The intruder

“Where is she?” Diego El Diablo barked.

“W-who, sir?” The maid stuttered, irritating him.

“Estella,” he clarified.

He had woken up that morning by exactly six am and had discovered that he was in bed alone. It wasn’t unusual for him, except that that morning, his pillow smelled like vanilla and there was a spot of blood on the sheets that gave him pause.

It was evidence enough that what had happened last night hadn’t been a dream. He had finally gotten her in his bed and he planned on keeping her there.

“She went home early, sir,” the maid replied.

He narrowed his eyes at her in a way that made the maid take a wary step backward.

“I need her address, now.” He gritted out.

“Yes, sir.”

As soon as he had the address, he marched out to the garage and handed it to his driver.

“Get me there, immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

It took about twenty-five minutes to get to the run-down apartment building where Estella lived. The whole time anger boiled through him at her having the guts to sneak away from his bed like he was a common nightstand.

As the car pulled to a stop, Diego climbed down and made his way to the apartment that belonged to Estella.

He rang the doorbell and waited for her to pull the door open with a smile. And for the smile to die off before he spoke.

“Get dressed, we’re leaving,” he said.

“Mr. El Diablo, w-what are you doing here? How did you find me here?” Fear was written all over her face and he could see the visible tremble of her limbs.

“I should be the one asking what you’re doing here,” he said coldly, “I’ll give you three minutes to get in the car.”

He turned to walk away but her voice stopped him, “I’m not going anywhere with you. I’m not going back there.”

Diego turned to face her and let his lips curve into a slow, dangerous smile, “You’re not? Fine, then. According to the no-fraternization agreement you signed when you got this job, you now owe me a million dollars.”

He watched the color drain from her face, “What? I don’t have that kind of money! There was nothing like that in my employment contract.”

“I believe you need to review your contract again,” Diego said, “You have two minutes after I get in the car to join me, you can write me a cheque too if you choose to not come along or you can also decide to spend several years behind bars.”

Her shoulders slumped in defeat, “That’s not much of a choice.”

He didn’t wait to reply to her, just continued on his way downstairs and back to the car. He wasn’t surprised when she slipped into the front of the car just a minute later. He didn’t even allow himself to feel smug.

They had barely gotten to the house, when Diego stepped out of the car, grabbed Estella by the elbow, and began to pull her into the house and towards his bedroom.

The other servants stared In shock at the display before them, whispering furiously much to Estella’s embarrassment.

Diego pushed her into his room and shut the door behind them, then took a moment to rake his gaze down her shorter frame. Her brown hair was tied into a low ponytail and the roughly cut bangs fell over her face. Her green eyes were staring at him with terror.

“Explain yourself,” he barked.

Her eyes swung over to the bed which had been stripped of the stained sheets and remade and then back to him.

“I didn’t mean to, sir.”

He jerked in surprise, “Excuse me?”

“I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you in that way,” she choked out, “I didn’t mean – I mean- I should never have touched you and I-“ she sniffled, “You were drunk and I’m so sorry, sir. I know that what I did was wrong and disgusting and I’m a horrible person for doing that, and-“

“Shut up,” he said in a voice that brooked no argument, cutting off her panicked rambling. She immediately snapped her mouth closed with a whimper.

“Do you think you took advantage of me?” He asked with an amused voice, “Well, you’re wrong.”

“W-what?” She asked in confusion.

“You’re wrong,” he reiterated, “I’ve wanted you for a long time, Estella. Everything that happened last night happened because I wanted it to. Trust me, you couldn’t take advantage of me if you tried.”

She blinked at him, “You wanted me?”

“I want you, present tense. I want you in my bed,” he admitted, “I’ve wanted you for far longer than you could imagine.”

“Me?” She asked dumbly.

He nodded resolutely and took a step towards her. She took one backward, away from him, her eyes wide and full of disbelief

“You can’t want me. You have a girlfriend.”

He frowned at her, “That’s not what you think. It’s complicated between Blyce and I.”

She made a barely audible scoffing sound, “I’m not going to be your side piece if that’s what you’re planning and neither am I going to let you bully me into your bed because of-“

“Let’s face it, Estella,” he said icily, “I hold all the power here and I can make you do whatever I want. You would never be able to repay the million dollars you owe me, and I can easily use that against you till you agree to be my whore.”

She let out a horrified gasp and he smiled.

“But that’s not what I want,” he continued.

She tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth, “What do you want then?”

Just as he opened his mouth to answer, there was a sharp knock at the door that made him scowl. Who the hell thought they could interrupt his conversation in such a way?

“Who is that?” He snapped angrily.

“Open the door,” a low feminine voice replied.

A voice that he recognized immediately. The person at the door was none other than his elusive girlfriend, Blyce.