Page 7 of The Brutal Arrangement

“Anton—Mr. Kozlov—is returning to the house soon,” she explained. “Anton and Katerina.”

“Oh.” I blinked, surprised. The house had seemed so uninhabited that it was strange to think of residents being here at all. Joann had loosely explained that the Kozlovs hadmany properties and they hopped around from one to another. The uncle-and-niece pair were almost nomadic like that, and I appreciated the lack of them hovering as I lived and cleaned here.

At the mention of the woman, I thought back to the picture of the brunette.Please don’t be mean or demanding or…I smiled, shoving my worries aside. “Thank you for the heads up.”

“No. Not a heads up,” Joann argued gently with a worried glance in the direction of the front door. “More like a warning.”

Oh, God. Here we go.

“A warning? About what?”

She hesitated, looking so uncomfortable that my what-ifs were going to spiral out of control.

“Is Anton…”

“He can be strange,” Joann rushed to explain, blurting it out. “He can be a really odd man.”

I winced. “Pervy?”

She shook her head. “Rude. Gruff. Impatient. He’s particular.” Likely noticing how I tried to mask my panic, she set her hand on my shoulder. “But he’s also very much a loner. He doesnotlike to be bothered or questioned. So, just carry on like you have been. Don’t make eye contact. Don’t speak to him unless he addresses you, which he probably won’t at all.”

“So, I should steer clear.”

“Yes.” She nodded. “Like I said on your first day. Keep your head down and mind your own business.” Something almostlike a proud smile crossed over her face. “And you’ve done that splendidly so far.”

Thanks. I think.

“Katerina is a fine young lady, though,” she remarked, lightening up with almost a laugh. “She’ll be shocked to seeyou. I swear you two could be doppelgängers. Same baby blues.” Her smile lifted, convincing me that she was fond of this Katerina. “Same chestnut waves.” She gestured at my hair.

“Oh.” I put my hand to my ponytail. “I dyed it.”

She shrugged. “Still, just wait ’til you see.”

While she didn’t advise me to steer clear of Katerina, after Joann left to welcome the uncle and niece home, I planned to tuck back into the shadows as much as possible, regardless.

Keep your head down. Mind your own business. Just remember you’re here to work and make as much as you can for Mom.

In the distance, I heard Joann and Malcolm, the butler, speaking with the newcomers to the mansion. I made no move to assist them and did as Joann instructed—staying busy and out of the way. Idleness didn’t suit me anyway, so I gave up on the dusting and planned to be industrious in another part of the house. In the kitchen, I set out to deep clean, since that was scheduled for this week, and I counted on being left alone.

“What the fuck is this?”

I leaned up from scrubbing a baseboard as a man grumbled.

“Oh, I’m sorry, sir,” I said as I spotted the source of his annoyance. Because no one ever came this far back into thekitchen, near the back, I assumed it was all right to leave my bucket and extra rags out on the floor, within my reach.

“Get this shit out of my way.” While it wasn’t that big of a mess, he acted like he was put out and inconvenienced to step around the short stack of rags I had folded there. “I come home and can’t even get through the fucking kitchen…” Without waiting for me to move the supplies, he kicked the bucket and splashed some over as he passed.

Yeah, so… you called it, Joann.I tidied up the mess and scooted closer to the wall as Anton Kozlov strode through and exited out the back.

Rude. Gruff. Impatient.

I nodded to myself as I resumed working, never needing that interaction as an example of why I should avoid this house’s owner.

So, again. Head down. Mind your own. Be as small and invisible as possible. Got it.

For the rest of the day, I managed to avoid sighting Anton, but I heard him arguing with men from various rooms in the mansion. They seemed to be heated phone calls, though, since there wasn’t a huge increase of men with Anton’s return.

The two bodyguard-like men who had arrived in Anton’s wake were noticeable. Tall, brooding, and lethal-like, the new guards were creepy monsters I didn’t care to have nearby. What was most obvious about these new guys was that they couldn’t stop staring at me.

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