Page 11 of Through You
I notice his jaw is clenched when he gets up from his chair. He leans in and places both hands on the table. “Apologize immediately.”
I shake my head. “No.” I sound more determined than I truly feel, and in an act of cowardice, I retreat toward the door. But he is way too fast for me, and grabs one of my arms. His strong hand tightens its grip, and pulls me between him and the wall.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
We’ve never been this close. I can smell the subtle yet masculine scent of his cologne and his shampoo.
“Let me go.” I keep my gaze fixed on his tie.
He takes my chin and forces me to look up at him.
“You have forgotten your place in this house.” He looks directly into my eyes as he speaks. “You are an employee here.
The help. I could fire you if you crossed the line and disrespected me. I am not my brothers. And I most certainly am not my father.
You behave this way again and I will, without hesitation, kick you out of this house.”
“You are not my boss.” I struggle to free myself from his grip.
“I report to Mr. Juan.”
“Trust me when I tell you this, Claudia— if I want you out of this house, I can make it happen.” This is the first time that he has addressed me by my name, and given the circumstances, I don’t like how it sounds.
“I’m your boss now.” His gaze briefly moves to my lips. “The roof over your head, your future, your stability, all of it is in my hands. For your own good, I suggest you bite that insolent tongue of yours and follow my orders.”
He lets me go and returns to his seat. He grabs the newspaper and proceeds to open it. I close my hands into fists and press them to my sides. Then I grab the uniform, grudgingly.
I hate him.
I never expected he could be this cold. The Artemis I grew up with was a quiet boy. He did not express much of what he felt, but he was warm and would have never treated me this way.
Shortly after, I catch a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror, and the way I look bothers me immensely. The uniform looks like a fucking Halloween costume. I wonder how the idiot managed to get the right size.
When I get back to the kitchen, I notice that Artemis has company. Apolo is with him. I can’t contain my embarrassment.
“Sir.” I pause. “I put on the uniform. May I get back to work?”
Artemis keeps reading the newspaper and avoids looking my way. “As long as you know your place in this house, you may return to your duties.”
I purse my lips and make a Herculean effort to reply civilly.
“It is evident that, in this house, I am just a maid, sir.”
“Good.” He puts the newspaper aside, grabs a cup of tea, and spills its contents across the table. “Then you should clean this.”
“Artemis!” Apolo’s sweet voice helps me remain calm.
Artemis gives him a cold stare. He’s testing me and wants me to fail so he can run me out of this house. I never thought he would hate me this much. I really underestimated his disapproval.
My eyes fill with tears, but I keep them from falling. I will not give him the satisfaction. I keep quiet and look for a rag. “As you wish, sir.”
“Artemis.” I’m startled by the anger in Apolo’s tone.
No one has ever treated me like this. Not even the lady of the house, and she isn’t too fond of me.
Apolo’s attempt to remedy the situation clearly irritates Artemis. He says, “Go ahead, try to do something about this, and I’ll go straight to our father and let him know about your drunken binges. She’s just the house help. She’s not worth the trouble, Apolo.”
His words are fiery hot and burn me. Regardless of how I feel, I go back to doing my work. A hand grabs my arm to stop me from cleaning. I look up to find Apolo’s warm gaze.
