His Lovely Obsession (English)

"I don't want to work for you." Stacey said.

A muscle jerked in Nick's jaw. He is trying hard not to show his annoyance. "Why not?"

She also crossed her arms in front of her chest. She looks defiant. "I have my reasons." She looks even prettier when she in a fight mode which made Nick frown.

SHIT! Brace yourself Alcantara...she will not make this easy. He told himself.

"I want to hear your reasons." he said in a cold voice. He came closer to her.

Stacey wants to take a step back but she chose not to. He might think that she is intimidated by him. Their faces are probably just more or less twelve inches apart. She has her head raised to look into his eyes. He is so tall. She is not short but the top of her head is just a little above his lower lip.

"I want to keep them to myself." she said in a cold voice.

This man is really infuriating! His face is thicker than a hardbound book! Stacey thought.

"Hmm.. I have a pretty good idea why you don't want to work for me.. "he said and flashed a knowing smile while he nods his head.

Stacey's eyes narrowed and she put her hands on either side of her waist. She moved back a little then tilted her head to her right as she glowers at him. "Well, Mr. know-it-all, why don't I want to work for you?' she challenged him.

He moved forward to be closer to her again. His head is bent down slightly so he can look at her face. His eyes have a certain expression which is hard to describe. "Because you are a coward." he said. Her eyes widened with surprise. "A coward?" she asked.

"Yes. You find me very attractive but you won't admit it so you want to avoid being with me. Of course if you work for me, you'll see me every day and you might not stop yourself from falling for me.. well that makes you a coward. " he said while his eyes are on her lips.

She has no idea that Nick wants to provoke her. He can already imagine how she will react to what he said.

"Of all the nerve! You think so highly of yourself!" she said angrily.

Before Nick could reply, a female voice called him. They both turned to look at Heather.

Stacey put some more distance between them. She is positive that Heather will be spoiling for a fight later when Nick is gone. Her half-sister is very possessive.

Heather's eye are full of questions as she looks at Nick and then at her. Stacey is sure that if her sister is not pretending to be nice, she would have probably yelled at her in annoyance. It's obvious that Heather wants to show her that Nick is off-limits. She put down her books on the table.

Stacey turned away from them so she didn't see that Nick frowned slightly when he saw Heather coming towards him. He even wanted to push Heather away when she tiptoed to kiss him on the cheek. "Have you been waiting long, Lovey?" she asked him.

"Not really." he retorted. He then looked at Stacey who is almost out of the living room.

"I offered your sister a job since you said you worry about her but she refused.." he said which made Stacey stop in her tracks and turned again to them. Nick didn't see the scowl on Heather's face but Stacey didn't miss it.

"How sweet of you to do that Lovey but I am sure my sister likes her job now because she gets to meet a lot of men." Heather said, her tone sugary before she wrapped her arms around Nick's left arm. She is smiling sweetly but her eyes remained hard as she looks at Stacey.

Nick's back straightened with what she said.

Stacey on the other hand, wants to erase Heather's fake sweet smile off her face. She flashed a smile too. And in a honeyed tone, she said, "Actually..I think Nick's offer is good. I'm having a change of heart." She almost sneered when she saw Heather's expression. Her half-sister's mouth hang open while Nick's lips broke into a small smile of satisfaction.

"So you accept?" he asked her.

Looking him straight in the eye, she said. "I want to know more about the perks you mentioned."

He is now almost grinning. "No problem."

"Wait!" Heather interrupted. "Are you accepting Nick's offer?" Her voice is not high-pitched but Stacey can sense that she is seething.

She had the strong desire to commend her evil half-sister for being able to control her anger. But right now, she just wants to piss her off more. Surprisingly, she doesn't feel worried that she will be confronted by her when she gets the chance. She also knows that she will regret accepting Nick's offer but she will think about the consequences later. If Heather can do some acting, she could try too. "It's a very tempting offer." she said huskily as she smiles seductively at Nick.

SHIT! She is giving me a hard on! Nick told himself. "We can discuss about the details over dinner or coffee." He said without any emotion in his voice though he really wants to pull her to him and kiss her torridly.

"You can talk about that in your office, Lovey. You don't have to take her out for coffee or dinner." Heather said with a frown.

Nick was about to say something but Amy came in the living room. "Excuse me everybody!"

