Chapter 56

Belinda's POV

I noticed something off about John's attitude whenever I mentioned Alex or my work, but I guess he just didn't like the idea of both of us having to work so hard. It didn't matter now, though; things were walking out for us, so the focus should be keeping things from falling apart.

He was getting along well with his job, being the face of the restaurants, and being paid extra. It wasn't a lot, but it was better than how we were before.

I got to Alex's house, as always, and his grandmother was the first person I met.

"Good morning." I greeted the nice old lady.

"Oh, Belinda, good morning to you too. How are you?"

"I'm good. You?"

"Other than wishing I was fifty years younger, I'm alright." She laughed and patted me on the wrist.

I hadn't thanked her for the tip she and her grandson had given me last time; I didn't want her to think I was rude or ungrateful.

"Thank you for the tip the other day."

"Tip?"

"Yeah, the money you and Alex gave me. He said it was mostly your idea, so I figured I'd have to thank you."

She looked at me with this puzzled expression in her face, like she didn't know what I was talking about. She was old, yes, but last time I checked, she didn't have dementia.

"I didn't do that."

"Are you sure?"

"Very. If Alex gave you a tip, that was fully his decision and from his own pocket. He didn't tell me anything about it; now that you mention it, I think you do deserve a tip; you're a nice young woman." She flashed me a bright smile.

"Thanks ma'am."

I was starting to feel a little off. Why would he lie about his grandmother wanting to give me a tip? He could have just said he had come up with the idea and was giving me it out of his own good will, even though I might have been hesitant to take it, but now he just seemed shady.

"Good morning, Belinda." He said this when we ran into each other. I stopped and turned to face him. I could feel the chill down my spine again. I suddenly didn't feel very comfortable around Alex.

"Sorry but..."

He stopped and faced me. I wasn't sure what I was going to say or even what I was insinuating, but I felt like I wouldn't be comfortable if I ignored it.

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"I just talked to your grandma; she said she didn't tell you to give me a tip."

His expression changed as I spoke; that was a clear indicator that I was right; his grandmother was telling the truth.

"Oh, about that..."

I waited for an explanation, but that didn't come. I was sincerely getting a bit confused, but I decided to drop it.

"Maybe she just forgot about it; she is old after all. Sorry for the inconvenience," I said and hurriedly slid away. I got my things and went about my business, trying my best to avoid him in the process.

Thankfully, it worked. Up until half an hour before the end of my shift, I didn't come in contact with him, and he didn't call me for anything. All was going well until Alex's grandma told me to go check on her son, saying he suddenly developed a migraine and how she thought he was sick, which was surprising because he looked pretty healthy in the morning.

"You should check on him; he doesn't get sick a lot, but when he doesn't, it's really bad."

"He looked okay to me this morning."

"I know, but he says he's not feeling too well right now."

"Where is he?"

"In his bedroom."

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"You can come in; the door's unlocked."

I stepped into the room, and he was seated on his bed.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't think so; I think I have a fever or something."

I walked over and reached out to check his temperature; everything was normal. He wasn't burning up, and everything about him seemed normal.

"I think you're okay; maybe you just need to rest." I was about to leave when he grabbed my wrist and drew me back.

"What is it?" I pulled my wrist out of his grip.

"I'm not okay; I need your help." He sounded serious.

"With what?"

"You."

"What?"

"You. I can't get my mind off you, and it's driving me insane." He got out of bed and stood in front of me. I instinctively backed up a few steps. What in the world had gotten into this man?

"Alex, I think you should go back to bed."

"You can't tell me you don't feel it too."

"Feel what?" I was seriously contemplating running out the door, because up close with him rambling like this, he looked like a madman.

"The attraction, the lust."

Yes, definitely the rambling of a lunatic.

"Alex, you sho..." I was trying to calm him down when I suddenly felt his hand wrap around my back and pull me closer, and his lips covered mine.

I tried to force him off, but I wasn't strong enough, and for a brief moment when I stopped struggling, he broke the kiss.

"What the fuck?!" I pushed him away and headed for the door.

Unfortunately, he got to it before me and slammed it shut. I tried to read his expression. Did he really think he could force me into being attracted to him?

"Alex, this needs to stop. Now."

"Let me show you."

"Show me what?" I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be interested in whatever show he had to offer.

"That I'm better than that boyfriend of yours. I can give you things he can't, things you deserve."

This was just getting more disgusting with every word he spoke; betraying John was the last thing I was ever going to do. Why did everyone think money was the most important thing? Maybe this job was a big mistake from the start.

"I don't want your filthy money; I am here for a job, nothing more."

"Why not? I'll pay you double, or, you know, triple. You already lost your last job because of him. You could even take care of him too; what I want you to do is simple."

"Have sex with you?" I said it in disgust.

"I can bet that I'm better than him at that too." His eyes ran over my body like he was scanning me, which only made me feel more uncomfortable.

"Alex, please get the hell out of my way."

"I won't force you; this was never my intention. I'm not like this; trust me, there's just something about you. Okay, let's make a deal. I won't fire you since my grandma still needs you, and I'll give you time to think about this. If you say no, I'll try my best to never bring this up again, but if you say yes, I'll pay triple your salary."

I wanted to claw out his eyes and scream, Do I look like a whore? I clenched my fists to avoid doing something I might regret, and he shifted away from the door.

I didn't even say a word; I just flung open the door and went to pack my things. My mind was spiraling and trying to make proper sense of what the hell just happened, but for now, I just wanted to get out of here and as far away as possible.

I took my bag and walked out into the street to wait for John. I still had about twenty more minutes, but I didn't want to be in the same house with another man.

I tried to call Aria, but she wasn't picking up. I felt like I needed to talk to someone about this. If I refused, Alex, I'd probably have to give up on my job as well.

I had lost track of time until I saw John's motorcycle headlight.

"Why are you outside?"

"Nothing, let's go." I tried to force a smile as I got in behind me and wrapped my hand around him.

"Belinda, are you okay?"

"Yes, let's just go." I lied to him because I couldn't think of how to tell him that he would probably go in there and beat the hell out of Alex.

"Okay."

When we got back, I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eyes, mostly because a part of me was still debating what to do. Telling John what happened would be as good as kissing my job good-bye, and then we'd both become dependent on his salary, a salary that wasn't in any way enough for us to survive on.

I said I was going to bed early since I was tired, and that seemed to be the last straw for him.

"Belinda, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Did something happen at that guy's house? Did he fire you? Is that why you were outside?"

"No, he didn't fire me." But he might eventually

"Then what's wrong? Because that's the only explanation I can think of right now. Tell me what's going on with you."

I forced myself to smile; hopefully that was convincing enough.

"I'm just really tired, John. It's nothing; stop worrying." I kissed him, and I could see him calm down a little.

"Are you sure?"

It killed me to lie to him, but I hadn't figured this out yet.

"Yes."