Chapter 5 5

"I feel confused."

Jordan

I squeezed my eyes shut upon hearing the loud thud Megan had made when she closed the door to my office. She could be such a handful! But unbelievably beautiful. I kept staring at my laptop, trying to concentrate, but my thoughts kept circling back to her. She had been working for me for five years, and she had been invisible to me until I signed the marriage contract with her. Now, strangely, she was taking over my thoughts. I bit my lower lip as I remembered her curves, which was somewhat embarrassing for me. My primal desires were getting the best of me, even though Megan was far from the woman I truly wanted in my life.

I didn't know when the morning had passed between my duties as the CEO of my parents' company and the sinful thoughts Megan had awakened in me. I turned my neck to rest a bit and slowly got up. Every time I did that, I was reminded of how miserable I was without a leg, and that's why no woman had genuinely taken an interest in me.

I went to the dining room, where Rose was already setting the table. I assumed Megan wouldn't come down for lunch, especially after our first argument.

"Sir, should I set two places at the table, or just serve you?" Rose asked as she arranged my silverware.

"Please set two plates. If Megan decides to join us for lunch, bring her meal as well," I replied.

"Perfect, sir," Rose left for the kitchen. I took off my jacket, loosened my tie, and prepared to eat.

Rose brought my plate, and it was already 12:05, but Megan hadn't come down. I assumed she wouldn't. I shook my head and took a bite of my salad when suddenly I heard slow footsteps coming down the stairs. Megan looked pale, with dark circles under her eyes.

"Megan, are you okay?" I asked politely.

"Yes, I'm fine. Can I still sit down to eat?" She asked, looking downcast. I felt like a terrible person for asking, but instinctively, I glanced at my watch. When I did, she shot me a look filled with anger, assuming I would deny her food again.

"Yes, Megan, please, sit down. It's fine," I replied in a less formal tone. She reluctantly did so, sitting across from me. Rose brought her plate, and when Megan saw it, her face paled even further, and she opened her mouth in surprise.

"Wow! Is this lunch?" she asked irreverently.

"What's wrong with the plate, Miss Parker? It's a delicious green salad with 180 grams of salmon, a balanced meal to keep you healthy," I replied sarcastically as I took a bite. She began to push the food around her plate in disagreement, but after tasting the salad, she devoured it in less than five minutes.

In that time, I had only taken two bites. She wiped her mouth with a napkin, downed her glass of water in two gulps, and leaned back in her chair.

"I'm finished! Thanks, it was good," she said.

I looked at her, impressed. She had been starving, it seemed. That amused me a bit in the middle of my uptight demeanor.

"You were hungry, weren't you?"

"Yes, but they gave me a small portion. I'll have to get used to eating like this. I apologize for my earlier comment, but you know, we come from different social classes."

I nodded and finished eating in front of her. She had stayed there, keeping me company until I finished, which took about fifteen more minutes. I set my utensils down, took two sips of water, and looked at her.

"Thank you for the company. You can go if you want," I said.

She got up, picked up her plate, and then moved to my side to collect mine. When her hand was over my place setting, I suddenly touched it.

"You don't have to do this, Megan. That's what the staff is for," her touch fascinated me; it was so soft that it sent shivers down my spine. How long had it been since I had touched a woman's hand? I could say it had been years.

I swallowed hard and let go of her hand.

"I can do this and much more, Jordan. I'm also your employee, and even though it's a different type of work, I don't like to stay idle."

That left me silent. I nodded again and let her take the dishes. I turned to watch her from behind and felt myself falter. She was wearing shorts that left little to the imagination, and I scolded myself for the disrespectful act of looking at her that way. I tightened my tie and got up from the table, heading to my living room. I poured a glass of wine and stared out the window for a while.

"You should open those curtains; it would be easier to appreciate the scenery," Megan pulled me out of my thoughts. She went straight to the window and pulled the curtains open, letting in the light, which bothered my eyes.

"What are you doing? I don't like the light. Please close them!" I yelled angrily.

"Jordan, you're not some kind of vampire, are you? You're a human being, and you need light. Look at yourself; you're pale. How long has it been since you left the house?"

