13

"HE MADE YOU clean his office and he didn't try to bend you over the desk?" Semaj asked, looking at me with mannish eyes and a grin that I so desperately wanted to jump over the dining table and smack off, but my bowl of cereal was too precious this morning so I refrained and rolled my eyes at him instead.

"I would've shanked him," I replied to him.

Semaj makes a face at me, a piece of bacon dangling from his greasy lips. "Oh please, you would've sucked his dick."

I blinked at him, grabbing a fruit loop from my bowl and throwing it at the boy but he only catches it in his mouth. Big and greedy. "Semaj, what the hell?" I gawked, completely caught off guard by his words though he only shrugged his shoulders at me as if he'd said nothing out of the ordinary. "What? I'm just being honest. The man is hot as fuck and when was the last time you had sex? You're long overdue for some."

I twirled around my spoon in the sweetened milk in front of me as I thought about my roommate's words. He's not necessarily wrong, it has been quite a while since the last I've had sex. My last encounter was such a let done I was this close to becoming abstinent from sex for the rest of my college career. It was some guy I met in one of my classes who was kinda cute and knew the right things to say plus he going on and on about how he's never fucked a ballerina before and I thought why the hell not I have nothing to lose. He said he wanted to see how flexible I was but it's kinda hard to be flexible when the guy only gives you two minutes before he's blowing every way from my kisses alone. It was probably more embarrassing for him than me but I  don't think I can ever shake the memory.

But sex with Stone? I find myself shivering at the thought alone. He's so big and scary-looking and I'm pretty sure his face is probably always stuck in that emotionless stare it's always in even while someone is on top of him. I doubt I'm his type anyway. He probably likes them just like him, all tough and mean-looking while I'm cursed with these baby-fat cheeks and big eyes thanks to my mom.

"I'm not sleeping with him. I barely want to be around him most of the time." I tell Semaj.

"The dude paid you $7k to clean his office and you're telling me you don't even want to be around him? I'd be in his skin right now if I were you."

I played with the cereal in front of me, watching the colorful loops swim in the little swirl I created in the milk with my spoon. "Yeah that was the least he could do after randomly coming and making forcing me into his home which is scary as fuck by the way it's like a medieval castle —

My phone going off on the table causes me to halt. I looked down at the unfamiliar number and notification that followed before picking it up.

I nearly bent my spoon at the words on my screen and I guess Semaj must've noticed the shocked look on my face because he immediately leaned over our small circular dining table and took a look at my screen nearly straining his long neck in the process. "He's sending you money again?!" His voice is louder than necessary and I have to shush him not wanting to wake  Tristian's annoying ass.  "You got a sugar daddy, oh my God you're a whole ass sugar baby Kylo," Semaj whispers harshly.

"I can't be a sugar baby if I'm not giving him any sugar." I reminded him and he made a face at me.

Semaj falls back into his chair. "You're literally living the gay guy's fantasy right now. Do you know how many of them would love to be with some big buff guys who pay them to just sit around in their house all day? Shit, you lucky I'm not gay and I don't know how to suck dick because I would take your spot," I raised a questioning brow at his last few sets of words. "plus he's in the mafia. That's crazy." he leans in and whispers the last part.

"I'm not every gay guy and he's not in the mafia," I remind him and Semaj rolls his eyes at me before taking another spoonful of his breakfast. "Oh she's not like other gays she's different, she's a cool gay," he mocked.  "And you're a terrible liar too. We've been over this."

"I'm not lying." I lied again.

I don't know why I feel the need to blatantly lie to Semaj whenever he says that Stone is a part of the mafia but I feel like it's safer if I try to throw the notion out of his head as much as possible despite him seeing Stone and his men that one time at work, and then again when he picked me up a yesterday afternoon. Like I said I'm a terrible lair but I still don't want it getting out there that I'm hanging around some known mafia boss. I'm pretty sure that's like being a criminal by association or something, I don't know.

"Whatever you say," he waves me off. "but the dude clearly has a lot of money if he can just send you bands out of the blue. Do you think he's like some sadistic CEO rough in bed like on some Fifty Shades Of Grey type shit?" he asked. "I mean he has to be right? Aren't all rich men just weird freaks with a dominating kink?" he added, before motioning his eyes to mine. "Find out for me Lo."

