Tamed by the Vengeful Billionaire

FLAVIAN

Between managing the nightclub, Flavian Holdings, and keeping my relationship with the Barnes intact, the past few days have been extremely busy. The good thing about the nightclub is that I have my assistant, Rafael, who has been significantly helpful for the past few years.

With my busy schedule, I forgot to find a housekeeper until my mother's loyal servants came knocking to my villa yesterday morning. She's usually serious about this stuff.

It would have been easier to assign someone the role of finding me a housekeeper, but that's not the road I'm willing to take. I want to vet mine. I need a perfect and convincing one.

Going for one of my mother's loyal minions would be digging a ditch for myself.

They would report my every move. In the end, I'd have to fire them. Which is why, to avoid such a dramatic cycle and save everyone's time, I'd put in an impromptu request for a housekeeper from one of the best housekeeping agencies in the city.

I sent one of my drivers to pick her up from the agency this morning. I need to see her first, just to know what I'm dealing with.

An hour later, he knocks to inform me my housekeeper is here.

"Let her in," I say.

When I look up from my load of work, my eyes meet the woman I never expected to see any time this year.

It's really her!

I could never forget her face. That beautiful face with dazzling eyes, but fierce. She's in a black, straight skirt with the length slightly above the knee. It hugs her perfectly, revealing the attractive curves. I'm even jealous of the skirt, wishing to replace it with my hands. Beautiful piece of art this one. My hands itch to explore her body, and my cock twitches at the mere thought of it.

She's wearing a simple, official blue shirt, long-sleeved and tucked so perfectly. Her hair is tied into a ponytail, just like the other night. Nothing about her is sophisticated, making it easy for one to overlook her beauty.

Only after she clears her throat do I realize I must have stared longer than I should.

"It's you," I smile. This is going to be fun. She doesn't respond.

"Scarecrow moves?'' I ask as soon as my driver leaves, in reference to the fact that she's been glued to the same spot for a while.

"What?" Her brows furrow, confusion written all over her face, rightfully so.

"Should I pay you for standing at my door? That's what I mean," I elaborate for her. The way she rolls her eyes is almost discreet that I could have missed it. This one must be good at keeping secrets. Perfect for my mother.

I sense some hesitations as she takes the seat opposite me. Her eyes speak something we both are aware of. Our last encounter had a lot of hiccups. Well, putting aside the fact that I still wanted to kiss her because of how hot she looked that night.

"The world must really be a small space, don't you agree, Miss..." I raise a brow.

"Emerald... Emerald Sandoval," she supplements, like suddenly she's regained her momentum.

"Right. Let's get straight to business." I rest my elbows on the desk. "Let's not waste each other's time. First order, an apology."

Her response is to squint her eyes like she has no idea what I'm talking about.

"Uhm, apology for what exactly...sir?"

I bet the last part was her way of being polite.

I scoff. She's still stern, which leaves me more intrigued.

"Really? Do you want me to recount the events of that night where you rudely made my shirt a tequila drainage?"

She exhales loudly and then sits upright, seeming to think hard. "Well, sir. It only means you're lucky to have me as your housekeeper. I will clear the mess I made with your shirt. You asked me if I knew the consequences of what I had done. Honestly, at the time, I didn't know. But don't you think fate brought me back to you?"

I cock a brow.

"Nice play, Miss Sandoval."

I'm still fascinated. Fate?

If we're talking about fate, I'm thinking of us being fated to inappropriate things. For example, fated to caress her body, kissing her deeply. It's what I've wanted to do since she walked through that door looking so beautiful that I was unable to tear my gaze from her. But then, I don't voice my thoughts.

"What do you mean?" I play along with her analogy.

"What I mean is, the consequence of that one action is that now I'm destined to take care of your laundry. All of them."

"Even my boxers?" I raise my brows briefly with a grin. However, I don't miss the flush on her cheeks.

"That would depend, sir."

"Depend on what?"

"Your preference."

"My preference in boxers? What type do you like?"

Her flush deepens as she avoids my gaze.

"That's...That's not what I mean." She clears her throat.

"Then, enlighten me, Miss Sandoval." I

lean back in my chair.

"I mean, if you prefer for me to wash them or not."

I'd prefer you help me take them off. I think.

A hot housekeeper? Why does it look like I'm digging my own grave here?

I want to say no to her. But again, with the kind of fierceness she possesses, she's the type of housekeeper I need, to pull my mother off my shoulder. I lean forward and look into her dazzling eyes. "What if I said no? Someone called you a home wrecker. You called me an asshole. I'm not sure I'm familiar with the better side of your character," I say.

"You know, it doesn't hurt to hear both sides of the story," she counters.

"My schedule is tight. I can't spend my day yapping with my soon-to-be housekeeper," I smirk, "or not."

"If you say no, you'll be missing out on the best person to take care of you," she argues.

I'll be missing on much more than that. Like those pretty eyes, that fierce personality...

Gosh, I could take the whole day.

This woman looks like a whole package to me.

___________________

ONE HOUR LATER...

I couldn't say no.

However, despite the confidence she displayed, I could sense some vulnerability...or fear.

I remember the exact feeling. My heart broke at the thought of it, and I was suddenly curious about what her life must be like. What she must be going through, even though she'd looked like she was trying hard to mask it. Something was clearly wrong.

When I became this kind of person, I have no idea. Why I didn't want to crush her hopes, I have no idea either. But it's definitely not because she's drop-dead gorgeous...

Okay, maybe, just a little of that fact, but it wasn't the main point. Call it a bonus.

The main point being, I cared so much, for Something that should've been none of my business.

And now, I have a housekeeper who's probably going to drive me crazy.