Chapter 14: Let's set Boundaries

Chapter Fourteen of Ruthless.

Set boundaries no matter what!

"Get me a glass of orange juice Tacha," Mary said, rolling her eyes after mimicking Mrs. Brown for the third time.

The girls laughed. If Halima and Fola were trying to be so cool and careful because they had been serving the Brown for a while, Mary was not. She was the definition of savage. She doesn't like Mrs. Brown one bit and she doesn't hide it from her colleagues.

Tacha smiled at Mary. "Where is she sitting?"

Mary rolled her eyes. "Where do you expect her to be? In the sitting room watching Nollywood of course. She's back with her trouble. Everyone is Tacha in this house now. Wait...what have you done to that woman cause she likes stressing you to work these days?" Mary said, but Tacha remained silent, biting her lower lip before releasing it as she went for the orange juice in the fridge instead. "That reminds me." Mary turned to Fola and Halima before turning her gaze back to Tacha. "She said her sons, Mr. Nathan and Mr. Anthony are on their way. Chicken as always."

Everywhere became silent and they all stared at Tacha who suddenly came to a stop, gripping the jug in her hand to avoid the glass from hitting the ground. They all knew Nathan and Tacha weren't on good terms but Tacha wasn't saying anything to them, so they only let their curious eyes survey and watched from afar. They couldn't tell if Nathan liked Tacha, or if they had known each other before Tacha came into the house. They've guessed and guessed but Tacha had kept her mouth shut saying nothing.

"Don't you think he's now coming home every week," Halima murmured to Fola before walking away. 'Abeg let me get the chicken."

Tacha carried the tray with her two hands, walking carefully to avoid the juice from spilling from the glass onto the tray. Her heart was beating fast at the news she had just heard. Nathan was coming home again. It had been five days since she saw him last. And for no reason, Tacha seems a little bit worried. Fear of how Nathan would react to her after what happened didn't let her mind settle. Tacha got to where Mrs. Brown was and knelt down, putting the tray forward for her to take the glass. The rule was; you have to be on your knees till madam says otherwise. Then she added another one for Tacha. You have to stay on your knees with the tray forward till Madam finishes her drink. And you have to kneel upright. All these Tacha obeyed. She knew Mrs. Brown telling her to bring her a glass of juice was another way to punish her. How surviving in this world was difficult for some people. Many have already experienced hell on earth just to live.

Ten minutes gone. Mrs. Brown was still taking her juice.

Twenty minutes gone. Mrs. Brown barely drank half of the glass.

Thirty minutes gone. Mrs. Brown was no longer touching the glass.

Tacha's knees hurt so badly. Her hands were shaking from having stayed in one position for too long. Chicken was done, grilled, and served, yet Tacha was still on her knees and the girls wondered what Tacha had done this time. Despite the air conditioner in the sitting room, dots of sweat appeared on Tacha's forehead. Her knees were starting to shake and her hands hurt so badly but she couldn't dare say a word. Her head was down the whole time staring down at Mrs. Brown's low heels. Her eyes were starting to get wet, trying her best to keep them sealed. This woman was unfair to her and she wasn't hiding it. Mrs. Brown had been nothing but a misery in her life. God knows she was done with this woman. A few days left, and she would never return no matter how scary the outside world could be.

Tacha had barely gotten better because the next day after the heated argument she had with Nathan, she went back to work immediately. After the whole drama she had with Ricko and Nathan the most. She couldn't tell what happened for some minutes until she found herself on the hospital bed. Her mum explained how she suddenly fainted, which was due to too much stress, and was told to rest well. When Tacha looked away from her mum when asked where she was working, she saw Nathan staring down at her with so much worry on his face. Bored out, yet keeping himself available. He was there, but said nothing. He drove them back home, but said nothing to her. They saw the next day, yet he spoke nothing to her. Tacha thought whatever she must have said made him so angry that he decided to give her a silent treatment. And sincerely, she loved it, but somehow, she couldn't trust Nathan for the motive behind him trying not to talk to her again.

Nathan acted like she wasn't even present in the house, and somehow, Tacha couldn't handle the silent treatment well. She tried to start a conversation but he wasn't giving her the room to.

Tacha's mum pleaded that she apologize to Nathan. Tacha wasn't going to do it, so she left without saying goodbye. Why should she apologize? For what? When Nathan was the one who provoked her. She wished she could tell her mum many things Nathan said to her, but of course, she didn't want to talk about how they met. Nobody recognised her with the blue shabby hair. It wasn't a day she was proud of.

The door suddenly opened. Sound of laughter coming through the door. It filled the whole room as the grown-up men laughed so loudly and carefree before they suddenly stopped.

"Yaay!" Mrs. Brown yelled, clapping her hands. The excitement in her eyes lit up the whole room. Her sons were around and she couldn't contain the joy of seeing them walk in together as a mother.

Anthony laughed, making jest of Mrs. Brown. "Stop it, mum. Stop making it look like we are babies." He kissed her cheek, biting one of them playfully which made Mrs. Brown laugh, holding her cheek, but she wasn't able to get back at her son because Anthony ran from her too quickly.

Mrs. Brown chuckled slowly in return. "You are all my babies so leave me to always rejoice every time I see you come into this house. This is how I was every time you got back from school till your secondary school days." She said, allowing Nathan to kiss her cheeks, holding him down, raining kisses on his face, and that made Anthony laugh so hard.

"Mum stop! This guy is a grown-up mum. Grown-up men don't like to be kissed that way."

Mrs. Brown couldn't help the laughter and immediately got up to give Anthony his kisses too, but he ran away too fast because he sincerely didn't like it even when he was supposed to get used to their mum's pampering.

