Inconveniences

Chapter 12

Mr Lancaster woke up at 5. He was loud, so it wasn't like I could sleep in much more. I just laid still, wishing for more sleep.
"Miss Hemmings, I know you are awake."
"Fascinating," I muttered at him. My voice was raspy from sleep, "thanks for letting me know, I wouldn't have realized otherwise."
"I do not tolerate sarcasm, Miss Hemmings," he said contempfully.
"How unfortunate. I'll get up when I feel like it. It will be before 8, and I will be ready to leave when you are."
"You better be," he commented under his breath.
"You said that I would know when you're threatening me. Your words suggested such but I can't take you seriously."
Mr Lancaster stepped over the still sleeping Connor. He opened the door, paused to glare at me, and left.
Why didn't he bother Connor instead of me? Or both of us?
It felt like Mr Lancaster was just going out of his way to irritate me.
Yes, I irritated him too, but I never pretended to be above or below than him. I wasn't suggesting he was better than me, but in his own mind, he is.
Such childish vanities.
I got up, my body stiff from the damp, hard floor I was on all night. Since I didn't want to wake Connor, I tip toed around him. Gently, I shut the door behind me. No one else was up. Just Mr Lancaster and I.
"Sir? Should we wake Connor up?"
"No, he is not coming with us."
My head snapped up so fast, my neck popped. Mr Lancaster probably liked the fact he got such a reaction out of me. He was an Alpha male like that- he probably felt the the same way when people react to him positively or negatively. Mr Lancaster was a bit of a child like that. I think he really just wanted a little attention once in while.
I reminded myself that I should maybe try to be civil with Mr Lancaster.
"Why isn't he coming with us?" I asked, trying not to sound too desperate.
"Have three people blindly wandering around the jungles of Venezuela? You must be stupid."
"So just bring a fourth person to guide us?"
"I need someone I can trust to watch this place while we are gone."
"What are these men doing anyway?"
"They build me more trading ports while avoiding the Venezuelan government."
"Fascinating... But honestly, avoiding the government must not be to difficult. I mean, your employees built a house, it looks like it has been up several years, and no one important has noticed."
Mr Lancaster probably didn't find my assumptions amusing. He gritted his teeth.
"Either way, Miss Hemmings, back to what we were talking about: a gentleman, Lucas Steele, shall accompany us."
Almost as if Mr Lancaster had choreographed it earlier, Mr Steele stepped out of his room.
"No! Anyone but him, sir! He's no better than an animal!" I whisper-shouted to Mr Lancaster.
It was that cheeky bastard I encountered last night.
The one that tried dragging me to a room with him for some God forsaken reason.
"Miss Hemmings, it's magnificent to see you again," Luke said with malice.
"Just stay away from me-"
"Miss Hemmings, you should be aware by now that I do not tolerate insubordination. You shall be civil to him, end of story."
"Is he really coming with us instead of Connor? Seriously?"
Mr Lancaster's mouth set into a hard, straight line.
"From all the times I have repeated myself, Miss Hemmings, you should have caught on. Yes, he is coming with us. Be a clever girl, and do not make me repeat myself again."
Luke never took his eyes off of me. Or more specifically, my breasts. I scowled at him, but of course, he wasn't looking at my face.
Mr Lancaster was walking away, but I quickly caught up to him. I rushed pass Luke, who momentarily got a hold of my hand. I quickly shoved him off.
"Mr Lancaster! Anybody but him! He tried pulling me into a room with him last night!"
I didn't realize Mr Lancaster had backed me into a corner until my back hit the wall. He leaned in closer to my face and lowered his voice and gaze. This position made me feel uncomfortable. There was no barrier between us. Because of his height, Mr Lancaster looked down at me, reminding me of his dominance.
"Maybe if you are a good girl, you will walk out of this with a husband. I know you are going need one, and soon. Consider it luck."
My jaw dropped so hard, it popped in protest.
"Damn it! That's the worst excuse I've ever heard! Mr Lancaster, this is my safety that I'm concerned about!"
"Do not do anything stupid. I have nothing else to say."
He went to turn away, but I grabbed his arm.
"Please! Anyone but him!"
I felt awful since I was almost begging him, but god damn, the man that tried to assult me?
Mr Lancaster hesitated with a thoughtful expression.
"No, I have already made my decision. It is not your job to tell me what to do. Nobody tells me what to do. Especially women."
My grip on Mr Lancaster's arm tightened. That was when Mr Lancaster first seemed to notice me holding on to him. He wasn't angry about it, in fact he just looked curiously at my hand. I quickly removed it.
"Alright then, sir, then may I ask for another or a different weapon?"
"You may."
There was an uncomfortable pause. It took me a second to realize that he was talking quite literally. I rolled my eyes. Of course.
"Um... Could I get a different weapon?" I sighed out.
"No."
I huffed out a sigh while rolling my eyes again.
"Pray, tell me why, Mr Lancaster, sir."
"I do not need some girl shooting at my employees."
I knew he call me "girl" because he was trying to belittle me. Instead of being angry, I found it sickingly "humourous" that the only way he could think to insult me was by my gender.
"Have you ever thought that there might be a reason there is a woman shooting at your employees?"
"I have thought that, yes, but I do not see how or why that would affect me."
"Which is why I need a better way to defend myself," I kept trying to reason with him.
"No. That will be my job. I brought you here in the first place."

