A Deal With The Devil

Chapter 5

 Ana's pov 

 The ride to his mansion felt like a thousand years and yet when we finally arrived, it was as though I had only been squished between his bodyguards for a second. 

 I saw him descending from the other car in front, he gave me a brief glance before two maids approached him. He pointed to me and made some gestures with his hands, the maids left him and rushed over to my side. 

 "Mr Blinge said we should prepare you," one of the maids said, and I was given no other explanation as they pulled me into the mansion taking me to the west wing, the place was massive and every inch of it reeked of wealth and opulence.

 If I were to disappear in a place like this… Would my mother even find out?

 What sort of sick twisted things was he planning for me? 

 I thought the maids were just taking me away to lock me up, but instead they helped me wash up with luxurious soaps, shampoos, and made me wear a perfume whose flower scent almost took me from the floor. 

 Then, they gave me a simple red gown to wear. It was a handless sparkling gown that was fitted down to the waist, and then flared just below the knees. They applied light makeup on me afterwards and also did my hair. 

 I was confused but went along with it, I had no idea what that ruthless billionaire had planned for me, but I knew that I definitely didn't want to smell like sh*t while I endured it.

 It took hours, but finally I was ready, at least visually–mentally I was breaking down with tension and fear. 

 The maids were blind to my worries, or maybe they were just not paid enough to care. They told me to wait until I was summoned to see Mr Blinge.

 I waited for about half an hour. In that time I had planned an elaborate escape several times, but all of them came crashing down like a pack of cards. So I surrendered myself to fate.

 A maid returned to the room to escort me over to his study where he was waiting. He seemed to be glossing over a book when we came in.

 "Mr Blinge, she's her."

 "Alright, leave us alone." 

 The maid quickly obeyed, and I almost reached out and grabbed her leg begging for her to stay. Not like it would make much of a difference, but being alone with this man made me even more frightened than I already was. 

 He signaled for me to approach his desk and I slowly counted my steps.

 "I don't have all day, Miss Miller," he said, closing the book so suddenly that I was nearly jolted from my body. I walked faster until I was in front of him, then he invited me to sit down across from him. 

 I looked at the chair suspiciously, then sat down. 

 "Mr Blinge, I know nothing I say can excuse what I did but my Mom…"

 "...has been in dire need of a heart transplant for almost 3 years, correct?"

 My mouth fell open but no words came out. 

 He crossed his legs together, smirking. 

 "You really thought I didn't do my homework on you, how do you think I found you?"

 He asked, tapping his finger on the table. I was speechless, unsure of what to say, normally I was more cautious but that night I was so desperate that I practically threw caution into the wind.

 "I already knew who you were, the night you approached me…"

 It was like the walls were beginning to close on me, he knew? Even before that night?

 "You see…" he continued explaining, "... I've heard of you by word of mouth from some business associates, and I couldn't help being curious. Though they work small fry compared to me, I knew eventually you would try to up your game…so I've been attending practically every event I've been invited to for a while, with hopes that you would approach me,"

 It sounded so surreal, if he didn't speak with such confidence, I would have assumed that he was bluffing. But he wasn't. Not one bit. 

 "But I always wear disguises," I told him, "and not only that I go by different aliases that don't remotely look like my name…how did you?"

 "From the moment I saw you, I knew that you don't win a fish out of water by learning to walk, and I have to admit that you've done an impressive job at it…you're still just a fish,"

 "Oh…"

 Did I really look that foolish pretending to be one of the upper class? 

 "From the way you outbid me at the exhibition, it was clear that you were trying to get my attention. So I played your little game, then I had you followed down to your apartment building. From there it was easy to dig into you and your past,"

 My head fell, he had all the evidence he needed to put me behind bars for fraud. So why wasn't he doing that? 

 Did he plan to mentally torture me first then–

 His fingers held my chin and tipped my head until I was looking directly into his eyes. 

 "You're shaking like a leaf," he said, with a twisted smile on his face, "I already told you that I am not going to report you to the police,"

 "Why not? You feel sorry for me because my mother's dying?"

 There wasn't much of a change in his expression, but I noticed that it softened a bit.

 "I'm going to make you an offer, Miss Miller, you intrigue me and no woman has held my interest this long,"

 "I'm flattered," I said sarcastically.

He released my chin, and went back to his chair.

 "I'm going to make you an offer."

 "If I don't agree, will you hand me over to the police?"

 He shook his head, "No, I didn't pursue you because I had a sense of justice for those slime balls you deceived," he said, pushing a document under my nose.

 "I want you to be mine...on contract,".