Ego's Trap
Written by Indigo Ivy Salamander

☆☆☆ Chapter 1 ☆☆☆

Ego and the Creep

"Ane, you have to go── they're waiting for you," my sister snapped before pushing me out of the house with all my luggage.

There was no doubt in my mind that every word she'd said to me since the limo showed up were nothing but bitter. She was obviously jealous. Heck, even before the sweet ride came for me, I heard it building up in the back of her throat. I was sure even Mom and Dad would have felt the same way had they been there instead of wasting away at their boring old jobs, 'cuz I mean, who wouldn't?

"It's not fair you get to go work for my soulmate instead of me, you don't even like what people say about him!"

I didn't even have to point it out, she said it herself!

"Oh please, Teresa, he doesn't even know you, you creep, and it's not my fault he chose me instead of you," I rested a hand on my hip and did a quick roll of the eyes. "All it means is that I'm better than you, even when I don't try."

"I don't get it, I really don't, I would've done whatever he wanted, and that means a lot. You and I both know he's the real creep here, not me. I heard he chases after girls that look like the one he── "

I turned my back to her and shrugged off whatever the heck she was going off 'bout.

Y'see, I didn't have the time for some sisterly chat. Not anymore, even if I wanted to, and who would want that with Teresa anyway? I had more important things to do, like walking up to the maid that held the door for me, throwing my luggage at the manservant that picked his nose by the trunk of the car, and snapping my fingers to be fed grapes by another. I was on a whole new tax bracket now, baby. All to be some local rich guy's personal maid, one who's without a doubt desperate to throw away his family's old money for me. After all, me just signing the contract put a six-digit number in my bank account and a key to a free room with anything I would ever ask for.

Ha, here I was, proving the world wrong── I didn't need a fancy shmancy diploma to live a good life. The world was workin' in my favor. What could possibly go wrong? Nothing, that's what!

"What in the world... this is so not fair, I know he would've liked me," Teresa grumbled, lightly kicking the carpet with the fading old colors beneath her, but who really cared 'bout her opinion?

I was the one that mattered, all eyes were on me. Whether it came from a lowlife pervert or not, it was no wonder this great opportunity had poofed itself into existence for my sake, unlike my sorry excuse of a sister. Gotta admit, the attention had been long overdue 'cuz I'm far above any other creature alive. It was a simple fact. Someone should've noticed me since the day I turned legal. To work. Like, just look at me, I have the greatest pair of melons around; they're cheerful, full, perky, and as large as melons themselves── and that's not all I'm packin'. My blessed face, curves, and chub, which are only possible through my unique mix of genes (jeans?) and diet, have allowed me to have the world wrapped 'round my fingers. Any lowly human would die for a piece of me, hands down. Nobody can resist my godsent beauty and charm.

Okay, fine, I think it's somewhat unfair for Teresa to not be the rich guy's maid even if I'm the one that deserved the job, but hey, at least with me around I don't think anything too weird's gonna be happening. If Teresa had been the one to become his personal maid, it would've been a really, really different story (all erotic hell would set itself free) 'cuz they were a perfect fit for each other. They were both, as already known, spoiled, creepy perverts. Their puny and simple-minded brains were thinking of nothing but trash, and I knew that for a fact. I felt it.

"Go, Daniel is waiting for you!" Teresa snapped again, this time grabbing my hand and storming her way to the limo with me. I felt her nasty, awful jealousy radiate from every single pore of her weird, clammy hands.

She had four good reasons to feel the way she does. First, I'm her younger sister by a good six years, and I've been promised a good-paying job before her. Second, she tried her best to be beautiful, but had yet to reach even a fourth of my beauty level. No make-up can fix that (not even plastic surgery). Third, me working for the rich guy was basically like me taking her crush away from her, and the last reason's 'cuz, well, she might as well have the same reputation as him. Nobody liked her. Not even me, the most humble and forgiving of all. Look, just think 'bout it, who would ever like a person who smacks and licks their lips every time someone bends over, no matter who or what they are? It's straight-up harassment, and that's not all she does!

It was obvious that Daniel Campbell, the local rich guy in question, was bound to be worse than the troll I'm forced to call a sister, but money, luxury and free housing awaited me── all without an unnecessary education.

My thoughts were interrupted when Teresa sat me down on the limo's leather back seats. It gave me the chance to look at the manservant by the trunk of the car, whose puny arms ended up trembling milliseconds after picking up one of my suitcases. The sight of it made me wrinkle my nose. I should've put more stuff in there, and he should've prepared in advance. A quick visit to the gym could've fixed the problem... right?

