"Do you need any help unpacking and making yourself at home?"

Gina eyed the scantily-clad skinny girl in see-through white crop top with disdain, briefly wondering if it was possible to loathe someone at first sight. This girl roused up that feeling in her.

"No," she replied tersely, hissing on purpose, "and if I would need help, it definitely wouldn't be yours."

The girl smirked at her as if she knew something Gina didn't. "I wouldn't help you even if Thelma requests it. Gabriel knows I'm nobody's servant here, so have that at the back of your thick skull." She whirled around and strutted out of the house, her big hips enclosed in denim shorts jiggling ferociously at her steps.

Gina hissed again at her departing frame, briefly wondering what bit the girl on her big behind.

To distract her thoughts, her searching eyes found the lushness of the expensively and exquisitely decorated room, spiking her jealousy intensely. She knew the rich lived large and all, but this was plain ridiculous, she thought indignantly. This was wasting money on frivolous things when millions of people in the country where going over each other's head just to get a pinch of it.

The gold plated doors, the chandeliers, the white marbeled walls, and the sparkling tiles floors all spoke volumes about the man's lavish taste.

"If only the hair colour would match the drapes," she mocked him, appraising that the luxurious taste of the owner did not correlate with his character.

Presently, she was admiring the guest room where she was informed Gabriel had chosen for her to occupy for the next nine months. The beast was at work -where else could he possibly spend his hours?- leaving his housekeeper, the gardener, and the scullery maid to throw out the welcoming bough. Thelma, the elderly woman was amiable, Ese loved his lazy job of pruning perfectly mowed hedges and grasses, and Sisi turned up her nose at her, accentuating her vulture-like stance. Gina agreed that the feeling was mutual.

After letting her stubborn streak dictate her actions last weekend, she had called him the next day to inform him of her resolution. With a cocky attitude, he had told her he knew she would come back to her senses. He, however, let it slip that her stubbornness had cost him precious time and money so he was removing his offer of granting her freedom from the stripping work which had been on the table.

Alternatively, after she had blown a fuse over the phone, he amended, following a heated debate, to let her have complete exclusion from the club or its activities till six months after she gave birth. She had vowed within her to never go back there once she had her money with her.

Standing up from the insanely soft queen-sized bed, she proceeded to make herself useful and unpack her stuff since the maid's help was off the menu and Thelma looked too busy for her to trouble. Besides, elders were given utmost reverence in this setting.

After the clothes were hung on their hangers in the closet, footwears lined up the shoe rack and her make up essentials, face, hair and body treatment effects adorned the vanity table in the room, a sweaty and unbelievably tired Gina decided a cool soak in the massive tub was paramount.

Stripping out of her denim jeans and black singlet, she pulled up her weaves into a bun with a rubber, her towel-clad back facing the barricaded door, at least what she believed was locked.

A large pair of callused hands wrapped around her waist suddenly, knocking her breath out, and subsequently kicking in her fight or flight response. Before a reaction could formulate, however, a deep inhale near her ears had her dropping her guard immediately. Despite herself, she leaned into the frame, secretly enveloping herself in the musky cologne that emanated from him.

He exhaled. The air rushing out to tickle the hairs at her nape and sending interpreted signals to her sensual nerve endings. The feel of her supple body in his arms awakening the gnawing cravings for immediate pleasure he was trying to subdue.

She inhaled. His scent waking up her pheromones as if preparing her body for a mating ritual. Subconsciously, she swung her hips slowly to an imaginary beat in her head, giving his stiff limbs the urge to span her waist in perfect synchronisation to her swaying.

He exhaled deeply. "You have a beautiful body that can drive a sensible man insane, Gina."

She inhaled, choosing that over blushing at his flattery instead. "I should probably have said yes that first day if I knew the welcome party would be this passionate," she joked, trying to tone down the sarcasm threatening to be let out.

He chuckled, his hands stilling on her form. "You are still angry about your sister."

She did not like mincing words. "She really doesn't support me doing this, and she's the only family I've got. You have to understand this is hard for me."

He groaned and finally pulled away, so she had no choice but to turn and face him. He was still garbed in his immaculate business grey suit with brown loafers, even his pinstripe tie held no crease. Did he iron before coming to see her?

"Your sister's opinion doesn't matter here. Once you start getting lots of money from this arrangement, she'll come around. Some people are just that predictable."

Gina understood that she was supposed to defend her sister's dignity at some point in that statement but it amazed her that his views about Rissa were that shallow. Her sister utterly despised him for what he did to Amelia, so it wouldn't make sense if she jubilated over his wealth. The notion was downright ludicrous!

Annoyed with him, she crossed her arms under her bust level and pursed her lips firmly. She was learning painfully that spitting fire did not affect him in the slightest.

"I speak the truth and I know you'll agree with me once you stop being an ignorant fool and acting partial because she's your family." His sharp tone cut through her snubbiness expertly without clemency. The man finessed in the art of making her tick.

"Get out of my room, Gabriel. I'm sweaty and I need to go have a bath." Her eyes were shut when she declared her words, bidding him gone in the seconds it took for her anger to simmer down.