I shook my head in disbelief at her audacity. I sighed to keep from shouting and instead responded, trying to break the ice.

"My life's affairs are not your concern. Don't take liberties that don't belong to you. Don't forget your place."

Megan sat down next to me and stared at me.

"Jordan, seriously? Are you always this unbearable? Look, I'm just trying to have a peaceful coexistence with you. This marriage contract benefits both of us. We should try to get along a bit."

Megan poured herself another drink without my permission. I wanted to grab her by the hair and throw her out of my quarters, but I was a gentleman, and I would never do that.

"You should ask for permission before drinking my drink."

"I'll be the lady of the house," she said mockingly.

"Are you always this annoying?" I asked sarcastically.

"Well, my father should be the judge of that. I only lived with him. My mother died when I was just a child, Jordan."

"My parents also died eight years ago, but unlike you, I was already an adult. I was 22," I lowered my head to avoid dwelling on the moment, but the topic had already come up, so I touched it.

"You don't have to tell me the story, Jordan. I know it perfectly well because my father is very good friends with Dorian. By the way, didn't my father tell you where he was going?" Megan took a long sip from her glass.

"No, at least he didn't tell me. You'd have to ask Dorian," I replied.

Megan fell silent, and she tapped the glass with one of her fingers. It seemed like she missed her father, or there was something bothering her.

"Is something wrong, Megan?" I asked, trying to break the silence.

"I just don't understand how my father sold me. He didn't tell me anything about this contract, and although, luckily for me, he didn't sell me to someone worse, I had a life out there." Megan finished her drink in one gulp, and her cheeks flushed.

"Someone worse? Are you telling me that I'm a bad person? Wow, I didn't think you saw me that way," I said, taking a long sip from my glass this time.

Megan burst into laughter and looked at me embarrassed.

"No, of course not. It's just that he came close to selling me to a 90-year-old man for his inheritance. What I don't understand is how a man like you is still single. You should be married, you have money, and you're the son of one of the most prominent families in the city."

When she said that, I raised the leg of my pants and gave my prosthetic limb a tap.

"I'm the plastic man, Megan. This doesn't excite women at all," I replied, and she had refilled our glasses by then.

"Plastic? It's a prosthetic. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You're fine. You just need to stop being so grumpy and get out of these four walls."

"Megan, please, you need to maintain your position. I haven't given you the confidence to speak to me like this."

She took another sip from her glass and shook her head.

"I know that, but I've been the gardener of your house for five years. I've seen you leave, what, four times? I always wondered, what do you do for fun? Don't you need a woman? Are you gay?"

I opened my mouth in surprise. Megan had had a couple of whiskeys, and they were clearly getting to her head.

"No! I'm not gay. It's just that I don't like going out due to my disability. I work and control everything from here. I don't like going out."

"But there must be a reason, and why don't you have a girlfriend, huh?" She started to speak a bit slurred.

"Well, the only reason is that, and also, after my parents' accident..." She took my hand and gently caressed it.

"I told you, you don't have to talk about it if it doesn't feel right. Come on, Jordan, let's listen to some music. What do you like?"

"I have to work, Megan. There are things to do in the mansion, or if you want to go out, you can," I said, trying to avoid spending more time with her. I didn't understand why I felt so intimidated.

"Work? You're the boss. Come with me, let's listen to some music," Megan had another glass at that moment and played music from her phone on my large sound system.

"Megan, please, I don't like loud music."

"Jordan, come!" Megan began to dance, swaying her hips in front of me. She was smiling and dancing to the rhythm of an English ballad. As incredible as it was, it was driving me crazy, and I needed to control myself immediately.

I got up angrily, and though I couldn't move very fast, I turned off the sound system. She stopped her dance, her cheeks turned as red as a ripe tomato. She swallowed hard and looked at me.

"Jordan, I'm so...sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen." She rushed out of the room and up the stairs, leaving me alone again. I grumbled about what had just happened, but she wasn't going to disrupt my life. What right did she have?

I closed the curtains again and limped back to my office. I focused on working until dinner time, but unlike lunch, she didn't come down. That night, I didn't speak to her again. Apparently, she was upset, but I wasn't going to apologize. We only had a contract, and she needed to respect the rules.

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