I scoffed. "I'd rather drink on bleach and he's not just some guy sending me money. I work for him. I'm walking his big-ass dogs and cleaning up his dirty-ass office. There's nothing sexual about it. If anything I'm just some maid he's hired to do the things he doesn't want to do."

"Shit, I'll be the maid any day," Semaj mumbled.

I look back down at my phone rereading the message. It's probably just to finish cleaning the office since I didn't get to finish last night. It's so much shit in there I'm pretty sure I traveled to a different universe at one point. I barely got half of it cleaned by the time Stone came back and by that point, it was so late and he looked so upset and void of anything — more than usual that he didn't even say anything to me just waved me off and the next thing I know his men were driving me home. He hasn't even complimented my work on the room so far. Grouchy bitch.

Suddenly the door to Tristian's room flies open and he comes out, an already annoyed look on his face. How do you wake up mad? Did he even try to have a good day?

Semaj clears his throat. "Yeah so um about the football game, tough loss am I right?" he tried to switch the subject and I raised a brow at him confused.

"I wasn't asleep and it's stupid for you to believe that I would believe you two would be in here talking about a football game out of all things," Tristian voiced as he walked into the open kitchen grabbing a cup of orange juice. He turns around to us as he takes a sip. "thanks to loud mouths I now know Kylo here is sleeping with some old guy for money. Good for you, I guess."

"I'm not sleeping with anyone!"

"He's not that old!" Semaj's voice mashed with my own and we both sent the other a look.

"I'm not sleeping with anyone," I clarified to both of them. "and if I was so what? You gonna slut shame me like the up saditty bitch you are?"

Tristian takes another swig of his juice before speaking. "I'm not judging you because I don't really too much care about you to begin with, but if you're resorting to being with some old guy and having him pay your way through school then maybe this isn't the school for you. Might be a little too much out of your price range, yeah?" he places his empty glass on the counter before making his way back into his room.

"Just food for thought." He shrugged his shoulders as he entered his room again, slamming the door behind himself.

"I don't want you nasty food bitch!" I shout out. "And I'm not washing that class you left on the counter either!" Semaj quickly adds behind me.

••••

I found myself wandering the streets just outside campus. The New York air is fresh today, almost sweet and floral as the pace of living relaxes to a steadier rhythm. The morning sidewalk is filled with people in suits with briefcases heading to work, students walking the crosswalk heading to campus or the local café, and teenagers with large backpacks walking the strip like they owned it talking loudly amongst themselves. Then there's me, the one person waiting for the mafia boss to pick them up. Stone never really gave any clear answers as to where he'd be picking me up he just told me to be ready which I am. I've been walking for quite a while now and he's nowhere to be found. I stuff my hands in the front pocket of my hoodie and continue walking.

It isn't until a few minutes later that I realize I'm being followed. From the corner of my eye, I can see the black car behind me trailing behind. I make a left turn to a different street just to make sure and when the car does the same that's when I realize it's him. Mr. Bellerose himself.

I stopped in my steps letting the car come a little closer and once the black Rolls Royce stopped in front of me the tinted windows rolled down to reveal two men who it's safe to assume work for Stone. It's not the same two from yesterday but then again all these mafia men look alike to me with their wild tattoos, piercings, and suits.

"Kylo Johnson?" The driver asked.

"Sadly," I replied earning a small chuckle out of them before they unlocked the backseat door. I open the door and I'm surprised when I don't see a giant smoldering mafia man waiting for me. He isn't here but I get in anyway enjoying the lavish space of the Rolls Royce I have to myself for once.

When we get to Stone's depressing ass mansion I don't step out with the same hesitation as I did before. Oddly enough all the nerves and jitters I had yesterday seem to have left me as I make my way up the steps of the manor the door already slightly cracked open. I walked into the darkened foyer, my eyes wandering around as I began to notice the things I didn't do yesterday. The art on the walls of this place is beautiful in its eerie way. The flowers in the vases are roses, some with a deepened red to them and some with an almost maroon color. The nectar looks sweet. The petals fan widely over the canvas and when I pass it I think I can almost detect a fragrance.

