Through You (The Hidalgo Brothers Book 2)

CLAUDIA

He wants me to call him sir?

Artemis is definitely not fond of me. I can’t believe he’s still holding a grudge for what happened so long ago.

He needs to get over it, and turn the page. Or maybe he doesn’t even remember, or it doesn’t matter to him, and he’d rather just treat me like a member of the staff. I knock on his door reluctantly. I carry the towels in one hand and the appetizers on a tray in the other. Knowing that he’s waiting inside is doing a number on my nerves, and I swallow hard with anticipation.

Artemis opens the door. I tighten my grip on the towels.

He’s wearing his shirt unbuttoned to the waist, revealing a nicely sculpted chest. I look away and offer the items he requested.

“Your towels and appetizers . . . sir.”

I hate using this title when I speak to him. I turn to face him when I don’t get an answer, and realize that he’s moved farther inside the bedroom.

“Put the towels on the bed and the food on the night table.”

I don’t want to walk inside his room, but I follow his instructions. As I step inside, I hear the sound of running water coming from the shower, and a female voice shouts from the bathroom.

“Artemis, I’m waiting for you!”

I narrow my eyes. Oh, his girl is here, with him, in his room.

This brings back an old memory: he and I playing Monopoly, sitting on the floor at the foot of his bed.

“You’ll scare off the girls if you don’t tidy up your room,” I told him while checking out the mess.

“No girls are allowed in my room,” Artemis replied with absolute determination.

I raised my eyebrow. “And what am I?”

“You are the exception.”

I guess this no longer applies.

I pretend that I’m fine, but a strange feeling settles in the pit of my stomach. I don’t want to admit that this is having an effect on me, because it shouldn’t. Artemis stands on the other side of the bed with his arms crossed over his chest. He studies me, and his eyes search for mine. I need to leave immediately, so I do my best to quickly place everything where he instructed. I become fixated with folding the towels neatly on his bed. I freeze when I turn around and realize that Artemis is now standing in the way, blocking the door.

Undaunted, I start to walk toward the door. But he doesn’t get out of the way.

“Excuse me, sir.”

He remains silent.

The sound of the shower fills the room. I freeze when I notice he’s undoing the last button of his shirt. His shoulder muscles flex as he removes the garment. I fix my eyes on the wall. It bothers me that I’m blushing. What in the hell is he doing? I hear his footsteps coming closer, and once again, I can’t bring myself to look directly at him.

“Sir . . .”

My defenses are triggered when he leans over me. I’m about to push him away just as he whispers in my ear.

“Wash this. It’s one of my favorites.” He puts the shirt in my hands and heads to the bathroom. “And close the door.”

I’m out of there in a flash. I walk down the hallway in such haste that I don’t even see Apolo until I run straight into him.

“Hey, why are you in such a hurry?”

His hair is messy and he’s wearing pajamas. He looks sweet, and I smile.

“It’s nothing. I’m just tired.”

His eyes dart over to the door of Artemis’s bedroom. And then they land back on me. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine.”

He grabs my hand. “Want to come to my room?”

Apolo and I have grown closer in the past months. Sometimes, after I’m done with work, we watch movies until midnight, although I often end up falling asleep midway through. The blush that appears on his face gives him away. At first, I thought we were simply bonding like siblings do, as if he was my younger brother. But recently I’ve noticed a change in his manner, and he may be misreading our relationship, hoping for more. Or maybe it’s just my imagination playing tricks on me. Either way, he’s sixteen now; I can’t keep treating him like a kid.

“I’ll have to take you up on that another night,” I reply.

He gives my hand a squeeze. “Are you sure?”

I nod as I pull my hand away. “Good night, Apolo.”

“Good night, Claudia.”

As I try to fall asleep, the vision of Artemis’s bare chest torments my thoughts.

A few days pass and I don’t run into Artemis at all. Maybe he’s busy with work—who knows. One thing is certain, I feel calm and grateful. Artemis doesn’t intimidate me, but I feel unsettled in his presence. He’s been away for so many years that it’s going to take some time to get used to him being around again.

On Saturday morning, I wake up as usual, assist my mother to the bathroom, and help her get dressed. I opt to wear my hair in two braids; it makes work easy and keeps my hair in place. I leave my mom in our room and make my way to prepare breakfast. I let out a yawn and stretch my arms as I enter the kitchen.

I jump when I notice someone sitting at the table. “Oh my god!”