He scoffed at her words. "You can't send me out of any room in my own house. You don't have that right, yet."

Her lids moved upwards to reveal chocolaty irises beclouded by staggering perplexity, so much so that her mouth made a deep, hollow cave unconsciously. "What?"

Smirking at her bamboozled state, he shrugged off his blazer, the buttons of his crisp white shirt following rapidly next. His tie was already lying carelessly on the floor beside him.

"You heard me. You don't have any right whatsoever to order me around. I pay you to be here, right now, for my guilty pleasures and you can't send me out when the very thing I want right now is you."

The desire brimming in his pupils informed her he wasn't playing around, but it wasn't until his trousers joined the heap on the floor did she realise herself.

"Fine. I agree that I'm here to satisfy you but I'm not in the mood, Gabriel." Pride prevented her from adding the magic word. To her, this man hadn't earned it yet. He probably never would.

He sighed, tugging at the hem of his briefs. "Alright, we'll skip that part for your consideration but we will still bathe together. I'm sweaty, as well, and we can conserve water this way."

Gina knew there was no arguing with this obstinate man the minute he was standing gloriously naked before her. He had shown her more than once that he eventually got his way.

Resignedly, she turned around to face the bed, picked up her shower cap and fixed it securely on her head, before purposefully letting her towel fall to the floor. She tilted her head to find his eyes glued to her hip region and she smirked. Men really did love women with big asses, she surmised.

Ignoring him, she turned and strolled towards the bathroom, which was at the far right of the room. She eyed the bath and changed her mind, inferring that a spacious tub like this would lead to raw mating and chose the shower instead.

Inside the glass cubicle, she turned the two knobs and allowed refreshingly lukewarm water to drench her body from the shower head. When cold hands from behind caressed her breasts slowly, consequently pulling her flush against his body to gain better access, she knew, without the help of a soothsayer, that they weren't going to conserve any water, at least not tonight.

++++++++++++

Later that night, after going at it like rabbits for three times, -twice in her bed and once in the shower- hunger had dragged their lazy behinds downstairs for a sumptuous dinner that ultimately doubled as a contract signing. Plainly speaking, Gabriel wanted her pregnant as soon as possible.

"Do you like the house? Is your room decorated to your liking?" He asked randomly, cutting sharply through the serene atmosphere of the dinning room where they sat patiently waiting for their meal to arrive.

"I wanted it to be to your taste since you'll be staying here long," he averted his gaze to the bell-shaped chandelier hanging above the long dining table in the centre of the room, "but I didn't know what you liked or would prefer."

She frowned at that statement, her eyes focused instead on watching Thelma and Sisi as they set up the dishes that made up their dinner. While Thelma helped in dishing out her food, Sisi was more handy in helping Gabriel plate his food. He didn't seem to mind when she ran her fingers meaningfully across his shoulder, hinting her obvious desire for him. Gina felt like gouging the girls eyes out. For crying out loud, she was the one whose chosen career was professional seduction and even at that, she had a little self respect!

"It's your house. I don't really care about the lushness or the decors for that matter." Her silent fuming made her retort sound scathing.

He nodded and transferred his gaze to the girl still hanging by his side even though her job was done. They made low talks that centred on how their days went and soon, she was scooping his food up with a fork and knife with the aim of feeding him. He smiled and parted his lips to swallow the food with an amiable grin, and Gina swallowed the spit she was aiming to drench the foolishly romantic girl with.

"If you're done trying to force him to have sex with you right here and now, you can disappear. He actually brought me here for an important discussion that doesn't need desperate hoes hanging around."

He choked suddenly on the glass of red wine in front of him at her lewdness. She really was a spitfire when provoked.

"You can't send me out. I've told you before that you can't order me around cause I'm not your servant." The girl reinforced her earlier rendition, clearly incensed that this new girl didn't know her place in this house.

"When you act like a pest, you get treated like one, obviously." Came the biting remark.

Feeling enraged, Sisi glared twin daggers at her, her hands clenched by her side. Gina returned the glower with matching intensity, letting the girl know she was barking up the wrong tree.

Amused by the situation, he ignored them and signalled for Dami, his driver cum personal assistant, to bring the documents he needed from his office. He knew women were too predictable, too volatile, to even insert himself as their object of attraction.

"You can leave now, Sisi. What I need to discuss with Gina is very important. But don't worry, we'll talk later when I'm done with her, alright?"

Pulling up a disappointed face for his benefit, she mocked Gina at what his last statement implied. The girl was being disillusioned if she viewed Gina as a threat to her clearly non-existent relationship with her boss since it was very glaring the Asikas took great pride in maintaining class.

Once they were alone, he produced a white file and placed it on the table next to her. He pushed it closer to her when she made no attempt to take it, plainly content with just raising her brows in skepticism and asking silent questions.

"I need you to sign this contract tonight. It's basically the document that proves your full commitment to this arrangement. I can't have you changing your mind on a whim halfway through."

She nodded, her focus directed towards the hot plate of rice and stew with grilled chicken smiling invitingly at her. The dish smelled delicious, too. Reluctantly, she pushed the food away and picked up the damned file.