But then I hear a bark from behind me and go numb.

My entire body tenses for a second, practically having to force myself to turn around to face my biggest fear and enemies. The Powerpuff Girls.

All three of them are lined up side by side as if they knew they had to corner a bad bitch like me. "Oh okay, I see how you whores wanna play today." I find the courage to speak, raising my first preparing for what's to come next. I've never fought a day in my life and I think it's kinda inside my first one is about to be with three Dobermen but that's just life I guess. I'm about to get into a corner and windmill for my life if that's what it takes.

One of them barks again and I sturdy my stance preparing to charge at the three dogs but a whistle comes over us and everyone freezes.

"Leave the poor boy alone. Shoo, your food is in the kitchen." I expected the sound to come from Stone but it's the lady from yesterday — Miss Deena is her name if I recall came to my rescue instead. Crazy enough the dogs listen to her like she's Stone and head in the opposite direction of me and I let out a small breath.

When the dogs scatter away she finally greets me with a warm smile, still in her same attire from yesterday. "You came here yesterday, right?" she asked, her voice calm and comforting.

She was short in her proportions but clearly an older woman. From the crowfeet around her eyes, she was probably fifty-something. Brown skinned in the face, her bangs pasted to her forehead with either steam or slight sweat.

I nodded. "Yeah, Stone brought me yesterday to clean his office. He brought me here again I guess to finish the job." I explained to her.

"Stone?" she makes a face at me like she doesn't know who that is but then I see it click in her brain after a second. "Oh, you mean Ben? Oh well, Ben's not here sweetie. He left earlier to handle some things."

I made a face at her. "He's not here," I repeated the words. "but he texted me to come here to clean that dirty office of his."

"The office upstairs? He's making you clean that dirty room?"

"Yesssss," I prolonged the word, finally happy to be speaking with someone who understands just how crazy this man is.

Miss Deena lets out a soft chuckle, her high cheekbones dusted with pink blush moving with her. "Ben has always been . . . a bit unpredictable. I've been with the boy his entire life and I still can't tell you what he's thinking most of the time. His siblings however I can read those two like the back of my hand but Ben has always been hard to get to open up." She gestures for me to follow behind her and I follow, a slight hesitation in my steps.

She glides around this place like she has a map in her hands, maybe she did I just couldn't see it. "I've been working for Mr Bellerose and his family for years now. Delivered all three of his children upstairs in his own bedroom."

"Oh wow . . ." I don't know whether to be amazed or grossed out.

Somehow we ended up in the kitchen area of the house. My nostrils are immediately filled with all types of aromas, each of them equally pleasing to my stomach. There's a chef in the middle of the large kitchen. He moved as if he had his opera playing within. At times he moved as though he were the bow of the cello, steady and deep. I watched as he picked up the chopping knife and cut the vegetables in front of him into perfect matchsticks in the time it took most people just peel the carrots. Every motion was precise from intense repetition and he prided himself on the machine-like perfection of his shapes.

I realize it's the same chef from yesterday from

the stern expression on his face. Everything was even, uniform, perfect. The man looked over at the other cooks around him and scowled. "So slow! So inept! I was born faster than that!" his eyes narrowed as he watched another cook apply the seasoning and his mouth tightened to a thin straight line, "Too much, too much! What are you trying to do? Send Mr Bellerose to an early grave?" He kinda speaks like Stone's dad in that same old-timey French accent that made even the smallest sentences have much impact. Though his tone wasn't as soft and kind as Stone's dad.

"Louie, stop yelling at the poor cooks, please." Miss Deena calls and gets his attention. The chef looks up at us at the end of the kitchen, his sharp eyes lingering on me longer than I would like.

"Deena darling," he starts as he makes his way over to us, his long limbs stretching across the tiled kitchen floor. "if I don't yell they won't get the job done correctly. We've been over this."

The chef — Louie stands over us in all his lanky glory. His blue eyes motion over to me and he raises a reddish brow. "A new recruit I suppose?"

