In Bed With The Devil

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Geraldine Goddamnit, Olivia screamed at the realization of her naivety, and how she was conned back into the arms of her husband. The tear stains on her cheek dried quickly after her curt session of sobbing, slowly she regained her composure, reluctantly resigning to her fate as she moved to the shopping bags on the floor.

There was no use crying over spilt milk now, her father owed a debt and it was her job to repay that debt—even if it meant being stuck in a marriage with a tyrannical maniac as Alex Maldov himself. There were a lot of bags, too much in fact. She enjoyed the vanity of dressing up and going out with her friends— friends…it was a funny thought now, as she wasn’t sure she had any of those now.

The pink fuchsia robe laid gently on the edge of the bed called out to her, gently she picked it up and couldn’t help but admire the color. The sudden thought of Alex loving it on her flashed through her mind, she gagged just imagining the look on his putrid face.

“Do you need help arranging your clothes madam?” Sheila called out from the doorway, “Master Maldov said you might be in need of assistance.”

Olivia, a little bit startled at the sudden request jolted to her feet, she was met with a bare faced reaction from the maid, managing to form a smile she nodded, “Yes, come in.”

Sheila walked in, paying no more acknowledgment to the new lady of the house and went straight for the clothes. Bag by bag, she brought out every box and piece of item, laying each in order or clothing type, color and occasion. Olivia had never seen such precision and organization in such a few minutes done before, she gawked at the maid with admiration.

“Master Maldov asked the carpenter to begin work tomorrow. Do you need assistance with supervising madam?” Sheila asked in a somewhat dismissive tone, in a way Olivia felt the maids iciness towards her. It felt all too familiar, the feeling like she didn’t belong in the Maldov household.

The maid was treating her like a klutz, it was like a showdown to protect her territory, “I’d like to supervise myself thank you.”

“Are you sure madam?” Sheila’s brows creased a little.

Olivia frowned deeply as she folded her arms, a sigh escaped her lips, “Look Sheila…I have no problem with you. I don’t want to be here either, you’re the lady of the house and I’m just a prisoner.”

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two before a wide grin appeared on the maid’s face, “I’m sorry madam. I’m just not accustomed to another woman being in the house with—

“It’s alright Sheila. Just call me Olivia.”

“I’m sorry I can’t do that.”

“Why??” Olivia muttered, “You’re way older than me Sheila.”

Sheila chuckled softly as she shook her head in a vigorous manner, folding Olivia’s new clothes in the process, “I get paid too much to excuse formalities Mrs Maldov. I’m sorry but it’s the rules, plus your husband would kill me if I dare.”

Olivia very much preferred being called by her name, by anyone except for the devil himself who calls himself her husband, she shrugged lightly and plunked onto the edge of the bed, “Do you know what your boss does for a living Sheila?”

“What he does?” Sheila’s face went deadpan, “He does business.”

Olivia let out a snorting, “Hah!”

Sheila pressed her lips tightly for a moment and then dropped the clothes, she sat next to Olivia and placed a hand over hers, “You’re playing a dangerous game Mrs Maldov. Running away into the wild is one thing, going around and spreading the Maldov business is another.”

Olivia felt the maid’s concern, “I just want to see my father. He’s being held captive and I don’t—

“It’s best you play the dumb game” leaning over she whispered into Olivia’s ear, “I’ve been here for five years and I’ve seen things Mrs Maldov. This world is a dangerous place and if you want to live, I suggest you play the long game.”

“What’s the long game?” Olivia asked, desperate for any kind of answers, “How do I escape this?”

“Resign to your fate. Mr Maldov will get bored eventually and then you can escape.” Sheila said and immediately rose to her feet at the sound of footsteps, luckily it was one of Alex’s henchmen roaming about.

Olivia was silent, met with the truth of her fate wasn’t as satisfying as she thought it was. She wasn’t used to playing the long game, she couldn’t resign into a life of solitude with a mafia husband…she just couldn’t do it, knowing how she was brought up in a normal household.

Still she managed to force a smile at the maid, “I hope we can be friends Sheila.”

“I was wrong about you,” The maid responded, “you’re not the preppy witch I picked you out to be.”

She left the room after. Olivia glanced around with her new clothes all being organized all over the room and then her eyes lit up in wonder—Why would the maid mistake her for a preppy witch in the first place?

**********

Meanwhile in the study, Alex flung over the pages of the ledger on his desk. A line of frustration crowned its way on his temple as he went over the books. None of his men opened up to messing with the shipment which came in earlier today, not even with their chopped fingers and threats to make them eat it.

A dejected sound left him, he was being messed with in someway and it felt like a spider crawling up his skin not knowing who was behind it. Night was fast approaching, distributors were bound to start rolling in and there was no cargo to disperse. He was loosing money, it couldn’t affect his empire but a loss was still a loss….he never looses.

“Marco.” He called out to his aide who was right at the door. Marco walked in, with a bandaid over his brow after a slight scuffle with one of the men at the club.

“Yes boss?”

“I want you to head over to the workhouse,” He instructed, “I need you to check on Big C. Something tells me he has something to do with this.”

“But Charles Camden is nothing but a lowly debtor boss, it’s impossible to have such a connection with his kind of rep.” Marco replied and was met with a deadly glare from his boss, his head sunk low, “Sorry boss.”

“It’s my father in law you’re talking about Marco,” Alex muttered he dusted his cigar on the ashtray, “He might be a slimy bastard but he’s still my father in law. Charles may not have the connections, but something tells me he’s got backup and you know me—my hunch is never wrong.”

Marco nodded and left the room, although he believed in his boss he was also reluctant when it came to believing the theory of Charles Camden pulling strings. After all the man sold his daughter to the mafia, just to get out of the huge debt he gambled away. A man like that wasn’t capable of messing with their shipment.

Alex closed his eyes momentarily, he needed to rest after such a long day of work and his wife’s shenanigans, when he heard a slight knock on the door. Slowly his eyes opened, clearly displeased,

“What do you want Cillian?”

“You have a visitor sir.” Cillian announced and Alex sprang upright.

“Who is it?” He asked having an idea who the unwelcome guest might be, it dreaded him just thinking about it.