Ruthless Revenge

Chapter 3

Holden's Pov

I never thought I'd see Katiana ever again. Not after the abrupt and cruel way she ended things between us.

And yet here she was, standing before me, her head flung back, her small chin raised, and those grey eyes staring at me, begging to be my housekeeper. Of course, I could have given her a better job, something worthy of her academics but she didn't deserve it, not after the way she trampled over my heart.

She hadn't changed much, apart from her hair and her weight. She had gained some weight, it seemed and her body was a bit curvier than before. She was more attractive than she was back then.

No! With savage rage, I forced the memory out of my head. I will not let her get into my head a second time, she did enough damage the first time.

My face hardened. Katiana had wanted only one thing from me then, to disguise it as she might. The same as she wanted now.

Money. Nothing but money.

I barely even want to look into her face, into that devious face, and see the beauty that had once caught me, entrapped me—deceived me. I had once been so knocked off balance by her beauty that I had forgotten all the careful rules I had lived by. More than forgotten. I had ended up breaking every single one of them and had turned my life into a form of hell from which I had been only too glad to escape.

The one and only time I'd broken my self-imposed rule, I'd been caught by a scheming goal-digger in the guise of an innocent lamb. And I wasn't about to let that happen again.

Three years ago she had nearly, so very nearly, succeeded in making a fool of me. Well, she would deceive no one now! I could look at her with disdain. With the only kind of look she deserved.

My mouth twisted in contempt as my eyes flicked over her again. She was trying to put up an impression of confidence yet her words were as desperate as they came.

This was it. This was my opportunity to get back at her for what she did to me three years ago.  What's worse than begging to be the housekeeper of the man you tried to destroy? This was her karma.

"Mr. Styles." I corrected it.

She frowned. "What?"

"You work for me now, you'll address me formally." She no longer had the right to call me by my first name, the name she screamed when we were making love. I frowned. Making love? It was never love for her, it was an opportunity. 

"Oh okay, Mr. Styles," she replied flustered. "I'd like to know the hourly wage, please."

Of course, she wants to know how much money she'll be getting. It's all about money. I was tempted to tell her a lower amount than what I paid, Mrs. Brown my previous housekeeper but I decided to be a bigger person. I'll give her the extra five dollars. The best revenge is kindness.

"$20 per hour."

My eyes widen in surprise. She obviously wasn't expecting that much. "Thank you," she muttered. "Uhmm...ugh"

"What?" It was irritating waiting for her to speak.

"Is it possible for me to get paid weekly and in cash?" she asked, flushing.

I raised my eyebrows at her. All my employees were paid monthly through an account and she knew that. Why would she want to change that? Is she so in debt that she can't wait for the end of the month to get paid?  Why did she want to get paid in cash? Everyone uses credit and debit these days.  It made no sense to me.

Paying her in cash would require me to go out of my way to get the cash from the bank. Did I really want to stand in a bank line weekly for the woman who destroyed me? No, I didn't but at least I was rich enough to get someone to do it for me.

"Sure. You can get paid weekly." It wasn't such a big dealbreaker, I could make it work.

"What hours am I required to work?"

"It takes about five hours or less to get the entire house cleaned up, laundry and the other stuff, however, you'll still be paid for the 40 hours. You'll also only work four times a week. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. You'll get paid on a Friday. You won't be cooking meals, but you will be required to purchase groceries. You start working at nine. I'm usually at work by then, and I don't usually get back until in the evening so you won't be seeing me." I clarified for her just in case she thought that this was the way to crawl back into my life. "Do you have any questions?"

She shook her head, "No. I don't."

"Good and if you have any questions in the future you contact Kaylee, my personal assistant." The less contact I had with her the better. My fierce PA will deal with her. Kaylee has dealt with a lot in her life and she definitely wouldn't be afraid of Katiana. She's been a real asset to me for the past two years and she helped me get through one of the roughest times in my life. I was surprised to know that she made an appointment for Katiana to me. She didn't work for me when everything turned south but I'm sure the gossipers around the office made her aware of the situation. However, her attitude towards me never wavered and she never showed me pity.

I walked over to my desk and pressed the intercom. "Kaylee, can you come here for a second?" I didn't wait for her response, I lifted my fingers.

Katiana stepped away from the door to let  Kaylee in.

It didn't take a minute for my petite personal assistant to enter my office. "Yes, Mr. Styles?"

"This is Katiana Bennett, she's my new housekeeper. I'd like you to meet her at my townhouse tomorrow and show her the ropes. Get her face registered on the system when you see her tomorrow. I'll have Gerardo take over for you in the morning, you can pass the message to him."

"Okay, sir." she nodded. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No, thank you. You're dismissed." Kaylee turned to leave, but Katiana stood at her spot. "Both of you."

Katiana nodded, "Thanks for the job Ho..Mr. Styles."

I didn't respond, instead, I turned my back to her and started looking at the city view just like I was before she entered the office.

I heard the office door close but I didn't look around to look. I continued to look down at the big city of Chicago. My thoughts were too preoccupied to allow me to work.

Katiana was back and in just a short space of time she had managed to throw my life into chaos just by reappearing in it.

Damn! I slammed my hand on the glass window. Katiana was back and I had no idea what she wanted this time.

She had come looking for money, she had claimed.  Well, yes, of course, she wanted money. What the hell else would bring her crawling back into my life when she had flounced out of it so carelessly and selfishly three years ago?

She had to need money because she was tired of dancing on poles and wanted to get back into the business world. But I wasn't going to give her the opportunity. I didn't trust her one bit after the stunt she pulled three years ago.

I wanted to send her packing the minute Kaylee told me who my next appointment was. However, something in me told me to let her come. I was curious to know what could make Katiana show up after three years of silence.

It brought me great pleasure to see her beg. She didn't deserve my sympathy. She didn't deserve anything from me, not after what she did.

She played with my emotions and then discarded me like trash. Only, she didn't know that her actions would backfire on her. She didn't know that the entire city would turn its back on her.

I'm surprised she even stayed in Chicago after what happened. Her name was mud in the streets. She lost her job and was named ruthless in the Chicago Tribune. She deserved the title for what she did.

My mind flashed back to the night my heart was shattered.

Emotions lashed through me, whipping up from deep inside—from a place I  had long, long since buried. The shock and the pain were still uppermost in me but I was controlling it now. Channelling it. Focusing on it. Targeting it.

Targeting it on the one person who had been my sole lapse of judgement. My one mistake.

Katiana Bennett