"No he's not a recruit for you and your misfits of cooks," Miss Deena places a comforting hand on my shoulder and I'm a little relieved. The last place I need to be is anyone's kitchen. "he's here for Ben."

"Benavonté?" Louie repeated the name with a titled head. "but he's gone and won't be back until later on tonight I thought."

"Yes, but he's here for Ben. He's not here for you to use in the kitchen or to help me fold laundry," she tells him.

I look between the two. "So you two work for Benavonté?" Saying his real name sent an uneasy feeling down my stomach like it was a forbidden word.

Miss Deena let out a soft chuckle. "We work for Mr. Bellerose, which I guess by default means we work for his kids as well in a way. So, the answer to the question is yes." she nods.

"So he's not living alone in this big scary mansion by himself," I found myself saying aloud accidentally only to earn a hardy laugh from Louie. "I let Benavonté make his own lunch one time for school and he nearly poisoned himself. Of course, he's not alone here."

"Like I said we've been working for the Bellerose family for a long time now. There are housekeepers, cooks, gardeners, mechanics, and everything else under the sun to keep this place running. Ben is never alone though he does spend most of his time locked away in his room away from everyone and only ever comes out with he has something to do that's work-related. He's always been like that."

A Grinch since birth, hmm. I made a face. "And yet he still wants me to clean that dirty office?" I growled under my breath.

"The one upstairs? Oh, good luck my boy." Louie shakes his head. Suddenly, one of the cooks comes up behind him with a small sampler of some sort of dish. The vivid colors of the food spoke to its freshness and the bold flavors I could smell from where I stood. The man takes a spoonful and gives it a taste, a pleasant look growing over his pale freckled face. "Not bad," he said and I could see the relief flying off the cook's face.

Louie turned to me then. "Would you like to try some new recruit?" The scent of the dish is almost intoxicating and I want to take the entire sampler and stuff it into my mouth but then I remember the words of Miss Sharon and suddenly I'm shot back to reality.

"I'm fine. I ate before I came." It wasn't technically a lie because I did eat before I came. It wasn't like I hadn't eaten at all today, I had breakfast which just consisted of soggy cereal but I still ate nonetheless, it is almost dinner time now though but I'm not hungry my mind just thinks I am.

Louie makes a face at me and I could see Deena almost matching it a bit. "You decline?" he asked, turning to Deena as if to get confirmation.

I threw my hands up in defense. "I'll try your food next time I promise. It smells delicious but I have to hurry and clean this office before Stone — I mean Benavonté comes back." I tell them as I back away from them turning on my heels and making my way out the kitchen. I roam around the house trying to find the stairs that lead to the second floor, ignoring the subtle rumbling in my stomach.

••••

I don't know how long I've been cleaning the office but the more I cleaned the more it feels lighter and brighter in this room, becoming a place I can finally take a deep breath without choking on a dust bunny. I must've been cleaning for at least two hours, sweat damping my forehead and my clothes reeking of cleaning products. I removed the yellow cleaning gloves from my hands and wiped the sweat from my forehead with a low sigh. Crazy how I'm not even done still but at least I'm a lot closer than I was yesterday.

No one ever tells you how cleaning is a workout. I'm parched and the least I deserve after being Molly the maid is some damn water.

I push myself off the floor of the office and make my way out and down the stairs. It's quieter than it was earlier which I'm guessing means Miss Deena and Louie must have left after getting their work done while it seems mine is never-ending. When I step off the stairs I'm in the foyer again and I try to remember the steps to the kitchen. They need a fucking map around this place I'm so serious.

Suddenly the double doors to the manor open without much notice and I'm startled, freezing in place for a moment until a familiar face comes into view that catches me off guard.

"Enzo!?"

"Kyle!?"

I frowned at him as he made his way into the manor, not even bothering to shut the door behind himself. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked me.

"Me? What the hell are you doing here?" I counter.

He made a face at me. "I'm the owner of this house," he replies smartly making a face at me.

"You live with Stone?" I asked him.

"Stone — you mean Ben?" He scoffed at me as he made his way past me. "How do you know my brother?"

My eyes grew wide and I found my mouth slipping agape at his words. "He's your brother? Since when?"

