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“Oh, yeah? This from someone who will be babysitting a 19-year-old girl.” I looked at him defiantly.

He turned and gave me an ugly look. We weren't that far away so we were able to have a staring battle.

“It's sad that you are 19 years old and need one, don't you think?,” he smiled superiorly at me and all I did was look at him angrily.

It couldn't be that we barely spoke for 10 minutes and he already seemed like the most arrogant person in the world. I tried to think of my mother and her rule of being nice to everyone, but he was so arrogant that it was impossible.

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Our gazes were still sparking.

After a few seconds I heard my father's voice calling us. I stopped looking at him and peeked over the railing in the hallway and could see the entire downstairs.

“You were calling me, father?” I said sweetly.

“Where have you been? Come on down. I'm almost leaving and I want to give you one last hug.”

Without answering him, I went down the stairs and swung towards him. I felt someone coming down the stairs too so I assumed it was Ethan.

My father's bags were already near the door and the driver he had from the company was waiting for him right there in the lounge. He had his suit for traveling and he had an extra jacket that I always told him to take with him in case it was cold on the plane or in the country where we were going.

“Take care of yourself, Minerva. I'll leave you money to buy whatever you need, okay? No strange things in the house and remember to close it very well when you go out," he looked at Ethan this time. It seemed strange to me, since I was the one living in the house, not him. “I'll call you when I get to the hotel, okay?”

“Yes, whenever you can call me, okay? Even if we break this tradition, bring chocolates from the countries you visit, please,” I looked at him with a pout and he smiled and nodded several times.

He kissed my forehead and separated from me, grabbing his work briefcase and approaching the door.

He stared at Ethan.

“Take care of her, okay?”

“Of course, sir.”

He looked at me one more time and then turned around, said goodbye to my mother and then left along with the driver. I didn't say anything or move until I stopped hearing my father's voice and the chauffeur's voice.

When I stopped listening to them, I turned to Ethan, who was sitting on the sofa with his feet up on the coffee table, quite confident and comfortable. It bothered me to look at him like that in my house.

This idiot, who the hell does he think he is?

“What the hell are you doing? Get your feet off my table!” I grabbed his feet and took them off the table.

I was really furious with him.

“Who says so?,” he said, challenging me.

I took a deep breath and began massaging my temples with the index and middle fingers of both hands.

“The owner of the house, who else?,” I said as calmly as my voice could sound.

“The owner of the house? Are you sure?,” he began to laugh as if she had told a joke.

That's it, I can't take it anymore.

“You are extremely unbearable!,” I said, upset and furious.

“Because I imagine you're a sweetheart, aren't you?,” he said sarcastically, smiling superiorly. “Too bad for you that I'm staying for the summer.”

“What?,” my voice cracked as I heard what I hoped was just a bad joke from my imagination.

“Didn't your father tell you? I'll be your "babysitter" 24/7 for the next 3 months,” he smiled innocently as if it were of little importance.

“No, no, no... NO!” I began to circle the room, trying to assimilate the news that I would now have to live with an arrogant pain in the ass who would be my "babysitter" for my entire summer.

“Impressive, four no's to take it in?” He laughed at my reaction and placed his feet on the table slowly to get on my nerves even more.

My first summer without traveling, where I had everything already planned with my friends, I could spend it with my friends without having to think about my father and I could party as often as I wanted, all ruined by a fool my father had hired to "take care of me," but take care of me from what?

We weren't in the middle of a war or anything like that, the city wasn't one with a high rate of insecurity or anything like that. "Why are you doing this to me, Dad?"

One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to stay.

If he was as experienced as my father said, he wouldn't go so easily, so I would have to deal with him.

I sighed and sat on the other end of the couch, as far away from him as possible. I wouldn't let someone like Ethan ruin my vacation.

**

The clock started to chime, it was 9:30 am.

I was very comfortable in my bed and besides, it was cold outside the sheets.

I quickly reached out and turned off the alarm clock, just because it was getting on my nerves. The whole house was quiet, I liked that, maybe yesterday was just a nightmare.

I got out of bed and went to the bathroom, when I came out, I heard noises in the kitchen. It seemed strange to me as my father had already left for his trip, yesterday to be more exact. Then, I remembered, "I will be your "babysitter" 24/7 for the next 3 months".

My eyes widened like saucers and I ran out to the kitchen praying that it was just my imagination and he wasn't there. No, no, no, damn it! When I got to the kitchen he was there.

He still had yesterday's clothes on. He was drinking coffee in my cup. I gave him an ugly look and cleared my throat to let him know I was there.

