Chapter 5

It wasn't until two weeks into my job that I finally met my boss, Bennett Greenfield. He and Sia Sue came back even later than Beck had predicted, so I basically spent those two weeks feeling like I was on vacation.

With Bennett away, aside from some light cleaning, Beck and I basically turned every corner of Bennett's villa into our own private getaway. We would lounge in the garden, catch movies in the private theater, swim in the outdoor pool, or relax in the indoor sauna. It honestly felt like we were at a luxury resort, especially with food flown in fresh every single day.

Mara put me up in the housekeeper's room. Even its bathroom was bigger than the living room in the place Beck and I bought. Living this dream life, I never wanted it to end.

But all that bliss came to an abrupt end that very morning.

The door burst open with a violent kick.

It sent all the staff in the villa bracing for an upheaval. Clad in my custom Armani housekeeping uniform, I nervously trailed behind Mara.

Every staff member was on standby around the living room, our eyes all fixed on the furious man at the doorway.

Bennett was 6'4" tall, clad head to toe in black.

His razor-sharp jawline was directed at me, but his piercing gaze shifted to look behind him.

"Get in here now. Or do I need to personally escort you?" Bennett's icy sneer radiated overwhelming dominance, filling the room with suffocating pressure.

The faint click of high heels echoed through the room. Moments later, an extraordinarily beautiful woman with unmistakable reluctance stepped into view, instantly drawing all eyes.

Sia was the woman Bennett yearned for but never truly had.

According to Beck, ever since he graduated, Sia and Bennett's on-again, off-again drama had never once taken a break.

Sia glared at Bennett and shouted, "Bennett, even if you found me this time, I swear I'll leave you again. You can lock up my body, but you'll never own my heart!"

I cringed as Sia spouted a string of those cheesy lines, but Mara, Beck, and everyone else around seemed totally unfazed, as if they had seen this a million times.

Beck leaned over and whispered, "You might want to close your eyes for this."

Beck closed his eyes as he reminded me, and everyone else shut their eyes as well.

I was caught off guard by his words.

I didn't understand it.

And before I had time to process it, the reason became clear instantly.

Bennett snarled, "Since you insist on saying things I don't like, I'll just shut you up." With that, he grabbed Sia by the nape of her neck, yanked her toward him, and his lips came crashing down on hers. He effectively silenced her endless stream of complaints.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Right in front of a dozen staff members, they just started kissing.

Sia struggled desperately, but her feeble punches at Bennett were so powerless they might as well have been mere whispers against the vastness of the air.

That kiss lasted for a solid 20 minutes.

My legs had gone completely numb by the time Bennett finally swept Sia up into his arms and carried her straight upstairs.

Only then did Beck open his eyes, giving me a sympathetic glance. He pulled a pair of earplugs from his suit pocket, handed them to me, and then, with practiced ease, put a pair on himself.

I didn't dare hesitate another second and jammed the earplugs into my ears.

[How long do we have to wear these?]

I typed a message on my phone and showed it to Beck.

Beck paused thoughtfully, then typed back on his phone. [Given Mr. Greenfield's reputation for going seven rounds a night, we'll probably have to keep these in until at least tonight.]

Dear god!

I widened my eyes in shock.

Beck's pricey noise-canceling earplugs really did the trick. Not only did they block out every sound we weren't supposed to hear, but they also forced us to communicate by texting and wild hand gestures like a couple of mimes.

I wondered how they even put up with living like this.

"We're safe now," Beck said.

At ten that night, Beck removed his earplugs and gave us a nod, signaling the day's storm had finally blown over.

"Does this mean we can finally call it a day?" I asked.

I looked at Beck expectantly. Getting off work at 10 PM wasn't too late.

Beck shook his head ruefully. "It's never that simple."

I was still trying to figure out what Beck meant when, all of a sudden, a tremendous splash erupted from the first-floor pool behind the house.

Immediately, the house staff erupted in cries of alarm.

"Miss Sue just jumped."

"Hurry. She's in the pool."

"Get Beck. She's drowning!"

I rushed out after Beck in a panic, and sure enough, there was Sia in her silk pajamas, flailing wildly in the pool.

