My hold around the soaked loofah tightened. Nathan’s unexpected bold move made my heart race. The closeness of our faces produced a strange mixture of feelings I had never felt before. His lips lingered close to mine teasingly. I tightly shut my eyes when they finally brushed against my lips with the faintest pressure.
I moved away when realization dawned on me. “What the heck are you doing? You’re making me uncomfortable.” I tossed the loofah back in his tub and stood up.
“Alright. If it makes you uncomfortable, I won’t do it again. To be clear, it was only a test to check whether you could resist me,” Nathan said casually. He submerged his body in water up to his neck.
“Thank you.” I rubbed my arm and bit my lip. Nathan’s perfect lips kept flashing before my eyes. I wanted to run out of there to save myself from further embarrassment, but it’s not like I had a choice.
“How did I do then? I told you I am not interested in seducing or marrying you.”
A corner of Nathan’s mouth lifted. “You did well. Except I don’t know what to think about how your eyes thirsted for my body when I took off my shirt. Yes, I noticed the lingering stare.”
I buried my face in my palms. That was beyond embarrassing. Why did I have to stare at his stupid body? Now, my best chance was to pretend I didn’t hear him, and none of that ever happened.
“What else do you want me to do, sir? Do you want me to clean your back? The loofah fell before I could get to that part,” I attempted to change the subject.
“No. You are free to leave for now. Tell Frank to send someone else to help me with the rest of my bath. I don’t want to torture you anymore with my sexiness. We all know what happens when you take a longer look at my naked body,” Nathan teased me.
Again, I chose not to react to that. He was only testing my patience with such comments.
“Before you leave, take the envelope sitting on my right nightstand with you and give it to my live-in doctor,” Nathan added.
“Live-in doctor?” I repeated. Was that a thing?
“Yes. Frank will guide you to his office. Report back to me immediately after you give him the envelope. You are dismissed for now, Amelia Walter,” spoke Nathan.
My legs hurried out of the bathroom. I seized the envelope and exited the devil’s den as fast as I could. The air seemed fresher outside, and I inhaled deeply and exhaled strongly. It was like I was breathing for the first time.
“You’re alive.” Frank jumped at the sight of me, startling me to my very core. “I thought he would have eaten you alive by now.”
I panted, pressing onto my heart. Too many scares so close together weren’t good for my health.
“Oh, my God!” Frank overreacted. “You look ghastly. Something he said has damaged you. I can see the pain in your eyes, and your chest muscles are constricting, too. I should have never left you alone in there.” He grabbed my shoulders and shook me. “Look at me. You’re better than this. I don’t care how many times he told you that you’re useless, but you’re not. You are a queen who can survive this hellhole.”
“Nathan Sinclair didn’t say any of that. He just asked me to help him bathe. I kept dropping the loofah. Maybe that’s why he asked me to leave and asked you to send someone else ASAP to assist him,” I explained.
Frank’s mouth fell open. “Just a second.” He typed a text on his phone at an impressive speed before continuing to speak. “I hope you realize what an honor you had. Nathan has never allowed a newbie to fetch him a glass of water, let alone help him bathe.”
“Has he picked you as his first favorite girl?” Frank hit himself in the head. “Of course not. You’re nothing extraordinary. He must be bored out of his mind by laying in bed all day. That’s why he chose the new girl to entertain himself by scaring the living hell out of her.”
“Jeez, you’re mean!” I exasperatedly rolled my eyes. “Can you guide me to his live-in doctor’s office? He wanted me to give him an envelope. Maybe you can do it.”
“Nah.” Frank raised his arms. “You’re asking for trouble. He doesn’t like it when you transfer your given tasks to someone else. You need to do it yourself.”
“But the doctor is on his lunch break and specifically asked not to be disturbed if it wasn’t a medical emergency.” Frank grinned as he pulled out dangling keys from his pocket. “Luckily, I have a key to his office, so use these and hand him that envelope at once.”
“Isn’t that wrong? Why does Nathan need to be a jerk about everything? He is a doctor, not his pet, for crying out loud,” I opined.
“Relax. Doctor Williams is familiar with how Nathan is and that he has been in an extremely bad mood over the past few days. I am telling you it’s okay to upset the doctor, but not Nathaniel. So now move. I need to run inside and make sure the devil isn’t drowning in his bathtub. Every other servant is dead except me.”
Frank gave me instructions to the doctor’s office before entering Nathan’s room. I knocked at the doctor’s door instead of using the key. The poor man was already getting disturbed during lunch, so I didn’t want to ruin his privacy as well.
“Who is it? I thought I asked not to be disturbed at this hour,” the doctor spoke in an edgy voice.
“Forgive me, doctor. Nathaniel Sinclair has sent me_”
“I’ll open the door in a minute,” he said.
Doctor William took an eternity to get to the door. However, the fact that he opened the door during his break showed how afraid he was of Nathaniel.
“Hi.” I waved at him.
The doctor was a good-looking man in his late thirties or early forties. What made the situation unusual was that he seemed to be struggling to breathe while wearing a guilty expression.
“Hi. What does Nathan want?” Doctor Williams asked, breathless.
“He wanted me to give this to you.” I showed him the envelope, and he snatched it from my hands. Why was he in such a hurry? My eyes fell upon a bruise on his neck. It looked like a hickey. Was he having sex with someone in there?
“Doctor, can I know what it is?” I asked a question to stay longer. My eyes searched for a person in his office, but I couldn’t see much because he was blocking most of my view with his body.
“Now is not a good time. Tell Nathan that I have received his message,” the doctor replied. “You can leave now.”
He had a girl in there. It was a pity I couldn’t pester for more. Just when I was about to turn around and leave, I heard someone screaming.
“Filthy bug, damn you bug!” The voice was oddly familiar.
The doctor tried to come in my way and push me out the door, but I stood firm and succeeded in glimpsing at the woman inside.
My eyes almost popped out of my sockets. It was Mary Sinclair, Nathan’s mother. She was half-naked and sweaty. Mrs. Sinclair was sleeping with her son’s doctor!