Finding Tasha

Chapter 3: Moving In

On an early Monday morning, the sun shone brighter than usual. Tasha had stayed up till late before falling asleep and forgot to shut the blind thus, the glaring sun was what woke her up.

Groaning in dissatisfaction, she rolled to the other side of the bed to find a comfortable spot but just couldn't rest well. She hated to get up from bed as that would make her face the harsh reality earlier.

   A faint knock on her door was all it took for her to get herself together as every trace of drowsiness immediately left her. She paused her thoughts, or at least tried to, to make sure she was hearing right. After a while she heard another knock, this time louder than the first. Afraid that Martha had come to console her again today, she walked to the door to open it but abruptly stopped in her tracks. Her mind had warned her earlier on that something wasn't right, but she just couldn't pinpoint what it was but now that she stood by the door, she suddenly remembered today was a Monday, and not only that, it was still so early, and Martha should still be at work by now, even if she really wanted to comfort her, she would have texted and not come over personally at the risk of her own job.

She was brought back to reality when another knock sounded and she got impatient as she tried to rack her brain to find out who it was.

"Who is there?" She asked after she looked through the peephole and found out the person didn't look familiar.

Clad in a black suit was a man who looked to be in his early thirties, and even if he was older, it could only be a year or two at most. He had sharp features and although he didn't look handsome, his face looked clean, and he gave off a friendly but distant aura.

Tasha was at a loss as to why someone dressed like that was standing at her doorsteps since she had never remembered being acquaintance to him. Not only that, she had never seen his face before.

Still lost in her thoughts, she did not hear the door opening and some big burly men walked in and stormed into her room. In no time, her bags was packed by them and her belongings were thrown out of the house one after the other.

It all seemed like a dream and when she finally recovered from her trance, her things were already out, including her furniture which was only a beanbag and a bed.

"What is going on?" She asked as she as she held onto the arm of one of the men. "No be careful with that toaster. Not the oven wait what the Hell is going on?? Why are you throwing out my things?"

One of the men stopped to shoot her a look of disdain and the other that she held onto flung her hand away. As she was thin and delicate, she ended up falling to the ground.

"Do you really not know or are you pretending not to. OK so your landlord asked us to throw you out as you are owing two years rent. Is that enough reason?" The man spoke harshly as he moved the last item out. She had expected that statement since the ruffians walked in, because who else would give them the keys to her house if it wasn't the big and burly landlord

She resisted the urge to cry and hastily picked up her phone to call Martha, but it just happens that Martha was so busy with work that she didn't notice her phone ringing. Her hope came crashing down, and she watched her phone in a daze.

Would she have to result to sleeping in the streets? No she was never going to let that happen. In the middle of thinking about what to do next when she heard the man in suit speak up.

"How much is the rent?" The question was directed at her and just as she was about to answer, she heard someone clap from outside.

"Sure, you've got balls. Very good. Well she is owing me 12,000 dollars. What? Can't speak?" It was the landlords voice now, and she wished the floor would just open up and swallow her.

This unruly, big bearded man was always asking her out, trying to get her to sleep with him and he his mistress. There was a time when he started getting physical, and she had to file a restraining order, that was finally when she was able to have some peace. But who knew that she had picked up a big stone just to drop it on her own foot instead.

She wasn't about to let this man see her in a sorry state, so she stood up and patted the dust from her butt.

"Am sorry. I will leave now and find a way to pay you back." She apologized sincerely as she carried her luggage. After all she had indeed owed him and was in the wrong.

If things come to worst then she would just start living on the streets. How bad could that be?

"Wait a minute." The man dressed in suit from earlier stopped her one more time and Tasha turned to look at him. She was surprised at his words and looked him up from head to toe. How could a normal butler decide to pay for her? It was just too unrealistic.

"Am from C&J groups and was asked by our young master to pick her up. "

They all sucked in a cold breath in surprise including Tasha and the landlord was however the first to recover to his senses.

"Ooh you are from C&J then I am the president's younger brother" They all bursted out laughing, but only Tasha couldn't. Wasn't C&J the company she was somehow 'employed too?

...

"Mrs shen asked me to give this to you." The butler said as he handed her a file. Her mind was in doubts but nevertheless collected it.

As she flipped through the pages, she saw it was a well detailed version of the contract they gave her when she first went for the interview.

She looked through the conditions and for the first time found it reasonable. The pay was hefty to be honest only a company as big as C&J would offer such an exorbitant amount, and she was provided a house or at least a room as she would be living in the same house as their young master, Lucas.

No matter how much her heart told her this was wrong, she knew she still had to do it and the duration is a year and a half. However, she wasn't to be blamed as she now could clearly see that it was her life-saving straw.

Either this or she moves to the streets? She shivered at the thought and quickly brought out a pen from her drawer and signed it.

Off, the winter wind howled through the windows of the limousine, and she looked out, admiring the hustles and bustles of the street. OK it wasn't as bad as she viewed it at least it wasn't like she was going to be in prison but why on this state of melancholy.

Her belongings were arranged neatly in the room provided for her and the Butler made sure to take her on a tour around the house and gave her a long list of things she should avoid doing to provoke Lucas.

Sometime along the way, she found herself feeling sleepy as she had had such a stressful day and as such nodded absentmindedly to all he said. When he finished, she naturally was so eager for him to leave and when he finally left, she was quick to lock the door behind her.

Aside her, Lucas and The butler, no one else lived in the house and even the butler's job was to make sure the house doesn't run out of supplements so every month, they would stock the storage to the brim.

She knew in her heart that it was just as she had suspected, the case doesn't look as simple as it appeared. Them (Lucas and Tasha), not having to leave the villa for a whole year and half was not different to being imprisoned. She was lost in thoughts for a long time before, she sighed in disappointment.