In Bed with an Incubus

Prologue

“Are you sure you want to take this job? You’ll literally leave your home and will be staying far away for three years,” the employer asked Bella one more time, lowering her thick, round eyeglasses to let the young lady see her eyes directly. “You see, once you sign a contract there’s no backing out,” she added, pushing a sheet of paper in front of Bella.

The young girl heaved a sigh before asking for a couple of seconds to give it a second thought.

“Give me some time, Mrs. Jones, I’ll think about it,” she requested as she leaned her back at the chair to relax and take good time thinking about everything.

Her full, rosy lips are slightly-parted. She’s in the middle of either giving an answer or keeping her mouth shut.

The little time she asked ran out, and the employer started to tap the table with her fingers. Her wrinkled forehead creased, thin, single-lined eyebrows almost meeting each other.

Seeing Mrs. Jones’ impatient reaction put pressure on Bella. It’s not that she haven’t thought about this job before. She did. In fact, she has put a lot of time thinking about it. After all, this isn’t just about her and her studies; this is also for her mother’s medication and existing hospital bills.

Her mother got hospitalized two months ago and was diagnosed with cirrhosis and had to undergo liver transplant to survive. And this was because of her mother’s bad drinking habits. Ever since Bella’s father died due to accident, her mother started drowning herself in alcohol almost everyday. Now, her mother is still under the intensive care unit since the doctors still need to observe her condition.

Their medical expenses is way too high for Bella to pay alone. And even with the assistance of government and other non-government organizations, they still have huge sum of bills to pay.

And in order to pay that and ensure that her mother will receive proper medication and care, she has decided to apply for a job she saw on the ad from a nearby recruitment agency.

“I could come and see my mother from time to time, right?” she asked, clarifying if what she heard a while ago was right.

The impatient employer nodded, jaw slightly tightening. “Yes, you’ll be given a three-day off in each quarter of the year,” Mrs. Jones responded with weight in every word she uttered. It was evident that she’s losing her cool, but she’s holding herself together.

She can’t just burst out of anger and yell at the young girl since she’s the only one who took interest in taking that job. It has been on their list for two months now and no one has ever shown interest about it.

And there are some reasons for that: first, anyone who will accept the job has to stay in and live with their employer(s); second, they have to live in the middle of a mountain because that is where the employer of the job lives; and lastly, they’ll be doing all the household chores. Seems like a tiring job, but anyone who accepts the job would get a reasonable pay and yearly bonus.

And since Bella is the first one who took interest in taking the job, she was able to talk with the employer himself and ask for a deal. And that is when she accepts the job, the employer has to pay for their existing medical bills and for her mother’s recovery expenses.

And what’s more surprising is that the employer agreed without any hesitations, and even asked for a contract right away. Sounds suspicious but she’s certain that Bella will be safe since they made sure that they passed their evaluation before posting an ad to the public.

“Are they really safe, Mrs. Jones?” young Bella asked one more time.

Mrs. Jones closed her eyes to calm herself before nodding. “Yes. Our company has checked their background and we guarantee you that they are decent and trustworthy. You have our words,” she replied putting emphasis on her last words.

“Will they really do what we’ve agreed in the contract?“ the young girl asked one more time.

Mrs. Jones massaged her temple to calm herself. She has been explaining everything to her but it seems like she doesn’t understand a thing at all.

“Yes, Ms. Dawnson. If ever they break anything written in the contract, we will terminate the contract right away and get you out of their household. Moreover, we will make sure that all the expenses they will spend will be forfeited, so rest assured that you won’t be charged of anything, not unless you’re the one who breaks the contract,” she explained, putting a threatening tone at her last statement while looking straight at the young girl.

“It’s the last thing I would do,” young Bella responded, pointing out about her breaking the contract. “I won’t do something that could harm me and my mother,” she added.

“Okay, good. Do you still have something to ask?” Mrs. Jones said, putting her finger on the contract and pushing it towards Bella. “If none, you can sign it already and we’ll arrange everything so that you can start working.”

“Oh, one more thing!” Bella snapped, raising a finger in the air. “Will they really send me to school?” she asked before showing an awkward smile because she finally noticed that Mrs. Jones is almost at her limit before she would burst out of anger and kick her out of her office.

“Again, yes. And again, apparently, some family members of your employer will be attending school next school year, and when that happens you’ll be going with them. You’ll be serving them and study at the same time,” Mrs. Jones answered, fixing her eyeglasses.

“Great! Then, I’ll take the job.”