Jenna's POV
He was watching me curiously, measuring my body with his eyes as he was expecting an answer. I was thankful that my feet carried me as far away as possible from the couch where he was sitting now:
"I must have fell asleep. What time is it?" I asked, afraid of his reaction and almost positive he was about to snap at me in any minute.
"It's half past eleven", he responded coldly keeping his eyes on me, without a shred of emotion on his face. His gaze gave me chills, so I diverted my attention, making my way to the kitchen.
"I was going to prepare the menu, but unfortunately the ingredients you have are not enough. You need to buy more." I heard his steps coming from behind until they stopped to one of the kitchen chairs without sitting on it, instead he was observing me moving around like a cat watches a fish in the tank.
"You're right. We should go buy groceries. Change your clothes and be ready in 10 minutes. We will go shopping."
"Don't you have someone that does the shopping for you?" I surprised myself asking him. He lifted his eyebrows and a smirk appeared on his face. I couldn't stand the man in front of me, I was terrified by his twisted mind and the last thing I would have wanted right now was to spend another minute in his so called "company".
"I need you to help me with something..." he told me softly, creating imaginary circles on the backrest of the chair, finally taking his eyes off me.
"What would you need help with exactly?" I asked him, already creating a thousand scenarios in my mind.
"You'll see when we get there. Now go and change, I don't have all day." he stated, impatience showing in his voice.
I left the kitchen instantly going to the basement to prepare myself. I dressed as simple as possible with the intention to not get noticed, but simply blend in with the crowd. I chose a plain white long-sleeved blouse and a pair of skinny jeans and black snickers I received last year for my birthday from my departed brother. I looked at them and nostalgia stormed my heart, thinking that last year, by this time, I was watching over him, trying to be both a sister and a friend, but unfortunately failing at both. When I ultimately finished, I went back upstairs surprising Henry with his iPad standing at the table, waiting patiently for me, but focused on a video that I distinguished to be news, as the reporter was describing to the anchor details about an event recorded in the Guinness book. When he saw me, he left the iPad on the table and made me a sign to follow him to the garage. Soon we were on the road to the supermarket, or so I thought. I realised only after the supermarket was slowly fading away that he had other intentions.
"Where are we going?" I asked, not being able to hide my nervousness.
"You'll see in about 10 minutes." I tried to distinguish at least a slight emotion coming from him but It was hard to understand that man, especially when he was making efforts to mask his intentions. I tried to hide my anxiousness and focus on positive things like...Who was I kidding? There were no positive things in my life worth focusing on as for some reason, the universe decided karma had to take over and simply fuck up my entire existence. After a couple of turns, we got to the mall parking lot and took the elevator to get to the main floor. I didn't dare asking the reason for our trip because I was afraid he might make a scene and humiliate me in front of the entire crowd. We arrived at an expensive clothing store with a big window that had showcased 6 mannequins, three on each side depicting by far some of the most beautiful dresses I have ever seen. I was reluctant to go inside so I stopped right at the entrance while Henry went in, searching my whereabouts as soon as he noticed my disappearance. When his eyes were locked on me, his threatful glare was enough for my feet to give in. I stepped inside reluctantly, fixating my eyes on a v neck red sleeveless dress with a beautiful cut that highlighted the waistline. Suddenly I felt his presence behind me which made my body filch unwillingly.
"I have a feeling you like this dress. Am I right?" he asked gingerly, coming from behind and snatching the hanger from my hand. He was inspecting it carefully, testing the material and its elasticity until he sighed and turned his head to scan my body inquisitively.
"I want you to try this." he demanded, frowning his eyebrows and passing me the clothe. I was taken aback by his words, staring at the red dress speechless without making any effort to grab it from his hand already reaching out to me.
"Don't worry, it's not going to bite." he said smiling, giving me no choice but to comply. Finally, I reached for the beautiful piece of clothing and made my way to the changing room. He was following me closely and I started doubting his intentions, but I didn't dare turning my head, expecting that he will eventually stop along the way. I spotted an unoccupied dressing room and, as I was about to enter, I felt a hand shoving me inside and the door closing quickly behind me. I froze when I realised Henry followed me into the dressing room and sat quickly on one of the benches positioned of both sides of it.
"Try it on. I want to see how it looks on you." he told me, defiance reading all over his face while he rested his chin on his hands, watching me lustfully. My nerves were boiling, and I couldn't do anything to stop the tear that rolled down my check warily, mostly because I felt helpless to his demands.
"Do you want me to come there and help you?" he asked with an innocence hard to digest since I knew exactly what he was capable of. I easily became aware of Henrys' intentions of terrorising me and playing with my mind, but I took advantage of the surroundings and tried to find out the real intentions behind our trip, confident he won't lash out at me.
