"Miss, miss, wake up," a strange voice whispered in my dream.
Not now.
"Miss, wake up; I have orders from Mr. Creed," the voice whispered again.
Orders? Mr. Creed? Definitely not a dream, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't bring myself to wake up just yet. My body felt exhausted, as if I got ran over by a semi-truck. Last night after my hallucination with Nathaniel, I decided not to leave and just stick the rest of the trip out. After all, Nonna would be back soon from her trip, and after that, I would finally be going back home.
"Miss, please wake up," the voice begged, finally pulling me out of my slumber.
"Huh? What?" I asked groggily, forcing my heavy eyelids open. There hovering over me was a small woman wearing a uniform with a worried expression on her face as if she was waiting for someone to come in and drag her by her hair for not following simple orders.
"Mr. Creed has instructed me to give you this," the petite woman informed me, holding up a high waisted white pleated miniskirt, hot pink polo shirt with a white visor to match the skirt."
"Okay, thank you," I mumbled into the pillow, not entirely understanding the words that came out of her mouth. The housekeeper placed the clothes on the edge of my bed before scurrying out to continue other tasks.
Fuck Nathaniel.
Today, all I plan to do is sleep, eat, Netflix, and repeat. With that, I flipped back around in my bed and pulled the thick comforters over my eyes to block the bright sun shining through the dark curtains. Just as I was drifting off into hibernation, the sheets were suddenly ripped off my body, exposing my eyes to the bright sun, completely blinding me. The curtains were now pushed aside, allowing sunlight to stream freely through the massive room.
"What the fuck?" I shrieked, blindly patting the bed to find the comforters that protected me from the powerful rays.
"Get up," his rough voice commanded. "Be downstairs in twenty minutes, dressed and ready to go."
"I'm not going anywhere," I mumbled, sitting up at the edge of the bed while covering my sensitive eyes with the palm of my hands.
"This isn't up for negotiation."
"Then go away."
"Twenty minutes Faye." That was all he said before exiting my room, which he shouldn't have been in to begin with.
"Fuckkkk my lifeee," I groaned, shoving one of my fluffy pillows in my face. I knew that if I didn't follow his orders, he would find some way to fuck with my contract and ruin the only reason I'm here. Having no other choice, I trudged into the bathroom and started the shower, placing a towel on the counter. I purposely took my time, making sure to wash every crevice of my body; if he was going to make me go with him, it'd be on my time.
After my steamy shower, I grabbed the outfit Nathaniel weirdly picked out for me and slipped it on before blow drying my hair and throwing it into a high ponytail. I didn't feel like putting on any makeup today, seeing that I wasn't planning on going anywhere in the first place. As I made my way down the staircase, I noticed the housekeeper that tried to wake me up crying in front of the door with her luggage at her side.
What the hell happened here?
"You look different; I don't like it," Nathaniel pointed out, emerging from the kitchen wearing white slacks with a navy blue short sleeve polo shirt, allowing his dark tatted arms to show and white Nike's. His thick black locs were gelled lightly but not enough to stay slicked down, enhancing his sharp, handsome features.
"What happened to her?" I asked curiously, ignoring his snide comment, pointing to the housekeeper crying in the corner.
He waved his hand, brushing me off as if discussing this topic was below him. "I fired her, now let's go."
"Fired her?" I whispered angrily, following him into the dining room. "Why the fuck would you fire her?"
"I gave her one job, and that was to wake you up, but she couldn't even do that. She's useless and not needed here."
"How could you be so fucking heartless? It wasn't her fault; she thought she did her job; I'm the one that stayed sleeping."
"Not my problem, now let's go."
"No." I planted my foot firmly on the ground and crossed my arms against my chest. "I'm not leaving until you apologize to that poor girl and allow her to get her job back.
"Stop acting like a child," Nathaniel ordered, brushing past me towards the front door, but I didn't budge. That woman was not about to suffer for something she didn't do because he wanted to be an asshole like his fucking father. He claims that he 'handled' things with Luther, but he's too blind to see that he's just as bad, probably worse.
"Faye," Nathaniel spoke sharply, turning around to face me.
"Apologize." I nodded my head in the direction of the crying woman behind him, daring him to call my bluff.
"No."
"Then, I'm not going." I whirled around and began to head back upstairs but paused mid-step when I heard Nathaniel's deep voice speak again in a hushed tone.
"Don't let this happen again, or I won't hesitate to fire you permanently."
A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips, satisfied with his version of an apology.
"Was that so hard?" I asked, flipping around to face his fuming figure.
"Let's go," he grumbled, grabbing his keys off of the key hook that was hanging on the wall beside the door.
"Where are we even going, and why are you making me wear this ridiculous outfit?" I asked curiously, shooting the housekeeper an apologetic smile as I followed Nathaniel out of the door and into the 12 car garage.
