Page 8 of The Brutal Arrangement

Perhaps it was nothing more than the fact that they’d never seen me here before—new blood.

Or maybe they were primitive barbarians who’d always view the hired help as prey they could help themselves to.

All I knew was that no matter where I worked in the big house, they had an unerringly accurate ability to find me. It sure seemed that Anton gave them loose rein in the house because they were never hovering over the boss, but I wished that they’d havesomethingto do other than stalk me.

How am I going to manage this?

That night, I lay in my bed in the maid’s quarters and prayed that the lock would hold. That they wouldn’t sneak in here and bother me in the middle of the night. I wasn’t so full of myself that I’d assume they’d have to desire me. Men only looked at women the way they did when they wanted to take advantage of them. Growing up with strangers complimenting me for being a natural beauty wasn’t something in my favor now.

Each time they dragged their sleazy stares over me, I felt grimy and dirty.

Every time they brushed past me too close and rubbed their dicks at my hip, I wanted to shudder in revulsion.

The next morning, they were still here. Even worse, they upped their efforts to intimidate me, cornering me in a hallway as I carried laundry.

“Come here, bitch,” one said with a gesture for me to carry the linens toward a room upstairs. “You can change my bed after I fuck you on it.”

I dipped my head lower yet, determined to act like I hadn’t even heard him. This was far from the first time a man had propositioned me or tried to order me in a house like this,but unlike all the other instances, I knew I wouldn’t be able to outrun these two.

“Then mine,” his partner taunted, grabbing my arm so quickly and roughly that I nearly dropped the clean linens.

“No thank you, sir,” I replied, trying to sound stern yet polite. No one wanted a sassy maid who talked back, but I just couldn’t obey them. I couldn’t bear the thought of being raped when I had gotten my hopes up that this job would be a blessing in disguise.

“She looks like her,” the first man said, “but she sure doesn’t sound like her.”

The other one laughed, not letting me go yet as he marched me closer toward the bedroom. “No. Katerina would never sound sweet like that.”

“You’re damned right, I wouldn’t,” a woman snapped from further down the hall.

I turned my head to see the brunette whose picture Joann had shown me on my first day. She wasn’t kidding. This elegant woman had to be Katerina, and she really did bear similarities to me.

Except right now, I was sure my face was etched with alarm and fear while hers was tight with annoyance and anger. She wore jeans and a blouse, not a maid’s uniform. And she was confident to stride up to these men and glower at them while I remained stiff and still, unsure how to extricate myself from this situation.

“Get lost,” one guard retorted.

“No. Let her be.” She glanced at me and didn’t lower her wrath for the men.

“You don’t tell us what to do, Katerina,” the second man taunted.

“Your uncle is the boss,” the first said.

“Not your daddy. Not anymore,” the second added, laughing cruelly.

“No shit.” She stepped closer, shoving at the guard who had taken hold of my arm. “That doesn’t change the fact that you should leave this woman alone.” With a quick side step, she bodily blocked the men from reaching for me again.

“We can touch whoever the fuck we want here,” the taller guard taunted, getting in her face.

If I weren’t so stuck in panic at this incident weighing against me and threatening my employment, I was sure I would’ve gaped in awe at the backbone this woman had. Standing behind her and holding these linens, I breathed as steadily as I could and wished I could blend into the wallpaper.

“Except you,” the other man drawled, dragging his pervy gaze up and down Katerina. “You’re lucky you’re promised to marry someone else, bitch. Because you’d never survive a night with us.”

Katerina huffed, as if she wasn’t bothered by the crude remarks. Or the threat that she was betrothed. I couldn’t help but peek at her hands on her hips, seeing no rings marking her as engaged.

“Go away,” she said. The heat was still in her words, but she issued them indifferently, almost as if she figured they wouldn’t listen to her but she had to have the last word.

Cursing between themselves, they shook their heads and retreated, going into their rooms. Once the hallway was clear ofthem, I exhaled a longer breath of relief as Katerina faced me fully.

“Thanks.”

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