"No, I am fine..." I took a couple of seconds to gather my courage and continued "Why would you ask me to come with you shopping for women dresses? I am sure the dress is not for me so who is it for?" I was astounded by his calm reaction as he answered me:
"What a perceptive little thief you are! Indeed, it is for someone special and I would like to see if the dress is worth the price. If so, then it's up to the woman to be worth the effort. Now try it on, I'm eager to see how it looks on you." he added ironically. I felt uncomfortable undressing in front of him, but I didn't protest since I knew it wouldn't make any difference.
I turned around and although I was aware of the mirrors surrounding the entire wall of the dressing room, I still felt better knowing my eyes would be shut, not able to see Henry's sadistic face watching me undress. I removed the blouse struggling with the arm pain followed by the jeans, remaining only in my panties and bra. I grabbed the dress and was about to unzip it when his voice startled me:
"Hold up! Take off the bra as well. I want the dress to fit perfectly." he stated, and I hesitantly took off my bra, closing my eyes to hide the resentment towards him. I continued unzipping the dress followed by quickly slipping into it and ultimately struggling with the zipper as I couldn't grab it with my left hand. I closed it halfway through with my good arm when I suddenly felt his fingers taking over and finishing the rest of the process. He pulled me gently by the waist and I could feel the warmth of his broad chest on my back but there was something else I was feeling and the image made my body stiffen, soon making attempts to step away from him. Henry sensed my struggle to get away from his forced embrace, so he rapidly pinned me to him in the same position only tighter while resting his face on my left shoulder intentionally, knowing very well the pain he was inflicting. I could feel his face inches away from mine and the smell of his strong cologne invading my nostrils, giving birth to new emotions which I refused to accept.
"Perfect!" he stated, looking at my body in the mirror facing us with a big grin on his face. "I will need a size up though. I like my women with shapes, not thin legs and no ass. I could barely distinguish yours." he spit the last words full of venom and released me, making his way to the door.
"Change back and let's go. I need to pass by my office on the way back". he said before exiting the room. I changed quickly and spotted Henry waiting for me outside the store with a blank expression on his face which made me wonder what he was thinking about. He looked like he was in a trance, focusing his eyes on an imaginary spot without seeming to notice me as I was making my way to him.
After 20 minutes in the busy traffic of the afternoon, we got to an astonishing modern glass building as tall as my eyes could see with a logo writing "Strauss Enterprise Technology" and, as we went inside the parking lot, I wondered if he will ask me to accompany him. He didn't but rather lazily exiting the car, I heard him saying:
"I'll be back in a couple of minutes. Wait here!". I saw him going to one of the parking lot elevators and disappearing from my sight soon after, so I tried to entertain myself while he was gone. I got out of the vehicle as I felt trapped inside and began roaming around, stretching my legs and observing the parked cars. Almost all of them were from expensive brands, and I stopped to look inside the interior of a white Lambo like a curious child. Out of the blue, I heard a manly voice behind me:
"She's a beauty, isn't she?" I turned around and saw a gorgeous man dressed impeccably, with wavy blond hair and brown eyes smiling at me. I felt my checks reddening as I realised I was staring at his car so I stepped aside, ashamed that I was caught in the act.
"Yes, sorry I was just looking at it. Indeed, it's beautiful." I stated, trying to avert his gaze.
"I'm Phill, and you are?" he asked cordially with a friendly face, stretching his hand towards me.
"Jenna, nice to meet you!" I stuttered, trying to fake a smile and act polite.
"Likewise. Would you like a ride? Are you lost?" he inquired, and I hesitated for a couple of seconds before answering him.
"No... I'm just waiting for somebody." I returned, praying that he will finally leave, but that wasn't the case. Phill kept smiling at me stupidly and I was wondering if he acknowledged the awkward moment like I did. I couldn't bare people with curious natures if the person they were querying was me.
"Who if I'm not too indiscreet?". I had no idea what to tell him as I didn't want him mentioning Henry about our encounter. Unfortunately, that sorted out quicker than I thought as I saw him coming towards the place where I was trying to make conversation with his newly met employee. From the moment he saw me, I noticed his pace getting faster until his voice greeted Phill from at least two meters away.
"Hey, Johnson leave her be!" he said to the man sitting next to me and I saw his grin changing as their eyes locked. You could have cut the tension in the air with a knife and the raw smell of pheromones circling into the air was a sign the two of them had some unfinished business.
