Down On Your Knees

DESPICABLE HER

CHAPTER 2

After Samira greeted her grandfather, she went up to the second floor and entered her old room. She looked around and smirked, it had been seven years, and her room looked exactly as she left it.

The room still carried the remains of her tender teenage years. Walls were painted with a pale shade of pink, so feminine. The round bed and pillows covered by white sheets and pillowcases looked so soft and calming. The princess-inspired dresser inside the dressing room was so childlike. The fluffy slippers, she stepped on fit so well in her soft feet. The wall cabinet with stuffed toys given to her by family and friends was still there, and so many things reminded her of how easy and comforting her childhood had been.

Everything in the room was the same...except her.

Losing her parents made her mature much earlier than she was supposed to, she thought. Seven years had passed, but the gap was too much between the spritely teenager and the 25-year-old lady standing in the same room, right now.

A lot had changed. She changed, if it was for the better, she didn't know.

Samira forced herself to stay away from her sheltered and grandiose life when her grandfather announced that she was betrothed a few months after her parents died.

That hurt her a lot.

Samira was no longer a child then. She was eighteen —an adult that should be respected and allowed to live the life she would choose for herself.

However, her grandfather was manipulative and domineering. She had witnessed how he manipulated her parents' life. No one stood against him then, everybody bowed and followed his every word.

Not Samira…

As soon as she learned about his plan to marry her off, she ran away and settled in the States. With the money that her parents left her, she sorted out her life and financed her college studies. Even if her grandfather asked her to come home a thousand times, she never did.

Both of them were headstrong and self-willed. He still insisted on the marriage to push through, but Samira had decided she would never do it. If she couldn’t convince her grandfather that she shouldn’t marry the man he had chosen for her, she would make the man refuse to marry her instead.

Samira believed that any man would refuse to marry a woman with despicable and wayward character. Even the man's parents would refuse her when they learned of her unorthodox behavior and detestable character.

Upon her return, Samira was determined to show everyone a different side of her. She decided to be belligerent, unreasonable, and aggressive to a fault --in short, a b***h.

Samira decided she would party and drink herself to death even if she had avoided drinking since the incident of seven years ago. She would also flirt with anyone she fancy and talk s**t and dirty.

She would make herself so despicable, no man would want to own her, then her grandfather would let her go back to the states and live her own life. Her masterplan.

And to make her bitchy act believable, she learned to smoke two weeks before returning home. However, no matter how she practiced smoking, the taste of the stick and the act of smoking itself suffocated her. It wasn't her thing but she had to do it.

“Uhh! Uhh! Uhh!” She repeatedly coughed inside her room. “s**t, this stick!” She cursed as the smoke went out from her luscious lips. She didn’t know how much longer she could get accustomed to smoking.

Then, she heard a soft knock on her door, and she gasped, steadying her breath, “What do you want?” Samira yelled at whoever was at the door.

It opened slowly, and a shaking young servant showed herself.

“Senorita (miss), I am Mabel. Mr. Andi would like to have a word with you." Mabel introduced herself while looking down to her feet.

“Oh, the hot watchdog!” Samira murmured.

“I will be down in a minute, and kindly bring me an ashtray,“ Samira muttered. The servants talking about her smoking was a good move, she thought. There was no need to show herself smoking in front of her grandfather for this thing to reach his attention, she mused.

It was his watchdog she was more concerned about. What would the watchdog do when he learned that she was smoking? Samira huffed. So what, she didn't care, the watchdog would only serve her for the next 20 days...if he couldn't be her absolute sin.

“Where is he?” Samira asked the servant Mabel, on her way to the door to meet the man.

“Senorita, please press line two. He's not here, personally. He just called,” the young servant answered her politely.

Samira’s shoulders dropped, "Jesus! Why not tell me straight." She screeched.

She was preparing to see him face to face since she didn't have the chance to scrutinize every bit of his form earlier. The idea of him being part of her plan didn't spring in her brain much sooner.

"I'm so sorry, senorita. It...it's my fault." Mabel stuttered.

Samira disliked herself for acting annoyingly, as she could see Mabel, the servant, was so afraid of her, but she couldn’t change her attitude for her sake. She was determined that a bitchy personality would never be appreciated by people from her class. Most of them hide such character, but she has no intention of hiding it from anybody.

Mabel made her way to her bedside table and pressed line two, and then stretched her hand with the wireless phone for her to take the call.

Samira snatched it from her hands.

Mabel moved to the side and let her sit on the bed.

“What now?” Samira rudely spoke to Andi.

“I have some matters to clarify with you for tomorrow, Ms. Tantaco,” Andi responded in a deep emotionless tone.

“I'm listening--” Samira muttered irritably. In her thoughts, how could she flirt and seduce a cold man?

“The mall opens at 10 am, but we need to be there early. Say we pick you up at 8:00 am?” Andi asked in a modulated tone.

“What? Why that early? The Gods are still sleeping at that time, yet, you want me to go and work?” Samira asked on top of her voice.

“What time will be more appropriate for you, ma’am?” Andi asked politely, but his voice had a hint of irritation.

Samira smiled naughtily, knowing she had struck a nerve on the man. She sensed that Andi was trying to control his emotions. She silently rejoiced.

“Be here at 9 am,” Samira grunted.

“I will be there at 8:30, Ma’am. As I said, we need to be earlier than the opening of the mall,” Andi’s voice remained firm, deep, and cold.

Samira cleared her throat having felt the emotions of the man, admittedly it shook her a little, “Fine!”

“You will meet with your immediate staff tomorrow. I will get you acquainted with the different departments and their functions, and in the afternoon, we will go around the mall. That’s your itinerary for the first day.”

Hearing his words, Samira grimaced. What a hectic first day... she thought.

“You had my activities lined up for the entire 20 days, don’t you?” she asked sarcastically.

“Yes, Ma’am! You have to learn everything in 20 days.” Andi replied.

“And if I can’t?” Samira pursed her thin lips.

“Then I failed as your mentor,” Andi stated flatly.

“Why are you in a hurry to teach me everything?” Samira scoffed, slightly annoyed that learning about the business was like a ticking timebomb.

“I need to leave after 20 days!” He declared.

“Hah? Why was it dependent on you? What will you do after 20 days?” She arched her brows and bitchily smiled, looking at the ceiling. So, learning about the business was timed because Andi had to leave? Learning about mentoring her was fully dependent on him left an impression she couldn’t fathom at the moment.

“It’s stipulated in my contract with the Don,” Andi replied avoiding answering her question directly.

“Why?” Samira prodded, wanting to know more details.

"I need to leave the country," Andi replied still refusing to give more details.

"Oh wow. What's the urgency?" she queried further.

"It's personal," Andi shared briefly.

"Personal?" she prodded further.

“I will marry my fiancée,” Andi blurted out, releasing a deep breath, obviously provoked.

Samira's jaw dropped when she heard what Andi said. Whence could she still seduce the man? She was slightly bothered.

Would she be able to divert the man’s attention considering that he looked too strong to be seduced, plus the fact that he displayed a compelling and dangerous aura as if he could strangle her neck or chop her in pieces if she dared offend him in any way?

Samira sighed annoyed when the call ended.

"Gosh! Grandpa is really good." She voiced.

Her grandpa had chosen someone that could stand her intimidating character. More so he had chosen a man who wouldn't be interested in her.

“s**t, my life.”