The Inheritance Clause by Flora Ferrari

Chapter Two

Amelia

My back hurts. My shoulders hurt. My knees hurt. Scrubbing out the grand fireplace in the dining room is my least favorite job in the house, but I always land it. The rest of the staff have taken a dislike to me over the time I’ve worked here, and I always get saddled with the worst tasks out of everyone.

Now, as I finish up, I feel like I’ve been worked to the bone, and it’s only eleven AM. I slump where I’m sitting for a minute, trying to compose myself, but there are tears in my eyes. I hate working here. This house is so big and it feels like the job is never ending. It’s long, boring hours and since I live in the house too without any friends, I feel unspeakably lonely.

“Slacking on the job, are you, Amelia?”

I turn and see Rachel and Dan at the door, both of them smirking down at me. I hate them the most out of all the staff. Rachel isn’t much older than me in her twenties, but as the head cleaner, she’s the one that gives out the tasks every day. She’s had it in for me ever since our boss, Mr. Harris, smiled at me once on his way to his office. I blush even thinking about it. Our handsome, hard-working, enigmatic boss rarely smiles, but that day, he had a smile reserved just for me. I was already falling for him by then, of course.

I fell for him the day we met actually. When I first turned up looking for a job here. That day gave me a glimmer of hope that maybe he could fall for me too…

But Rachel resented the idea. She hated that I got the attention she was craving from the boss. She spends half her days trying to catch his eye, flirting shamelessly and making a fool of herself. So basically, she hates me because she knows deep down that she doesn’t stand a chance with him.

“I’ve been working at this all morning,” I say wearily. “I’m just taking a breather.”

“Well, don’t,” Rachel smirks. “You wouldn’t want me to report you to the boss, would you? I’m sure he’d love to hear about your poor work ethic.”

“You know that’s a lie.”

Dan smirks. He never really says much to me when Rachel is around, simply following her lead, but when he gets me on my own he treats me like a piece of meat. He took an interest in me since the day I arrived and he’s been skulking around ever since, looking for ways to interested me. Well, him following Rachel around like some kind of sidekick certainly isn’t helping his cause, not that I care.

“So what? I’m in charge here. I can do whatever I want,” Rachel smirks. She walks over to me and kicks over the bucket of coal on the fireplace, sending coal dust flying everywhere. I choke as it coats my face and spills all over the floor. Tears sting my eyes.

“Why did you do that?”

“Oops. My mistake,” Rachel grins. “I guess it’s time for you to clean up this mess, isn’t it?”

I feel utterly defeated as she leaves the room. It feels like every day is like this. Me suffering at the hand of Rachel. Cleaning up the messes she makes. Waiting for a knight in shining armor to come and save me...but he never shows.

I know that if I went to Mr. Harris, he’d save me from this. Something about the way he smiled at me that day months ago told me that he’d do anything to help me if I asked. But I can’t run to him every time someone hurts me. He’s not interested in the trivial issues of a lowly maid. He doesn’t care about the petty feud that Rachel has created in the workplace. In fact, if I complained, he’d probably just think I’m pathetic. After all, it’s my job to clean. What else am I good for?

I feel a presence behind me as I bow my head. I know immediately that Dan hasn’t left the room. He always does this. He waits for Rachel to leave, and then a new kind of torture begins. He bends down to sweep my hair over my shoulder. There’s coal dust in my hair now.

“Poor, pretty thing,” he whispers. I shudder as his fingers touch my neck, and not in a good way. Every time he touches me, I feel disgust filling my entire body, but there’s not much I can do. Even if I cried for help, who would come to help me? I don’t have a single friend in this place. I don’t even have any allies.

“You need to go, Dan. I have work to do, thanks to Rachel.” I sniff, trying to stand so I can get my cleaning tools. But Dan isn’t deterred. He grabs me by the waist and turns me to face him. I stand as still as I can, trying not to tremble as his face comes closer to mine. I know he’s going to try and kiss me, like he always does. But there’s no chance I’m having my very first kiss ruined by this monster.

I’m saving it for someone special.

“I could make the whole Rachel issue go away,” he whispers, his breath hot on my neck. I feel sick and close my eyes, forcing myself to endure the moment. “I could get her to back off...if you’d just stop being so frigid and admit you want me.”

“Leave me alone, Dan,” I whimper. I wish I could do more to get rid of him. I wish I could push him or kick him where it hurts, but I know he’d only find some way to make my life even more hellish. Maybe he’d even start forcing himself on me for real.

