Three- Threats

Chloe had not exactly taken her time to study the huge house the previous day as she was more concerned with taping the rooms she could gain access to. The handle of her luggage held tightly in her hand, her eyes scanned across the hugeness of the building.

Not sure whether to term it as a mansion or not, she noticed how much the features of a regular duplex and a simple bungalow mixed to give the building a unique structure. Chloe certainly did not miss the huge see through window to her extreme upper left which exposed what seemed to be a sitting room.

If Chloe knew her Maths right, she had found two living rooms just on the ground floor the previous day. She just had to shake her head. ‘Rich people and being ridiculous.’

Taking a deep breath, she made for the entrance, recalling Agent Connor’s advice. Be nice, he had said. He surely knew how disgusted she was to be living under the same roof with a rapist. But if he wanted her to be nice, she would be. Anything for the mission.

‘How hard could being nice be anyway?’ she thought, her footsteps giving off an audible rhythm as she set foot on the brown, aesthetic tiles.

“Ah, there she is,” Amir welcomed her, arms wide from where he was standing. Not willing to return the excitement, Chloe tightened her lips some more as she made for the open space.

“Good afternoon Amir.”

“Hello to you too, gorgeous. You are just in time. I want to introduce you to your partner.”

“Partner?” Nothing was said about her having a help, not that she would mind anyway. She was already wondering how on earth she was going to take care of the huge house alone.

“Yes. Nathaniel suggested we got another help. You know, so that the job load isn’t too much.”

“But won’t that affect my paycheck?”

“No darling,” he reached for her arm and tucked it with his. “, it won’t. Come let’s meet you partner.”

Managing a small smile and not a slight grimace, Chloe let him walk her to wherever it was he was taking her. She didn’t understand the structure of the house. It looked simple from a far sight, but with the little journey she was having, it became evident to Chloe that there was a lot of intertwining among the rooms and if she was not careful, she might end up finding herself in the kitchen when her plan is to go to the laundry room.

But, she would learn to get used to it.

So far, there were no bedrooms visible, so she guessed downstairs was where the domestic factory was and yeah, one living room and what they weirdly refer to as a conversation room (it was still a living room).

'Make that three living rooms,' she thought as they entered another room.

The tall, slender lady who was sitting with her back to the duo that just entered the seemingly smaller room got up, a huge, excited smile plastered unto her face.

“Chloe, meet Lucille.”

Chloe could have not been more glad to get rid of his arm as she offered her hand towards the woman whose plastered smile remained that way. The tall figure openly ignoring the handshake requested, she walked closer to Amir who was still smiling like a teenage boy.

“Sir, are we going to be wearing uniforms?”

Chloe just had to scrunch her face at the way her partner voice seemed to suggest a lot of things. “Call me Amir please. And yes, you get to wear uniforms. In fact, they are ready and are presently on your beds in your respective rooms.”

“Rooms?” Chloe mused.

“Yes. You both get a room to yourselves. The NAG brothers like to make sure the women in their lives are very comfortable.”

Lucille gave a loud giggle. An annoying loud giggle. “Well said Amir. I am so happy to be working here, for you all.”

‘For you all,’ Chloe mocked her in her thoughts as she just stood quietly and watched as Lucille managed to look flirty without seeming flirty.

“Okay girls, you both have two hours to adjust to the house. After that, you both have to be ready because work starts without any arguments. Before you go to your rooms to settle, Madam Lugi, who will be in the kitchen soon will attend to the both of you and brief you on your duties.”

“Okay.” The two ladies chorused.

“Good. Have fun you both, I have to head out.” Chloe silently cursed as she had just missed an opportunity to attach their agency’s signature mini- microphone to Amir who she was actually meant to keep eyes on the most.

Flashing him a smile as he walked out of the room, Chloe thought, ‘I’ll get you soon Amir. I will get you soon.’

And doing that might be easy for her as she did not miss his excitement that followed her exit the previous day, so Amir was not going to be so hard to crack. And it was a good thing, it meant lesser work. And more concentration on the other two.

A scoff beside her brought Chloe out of her thoughts. Lucille’s eyes, the message they carried, Chloe could smell a bitchy hurdle, but that was not going to be too much of an issue.

‘But, right now, I have to figure out this weird house.’

~

Chloe finally made it to her room which was surprisingly to her liking, especially if one considers the fact that not many things caught Chloe Pepper’s fancy. She liked the cool vibe the light-blue painted room was giving, she absolutely loved that her room extended with a balcony from where she could see the jumbled city ahead in its beauty.

There was also the fact that she could just walk out from her bed and decide to watch anyone that decides to take a swim in the swimming pool just at the back.

Walking back into her new abode, her slip on drowning in the carpets, Chloe could not help but take in the room once again. After a while, her shoes came off and her legs experienced the softness of the floor beneath them. Her eyes flickering to the uniform on the well laid bed, Chloe just had to give off a sigh.

She was about to take on another role and it is her most challenging so far. Cause, she is going to be cleaning rooms and stuff, help prepare dinner and at the same time work in a manner that would move her closer and closer to her goal. Uncovering the crimes of the famous NAG brothers.

Shrugging off the little nervousness that was trying to sneak up on her, Chloe took off her clothes, grabbed the uniform which she doubted would fit her and made to put it on.

The white and black sewed material was halfway past her head when she heard a male voice enterer saying, “Are you sure she is… oh. Sorry.”

Curious to know who it was that she had just exposed half of her body to, Chloe dragged the cloth down onto her body. “Nathaniel.”

“I…” he cleared his throat as he seemed to be gaining composure. “I am sorry. I should have knocked.” There was something about him that amused Chloe. It was not his looks (his styled hair was actually great), it was also not the tone of his voice. “Are you okay?”

“Uh…” It was this particular air of authority that was all around him. Chloe found it thrilling for some reason. And at that moment, she probably looked like some freak with the manner with which she scrutinized the man. “It is okay. I tend to be quiet most times.”

She also did not want him to get the idea that she had some feelings for him or something. So she had to work on the scrutinizing.

“Good to see that you are getting settled. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any issues.”

“Uh… sure.” She managed a smile as she was beginning to feel an itch on her skin.

Nathaniel pushed further, “Have you unpacked?”

“Yes I have. I need to go…”

“Hey new girl, do you have…?” Lucille’s voice immediately changed its course as soon as she saw the party in the room. “Hello Nathaniel.”

“Lucille.” With the way Nathaniel addressed her, Chloe just had to suspect that they knew each other already. “Take care of yourself Chloe.”

Lucille kept on her signature smile as Nathaniel walked his way out of the room. Once he was fully gone, the smile turned into a full scowl.

'Drama time.’

“He is good looking, isn’t he?”

Chloe shrugged. “Hm.”

“I know. And I know you want him, I can see it all over you.” Her chuckle was so full of poison. “Chloe, if you know what is good for you, stay away from him. I saw him first.”

“Okay Lucille.”

“Good. So, do you have lip gloss? I can’t find mine.”

“I don’t know where mine is either.” Chloe flashed her a smile.

“Whatever. Just stay away from Nathaniel, if you don’t I will make your stay here a living hell.”

Chloe maintained her smile as she watched Lucille turn in her heels. But the thought in her head was not as nice as the tug on her lips.