"Strauss, I was just making conversation. I didn't know she was with you.Actually, I didn't know I had to ask for permission talking to anyone the last time I checked. You sure didn't a year ago." What was he talking about? What happened a year ago that made these two men throwing vicious stares at each other? I was stunned to see how Phill didn't seem affected by the 6.1 feet man standing now in front of him. Don't get me wrong, Phill was tall as well, but not as tall and well-built as Henry. If there would have been a physical quarrel between the two of them, I would have bet 100% on Henry. I noticed his jaw was clenched while the other man stood completely relaxed in front of him, without a trace of intimidation scrutinising with his eyes the man who was now standing beside me.
"Johnson, get over Nathalie. She was a bitch anyway...I did you a favour and showed you her true face." Henry said calmly, not breaking eye contact with Phill.
"That may be true, but all I did was asking this beautiful lady if she would like a ride." He finally turned his head towards me as if waiting for an answer. My mouth opened and I was about to respond, but Henry didn't wait for me, instead he smoothly grabbed my forearm, pulling me closer to him.
"She's fine! I'll give her a ride if that's what bothers you." then I heard him saying calmly to me:
"Go and wait for me in the car. I'll be right there." As I turned around to go to the vehicle, he stopped me grabbing my hand.
"This time, PLEASE stay in the car until I am done." he accentuated the word "please" and I was shocked to hear that he actually had this concept in his vocabulary.
"Ok" I briefly told Henry after which I turned to say goodbye to Phill" It was nice meeting you Phill. I hope we'll meet again." I said smiling playfully at him, knowing that this would only drive Henry insane. For some reason, Phill understood my intention and he took my left hand, bringing it to his mouth and kissing it softly. It was a bald move and I blushed even harder than before as I never had the pleasure of experiencing that kind of cordiality from a man. He ultimately released my hand, throwing me a seductive glare to Henry's desperation. I felt for a couple of seconds Henry's eyes piercing my back as I was walking to the car, after which the two men stayed and discussed for a couple of minutes more in the parking lot. My curious nature made me observe the two of them in the rearview mirror as they gesticulated, Phill passing from time to time his hand through his hair, exasperation reading all over his face. Henry, on the other hand was as calm as a Buddhist monk, showing signs of frustration from time to time but nothing too serious.
When he got into the car moments later, his face was pure anger as he starred at me silently. After a long couple of seconds, he finally spoke:
"What did I tell you to do?" he asked me through gritting teeth while starting the engine. I knew I had to stand up to him and I was inspired by the man I met a couple of minutes ago. Henry was not unbreakable, after all he was a human being. Fear was no longer written on my face, it just disappeared making place for a new emotion, revenge. I had to play my cards right if I ever wanted to make it out in one piece until the end of the contract so I smiled at him shyly, giving him the impression I regretted my actions.
"I'm sorry. I only wanted to stretch my legs for a little bit. I hope you are not mad." I said softly, knowing too well he was fuming. I didn't understand exactly why though since he regarded me with repulsion, always trying to remember me how disgusting I was in his eyes.
"Don't ever pull that stunt on me again." he followed, driving the car out of the parking lot and into the street.
"But what did I do wrong? The man was just trying to make conversation. What would you had me do? Leave without saying anything? That would have been disrespectful." I stated, and he sighed nervously, clenching his hands on the wheel.
"Yes, but also wise if you know what's good for you." he said to me through his teeth and I felt his bottled anger waiting for a trigger to unleash itself upon me. He then added "Remember Jane, I own you. You are here, with me, in this car because you are a petty thief that doesn't even know how to fool a man to get what she wants." My mouth dropped at his words but that wasn't all, he continued "Tell me Jenna? How often did you drop on your knees for other men?" I was speechless to his question, but I knew I had to give him something eventually as Henry wouldn't take silence for an answer.
"I never did such thing." I answered blushing, but not from the shame but from the anger piling up inside me, concocting new ways of wiping off the smug on his face as he heard my answer.
"You're a virgin then?" he popped the question amused. No, I was not a virgin, but neither a stupid low life nymphomaniac as the women he used to sleep with.
"No, I just don't sleep with worthless bastards." I said to him, looking outside the window, enveloped by a personal satisfaction that he would get the allusion. I didn't know if he did, but I wished he would.
"Well, well, seems like the little thief is not that stupid after all. Touché! There is a beginning for everything though." he said entertained by his own words. I felt the last sentence came out, not as a statement directed to me, but more like a motivation to himself. We both went quiet until I could spot the house from the intersection.
"I thought we're going to buy groceries for the party." I reminded him.
"No, I got it covered. I need you to prepare dinner soon. I am famished!" he said as I watched the gates opening.
Soon we were back in the house and I went downstairs to change and replace the bandage from my shoulder wound. I noticed a uniform as I entered the basement, placed on the corner of the couch I was usually sleeping. It was a maid attire, more like a dress which came above the knees and resembled the ones used to raise a man's sexual appetite.
"That mother fucker!"