"Hi, how can I help you?" The middle aged man stared at Claire as though she had just fallen from the sky. Claire's mouth felt as though it had lost its function to speak. "Uhm, hi. My name is Claire and I recently got married to your boss, Bruce." She ended the sentence with a tone of question. He was meant to recognize her as Bruce's bride. Did he not inform the entire staff about her or was the cellar outside the jurisdiction."You know Bruce, don't you?" She asked again, to be clear. He smiled a shy smile and stood to his feet."Of course, he is a good boss to me. What would the young master need?" He asked her like he did not look ready to burn through her body with his eyes. She wondered if he was mentally stable."The young master needs your best bottle of wine. It is that kind of night, do you get me?" She smiled at the man as though he knew what kind of night it was. He gave her a small smile in return and went into hidden corner in the cellar. She was left there wondering wh
Bruce sat with Claire and took the bottle of wine from her hand. He took a long swig and gave the bottle back to Claire. Claire whistled and drank from the bottle too."That did not seem so bad, did it?" Claire asked him but he did not reply her. He sank into the bed and stared at the ceiling for a long while. Claire wondered what was going through his mind. She knew if she wanted him to open up to her, then she had to say something."This Beijing trip is one of the best things to happen to me and my mother. You might not know this but she has had this fantasy of wanting to travel out for a long time. When I saw her in the hospital with all the wires connected to her system, she could barely open her eyes, I wondered how I could make her better. I prayed and wished she would get better, so that I could give her the life she had prayed everyday for. I know, you have reasons not to trust me but to be very honest, I am grateful for all of this. Even if my mother will not show it, she is t
Hugh Steele stared at the information the man before him had brought to him. He had hired a spy to follow up with Bruce's activities and he had discovered that Bruce had moved on. Bruce had taken another bride not too long after jilting his daughter. He could not take that manner of insult. He had wanted to know how he was faring at first… but hearing he had married his employee on a whim angered him and he wanted to avenge his daughter."Where are they now?" Steele asked the man who had refused to take off his black hat. It was hard to get someone able to spy on Bruce Ace so Hugh did not care about how the man wanted to appear before him as long as he did his work right. The man stroked his jaw and took the seat he was offered when he first came in."They paid for three buisness class tickets to Beijing. They leave in two days." Steele nodded. He dropped the rest of the files on the table and was about to leave Hugh Steele's office. "Well, that is good information. Do you know anyon
119"Do you always curse for no reason?" Bruce asked Claire. She sucked her teeth."Do you call people living in your house on the phone? What do you need me to do, sir? Pick up your car keys from the table right next to where you are sitted?" Claire asked with rich sarcasm."Your sense of imagination is excellent, to be honest. Come to the reading room and get your tickets." He said this and realized that he was anticipating the look on her face when he handed her the tickets."OMG. I am on my way." Claire sounded excited. She hurried out of he room and stood at the hall for a while when she realized that she had no idea where the reading room was."Hey hey." She called out to the maids around but they scurried away from her once she called. She began to think. Was this one of Bruce's plots? Frustrate her for the tickets. He was good at frustrating her she had to give it to him.If no one would show her where the reading room was, then she would find it out herself. She went through
"Maria, right?" He said as he stood up from his seat, offering a hand to her. She took it and although her hand was small, her grip was firm. She was a tough one, even if she appeared small."Yes. Maria." She stared at him as though she was trying to assess him too."It is a good thing you came now. I am going to leave for a trip tomorrow. Please, sit." He gestured at the chair opposite his. She took the seat and breathed deeply."You are acting nervous." He blurted. He almost wanted slap his face with his palm. She looked genuinely confused now."I mean you do not seem nervous but you seem like you should be nervous. You really do not have to be." He tried to assure her. She smiled and then she became really nervous. She scratched at her palms repeatedly and Bruce sighed. She had been told that Bruce was extremely wealthy but she had no idea he was intelligent. It had surprised when he caught her in her act. She was supposed to be the extremely nervous, timid girl but that was not h
Maria fixed her gaze to the floor. Now, he wanted to know what she needed saving from. She recollected herself and took a deep breath."Uhm, I did not mean to say that." She said. Bruce knew the truth when it was slightly revealed."What then did you mean about saving, Maria?" He asked the girl standing before him. Her eyes darted over the patterns on the floor. She was beginning to formulate a lie. Bruce could see it. He believed that the best told lies had half truths within it. He just needed to find out what were lies and truths. "I did not mean anything by it. My brother had accused me of going wayward ever since they found me at Tiny's smoking a joint. He wanted to straighten me out, save me from myself." Maria said this and lifted her gaze to meet Bruce's. She wanted him to see the faux confidence in her eyes. Half truths well worn with confidence could pass for whole truths.She had not lied about her brother finding her at Tiny's. But, it was not a surprise to him that she
122There was a ceiling to floor mirror in the room and a walk in closet. Luxury clothes hung on the wall and the serving uniforms hung next to the clothes. She almost squealed and remembered that she had worn her brother's clothes for the longest time and he probably had no idea about it. He had been stuck in outfits for long periods. His Blink 2.0 t-shirt reeked of whiskey and weed and it had been on him for days. That was probably the only shirt she had refused to wear. No matter how hard she tried to wash off the smell, it never went away. "Is this how the rest of the rooms are?" She asked in disbelief. Lee smiled and nodded. He stepped in and shut the door after him."Yes, all the rooms are fully furnished with state-of-the-art decor. What did you expect? Prison walls and bare ventilation?" Lee asked."Uhm, I did not really say that…" Maria felt like a deer caught in headlights. She did not want to look like she had made presumptions about who she thought Bruce was. She had bee
Maria settled into the room. She took off her clothes that were three times her size but looked trendy because baggy was the new normal. She walked into the bathroom. There was a bathtub, a massive shower stand and jars filled with different oils. There was a body wash, face wash and different body scrubs. It looked like a woman's heaven. She took off her clothes and turned on the tap on the tub. She had no idea what to pour into the tub, so she stepped in when it got filled. It felt so calming, she released a sigh of relief. Her shoulders sagged into the water and she had the strongest urge to go under the water. She went under and came back up when she had to catch her breath. She laid her head on the edge of the tub and took deep breaths. She knew Mr Steele would be calling soon for updates on what was happening. What could she say? The young master is not the devil you say he is? Steele had sent her here for a reason and she wished she knew why.She stepped out of the tub and step