a glare from his friend."Well, I thought you were the one coming into this place with a woman. I definitely won't want to watch you go down on a woman," Chloe kept her arms folded as she talked, her shoulders occasionally shrugging.“But you were listening anyway,” Amir muttered again and the half-naked Lucille beside him nod in agreement causing Chloe to almost sneer at her.“There was nowhere else close by to hide,” Chloe continued her glare at Lucille.“It is okay Chloe. I don't have any issue with you but I have with this man-whore on my bed.”Amir immediately got up. “Who the heck are you calling a whore? Look, pretty boy, don't -""Don't what?" Nathaniel squared his stance and glared back at the seething man in front of him who
“So,” Chloe leaned in on the wash basin. “If it is not a car's plate number, does it at least have something to do with a car?”“No.” Agent Connor made a tutting sound before continuing. “Suarez thinks it might be a coded bank account number. So, I think we could work with that and sees what comes out of it.”“This Miss Sanquire, what do we know about her so far?”“She owns a clothing line and changes boyfriends the way she does with clothes.”“Is she rich enough to pay Nathaniel twenty million pounds?”“Actually, no.” Chloe's ears picked a knock from outside.“I see. I have to go, sir.”“ Good work so far Chloe, just make sure to go about undetected.”She took a look at her dirty uniform which reminded her of the remaining work waiting for her in what Amir called hispersonal space. “I sure will sir.”As the call ended, Chloe turned off the tap, and took a deep breath which she instantly regretted- she had also inhaled dust in Amir's abandoned space. Just when she thought she knew th
Knowing how reluctant her body would be to get up in the middle of the night- especially after the day's work, Chloe had made sure to set an alarm on her phone. And it was currently piercing her ears and doing a good job of keeping her from hugging her pillow closer. As Chloe got off the bed, her eyes landed on the clear night outside and her mind immediately went to the reason she was up at that moment. The screams had a message but there was no way for Chloe to fully understand the message until she found the source of the cries. That was her main problem. It was as though the noise came from somewhere far away this minute, the next minute, the noise resonated all the way to her feet sole. So, she had two choices to work on. She could search for any alternative routes at the two places she had heard the noise. And the other- easy yet difficult- option was to look for the blueprint of the building. “Okay, let's do this,” she said as she checked the time. In no time, she was
Chloe never once thought she would have so many opportunities to step outside once she stepped into the abode of the NAG brothers, but there she was neglecting an expensive gown to put on a more comfortable wear of jean trouser and denim shirt with a very convenient pair of block heels.And... there she was, trying to remind herself not to get carried away with the date, her senses had to be up and working throughout.Chloe wished, she really wished that would be the case. Nathaniel's voice had began to find it's way into her head at night before sleep comes for her. The way he used the word 'craving' the other night made something stir in her.Immediately, she shook her head. Once again, she needed to be focused.In no time, she found her way downstairs which was as silent as an abandoned church, Chloe wondered if no one else was at home but her. Indeed, Nathaniel had sent a message home di