Enzo kisses his teeth at me. "Since we came out of the same vagina fool. Anyways I ain't come here to get interrogated I'm just here to get some clothes and go back to my place." he starts to make his way upstairs and I clumsily follow behind.

Brothers? I know Deena said he had siblings but I never expected for one of them to be Enzo of all people. Granted it is quite obvious now that I take the information in. Enzo has a lot of fucking money but I thought that was just because he sold drugs around school but I guess being a part of a mafia family plays a part in that too. Also he and Stone do kinda resemble with that same block head and big pink lips. They kinda have the same attitude as well which is such a misfortunate thing to have.

Enzo stomps up the stairs quickly and I struggle to keep up. When we get to the corridor of the manor he walks into a room that I'm guessing is his and boy was I right. The minute I walked into the room I was hit with flashing LED lights and a collage of rappers and their album covers taking up an entire side of his room. It's very boyish — very Enzo.

"So are you gonna explain to me how the hell you know my brother Kylie or do I not want to know?" He asks me as he rummages through his walk-in closet throwing random shirts everywhere.

I move out of the way as an incoming Gucci shirt comes flying my way without warning. "Uh, it's Kylo... and he kinda has me working for him for a bit. I think. I don't know what he wants me doing honestly."

Enzo makes a quick turn around, thick brows raising at me. "Working for him working for him? he repeats and I know what he means and I quickly shake my head no.

"No, he just has me cleaning and walking his dogs."

"Oh, so the help," Enzo turns back around grabbing a few shirts and stuffing them into a duffle bag on the floor. "well good luck with that. My brother is quite the pain in the ass. He's always bossy people around, making that stupid face like he's always mad at somebody."

"Exactly! Like fucking smile."

"He doesn't know how to smile. That nigga came out our mother's womb mad," Enzo tosses the duffle bag over his shoulder and heads out of the closet. "both he and my sister are the same. A bunch of kiss asses that's why they get along so well." he walks over to his dressers and starts stuffing underwear into his bag.

"Do you know where he's at?" I asked.

Enzo shakes his head. "Nope," he said popping the P before turning back to me with a loom on his face. "He's not in his room?"

I shake my head no.

Enzo shoved a few more pairs of underwear in his bag before zipping it close and making his way out of the room and I followed behind like a lost puppy. He heads towards the lone door at the end of the hall. He pushes open the door with one hand before stepping into the empty bedroom. It's large, larger than Enzo's but both are bigger than my room at my apartment so I can't be talking about anyone, but this room is huge nonetheless. Black and grey were the only colors allowed in the room, not an ounce of color anywhere else like it was forbidden. It's strangely tidy and clean — like so clean I'm scared to take a step on the dark wood flooring but that's probably thanks to Miss Deena and the other housekeepers around here.

"Is this —" the words left my mouth without much thought and Enzo already knew the answer because he turned to me with a smug look on his face. "Yes, this is big bad Ben's room if you hadn't already guessed from the clear void of personality in here."

Enzo steps around the room without much care going straight to the dresser and rummaging through it. "You shouldn't be in here!" I tell him.

"Aw, what are you gonna tell my big brother about me?" He laughed.

I folded my arms across my chest at his teasing. "I might, don't make me call . . . Ben," I warned.

Enzo shrugged his shoulders. "Go ahead it's not like he's gonna care to do anything to me. He might be happy I finally came back to this hell hole even if it's just to get my stuff." he reaches into one of the drawers of the dresser and pulls out a loaded gun, a smile beaming on his face as he scanned the weapon in his hands.

"Oh fuck no put that back!"

He turns to me and rolls his eyes. "Relax it's just a 9MM. There are like fifty other guns stashed around this place. You might have one in your ass from the way you have been bitching."

"Oh fuck you." I scoffed.

I watched as he unloaded the gun and placed it in his bag zipping it back up again. He looks around the room a little more before letting out a small sigh and turning his attention toward the expensive watch on his wrist. "I guess I'm done here," he mumbles, making his way past me and bumping into me purposely. "I hope my brother is paying you enough for you to be acting so winey all of a sudden. I thought you were cool man?"

"Cool? You don't even know me." I say to him as we walk down the staircase.

"We hung out at that party together, remember?"