Ummm...
He's going to protect me?
Yeah, right!

"Mr Lancaster, I don't want to be by you more than I already have to... And I would just burden you..."
"I do not like you near me either and you are a burden, but I brought you here, so you are a priority of mine."
"Or, here's a novel idea: I go back to England. That way I would not be bothering you."
"No. Absolutely not."
I rolled my eyes a magic third time.
This time, he grabbed me by my shoulders and shoved me into the wall, harder.
"God damn!" I shouted at him.
Terrified, I looked into his eyes. There was... nothing in them, but I felt his rage burning coldly underneath his skin.
"I do not tolerate sass from anyone, little girl. Anyone. Drop the attitude immediately."
I felt indignant since he called me "little girl." However, that was not the most pressing issue at them moment.
With each passing moment, Mr Lancaster leaned in closer to me until our noses were almost touching. I didn't stand back. There was no way I would back down from this challenge. I tore my arms away from him and shoved him, hard. I gave Mr Lancaster my coldest glare.
"You're a businessman, yes? Then let's solve this like businessmen. I will not give you sass if you keep your hands to yourself and Luk- um, Mr Steele away from me."
"I do not make business deals with women..."
"Stop. Pretend I'm another business partner."
"You still get two things out of this deal, while I only get one."
"What else do you propose then, sir?" I tried squaring up to him. I knew my small frame couldn't compare to his, but I wasn't deterred.
"Well, Miss Hemmings, I will need more time to decide. As for now, you have yourself a deal-"
I stuck my hand out, ready to shake on this business deal.
"-However, when I decide, you will have no choice but to accept."
I dropped my hand before we could shake.
"Absolutely not!" I shouted.
"Okay then, good luck on your own-"
"Fine! Fine! You win this time. You have a week to decide. Yes?"
"Yes."
Looking him in the eyes, I gave him a strong, firm handshake. He could have made a point about crushing my hand, but he didn't. The deal already started.
"I already have an idea for my second half of the deal. I just wanted to make you promise to accept it," Mr Lancaster said, with the shadow of a smirk playing with his lips.
"You bastard! You had no right-"
"Miss Hemmings, I only have an idea. It has not been fully formulated yet. We should start heading out."
"Does Connor know we're leaving him behind?"
"He has known since I decided to have us go to Venezuela."
I knew my expression screamed 'disappointment.'
"And no one told me?"
"Why would I? It does not affect you personally."
"If we're bringing Luke, then it most definitely does affect me personally."
"You are being dramatic. Stop it."
"Dramatic?"
"Yes, that is what I said."
"I'm not the dramatic one here! You have repeatedly threatened to murder me for the most trivial things!"
"The trivial things are the most important. You must always focus on details. If you want to be great- not good, not mediocre, but great- you cannot pick and choose what details to pay attention to and when. It must be all of them all of the time. No short cuts. Ever, no matter what."
Mr Lancaster had that look on his face... The one that showed how passionately he felt about... Well, himself. And money. Yes, Mr Lancaster was superficial, but he had his passions and things that made him excited. He was more human than he, and I, thought.
"Wonderful story, Mr Lancaster, you should really become a public speaker."
"Miss Hemmings, did you not just agree to stop acting like that?"
"Fu- Damn it!" Connor's word almost slipped out. "I'm sorry sir, I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again."
"I am adding a clause. One that is not up for debate. Every two times one of us violated our promise, we get to add another proposal onto our side of the deal."
"If you're one thing, it sure is a businessman," I mumbled to myself. "Not even a charismatic one."
"But I am a handsome one, so that counts as the same thing."
I scanned his face, trying to tell if it was a joke.
"You're not joking..."
"Miss Hemmings, we have known each other for almost a month now. Have I ever joked?"
"No, it's not that..."
"Then what is it?"
"You're an overconfident, arrogant bastard!"
"You seem to be fond of that word."
"It describes you perfectly."
Standing there, I realized again that Mr Lancaster was just about pressing me against the wall, with almost no space between us.
"Um, Mr Lancaster? I'd like to reword my half of the deal. Instead of 'keeping your hands to yourself,' could I instead say 'you're not allowed to step within a foot of me?' Because you're still invading my personal space!"
"No."
"Excuse me?"
Mr Lancaster leaned it, yet again.
"You are excused. I am going to have a hard enough time keeping my hands off of you, do you really think I would agree to that?"
Shocked, I jerked back, scanning his face for some kind of expression that would say he's joking.
"I think you would agree to it... I not the irresistible, 'men can't keep their hands off of me,' sort of person..."
"You are absolutely correct," stated Mr Lancaster curtly as he jerked himself away from me.

What the hell?