Actually, now that I think about it, why did the so-called Campbell rich-boy send a little pipsqueak to come pick me up? God, he should know I deserve so much better. Just what the heck is this mistreatment, this injustice?!

"I'll see you later, someday," Teresa mumbled, annoying me to no end 'cuz I had to waste and dedicate a few more seconds of my life to her. And then I heard a sniffle come out of her. I swear to God I would've rolled my eyes had I cared enough to even react to it. It did confuse me though. I couldn't understand how Teresa's mood changed from that of a jealous old hag's to a bawling mess, and it weirded me out. I knew she was special (not in a good way), but why did she have to be so extra 'bout it?

"Miss Ane, is that girl another of the maids Master Daniel summoned?" the puny manservant wheezed out after loading the last of my things into the trunk. In response to his words, the maid holding the door turned her attention to Teresa, with eyes so glassy that I felt the sudden urge to slap her. But I wouldn't do that, ever. I'm a nice person who respects everyone, even though they deserve nothing from me, 'cuz they were all below me.

It did annoy me enough to think twice 'bout the manservant's words.

"Yes, yes she is," I ended up replying after a minute, with a wide grin.

An idea popped up in my mind in that minute, an original one that nobody thought of before me: to make Teresa tag along, and to have Daniel make her work for him too. If he refused to make it happen, I could just threaten him into agreeing with me. He wouldn't want me to leave him, nobody does. I'm a rare beauty, one of a kind, actually. Why would I go so far for this? The answer's simple: did I really think I could survive with a pervert all by myself? Heck no! And I'm bringing Teresa for her own good, too. She had no job and no life. The maid probably saw it in Teresa's greasy black eyes.

I mean, I have to treat my sister right at least some of the time y'know.

I pulled Teresa into the limo, and right away the maid closed the door. Teresa had no choice but to play along if she didn't wanna embarrass herself. I'm sure that she wouldn't have protested anyway, if she were given the chance. Anything to get to her dirty prince, she'll do.

Throughout the ride Teresa and I looked at each other with blank eyes, or at least that's how I made mine look like 'cuz I was thinking 'bout the many dollar signs I would be counting myself to sleep with from then on instead of sheep. Whatever the case, our weird staring didn't last long. The ride to the Campbell residence was pretty short-lived. Within minutes of passing a thick clump of woods 'round the corner of a small park nearby, we faced a disgustingly huge mansion that screamed privilege.

There were acres upon acres of land surrounded by woods, and plopped right in the furthest corner of that space was the monstrosity of a 'house' whose owner's son, or owner himself, I would be serving. It was L-shaped, and 'cuz it was purely made of some sort of pale stone or brick, it contrasted drastically with all the green 'round it. The smaller side of the house, by itself, could have easily fit five houses like mine. It had three floors, with grand windows all over the place. There was a hint of something more behind the place, but I couldn't pick up on what exactly it could be.

A giant energetic fountain stood in the heart of the residence in all its glory, and a whole world away from it, there was a garage that might as well be a mansion of its own. It was not like it mattered in the grand scheme of things though, 'cuz there was simply way too much of everything everywhere.

I hated everything 'bout the place. It sneered at me, laughed at how dirt-poor I was next to it.

It made my jaw drop to the floor, and I was only able to pick it up when Teresa of all people gave me a nudge. Not like any thoughts left my mind when she did that.

After a thousand flashy steps to its front doors, we were brought into a luxurious room that made me feel anxious, far more than when the thousand maids and menservants welcomed me in, or when we passed by paintings that were each worth god-knows-what. Like, who the heck has the nerve to just freely spend so much money for one damn room── actually, I take that back, the stupid richie rich bastard probably doesn't know what budgeting is 'cuz he never lived through the real struggle.

Knowing that made me wanna laugh.

The Campbell residence was disgusting, it really was, plain and simple. Too much money was wasted for it. And the fact that I never heard of it in the first place made me feel a whole new level of annoyance, 'cuz I mean, how the heck did I not notice or at least hear 'bout a whole palace residing comfortably by the end of a neighborhood I was born and raised in?! Who cares if it's a mansion hidden behind some tiny forest or whatever── everyone's nosy as heck here, it's how I first learned 'bout Daniel and his money, so how did the other townies miss the chance to babble 'bout his damned residence and how close it was── did I just fail to hear that part?

And then the cherry on top of it all made everything feel even worse: a man. A younger man, by the end of the luxurious room whose ceiling's leagues above me, behind a god-forsaken desk that was far too inanimate to know how blessed it was to be 'round his presence (and mine).

No freakin' way he was the oh-so-dirty Daniel Campbell, the 'friendly' neighborhood creep, 'cuz he was just... he was just too freakin' cute to be that guy, right?