"If you haven't figured out by now from the clothes you're wearing, you're as slow as you look," he scoffed, walking towards the beautiful BMW i8 Roadster E-copper. Having enough of his smart ass mouth, I raised my fist to sucker punch him in the arm, but he was too quick. In seconds Nathaniel had me pinned against the wall with my hands above my head. He snaked his free arm around my waist and brushed his nose against my cheek, trailing up to my ear, sending a shock of pleasure coursing through my body.
"I'd watch myself if I were you," he murmured, tracing my earlobe with his soft lips. "Don't forget what happened the last time you pissed me off."
"Let's hope I don't retaliate," I panted heavily, trying to control my pounding heart. "Wouldn't want to empty you out again, that's if you have anything left from last time cause boy that was one big ass loa--"
"Shut up," Nathaniel growled, releasing me from his tight grip and sliding into the sports car.
"So, are you gonna tell me where we're going or not? I'm tired of being kidnapped by you."
He ignored me as he started the quiet engine and peeled out of the long driveway towards our unknown destination. I sighed and stuffed my hands under my thighs, not knowing what to do with them as I stared aimlessly out of the window, trying not to inhale his mouthwatering scent.
We only had a few more days left on this trip, and then I'll be back in California, away from his luring presence. I see why every female found him attractive and worshiped his feet even though they were mostly attracted to his money.
For me, it was the power he held and how he controlled almost anything and anyone. How he could bring an entire empire to the ground with a single phone call. How his commanding presence alone feared people before even uttering a word.
What a complete fucking waste of a human being. The only thing he's good for is physical touch, nothing more, nothing less.
I glanced over in his direction, watching his every move like a hungry hawk. He had his left hand on the steering wheel while the right one was gripping the gearshift next to my thigh. His fingers were so close to coming in contact with my skin; I could feel the electricity flowing through the small gap between us. Nathaniel's ocean blue eyes were glued to the road, completely oblivious to my staring.
The window on the driver's side was rolled down slightly, allowing the wind to blow his hair out of place.
"You're staring," Nathaniel muttered, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Were you in my closet last night?" I blurted, spitting out the first thing that came to my mind. His eyebrows immediately shot up in surprise, or was it confusion? "Never mind," I mumbled quickly before he had time to answer. I sighed and pressed my forehead against the cool window watching the cars whiz by on the road beside us, wishing I was anywhere but here.
"Golfing," Nathaniel spoke lowly, breaking the silence.
"What?"
"We're going golfing."
Ew.
"Oh."
The rest of the ride to the resort was filled with silence and with me occasionally glancing his way. Thirty minutes later, we pulled up into the vast golf course scattered with tall, beautiful palm trees. The green resort went on for miles, as far as my eyes could see. Mini ponds were littered in between each course, making it look like were at a safari. Nathaniel parked the sports car in a section reserved for him before hopping out without warning. I quickly unbuckled and practically ran after him to keep up with his long strides. Fuck him for being a fucking giraffe.
We made our way to the only building on the resort, which I'm assuming was the lobby where you pick up golf clubs and other needed equipment.
"Welcome, sir," the blonde receptionist at the front desk greeted Nathaniel with a flirty smile. "Would you like me to go to the back with you?" She asked, twirling the end of her damaged dyed hair with her index finger.
Nathaniel paid her no attention as he brushed past the desk disappearing through the doors leading to a private section in the back where his equipment was.
I laughed internally and crossed my arms against my chest as I scanned the massive room. The cream Victorian walls were covered in pictures with men posing with all kinds of trophies and awards. A gold chandelier hung low from the high ceilings giving off no light due to the tall windows surrounding the expansive space.
"You're not going to last long," I heard the blonde woman whisper in my direction.
"What?"
"You're not going to last long."
"What are you talking about?"
"You're not the first whore he's brought here, and you won't be the last," she sneered. "Once he's done fucking you, he'll move on to the next, leaving your desperate ass alone."
"Wow, he sure did a number on you," I chuckled softly, pretending to be in awe at the ceiling. "Let me guess, he gave you more attention than usual, making you think that you actually meant something more to him than an easy nut, but it turned out you that's exactly what you were, easy. After you gave him what he came for, no pun intended, he left, didn't he?" I asked, stepping closer to the desk as I tilted my head to the side.
She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing come out as her pale cheeks turned red from embarrassment, confirming my suspicions.
"Don't embarrass yourself by comparing you to me," I continued with a smirk, resting my elbows on the desk. "If I wanted your boss, trust me when I say I would have him by now, so let's clear that up. But if I were you, I'd focus more on trying to keep my job than worrying about someone that literally couldn't begin to give a fuck about you."
The receptionist's eyes began watering, bringing a full smile to my face. Perhaps next time she'll think twice before opening that loud mouth of hers.
--