Anthony stopped when he saw Mrs. Brown had gone back to her seat. "That reminds me," Anthony said immediately. "I have someone who could fit in Ricko's place at the hotel bro."

"Your brother has sacked someone again." Mrs. Brown quickly joined the conversation. "I'm sure the person must have deserved it. Lazy bunch of people."

Tacha swallowed.

Nathan was yet to speak, but she anticipated it. Her breathing changed too quickly at the thought. He was silent today and that made Tacha willingly raise her head to look up at Nathan, but she didn't want to be caught by him or by any of them. The instruction was never to look up at any of her sons.

"He's back," Nathan responded, shocking everyone with his response. Tacha couldn't help the happiness that flooded her stomach. She was happy to know Ricko had his job back even when she wasn't supposed to care whether he got it back or not. Slowly Tacha raised her head to look at Nathan. He was yet to take a seat, filling the whole room with his aura. His height and body were something any girl would ever admire even if they could only do it from afar. He didn't sound too well. And of course, Tacha wasn't that happy he looked so gloomy. She wondered what had made Nathan change his mind. Anthony caught her, and immediately Tacha looked away.

"So, this is strange bro," Anthony said immediately he caught Tacha staring at his brother. He knew who Ricko was, and for one reason, he thought that made Nathan actually hire Ricko back. "You never hired them back bro. Was someone finally able to change your mind this time?"

"Can someone ever change your brother's mind?" Mrs. Brown laughed. "He's just like his father in that aspect."

When Nathan walked in, the first person he saw that made him stop laughing was Tacha. Nathan managed to see the sweat on Tacha's forehead. He saw her shaking on her knees, but trying to keep still which was hard not to notice. Nathan hissed under his breath. He wondered how long his mum must have kept Tacha there. The moment he was done kissing his mum's cheeks and answering their questions, Nathan's hand reached for the glass of juice, placing it to his lips till he finished the last drop.

"Get me another glass." He said waiting, hoping Tacha would need his help. Not as if he wanted the drink. He knew he couldn't tell Tacha to get up to save himself from being questioned by his mum, so he knew asking her to get him a glass of juice would do. Just like he expected, Tacha struggled to get up, and when Nathan tried to help her, she slowly moved aside and limped her way back to the kitchen. Anthony saw it and smiled. The only reason he had come home was that he heard the same woman he saw at the bar, attended to at the hospital, now worked in their house. The reason he didn't act so surprised seeing Tacha in the house. And he didn't act like he knew her to save himself from bullets in form of questions from his mum.

Tacha came back with the glass of juice. She looked around for Nathan but couldn't find him anywhere in the sitting room.

"He's in his room," Anthony said since his mum wasn't saying anything.

"Tony darling. I think you should take it. So you guys can catch up."

Anthony smiled at Mrs. Brown. "Mum, we always catch up. We saw at the hospital on Sunday. He actually brought someone so don't say anything. He's fine." Anthony said before turning his gaze back on Tacha who wasn't looking up, and was only waiting for what he had to say next.

Anthony stepped aside for Tacha. "He's waiting in his room. I hope you are feeling better now." He whispered.

Tacha looked up and rolled her eyes at him. Anthony was the dummy she met at the Lucas lounge. Nathan's younger brother. Tacha could tell he was full of himself. She bowed and thanked him. "Thank you, sir." Immediately, she climbed the stairs one after the other breathing heavily for what was waiting for her at her next destination.

When Tacha got to Nathan's room. Tacha knocked on the door several times getting no response. She placed her hand on the doorknob and slowly the door opened. She made her way in, only to see Nathan right there about taking off his shirt. Tacha rolled her eyes angry at him. She couldn't believe she was knocking and he was right there listening to her. Come in would do. She thought as she made her way into his small mirror stand and dropped the tray.

Tacha turned and tried to get his attention. "I...I just--" she paused, easing her heavy chest with a deep sigh.

Tacha waited for a while, trying to move closer to Nathan. Unable to look up at him anymore, her eyes caress his beautiful tiles, a feeling of embarrassment eating her up, not sure if she could call Nathan by his name or not.

When Tacha realised Nathan wasn't even looking at her, she gave up, taking quick steps to exit the room. Before she could take the last step, strong arms embraced her from behind. Solid and full of warmth. Those hands never touched her that way but she knew who they belonged to. Nathan. His hands were carefully pushing her breasts up without touching them. He held her so tight. Very tight, taking the breath out of her as she fought to keep still. She could feel his breath on her shoulder, her body, erasing all the evil thoughts she had of him. Tacha could smell his strong cologne. It smelled really nice, but his desire to have her was stronger and she couldn't deny the feeling of his gradual erection behind her. Damn! His body was everything a woman could find solace in, but his attitude? Tacha shut it off. She could feel his earnest and deep longing for her and it was driving her nuts. She had seen his craving for her so many times, but she had no choice but to turn him down. Every fucking time. Tacha wouldn't deny that she lost all her senses at his sudden touch. His strong arms, his smell, his body right behind her made her succumb to the dangerous feeling she had been trying to hold down and deny since the moment she met him.

Tacha couldn't deny the feeling that enveloped her. She could hardly breathe, and Nathan was the cause. He didn't touch her anywhere and she was grateful for that. Tacha took a deep breath. "Nathan," she whispered his name, trying to turn but Nathan's grip was too hard. His breath fanned her neck and for a few seconds, Tacha didn't mind. She didn't mind the full swell of his shaft poking her, also rummaging through her senses to make her accept what she felt at the moment. This time, he didn't restrain himself like the first time, and Tacha was tempted to rock him, but.....

"Let's talk." He whispered into her ear.