He turned and looked at me.

"Oh, good morning, honey. I made coffee," he said as if we were in one of the 60's sitcoms that my dad watched most of the time, on weekends, and I occasionally went with him to watch.

I kept glaring at him and took another cup of coffee and poured myself some.

"Don't 'honey' me," I said, leaning against the wall opposite the one he was on.

"Then what would you like me to call you, owner of a nice ass and beautiful legs?," he said very seductively and if it wasn't for the fact that he would be living there in that house for the next few months and was only telling me that because he was teasing me, I would have been flattered.

I took a deep breath, feeling my cheeks involuntarily flush.

"For you, Minerva is fine," I said, as I grabbed a chair from the table and pushed it with my foot, in order for it to hit him and fall, but my plan was ruined as he stopped it with his foot, the same way I threw it.

I looked at him a bit surprised, but I was trying not to take my cold look off.

"Do you really think that was going to do anything to me?" he said calmly, as he took another sip of his coffee.

"It was worth a try," I admitted, somewhat resentful that my plan hadn't worked.

Ethan laughed for a few seconds and finished drinking his coffee, placing the cup in the sink.

"I'm going out, Minerva. I'll be back in a few hours, I hope you won't miss me," he moved closer to me, closer than necessary, and took the keys that were on the shelf next to me.

"Where are you going?"

"Why, are you afraid I'm cheating on you with someone else, beautiful?," he took my chin delicately and made me look him in the eye.

I really wanted to spit on him at that moment, but I'm a lady, so I had to hold back.

"No, it's to see if I have to send someone to keep you away from my house. I don't know, how about a prostitute, maybe two?," I smiled innocently at him and he smiled too and let go of me, walking towards the front door.

Before he left, he said to me.

"It's not necessary, beautiful. Your services are fine," I put the coffee cup on the table and ran to the front door.

If I had thought before not to spit on him out of manners, now those manners tasted like a cucumber to me. He just called me a whore!

I ran to the living room, grabbed one of the hard cushions there and opened the door.

I was still waiting for the elevator. I threw it with all my might, hoping I had hit him. He, when he saw me, ducked down and the cushion went over the top of him. He looked at the cushion and then at me.

"You'll have to try something better than that. Ah, I suggest you grab that, I don't think your father would like it if you went around throwing things from the house to the neighbors," before I could say anything to him or go kill him, maybe; he managed to get into the elevator and leave.

I went to where the cushion was and realized that I had hit a man. I apologized and helped him up, but when he saw me, his mouth dropped open.

I noticed my attire and ran into the apartment with the cushion covering me as much as I could. I closed the door behind me and leaned against it.

That idiot is going to pay for this, I swear he will. He doesn't know who he's playing with.

I threw the cushion so that it landed on one of the sofas and made my way upstairs. I turned on the laptop and logged on to Skype waiting for my father to be there.

He was online and called me.

"Hello, princess, how are things?," I heard my dad's voice over the laptop.

I felt a little homesick and wanted to hug him.

"Hi, Dad. It's a nightmare. He's such an arrogant jerk, I can't stand him. Why didn't you tell me he was going to stay and live?," my tone of voice was rising with every word I said.

I crossed my arms, annoyed.

"Darling, you said you'd give him a chance. I thought I told you when I said I was going to take care of you all summer," my father's voice sounded quite calm.

"No, I thought you were talking about when I went out, he was going to be there, but not also inside the house." I calmed down and started playing with my shirt, I was resentful.

I didn't like that my father thought I needed a bodyguard even though I was 19 years old.

"It's for your own good, honey. You'll see that if you give him a chance, you might get along. Be nice, like your mother always said. Try, for daddy's sake, okay?," my father, who was looking at me through the camera, was looking at me with pleading eyes, those eyes that I couldn't resist, those eyes that always manipulated me.

I sighed, defeated.

"It 's okay, Dad. I'll try, just for you," I paused, smiling at him. "How are you doing? Where are you now? I miss you so much."

"It's all boring, all meetings. I'm in Spain now, everyone's been asking for you, they miss you too. I miss you too, my little one," my father smiled at me and I couldn't help it, his smile always made me happy.

"I hope you won't forget my chocolate," I told him seriously, but then I started to laugh as he did.

"Of course not, princess. I must go now, it's late and I have to go to another meeting. I love you very much, Mine. Remember, take care of yourself and give Ethan a chance, he's a good boy," my father said goodbye with a wave of his hand and a kiss.