He was clearly hot, cute, handsome, beautiful, and whatever other million words that fit with eye candy, and there was no possible way I could deny it, 'cuz reality was forcing me to admit it. My entire face flared up in a heartbeat, at the mere sight of him.

I don't know if it's a good or bad thing for him to look that good, but who really cared? That wasn't the main issue here. I was. Why was I finding it hard to keep up with my breathing? Why was I finding it hard to not look at him? Why was I giving in to reality so easily?

I was expecting an oily seedy-looking bastard, not what was in front of me. Not some spicy living piece of candy.

Without a doubt Teresa's taste in men had improved tenfold. I never thought I would say that.

The pale man before me was definitely not a tall guy and my sister herself was without a doubt three or seven inches taller than him, but that didn't stop me from checking him out. His features were particularly gentle, but they did a good job on drawing my attention and keeping it, and that's something else 'cuz not everyone out there can pull that off. Yes, to impress me is an honor, and that guy was now blessed with that privilege by just breathing. Crazy as heck. It kinda annoyed me, actually. Will he ever be able to understand just how amazing that is, for me to dedicate my time on his cute little face?

I blinked slowly, turning my head to the side a bit, to see if he caught my drift. He didn't. He just blinked right back at me (hopefully in awe), and showed off his pretty-ass eyelashes. Dared to make me jealous. Just who the hell did he think he was!

I felt my heart pump confused signals everywhere within me. I heard it ask my brain and lungs for help, too, but all it received were more questions, more confusion.

I narrowed my eyes at him, to scan him as thoroughly as a state-of-the-art fax machine, with the hope of finding at least one dumb fault in him.

And so, the first thing my eyes took notice of were his golden spikes, which were likely crafted by a little slab of hair gel here and there 'cuz there were stray, wavy strands free from the sort of stiffness that only hair products were capable of doin'. Most of them were shy, they chose to hide behind the stiff hairs (though not good enough), and my god were they cute!

He tried hard to put on the gel, I gotta admit that, but the slight clumsiness or inability to really know how to put it on was so damn cu── oh shit! The one thing I pointed out, his one little fault, was actually cute! Ugh! And I didn't stop looking after that, not at all── I kept ogling! Me, Ane, yours truly! It was so damn ridiculous!

The charm in his emerald-green eyes had me wrapped 'round his finger real quick. They made my own eyes melt into the furnace that became of my face. I kept my pride high knowing that he couldn't see it 'cuz of my dark skin, but it also meant that I had to make an Oscar-nominated straight-face. To top it all off again as the cherry of the cherry, he was wearin' a white shirt with a button-down collar, lookin' fancy as heck. I always appreciate a guy with style, and the world was clearly taking advantage of that fact here: I wanted to squeal and fangirl over him, and I fuckin' hated that fact.

It made me furious. It was just so ridiculous, 'cuz why, just why did I have to think about him so much? This was not a story of love at first sight, or any sort of romance story at all! This was just me walking into the space of my new job, but nope, something's clearly going wrong, 'cuz nope, that man was not gonna be my boss. He just couldn't be. What I was seeing wasn't real. Reality wasn't real. At the very least, I must've been in the wrong room, or just the wrong place in general. I was expecting a spoiled ugly brat here, not some random sex god.

"Master Daniel, here are your summoned maids, ready for work," a maid behind me said, as if she read my mind.

I wanted to drop dead right then and there, but I kept my face straight, my knees locked, and my hands tucked in my denims. My pride's at stake here.

But still, for god's sake, just who the hell did he think he is, making girls swoon like middle school brats── there's a whole neighborhood talkin' trash 'bout him! Did he have no shame? That's just not playin' fair! Why wasn't he some random dweeb or mama's boy with sweaty gorilla hair on the back of his neck (and a heavy breakout of oily dandruff)?!

The sex god grinned and took his sweet time to walk over to me, all while examining me with his disgustingly charming eyes. I gulped and dug my hands deeper into the denims, hoping that I wasn't giving myself away. My pride was at stake here, yes, but okay── I confess that I was at a loss of words or regular human function. He made me feel weak (and I fuckin' hated that, too).

"This is the one and only Imani Ane Mayflower, hot as ever, with a boobful of even more hotness. Imani Ane of the Mayflowers, gods, hot damn. I can't help but just... look at her," he exclaimed, with his entire face basically beaming. Disgusting. Was 'boobful' even a word? "Ane's my personal maid now. It's like a dream come true!"

That talk from him smacked me right down to the ground, immediately chased away the clouds that hung 'round my eyes. It got me right back to myself, and I swear to god I couldn't be more thankful to anyone else but his own self for being who he was. I slapped his cheek, and no joke, my whole hand fit the entire side of his face. And beyond.

