The beginning: Endeavors and favors

That all happened three years back. Right after her transfer to her new school. Thankfully, the school management wasn't so conceited and narrow-minded and was quite understanding.

When Tanya opened her eyes to the white ceiling and the smell of disinfectant, it had been a couple of weeks since the incident, and she was very close to losing her freedom due to the accident. The entire thing left an odd feeling in her. Seeing her parents taking care of her made her feel all warm and fuzzy but the thought that with a single mistake from her and she could lose it all made her sit up and put up her guard.

Soon, she was discharged. The doctor called it a miracle; she had lost quite an amount of blood before she made it to the hospital and naturally, she wasn't meant to even be awake by this time. But, contrary to their expectations, in just weeks, Tanya had woken up and was fit enough to be discharged early.

As fascinating as it was, the doctor still advised her family to keep an eye out for her and ensure she avoided any rigorous activity and to make sure she avoided anything that could trigger her if she might have some kind of trauma.

Tanya chuckled silently at the sight of her parents nodding vigorously and her brothers having this steely, cold but attractive look while her sister just crossed her arms under her bosom with an expressionless face. She was the doctor in the family after all.

After the discharge procedure was done and she had left the hospital with her parents on an uncomfortable ride back home, Tanya immediately asked after her mystery patient whom she had treated before she had blacked out. The conversation afterward was filled with so much scolding that Tanya was shocked that she didn't have a scab in her ears afterward.

In all, her mystery stranger disappeared literally, like as though he were a myth. Eventually, she didn't bring him up again and successfully resumed in her new school, much to the discomfort of her mother, who was eventually comforted by the rest of the family.

It was only after she had resumed her new school that Tanya found out that her mystery stranger was none other than Alvise Abara, her future master, and her undeniable frustration.

When she had seen him, she couldn't stop gaping at him while he just spared her a glance and acted as though they hadn't encountered him before. Soon, she got a grip, of course, not after he had called her out for ogling him and told her to write her name on the white marker board. Something she complied to not before voicing out her complaints, inwardly of course.

"You're spacing out again, Tanya." Tanya snapped out of her reverie only to see that she had reached her destination. An underground route that seemed to be something out of the movies that Tanya was more than familiar with. She had been coming here for more than two years after all.

Alvise had changed once more from his revealing robe into a more fitting formal shirt and pants that seemed to cling to every piece of muscle sculpted onto his figure. Now, he no longer had the aura of a beautiful and weak little bottom. With a beak-like mask on his mouth, he looked the part of a seductive beast… a devil, if they will. He was now normal, just as she remembered; just as she liked.

They walked down the path till they stopped at a three-way path. Everyone held their hands together in front of them and looked ahead as Alvise pushed in a piece of the wall inside. The walls slowly parted in two like the miracle of Moses showing another path that seemed to be a meeting room.

Alvise walked in first, followed by his right-hand woman, and then his men followed suit.

"Connor," Tanya called out as they entered the room of white inside the walls that had closed up behind them. A young man, almost the same age as Alvise, came forward from the crowd of guards and to her side in response to her call.

"Connor," Tanya called out again, "are they present? Our guest…?" Connor looked briefly to his side where Tanya walked without losing his stride.

"Yes, Miss Tanya," Connor answered when they came to a halt as Alvise walked up the stairs and they stayed back.

The underground path was a secret path that led to the magnificent parlor in the basement of one of Alvise's many mansions scattered around the city. It may have been one of the numbers, but this was one of the important mansions that Alvise had around since many of his distinguished came here to meet him if they had an urgent matter.

It also served as a resting place for his people and a headquarters of some sort. Although, whenever Tanya asked if it was, he'd answer her in a quirky way. Saying that his headquarters was wherever he resided.

What a cocky bastard.

Tanya smirked, "Connor, how many times do I have to tell you that you're older than me so you don't have to address me formally?"

"Quite several times. I apologize." He bowed.

Tanya raised a brow in mock skepticism. "You don't look remorseful, and you don't sound the part. I thought we'd gone over the fact that I'm not your boss' woman?"

Flustered, Connor shook his head as he stayed in a polite bow. Tanya smiled and shook her head as she gave him a pat on the shoulder.

Tanya and Connor went way back. Connor was receiving his housekeeping training from Alvise's butler, Darion when Tanya first came. Connor had thought that she was a new maid recruit and had shown her around the mansion and had chatted with her throughout.

For the following weeks, Tanya made sure to visit him every time she was available under the guise of a maid, and he fell for it. It wasn't until she stopped coming and he had complained, that he had found out that she wasn't a maid but one of the boss' recruit.

He didn't have the chance to confront her about it, since she never got the chance to visit the HQ much after that. It wasn't until a few months back that they had the chance to meet again, but this time, she wasn't a recruit but the boss' right-hand woman. She had earned that spot fairly.

Of course, with her new rank, rumors were bound to fly, especially amongst those who were either gossipmongers or those who were eager to see their boss with a new woman, even if the woman in question was still a minor at the time.

And those rumors had reached the unsullied and pure ears of the lovely Connor, who had now finished his butler's training and was managing a separate building by himself while occasionally acting as a bodyguard for his boss.

Tanya eventually confronted him, after their reunion, on his overly respectful nature and learned that she was Alvise's lover from the mouth of someone else. The irony was comical but the situation was not.

Of course, this situation was now solved with a little bit of pleading (threatening) and a little bit of dialogue (blackmail).