Everyone looked at her. She is bringing a tray with a glass of juice. Her lipstick is pink and she has a hairband with a very big pink-colored heart.

"Amy!" Heather called her which made their eyes transfer to her. She almost forgot about Nick so she lowered her tone and voice. "Why are you just bringing juice? We have some sweets in the fridge which I think Nick will like." she said and went near Amy to get on the tray because she wants to give it to Nick herself.

The help's mouth hang open. This is the first time that Heather spoke to her without sounding angry.

"Mam Heather," she said after she moved the tray beyond Heather's reach, "Mr. Gorgeous is Miss Pretty's guest, not yours so she should give this juice to him, not you. Don't be ill-mannered." she said with one eyebrow raised.

Stacey swallowed a laugh. Amy's being tactless comes in handy in situations like this. Nick on one hand, hid a smile. And since Nick can't see her face, Heather widened her eyes at Amy as a warning. The latter handed her the the tray," Miss Heather, I think it's best that you give Mr. Gorgeous the juice now before he gets really thirsty."

After that, she turned to Stacey." Miss Pretty, you forgot your phone in the kitchen. Someone called and I answered it. The man's voice is so sexy and he said that his name is Blake. Is that the man who got you home safely this morning?" she asked sounding giddy.

"Amy! Why did you take the call? You should have given me back my phone!" she said with a heavy frown.

Instead of feeling guilty, Amy let out a sigh and said, "Because you were busy talking with Mr. Gorgeous. I didn't want to disturb you. Anyway Blake said call him back immediately."

Amy got her phone in her apron's pocket and handed it to her. Sighing heavily, Stacey took it from her.

"Amy please next time don't answer calls which are not for you, okay?" she requested and the help just shrugged her shoulders while rolling her eyes.

Shaking her head from left to right, Stacey just turned away from them.

"Stacey!" she heard Nick called her so she looked back at him with eyes like daggers.

"I'll see you in my office at 8:00 AM sharp on Monday." he said tonelessly.

She just nodded and continued heading to her room without throwing her half-sister a glance.

****

(Stacey)

She's getting ready for work because according to Blake, the other band requested to have a later performance. She has to leave two hours earlier because of that. She was putting on her cardigan when Heather barged in. Her face shows how pissed she is with her.

She knows it's war.

She is taller than Heather so she knows that she wouldn't want to get physical with her. Besides, her half-sister's sharp tongue is enough to cause pain. Emotional pain which is worse. "CHUBI! (bitch)" Heather angrily called her.

She pretended to be busy checking her fingernails with black polish. "What is it now Heather? Can't you see that I'm busy? I am about to go to work." she said in a gentle voice. "And why did you accept Nick's offer? He just said that to show me that he'll do anything for my family. Are you that desperate for a new job?! What were you thinking?! Duh?!"

She finally turned to her. "In the first place my dear half sister, you shouldn't pretend that you care for me. Being a caring sister doesn't suit you. Sooner or later your true color will show so might as well stop that nonsense." she told her tonelessly.

"I don't want you flirting with Nick if you'll work for him! If you do..I will do worst things to you!" Heather said. Her face is flushed from anger.

Her eyes narrowed and all her control flew out of the window. "Well there you go! You finally said it out loud! You are intentionally getting me in trouble! Well, FYI! I don't flirt with men! That's more like your style not mine ! And I am not interested in your condescending boyfriend! You two deserve each other! I ma not bickering with you so will you get out now?" she rasped.

She said a silent thank you when finally, with one last glare, Heather left her room without much of a fight. She felt a little wobbly on her feet so she sat on the edge of her bed. She might be mad at her half- sister but she is not used to crossing words with someone but Heather had pushed her to her limit. If she will not start defending herself now, things will never change. She cannot rely on anyone but herself. She should be a tough cookie from now on.

"Miss Pretty!!" came Amy's shrill voice. She got inside, bringing a long slim box in a white gift wrapper.

"Someone sent this to you. I have to go because your mother is acting like a slave driver again. I will just finish some chores but I will come back to look at your present." Amy said hastily and without waiting for her reply, she left her room.

She frowned and looked at the box. She has no idea who it is from. She unwrapped it.

It's a lacy black sleep mask.

There is a small note under it.

I'll see you tonight after your work later honey.. D

She bit her bottom lip.. it's from Derick....00☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