Dark Matter [Completed]

Eight

Still grinning like the Cheshire Cat, Lucius Orion raises his hands playfully. "Whoa now, missy. No need to get all defensive. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Now listen here you condescending little twit!" is what I want to say. Instead, I put a convincing tremble in my voice and say, "Y... you shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

Lucius just leans provocatively against the wall. "And why ever not, my fair lady?"

Okay, I really am going to kill him. I cannot stand guys who think they are sooooo gorgeous, and every girl will just melt into a puddle at the first wink. Lucius Orion is good-looking. Okay he's about as hot as the Sahara Desert, but his arrogant, patronizing attitude is grating on my nerves. And it's only been two minutes. Seriously... I might kill him before this is over.

But I tuck my own feelings neatly away and let a blush creep into my cheeks. "B... because it's not nice."

"Well, then...," Lucius holds out his hand with a dramatic flourish. "Please accept my most sincere apology Miss..."

"Stephanie."

"Please accept my apology Miss Stephanie." I nod slowly without answering. "I'll take that as a yes. Now, I'll leave you alone to finish... whatever it was you were doing."

"I was nearly done," I answer, beginning to edge my way around him.

"Then I'll see you later Miss Stephanie."

I scurry out of the room without answering before I my eyes start rolling of their own accord. I've seen a lot of spoiled rich boys in my time, but this guy is unbelievable. He's like... twenty-six and he's flirting with me like a  brainless college frat boy. I'll just have to deal with him, though, until the job is finished.

Dealing with him turns about to be more difficult than I thought it would be, though. I don't know if he's following me or not, but Lucius keeps popping up wherever I go. The other maids say that this happens every time a new housemaid gets hired. Well, I wish he would get over me because it's getting harder and harder to play the nice girl.

I don't know what it is about the Orion boy that gets under my skin, but he's second only to Boris at getting on my nerves. It's not only his attitude, which really is obnoxious; there's just something about him. There is just an aura around him that puts me in a bad mood. But I've gotten very, very good at feeling nothing. I've learned that getting angry doesn't serve any purpose so I plaster a fake smile on my face and pretend I'm bashfully flattered by his attention.

Meanwhile, when I'm not working, or being pestered, I'm continuing to gather information on Orion and relay it to Alex. Most of his classified documents must be kept somewhere else because what little I'm finding by digging through Orion's office is pretty much useless. I am learning a lot about how he manages Orion International. Boris would rather have the drop on any secret research projects, but he's just going to have to take what he gets. If he wanted recon, he should have sent me to Haverleigh. Apparently, Orion built his covert research facility somewhere near his family estate in Scotland.

But other than Lucius the mission is fairly uneventful. Usually, I prefer a little more excitement, but after the last few circuses I've had to go through, a little vacation is nice. Besides, it taking enough energy to keep up my Stephanie disguise twenty-four seven. The only time I can let it drop is at night. Even then I sleep facing away from the door, just in case someone decides to walk in. But hey, what can you do? My wishes don't exist in this reality.