Claiming The Heiress

Tough Love

Alejandro

The small industrial plane lands on the small landing field in the middle of the field we designed especially for that purpose. The two girls at the back squeak in confusion as and fear as we quickly loose height, the pilot, Jose, already impatient to be done with his work for the day so he can go home to his woman and kids. Both him and I hate those long trips to the capital and we make it so they are as rare as possible and long in-between. We are simple, country people and the big city with its flashing lights and honking cars are not for either of us.

Just like our countryside with its humid hot air is not for these European women riding with us. They are already sweating, their expensive city clothes too heavy for our weather. The redhead one, the lady lawyer, tries to keep her cool now but I saw her nasty temper earlier. She’s a feisty creature, who’s keeping her true nature in the name of the deal she’s here to procure on behalf of her friend. And about her friend— damn her, but for a moment, back at the airport, before I realised who she was—but I know who she’s is and I’d be dead if I jeopardise what I have for the fine piece of a*ss of my literal step-sister.

Still, damn her, but I’ve never seen someone with such bright blue eyes. Their color reminds me of the ocean and how is it even possible for a person to have such haunting eyes? Not to mention the moment she noticed me staring, right before she decided my attention offended her and she was straight out checking me out, that was— an experience.

They are talking about me, I can tell. I don’t understand a word in their weird language, which sounds more like something aliens would speak, not real people, but I know when someone’s discussing me. They are casting me nasty glances and their hushed tones do not cover the venom lacing their words. It only makes me smirk harder, because them them but I am not here to make friends with them. Good to know they don’t plan to be friends either.

When the plane finally lands and Jose rushes to take their bags out, I turn to face them.

“Senoritas, we are entering dangerous lands,” I inform them and I hate it how my eyes somehow find Katerina’s immediately, and here it is again, the annoying way she returns my gaze, eyebrows raised in a challenge, all the while she’s scowling at me.

“Dangerous how?” She asks, her tone guarded immediately.

“There have been some attacks on the property,” I shrug. “People thinking that they can do whatever they want just because Pedro’s gone and his heirs are a joke.”

Katerina immediately stands taller, cheeks staining a little and I am not sure whether it’s about the attacks and her safety or it’s about mentioning my— her, father. Something tells me it’s the latter. A woman who’s greedy enough to travel half the world and abandon her entire life for a fortune is not someone who cowers easily, no matter her innocent look and her ice princess act.

She raises her head royally, looking at me under her nose like I am one of her servants who just screwed up, but I don’t miss the way her voice trembles a little at her next words.

“And why do these—attackers think we are a joke?”

A sardonic smile lands on my lips and I give her a wink. “Well, bonita, for starters, you’ve never showed your face here before. Of course people will think you don’t give a f*uck.”

“Well, I didn’t know here existed until you called last week. And as for us, trust me, you don’t have to worry about our safety.”

The conviction with which she speaks is bordering to delusion and I can’t help but wonder if she’d be this insolent and cocky if she were forced to face the Sandovals in an open fight. I don’t comment on it though as Jose opens the door, respectfully stretching his arm to help her get off the plane. She gives me one incredulous look and hops off, her friend following suit.

“Where is the car?” Katerina asks the moment I am out as well, and I can’t miss the sheen of sweat covering her fair skin.

She’s looking around, focused on the surrounding wilderness as if she fully expects the thugs to jump at us right now out of nowhere, or a lion to come down from the mountains to maul her on the spot or something, which is kind of hilarious, kind of adorable. What she’s yet to realise is that a fair lady like her has bigger problems at the moment. My gaze moves to her bare legs, long and lean, begging to be touched and I have to mentally scold myself because I am not supposed to be standing here, drooling like a fool over the boss’ daughter’s legs. I am supposed to bring her back home safely so that she can take over the will and after that she might go to hell for all I care.

Even through my annoyance, I give her a lazy grin, because it seems to piss her off and I seem to like pissing her off.

“Well, the car’s down the road, but we will have to walk. I hope you had some mosquito repellent with you though,” and then after holding her horrified gaze for another few seconds, I turn and head to the main road.

Did I have to leave the car so far away? No, not really, but well, I love me a nice walk under the scorching sun with two angry girls on my tale who are barely able to keep up as they have to drag their luggage with them up the hill. What can I say? My dad did raise a gentleman, didn’t he? Plus, I agreed to pick them up from the airport out of the politeness of my greedy hearty, nobody mentioned I had to care about their comfort right? Both of them seem like strong, independent women, they definitely don’t need my help with their stuff, so of course I don’t offer it.

I can feel the curses in their foreign words as they follow me and my dark soul recoils with glee at my little petty revenge. Technically, I know that Katerina is not at fault for how things turned, but also, technically, she’s a threat to everything I have, so I really don’t care about her comfort.

It takes us twice the time to reach the place where I parked the jeep earlier and I make a show out of waiting the women stack their things in the trunk not lifting a finger to help them. When they are finally done, huffing and puffing, both of them sweaty and furious, their hair sticking out everywhere, they storm to the car and hop on the back seat silently.

I follow suit, because, well, I have to drive back home and prepare for the lawyers later today and all the tension that’s about to come after it. Do I drive purposefully slowly, not putting the air conditioning on? Well, maybe I do, but I am petty like this. And yeah, my father raised me to respect women and be a gentleman, but he’s also the man who put me in this situation in the first place, so it’s a little revenge on him not treating his precious daughter like the high-end princess she things that she is.

The closer we get to the mansion, the steeper the road becomes but I am not slowing down for my passengers’ benefits. Not to mention, there are people by the road now, workers whose faces I know pretty well, leaning on their tools now and watching the princess, their new boss, arriving from Europe. For some of them she’s like a royalty, foreign and exotic, and not just a stupid girl with killer legs and annoying personality.

The problem is there are strangers there too. People who I haven’t seen before and who look straight out hostile and menacing. They are staring right at us and I don’t like it want bit. I realise the Sandovals probably heard she’s coming, but that tactic to try and scare her off from her first day is not going to do with me. Not that I mind her being chased away, but I need today to go perfectly.

“Why are they looking at us like this?” Katerina asks, her voice making my skin crawl with gooseflesh.

“Don’t mind them,” I reply dryly. “I will deal with this later.”

However just a second later I have to hit the brakes because the same strangers step in front of the car, dark stares a quiet menace for all of us. The girls at the back of the car remain eerily silent as they stare at the dangerous looking men and I get even more pissed off. At least my suspicions got proven - Diego Sandoval knows about all the details in the will and he’s sent his thugs to try and stop us from getting back in time for the signing of the will’s conditions.

He probably knows that tomorrow is the last day we could do it, and is now playing his dirty tricks to take me off the race for the estate before it even started by breaking the first clause of the will. God, it was an exhausting mental game to try and make Katerina come earlier than she planned and I couldn’t believe we managed to pull this off and how easy things have been going on eve since. It’s not even that she didn’t want to come earlier, but because it was hard for her to arrange the plane tickets and everything under such short notice. I tried and kept everything to myself, not even once mentioning she’d be here, until I had to call the lawyer this morning and ask him to come with the judge to finish this thing once and for all tomorrow after lunch. So I am not going to give up now. No one is standing between me and my revenge.

The next thing I know, I lock the jeep’s doors and step on the gas.