「You know.」 His voice boomed throughout the room once more. She escaped him once. She disrespected him countless times. Neither of which he was going to allow again. 「I try to be agreeable towards you time and time again, but to be honest you’re becoming rather annoying.」

Lucy turned her head, followed by her body as she saw him stalking towards her, his usual jovial smile nowhere to be seen.

「What?」 She silently scolded herself as her spunk and snark cowered into a fearful whimper. Both hands shot up to her chest. Her head and neck rose inch by inch, trying to keep her eyes locked on the man threatening to beeline right through her.

Her body was shaking like a leaf; with the laughable distance between them, Lucy was certain her nose would brush against his jacket should she lower her head, but she refused to back down. Be it her nose or her head or any part of her body, she wasn’t going to move for him.

“Usually.” Kazuma continued as he jerked his chin down, neck jut back and eyes piercing into the young lady beneath him. “Girls tend to get a pass with me, but you seem to have the potential to really get on my nerves, so I’ll say this now before we have any legitimate workplace scuffles.”

“Wh-”

“I’m speaking, dear.”

Two fingers held in a “v” shape were then placed above Lucy’s boiling face.

“You have two choices.” Kazuma’s voice changed from mockingly sweet to stern, to which Lucy found slight relief in. At least this voice fit his true intentions. “You can be complicit and be thankful that I’m taking the time, and providing the means, to make sure you have food on your table everyday. Or-” He looked away momentarily, shoulders rising and falling nonchalantly. “You can choose to push and struggle against me and my charity at every little chance you get.”

“Your charity?” After dirtying her mouth with such a bullshit declaration, she wanted to throw up. Just as she feared Mister Kamoi got the best of her and her nerves, her outrage circled back with a vengeance. “Stop the fancy talk, what are you saying?”

Dropping his fingers into his suit pocket, Kazuma blinked down at her.

What was he saying? Did this girl have manner and hearing issues?

He watched her flinch as his neck lowered, breath fanning across her face while he chose his words carefully and precisely.

“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

The last thing Kazuma had wanted when meeting this girl was to frighten her, but after today perhaps a healthy dose of fear was just what she needed to learn respect.

Lucy couldn’t speak. She was suffocating without the slightest clue how to respond, and she wasn’t so sure if further inflaming a man with such a fractured sense of pride was the best course of action.

“Either way…” Kazuma’s smile returned to his face as he took a step back, allowing the poor girl in front of him a moment to collect herself. Once her shaking ceased and as her hands fell back to her sides, the pretty blush wound about her face faded away much to his dismay. “I’m personally fine with whatever option you choose, dear, I couldn’t give less of a damn.”

He paused, wondering if what he said was really true, perhaps if lying and feigning indifference was another way to sway her outlook on the situation at hand. “However, I can’t say the same for your uncle or Miss Yuko...or Mieko, for that matter.”

Lucy could feel her stomach dropping.

“Poor Mieko.” He sighed as he threw an arm over his forehead, his other free hand theatrically grasping at his heart. “What would she think if she knew that one of her closest friends, one she was trying to help, thought her aid was nothing but troublesome meddling?”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

But you are troublesome meddling. Lucy yelled in her head, but she knew deep down that Mister Kamoi had a point, one which she didn’t want to recognize.

She bit her lip again. What could she do? Truly, what other options did she have, besides allowing this overly dramatic conman to swoop in and “save the day” as a provider? She had nowhere to go, absolutely no money of her own, no real family-

Mieko and Yuko were the closest thing to family she had, save for her uncle who barely even counted at all. It didn’t matter how infuriating this man was, Lucy would not sacrifice her friendship with Mieko. Frankly she’d rather die and go six feet under than go one day without her.

Kazuma stiffened as he saw Lucy’s brows knit together, creases beginning to form across her forehead. Her eyes were...becoming watery? And puffy? Gracious, was she about to cry?

He had never made a girl cry before, at least not directly in front of him.

He laughed nervously, arm still clinging to his forehead before plopping it down to his side.

“Lucy-”

“I’ll go along, okay?”

She wiped her eyes on her sleeve, a pang of shame curdling under her skin as she felt a dampness on her wrist.

Bringing two fingers to her temple, she took a breath before dropping her hand and closing the distance between them once more. His face relaxed slightly, his bravado returning as their eyes met.

“But tell me, because I'm just dying to know." Lucy wasn't afraid. She wasn't a crier and she was not afraid. "Who the hell do you think you are? Threatening me?” She hissed her question through bared teeth. Her chest was flush against his suit jacket as her foot pressed on top of his toes.

His mouth nearly faltered into a frown as he ignored the sharp pain slithering up his foot and the fire brewing in his stomach. She was still trying to get the turn on him? Even after putting her in her place? It was electrifying – so much so that he would humor her again.

“I think I’m someone who has the ability to make your situation quite dire should you get in my hair.” He nicked her chin with a quirk of his index finger, his grin tensing as he heard her breath hitch. He raised a brow, nudging her head up to search her for any kind of reaction. No grimaces, no eye rolls, no furrowed brows - just a lovely, rosy, expressionless face.

"Don't worry. I won’t set my expectations particularly high for someone like you." Light puffs of air fluttered onto Kazuma's hand. She was still breathing, at least.

Goodness, not a word? With a little intimidation she was easier to manage than he expected. Hopefully it would stay this way. “Watch your manners, sweetheart, and I’ll watch mine.” With one last look at her lifeless face, he gave her a wink before abruptly circling past her statue-like form.

Lucy was dazed. Had she been conscious of what just happened? Her brain certainly did but her body remained frozen in place as if her feet had melted into the ground below her.

Her eyes scanned the calm scene in front of her–a narrow, aged room now absent of the man who had blocked everything from her view, save for his infuriating face. Lucy never liked the study. If the room had bad energy to her before, Lucy was now more than certain that she would never feel comfortable within its walls. Especially if it was going to be a second home to him and his work.

Body still cemented in place with no signs of budging, Lucy's eyes jerked towards the sitting table, its sun-stained surface covered in documents riddled in kanji and English words she didn't understand.

Her lips parted as her eyes darted across the sheets strewn about the table. Was all this what Mister Kamoi and her uncle agreed on? Was this the contract?

Finally achieving the will to move, Lucy spun her head towards the door just as Kazuma stepped into the living room.

"Hey, wait-"

「We're going for lunch.」 His voice came as a tired and dismissive drawl, rolling his eyes as he struggled to keep his patience. Did she never notice how direct she was when speaking, how she tossed her weight around without a second thought? She was audacity personified, and God help the man who would marry her. 「It would be smart of you to join us. If this is going to be the first time you'll be draining my pockets I'd prefer it to be on a cheap meal.」

He flicked his head back towards the study, a hand waving in the air beckoning her to follow him. She took a breath, whipping her head back towards the desk and away from the door. Lucy lowered her eyes, hands clenching at her hips as she focused on the hem of her skirt–if he wanted the papers, he could get them himself. After all, would he really want to be reminded of such a mundane task by "someone like her?" She rubbed a hand on her chin, itching away any inkling of his lingering touch.

Entitled prick.

A light tisk could be heard as Kazuma made his way out to the hallway, followed by a hand tapping across the wall to the front door. Kazuma ground his teeth, leaning down to put on his shoes. There were no footsteps coming up behind him, not one patter or peep. He scoffed as he reached for his coat and hat.

Ungrateful brat.