“Still not ready to admit it?” he murmurs. Then he tsks. “Alright. I guess I’ll give you a while longer to think about what you want, but Rachel isn’t going to play nice much longer. You’d better prepare for her to unleash hell on you, babe.”

I wince at that word. I’m not his babe. I’m no one’s babe. I might seem weak in the face of the two house bullies, but I’m playing smart here. Because even though this house is hell on earth, it keeps me close to the man I’ve spent the last five months pining over.

As Dan leaves the room, I close my eyes and go to the one place in the recesses of my mind where I feel safe.

In my fantasies.

A place where I’m not working as a cleaner anymore. Instead, I’m the woman of this incredible house. I’m Mr. Harris, Leo’s, companion, his partner in every sense, his love. We spend our days working hard together, and our night making loud, passionate love, keeping all my tormentors awake all night long. I smile to myself. It’s a ridiculous fantasy, really. I know it’ll never happen. But thinking about it sometimes allows me to escape reality for a while, and that’s all I need.

When I open my eyes again, I sigh at the mess that Rachel has made. I should learn not to talk back to her. Maybe she wouldn’t treat me so badly if I’d just lay down and take her abuse. But the thought makes me feel sick. I guess until my knight in shining armor comes for me, I’ll just have to fend for myself.

Except I can’t help thinking that I already know who my knight is. It’s him. Mr. Harris. I barely get to see him, but I can never get him off my mind. His handsome face haunts my thoughts, his strong jawline, his stubbled chin, his dark, intense eyes. He’s the very definition of tall, dark and handsome. And the thing is, he’s more than capable of saving me. He just hasn’t heard me crying out for help.

But Dan is right. Rachel isn’t ever going to let up. She’s trying to make me leave here forever so that she can have her shot with Mr. Harris. And the thing is, I know I should go. I should leave this awful place behind and go out into the world to follow my other dreams. I could find a way to fund my painting and try to make a living that way. I know my art is good enough to make me a career.

But every time I try to leave, I find that I just can’t. I’ve gone as far as to pack my suitcase, making it to the front door in the middle of the night, but something stops me from crossing the line. And I know that it’s all about him. Mr. Harris. The man who will never want me the way I want him. And yet, I think about the time he smiled at me and hope ignites within me. I still think I have a chance, or I would’ve left a long time ago.

I must be crazy. I have no reason to stick around, really. There’s a life waiting for me out there if I’m willing to go and find it. But I’ve spent so long wanting to build my life here that it feels impossible to let go. One look at Mr. Harris will make me feel strong again. It doesn’t matter how much Rachel hurts me, or how much Dan creeps on me. I can survive it over and over again so long as I have hope.

I know it’s no way to live, but it feels like I don’t have a choice. My feelings have chained me to this house, to Mr. Harris. It’s like he’s a part of me, and if I try to cut him out, my body will die.

How can these feelings be so strong? I barely know the man. He’s my boss, not my friend, and certainly not my lover. But there’s potential there. Does he feel the sparks flying between us every time we cross paths? Does he realize how much I want him, despite all the obstacles in our way?

It’s never mattered to me that he’s over twice my age. I know Rachel just wants him for his good looks and his money, but it runs deeper for me. I can’t explain it. It’s not a want, it’s a need. I feel tethered to him. And believe me, I’ve tried to stop wanting him. I’ve prayed so many times for these feelings to disappear, for him to let my heart go. He doesn’t even know the effect he has on me…and now, there’s no escape. I have to see this through. I have to know if he wants me or not so that I can move on with my life.

The next time I see him, I vow that I’m going to talk to him. Even though nerves get the better of me every time I see him, I have to try. I have to know if I’m just chasing a dream or whether we can find something real together. I know how unlikely it is that we’ll ever work. We have very different lives, but I think we can make it work. If our feelings for one another run deep enough, none of that will matter. But I can’t speak for him, I don’t even know if he remembers my name...but for me, these feelings are as deeply rooted as they can possibly be. I know that I want this more than anything in the world.

I’ve suffered to chase this feeling, but I won’t suffer anymore. I’m going to finally work up the courage to put myself out there. And it’s going to rock the boat. Rachel will hate me even more. Dan will hate seeing me looking at anyone, but him. And if Mr. Harris doesn’t feel the same, then it’ll all be for nothing. But it’s a risk I’m willing to take. My heart has long been on the line. It’s time for me to take a leap of faith.

It’s time to show Mr. Harris what he really means to me.