The Highest Bidder

❊ Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Sɪxᴛʏ ❊

After my shower, I went downstairs and began helping in the kitchen without Sophia knowing. I needed to do something other than lay around all day staring at the walls. I was fine. I could eat what I wanted, only having to portion it out so that I wouldn't overstuff my learning stomach. I could run. Not great, but I could run.

The head chef smiled at me and motioned for me to begin cleaning the counters. It was an easy job that they could have done, but I think that they saw the boredom in my eyes and wanted to be nice. I never really talked to the chefs, only to say good morning or ask how they were. I may need to change that.

I began washing off the counters, minding my own business. Cleaning. Doing what I was originally hired to do.

And then someone cleared their throat.

My hand stilled. I was only halfway done with the counter. What could she do? Smell me working?

I turned and looked at Sophia, who was standing with her arms crossed at the entrance to the kitchen. Her blonde eyebrows were raised in question when she knew exactly what I was doing. What else did it look like?

"What are you doing," she asked.

Oh, apparently she wasn't aware. My bad.

I glanced down at the counter, half shining and half covered in flour, then back up at her. "Molesting the metal. What does it look like?"

Her eyes widened, obviously shocked that I answered her with a smart-ass remark. But she masked the shock with a stern look before pointing at the door.

I sighed. "Let me work!"

"No." She kept pointing at the door. "Go watch a movie or something. Or go see Enzo. He's not doing anything important. My ship needs to sail eventually."

I pursed my lips and threw the dirty rag at her. She caught it with her left hand while the right continued to point. She would never let me do anything again. I didn't know how she couldn't see that I was fine. Unless she did and she just didn't care.

I left the kitchen with a wave to the chuckling chefs. I headed upstairs and into Enzo's office without knocking.

He glanced up from his computer and tilted his head.

"Sophia won't let me work." I sat down in my chair across from him and crossed my legs. "You're paying me to just sit around."

He patted his thigh with a small smile. If he was hinting, he wanted me to sit on his leg. If not, then what the heck was he hitting himself for? When he did it again, I stood and walked around his desk.

He pulled me onto his lap and I felt my face become warm. The way he pulled me onto him made it so that my knees were on either side of his thighs, making me straddle him in the office chair. Looking down into his mischievous eyes, I bit my lip.

One second, he was just staring up at me. The next, he was sucking my bottom lip into his mouth, successfully pulling it from between my teeth. I gasped, and he pulled my face closer so that our mouths slanted over one another's. His left hand curled in my hair as the right pulled me closer to him, making my stomach touch his chest. A tongue swiped across my lower lip and I opened my mouth to him. Our tongues danced over each other as we tasted each other.

I moaned and gripped his shirt into my fists. I peeked one eye open to see if he heard the small noise and was met with an amused half-open eye.

I broke the kiss, leaning my head against his shoulder and breathing heavily. I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears and felt his against my chest. He was just as breathless as I was, even though he masked it better than me.