She must have jumped from the second-floor bedroom balcony. The height itself wasn't fatal. What was astonishing was that after enduring over a dozen hours of strenuous activities, Sia still had enough energy left to get out of bed and take a dive into the pool.

The heroines in these CEO dramas were seriously built differently.

"Don't just stand there. Save her." I nudged Beck.

The pool wasn't deep enough to drown anyone, but Sia's face was twisted in genuine agony.

Beck shook his head helplessly. "Can't do it. Mr. Greenfield ordered that no man but he was allowed to touch his woman."

What the hell?

My brain just short-circuited.

If Bennett was so possessive about his woman, why didn't he save her himself? Wasn't she supposed to be his precious woman?

"Beck, don't you dare save her. If she's so intent on dying, I'll grant her wish. After all, even if she's dead, she's still mine."

Bennett's pretentious voice drifted down from the second floor. He couldn't even be bothered to show his face, just letting his words carry on the wind like some self-important decree.

What a jerk.

Bennett was obviously morally bankrupt, skirting the edge of the law.

Grant her wish? Was he trying to get himself locked up?

"Mara?" I turned to Mara for help.

She was a woman, so it shouldn't count as Sia being touched by a man.

Mara shook her head bitterly. "My job is just to be the housekeeper. I only handle cleaning, laundry, and cooking. Anything else isn't my concern."

Only at this moment did I realize that Mara couldn't step beyond the rigid boundaries of her duties.

Sighing, I accepted reality and plunged into the pool.

In this whole crazy Greenfield household, only I, the newcomer, wasn't brainwashed and assimilated.

I wrapped my arms around Sia as she thrashed in the water, trying my best to calm her down. "Miss Sue, it's okay. I'm here to help you. Please, just try to relax and come with me to the edge of the pool," I pleaded.

But Sia couldn't hear me at all. She just thrashed around even harder, nearly dragging me down to the bottom of the pool with her.

I never imagined Sia, who looked so delicate, could have such brute strength.

If she had put all that strength into fighting Bennett, she would've been long gone.

After an exhausting struggle, I finally managed to drag Sia to the edge of the pool. But just as I was about to climb out, she suddenly shoved me right back into the water.

What the hell?

I gaped at Sia, utterly baffled.

Soaked to the bone, Sia glared at me with pure venom. "Save your hypocritical act. You're just Bennett's lapdog. I don't need your help."

I was absolutely floored.

Bennett drove her to jump into the pool, and I went out of my way to save her. Not only was she ungrateful, but she actually took it out on me.

With all that strength, why didn't she just finish Bennett off?

Without another word, I climbed out of the pool from the side and shoved aside Beck's hand with the towel. Then I went straight over to Sia, giving her a hard shove that sent her right back into the water.

With a splash as Sia hit the water, I glanced around and saw everyone frozen in shock. They stared at me as if I'd just committed a crime.

Beck stammered, "W-what are you doing?"

Beck pointed at Sia, who was flailing wildly in the pool again, his face a mask of utter disbelief.

"She said she didn't need saving, so I was just following her orders," I retorted sarcastically, toweling my hair with little care.

A stunned silence followed.

It was deathly quiet.

I tossed aside the damp towel, my fury finally subsiding. Turning back to see Sia's struggles in the pool weakening, I decisively dialed 911. No matter how much Bennett paid, I simply couldn't stand these two absolute lunatics anymore.

Beck muttered to himself, "Now what the hell am I supposed to do?"

He stared at Sia flailing in the pool, his face twisted with conflict.

If he jumped in to save her, Bennett would dock his pay. But if he didn't and Sia died, he would lose this job altogether.

I grabbed Beck to stop him from rushing in and then shouted up at the open balcony window on the second floor, "Oh no! Miss Sue is dead!"

The moment I finished speaking, Bennett screamed "Sia!" at the top of his lungs and vaulted from the second-floor balcony. His Olympic-worthy dive sliced into the pool, barely causing a ripple.

Had Bennett been sent to diving school, he would've totally nailed it.

Ten minutes passed by.

Chaos erupted by the poolside as paramedics and police swarmed the scene, all frantically urging Bennett to let go. If Sia wasn't rushed to the hospital immediately, she was going to die.