His neck crackled on impact.

"It's not a dream anymore, is it, you frickin' pervert?!" No matter how nice he looked, he was definitely living up to his reputation. But honestly, who wouldn't lose it when they see yours truly? I knew I was smokin' (but so was he, though).

Daniel took a moment to recover, and when he came back, a smile crossed his face. "She has an attitude."

"So? Is that a problem?"

He ignored what I said, instead deciding to notice the very dull sister that I had. "Why is she── "

"She's my older sister, Teresa. If you don't accept her to work and live here as a maid like me, then I won't stay," I snapped.

"I just can't... she clearly cannot be my personal maid, Ane. I want you."

"Well, we both know that, don't we? I'm worth it after all. Just make her one of those normal ones. Have her scrub toilets or whatever."

"But── "

"Shut up, creep. If you don't accept her then I'm leavin' and I know you don't want that."

I had to say that with my eyes shut while thinking of a troll. I couldn't insult him face to face for more than once in a lifetime.

"But, but she has no boobs! They're as flat as a sidewalk!"

"What did you just say?"

"You look so adorable when you're mad," Daniel cooed.

"That's not what you said!"

His perfect eyebrows furrowed. "But I just said you look adorable when you're mad."

Teresa frowned, definitely upset that her dirty prince had just stomped her heart with an insult, and was just 'bout ready to bawl. Before I was able to do anything about it (if I wanted to), she stormed out of the room. I tried to call her back, but then decided to go after her instead 'cuz Daniel just isn't worth enough of my time.

I turned away from the creep, ready to run, but he grabbed my arm and brought me into his own with a kiss.

I stood there, unable to move a single inch. He was somewhat strong, not significantly enough though. No, honestly it was just that I was too shocked to move. Actually, why the heck wasI allowing myself to be held by a weakling? Being shocked wasn't an excuse. Daniel couldn't do jack; he had no muscles, just skin and bones with a teensy bit of fat in between. I could do better.

As soon as his non-existent muscles relaxed, I shoved him away, ending his little fantasy-come-true. I stood still for a second to try and wrap my head 'round what could possibly be wrong with him, and why I didn't stop the kiss, but the absence of my sister brought me back to my senses. Teresa was somewhat more important than the weird kiss Daniel gave me, so right back I got to chasing after her. As I did so, though, I tripped over nothing (holy heck, I must be the main character in a comedy or something), making me fall flat on my face.

Everything went black instantly.

☆☆☆

"Shoot, she's definitely bound to have a concussion," I heard the creep mutter to himself. I didn't have to think twice before slapping him hard, right across his pretty little face.

"Why did you kiss me, just who the hell do you think you are?!" I growled.

I wasn't too worried 'bout the headache that was suddenly hitting me from every angle, and heck, at that point my sister was probably long gone from there, so the same went for her. The only thing in that was in my mind now was the bastard's kiss. Whether he was some sex god or not, he couldn't get away with it!

"So you really don't remember me, I guess," Daniel winced, holding his jaw.

I shook my head and cursed under my breath. I really wanted to slap his face again, but I was sure that if I were to do it one more time, I would have blood on my hands. "I've never seen you 'til now," I told him, baring my teeth. "I only knew you by name, so how much stupider can you get, you dumb-ass white boy?"

Daniel looked away, maybe upset? "Then, if you don't remember, I'm sorry for kissing you... not!" A smile crossed his face again, but it went away just as fast 'cuz his jaw turned stubborn. My slaps were finally getting to him, but the fact that he was acting as if they didn't happen raised all sorts of flags within me. "And, by the way, the word 'stupider' doesn't sound right, like, it might not even exist."

I couldn't care less. "Leave me alone," I warned, ready to bite his stupid-hot face. No longer did I need the image of a troll in my head, he had annoyed me more than enough.

"I'm sure you wouldn't want me to leave you alone if I let your sister work here."

" ...Sure, whatever."

God, I literally just spent a few moments with him and I already felt so drained of energy.

Where the heck did Teresa run to, anyway── back home to be a bum again? Geez, she was so dumb, running away from a stupid job. Who cares if Daniel didn't like her? Well, whatever, I'll haul her here if I have to, I'm not stayin' here alone.

This is the beginning of the interesting (but weird) chapter of our lives, whether she likes it or not, and together we'll see how it'll all turn out. For once in our lives we may just be working for a living, and not just in our rooms sulking and slumping around like edgy teens.

Will it be annoying or fun to work for an outwardly good-looking twig of a man (and freak)? Argh, I'm just going to let it all happen and then figure out the answer to that later!