CHAPTER 4
1445 Words
Jean's POV
The next day after work hours, Riley dropped by the school to pick me up and as I hopped into the car with a straight face, she laughed at me.
"What's with the grumpy look, missy? Don't tell me you're not excited for your extra work hours."
I punched her lightly on the arm and she laughed again before starting the car. She was driving me to Dante's place and ever since I had told her about all that transpired between Dante and I yesterday, including our deal, she would stop teasing me. I wished I had kept my mouth shut and not said a word to her.
"You honestly don't realize how lucky you are to have a thing going on with Dante Perez. Everyone would literally kill to be in your shoes."
I rolled my eyes at her and clicked my tongue annoyingly.
"The world is filled with crazy people anyway."
"And you believe you are not one of those crazy people?"
"Obviously."
She laughed and shook her head at me again before focusing her attention back on the road. We drove for what seemed like twenty minutes before arriving in front of an iron wrought gate that protected the beautifully landscaped grounds of a luxurious mansion. As we stared in awe at the secluded and exclusive looking private oasis before, I held my breath. I had never stood close to a mansion with so much grandeur and elegance where money and power were on display, not to talk of entering into one.
"f**k me." Riley stared at the lavish sight before her in wonderment as if she had just stumbled upon a secret paradise. It was the same for me. But our sight seeing was cut short as a knock suddenly came upon the window of our car and we almost jumped out of our skin in shock. It was a tall and husky man, dressed in a dark suit. He signaled that we unwind the windows and Riley did as instructed.
"Who are you?" His voice was intimidating and frightful.
"Uh…I'm uh…Riley." Riley stuttered, obviously a little frightened by the man. "And this is my friend, Jean…."
"Jean Faxon?"
"Y…yes." It was my turn to stutter.
"You're late. The boss was expecting you earlier. Come on in." Then referring to Riley, he added. "You can drop her off here."
"Oh…uh…alright." Riley sent him a shaky smile and mouthed to me as I alighted from the car. "Call me."
"Sure. Bye." I waved at her and watched as she started her car and drove off again.
"Come with me." The man said and walked in front of me while I followed him behind, cautiously. As we walked through the gates, my eyes scrutinized the lush greenness of nature's beauty that surrounded the property. There was a waterfall in the middle of the driveway and there were colorful fishes in the water. A smile subconsciously slipped off my lips at the impressive architecture of the mansion and Dante's classic taste. If he wasn't a dangerous, self absorbed, heartless Mafia lord, I would've fallen in love with him for his exquisite tastes.
As soon as we stepped into the elegant interiors of the mansion, a young, beautiful woman walked down from the spiral staircase. As she came closer, my eyes admired her flawless beauty. She was tall and skinny, with model-like beauty. Her chestnut brown hair was long and silky complimented her brown eyes. She looked absolutely stunning.
The man bowed his head lightly to her and I held onto my handbag a little tighter, feeling a little inferior and insecure to be standing in front of a goddess like this lady.
She had her eyes fixated on me and didn't look away for a second as she scrutinized me from head to toe. Feeling awkward, I looked downwards, to avoid her eyes.
"Is this her?" She asked the man.
Damn, she had a silky voice too? How more perfect could she be?
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Good job, Manuel. You can go back to your post now."
"Okay, Ma'am." He bowed at her again before leaving the both of us alone. When he was gone, she spoke to me.
"So…, you are Mia's homeroom teacher. What is your name?"
I raised my eyes to meet her gaze again and I pasted a smile across my face, extending my hand for a handshake.
"My name is Jean Faxon. And yes, I am Mia's homeroom teacher. Thank you for having me in your home."
Just like Dante, the beautiful lady only stared at my waiting hand briefly and looked back at my face, ignoring my handshake. I felt a little embarrassed but luckily, it was only the both of us, so there was nothing much to be ashamed of.
"You are late. How can you be so unprofessional?"
"Pardon my lateness, ma'am. I…"
"What brand of clothes do you wear?" She cut me off, her eyes on my clothes. I was wearing a simple, flowery ankle length dress that I had thrifted online last year.
"Uh…I don't wear branded clothes ma'am…"
"Why?" Just like Dante, her face bore little to no emotions and I couldn't tell what she was thinking. Why was she asking me these kinds of questions? "Is it because you are poor?"
Her question took me off guard and I blinked in surprise. Why was I having this feeling that she was looking down on me and trying to make me feel less of myself?
"I….I don't think I am poor, ma'am…."
"Is that why you are here? Did you agree to tutor Mia because Dante promised to pay you a huge sum of money? You really are poor, aren't you?"
Okay, now, that was definitely a huge slap in the face. This was subtle bullying.
But before I could open my mouth and reply to her, Dante's voice came from the staircase.
"You're here."
The beautiful lady and I turned our heads simultaneously to see Dante and Mia walking down the staircase. Mia had her eyes glued to the screen of her phone, while playing a game. She only sent me a quick glance and did not acknowledge me.
Of course, I wasn't expecting much from her. Typical Mia behavior.
"Welcome to my humble abode, Miss Faxon." He advanced closer to us. At the same time, I was surprised to see the beautiful lady's face switch from her expressionless one to a smiley, good girl type.
Was she bipolar or something? How could she switch emotions that fast?
"Hey, girly." She smiled and walked towards Mia. "Your tutor is here."
But she was only greeted with absolute silence from the little girl. Not giving up, the lady tried to reach for Mia's arm but Mia suddenly pushed her hand away, almost causing the lady to trip.
"I told you to stop touching me! And stop acting like you like me. You are not my mother!"
Her words seemed to cut the lady's heart deeply and all the smiles on her face washed away. Her face paled instantly.
"Mia, I thought we already talked about this. No more speaking to Evelyn rudely." Dante sent a stern warning to Mia but the little girl maintained her stance.
"And I thought we already spoke about not letting her come into the house whenever she wanted. She is not your wife and I don't like her. Tell her to stop coming over!"
Mia yelled at Dante and stormed back upstairs, leaving the lady hurt and pale. Even though I should be happy that she got a taste of her own poison, I couldn't help but feel bad for her. If a child spoke to me that way, I'd literally pull out all of her hair and leave her bald.
"Evelyn…" Dante's tone softened and he tried to reach for her hand but she pulled away as though his touch was stinging.
"You don't have to feel pity for me, Dante." She said, "You and your daughter never liked me anyway. You're only pretending to like me because you don't want to displease our parents. I'll pack up my things and leave. I've had enough of the bullshit and disrespect." She hurried upstairs again, her heels clicking noisily on the shiny, marbled floors.
After she was out of sight, Dante turned his attention back to me. I hoped he could not see how terrified I looked right now, upon realizing that I was going to have to put up with a lot while tutoring his spoiled daughter.
"Come with me. Let me take you to Mia's room. She doesn't take long to cool off her anger."
- Writer