Beck, Mara, and I huddled by the wall, watching the circus unfold before us. Oddly enough, a strange calm settled within me.

That was how we should put a toxic CEO in his place.

If there were some things we working stiffs couldn't handle, let the cops take care of it.

"You're incredible," Beck exclaimed.

He gaped at me in awe, like he had just met a whole new person.

I gave a knowing smile. "After all, we live in a society ruled by law. Trusting the system never fails."

This chaotic farce finally concluded with the ambulance rushing Sia to the hospital for treatment, while the police detained Bennett for further questioning.

With the doctors and Sia gone, Bennett's police questioning was just beginning.

"What exactly happened here?" the officer inquired, his tone strictly procedural.

"You don't deserve to know." Bennett, his eyes blazing with fury, unleashed his tyrant CEO declaration.

"Sir, you need to cooperate with our investigation, or we have every right to take you into custody," the officer said sternly. He had never seen anyone this defiant.

Bennett snarled, "Go away. I'm going to Sia.

"She's mine. Nobody takes her.

"If you dare stand in my way, I'll kill every last one of you!"

With every word Bennett spat out, the officers' expressions grew increasingly grim.

The moment Bennett shoved an officer's shoulder, the cops immediately pinned him down and cuffed him.

Bennett was taken away for assaulting the police officer.

Just before being shoved into the police car, Bennett snarled his final command, "Beck, I want every last one of them fired. In three minutes!"

The police car drove off. Beck remained frozen in a crouch, muttering, "Th-this is completely impossible."

I gave Beck a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Come on, with Mr. Greenfield hauled away, it's finally quitting time for us working stiffs."

At 10 AM the next morning, Beck and I leisurely made our way to the police station where Bennett was being held.

When we arrived at the police station, someone had already beaten us there. Shawn Ron was locked in a stern discussion with the officers.

"This is Shawn Ron, Mr. Greenfield's personal attorney and his childhood best friend," Beck explained. "He's now a senior partner at the leading law firm in Riverbend, one of the city's most eligible bachelors. His family's influence rivals the Greenfield family's."

Beck earnestly introduced Shawn's identity to me, but I just nodded knowingly.

He finally showed his face.

Every toxic CEO came with a built-in childhood best friend who was a high-powered lawyer, always ready to pull them out of any legal mess.

"Don't worry. Yesterday's misunderstanding has been cleared up, and we won't be holding Mr. Greenfield any longer. He'll be out very soon." A friendly-looking, round-faced police officer smiled warmly as he spoke with Shawn.

Shawn's legal prowess was truly impressive. I was surprised he managed to resolve the issue so quickly.

I couldn't help feeling upset that Bennett couldn't stay the full three days in custody.

The moment Bennett walked out of the police station, looking immaculate despite a night in custody, Shawn rushed over. Unable to hide his worry for his friend, he asked, "Bennett, what's got into you? How could you assault the police?"

"Where's Sia?" Bennett's first words were about Sia.

Shawn was practically fuming. "After getting Beck's call, I got out of my warm bed in the dead of night, and I've spent the whole night here negotiating for you. And your very first question is about that woman? Seriously?

"If it weren't for her, would you be stuck in jail overnight?

"If word gets out that Bennett, the mighty CEO of the Greenfield Group, got dragged into a police station over some woman, you're gonna tank your company."

Shawn's every word was laced with concern for Bennett.

But Bennett acted as if he hadn't heard a word, striding right past Shawn and coming to a stop in front of Beck and me.

As Bennett, the intimidating CEO, strode over, I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. After all, I was the mastermind behind his little overnight "tour" at the police station.

Beck stepped in front of me and reported, "Mr. Greenfield, Miss Sue is at the Wellness Bridge Center. Dr. Hank is looking after her, and she's in stable condition."

At the mere mention of Sia, Bennett's world narrowed to just her. His expression turned icy as he gave a curt nod and strode off for the Wellness Bridge Center.

I let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Bennett was so hopelessly love-struck. His whole world revolved around Sia, so a nobody like me was completely off his radar.

Shawn, exhausted from toiling all night, was likewise ignored. He fumed under his breath nearby, but no one paid him any heed.