She skimmed through the document, confirming the payment, the duration and terms of arrangement. There were a few clauses here and there that needed a thorough perusal which she knew would be performed later. She was too famished to coerce her brain into understanding big grammar.

"I'll send the signed copy to you in the morning before you leave."

"I would have preferred it for tonight but sooner than later. I would also ask that you attend to section C as soon as possible so we can start the process already. How healthy are you in terms of reproduction?"

Section C dealt with medical tests for both parties to ensure easy conception. Blood works were to be carried out as well to avoid genetic mutations that could potentially harm the child and all other medical mumbo jumbo that endorsed the fact that he was taking this baby business seriously.

"I'll go see the doctor tomorrow if that's okay with you."

He nodded, seemingly surprised that she didn't argue. "I've made reservations for you at the Graceland private hospital. They'll attend to you once you give them your name and Dami would take you there. You can also make a request to have an obstetrician and/or a gynaecologist assigned to you. I've heard they are really helpful during the pregnancy period."

She granted a grateful beam for his thoughtfulness but it dimmed when she concluded he was too meticulous to let small overlooked details foil his plans.

"Thank you, Gabriel. I'll definitely do that tomorrow."

"You're welcome." He returned her smile tightly.

Relieved that the matter was concluded, at least for this night, she quickly muttered a small prayer and dug into her food. The exploding of accurately measured flavors and ingredients in her mouth had her wishing for this kind of life for the rest of her mortal life on earth. The chefs had really outdone themselves.

Halfway through the meal, a nagging thought resurfaced, flying past her tongue before she could stop it.

"Who is Sisi in this house?"

He stared blankly at her for a second before replying. "She's my beneficiary. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged disinteretedly, trying to act unbothered by the presence of the pestering fly. "I sensed an aura of authority coming from her, so I couldn't help but wonder if she was perhaps your biological family."

He paused in the action of raising a filled spoon to his lips to stare at her. Her words hinted she had no inkling who he was but her sister remembered him. Surely, this was just a ploy on her part?

"I don't believe for a second you don't know who I am, or who my family members are."

She matched his scrutinising gaze unflinchingly. "I haven't had the pleasure, yet, even if the name is popular. Perhaps, you would let me meet them one of these days right before I put to bed."

"Perhaps." He could still sense she saw Sisi as a threat to her stay here and he needed to reassure her in order to tame the wild beast residing in her called temper. He had learnt over the years that the feminine folk could be very territorial even if they tried to hide it.

"Sisi is like family. Thelma, who has been in my employ for almost a decade now, took her in to cater for her education but I stepped in and took over out of my benevolence. She's not in my employ, though, hence the authority she displays sometimes. She attends the university from here most times and helps her aunt in the kitchen with preparing meals whenever she's around. But you can bribe her with nice words, and lots of money to help you do some stuffs around the house."

Gina cast a glance at the door leading out of the room towards the kitchen before commenting. "She may like you more than her sponsor or boss. In fact, it seems to me that she might have feelings for you."

Unexpectedly, his head was thrown back and his body quaked in the aftermath of the deep chortle rumbling from his throat. She found nothing humorous in her statement and waited for him to enlighten her when he was done.

"Please, no. She doesn't have feelings for me, not in the slightest. She may act clingy sometimes, but that's because I've pampered her too much. Besides, the thought is ridiculous. She's like my little sister!"

Ouch, Gina thought but didn't let her eyes betray it. She was somewhat happy she wasn't the one just relegated to the sibling-zone. Instead, she just rolled her eyes at him. "And later you would claim you're a smart man."

He didn't need her to elaborate even if it were true. He would never act on his feelings for any woman ever. Once in his lifetime was more than enough experience.

+++++++++++

A tired Gina eventually made it to her room in the evening of the next day after a rigmarole of rigorous tests, laboratory swabs and confidential sessions with her assigned obgyn were completed. She was sore in her limbs and too weary to bother about Gabriel's whereabouts or any of his employ for that matter. From afar, she could sense they didn't fancy her too much, obviously used to their employer's celibate lifestyle, and she agreed quite blithely that she felt the same way.

With the IUD removed, a clean dose of reproductive health declared and pregnancy-inducing hormonal pills prescribed, it became stark clear that she was really doing the surrogacy thing, albeit the traditional way since her solicitor seemed to relish having skin to skin contact with her.

Stretching her limbs, she pulled her pyjamas out and placed it on her bed before stripping out of the bodycon black long sleeved gown with matching nude strap heels she wore. Completely naked, she tied the soft, plush towel, that came in two pairs with the room, around her frame and pulled her weaves into a bun before covering it with a shower cap.

Like deja vu, a large pair of hands wrapped around her waist and rested there, squeezing it. Despite her common sense screaming at her to turn around, she closed her eyes instead and smiled contentedly, briefly wondering if this was some sort of fetish for Gabriel -sneak into her room right before shower and render her legs useless thereafter- but tonight, even her fatigued body could sense something was different when he didn't pull her body close to his.

"Gabriel?"

~~~~~~~~~~~

Who do you think it was?

Honestly, what are your thoughts about Sisi?

Vote and comment as always.

Thank you 😲😗