"And you gave me drugs!"

"For free," he reminded once he reached the entrance of the manor. "If anything you should be working for me. Free drugs, a free ride home like you owe but I'm not my brother. I don't find enjoyment in playing with my food before I eat it." he bites his teeth at me and I jump back at the sound.

"Huh?" But before I could get an understanding Enzo exits the mansion leaving me alone in the foyer. What the hell just happened?

I exhaled a low sigh, a hand coming up to scratch my head. I take a few deep breaths and close my eyes. I only came downstairs for some water. That's all

I'm focusing on right now and with that, I turn on my heels and make my way in the direction which I suppose the kitchen is in. Once I finally have a refreshing glass of water I'm throwing it back like a shot because that's what I fucking needed — a shot of dark liquor and I know there's probably a shit ton around this place but I'm both too lazy and scared to look around.

I hear the sound of the double doors opening again and I freeze in my position in the kitchen. I quickly toss my glass in the sink before quietly rushing back towards the foyer. Much to my relief it's finally Stone who stands under the door frame however he's not alone and behind comes the face of a man I don't think I've ever seen before.

The first thing I noticed was his eyes. So harp and dark, that he almost looks like a cat from my view of him. Everything about the man was sharp from his eyes to his jawline to his nose. He doesn't look real, almost too perfect. He's tall and his limbs stretch long and free as he walks into the manor with this aura of familiarity guiding his steps. With designer brands clinging to him from head to toe, milky blemish-free skin, and a head of inky black hair styled so perfectly the man was the walking definition of flawless.

Stone notices me first but I'm too busy looking ahead at the man that I don't notice at first, but when I do it's too late because the man he walked in with has already set his eyes on me.

"Oh, who's this?" His voice didn't match his face, a deepness and playful tune that didn't quite go together with his cold aesthetic. He walks towards me with a strut that would put models to shame, he might be one he definitely has the height and looks for it. Somehow his hands found their way around my face, cupping my cheeks as he looked at me with an expression that made me slightly uncomfortable, a grin growing on his lips. "you're pretty." he compliments me and I can't find the words in me to respond.

"Hands off him. Now." Stone's voice is enough to make me shiver from here, the dominant tone making the man release me from his soft grip. He turned to Stone and pouted his lips at him.

"Aw boo, you're no fun." The man replied childishly, stepping towards the bottom of the staircase, tongue poking the inside of his cheeks as he winks at me playfully.

Stone comes over to me blocking my view of the man at the bottom of the staircase checking his nails. I looked up at him and he looked down at me. I didn't know who was going to speak first but then he clears his throat and answers that question for me.

"Did you finish?" He asked. The aroma of his cologne was as oddly comforting as the blackest of warm summer nights. Made everything me seem like tense than they actually are.

I shake my head no. "No. I'm closer than I was yesterday though." He nods at me before gesturing towards the door. "My men will take you home."

I gave him a thumbs up and tight lip smile that honestly just looked like a straight line on my face. I start to make my way towards the door and I can see Stone and the man start to make their way upstairs together. The man has a finger tugging at his front belt loop as if he is guiding Stone up the steps with his mind. He's sultry in every bit of the word.

Before I exit the manor I turn around. "Stone," I call out causing the top to mid-step, the man's finger never leaving his belt loop but his stare on me begins to harden. Stone steps towards the railing of the steps to get a better view of me from below. He raises a brow waiting for me to continue my sentence.

"Uh . . . Enzo stopped by," I tell him. I don't know why I did but the words left me before I could think. Maybe because I didn't want him to think I was the one rummaging through his stuff.

His eyes widened a bit. "You know my brother?"

"Yeah, we go to the same college."

The man makes a noise, a small chuckle coming from him. "A college kid huh? Cute," he said his eyes lingering on Stone as he did so. Stone pushes the man forward mumbling something but it's hard to hear from down here, but I watch as the man starts to make his way up the stairs by himself while Stone stays put.

"Thanks for letting me know." was all he said and I sent him a simple nod, watching as he started to follow behind the man up the rest of the stairs until they were completely out of my view.

••••

EXCUSE ANY MISTAKES OR ERRORS