Artemis is dressed in an impeccable black suit paired with a dark-blue tie, arms folded across his chest. The rays of sunshine streaming through the window shine on his hair, bringing out the few strands of blond that are usually invisible to the casual eye.

It’s the first time he’s come to the kitchen since the night of the party, and his impassive face and stone-cold eyes make me uneasy.

“Good morning, sir.”

Without even a greeting, he says, “I’ve been waiting for twenty minutes to eat breakfast.”

“It’s seven o’clock in the morning. I serve breakfast at seven thirty when Ares and Apolo are about to leave for school, and on weekends when they wake up.”

“Well, I’m ordering that you change your schedule to suit my needs.”

I flush with irritation. “You don’t have to talk to me that way.”

“I’ll address you whichever way it damn well pleases me.” He glares at me.

The voice of my mother plays in my head. Behave. I fight to control my urge to talk back and tell him where to go. I bite my tongue—literally.

“And in the spirit of getting things straight . . .” He points to a uniform on the table, which I hadn’t noticed. “From now on, you wear this.”

“I beg your pardon?” I snap. That’s the last straw.

“You heard me.” He pushes the uniform toward me. “I think you need to wear this to remind yourself of the place you occupy in this house. My brothers have failed to set boundaries where you are concerned.”

I let out a sarcastic laugh. “You are a fucking idiot.”

Though he arches a brow in reaction to my insult, he at least seems a bit shocked. “What did you call me?”

I make sure to emphasize each word. “You. Are. A. Fucking.

Idiot. Artemis.”

I notice his jaw is clenched when he gets up from his chair. He leans in and places both hands on the table. “Apologize immediately.”

I shake my head. “No.” I sound more determined than I truly feel, and in an act of cowardice, I retreat toward the door. But he is way too fast for me, and grabs one of my arms. His strong hand tightens its grip, and pulls me between him and the wall.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

We’ve never been this close. I can smell the subtle yet masculine scent of his cologne and his shampoo.

“Let me go.” I keep my gaze fixed on his tie.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

He takes my chin and forces me to look up at him.

“You have forgotten your place in this house.” He looks directly into my eyes as he speaks. “You are an employee here.

The help. I could fire you if you crossed the line and disrespected me. I am not my brothers. And I most certainly am not my father.

You behave this way again and I will, without hesitation, kick you out of this house.”

“You are not my boss.” I struggle to free myself from his grip.

“I report to Mr. Juan.”

“Trust me when I tell you this, Claudia— if I want you out of this house, I can make it happen.” This is the first time that he has addressed me by my name, and given the circumstances, I don’t like how it sounds.

“I’m your boss now.” His gaze briefly moves to my lips. “The roof over your head, your future, your stability, all of it is in my hands. For your own good, I suggest you bite that insolent tongue of yours and follow my orders.”

He lets me go and returns to his seat. He grabs the newspaper and proceeds to open it. I close my hands into fists and press them to my sides. Then I grab the uniform, grudgingly.

I hate him.

I never expected he could be this cold. The Artemis I grew up with was a quiet boy. He did not express much of what he felt, but he was warm and would have never treated me this way.

Shortly after, I catch a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror, and the way I look bothers me immensely. The uniform looks like a fucking Halloween costume. I wonder how the idiot managed to get the right size.

When I get back to the kitchen, I notice that Artemis has company. Apolo is with him. I can’t contain my embarrassment.

“Sir.” I pause. “I put on the uniform. May I get back to work?”

Artemis keeps reading the newspaper and avoids looking my way. “As long as you know your place in this house, you may return to your duties.”

I purse my lips and make a Herculean effort to reply civilly.

“It is evident that, in this house, I am just a maid, sir.”

“Good.” He puts the newspaper aside, grabs a cup of tea, and spills its contents across the table. “Then you should clean this.”

“Artemis!” Apolo’s sweet voice helps me remain calm.

Artemis gives him a cold stare. He’s testing me and wants me to fail so he can run me out of this house. I never thought he would hate me this much. I really underestimated his disapproval.

My eyes fill with tears, but I keep them from falling. I will not give him the satisfaction. I keep quiet and look for a rag. “As you wish, sir.”

“Artemis.” I’m startled by the anger in Apolo’s tone.

No one has ever treated me like this. Not even the lady of the house, and she isn’t too fond of me.

Apolo’s attempt to remedy the situation clearly irritates Artemis. He says, “Go ahead, try to do something about this, and I’ll go straight to our father and let him know about your drunken binges. She’s just the house help. She’s not worth the trouble, Apolo.”

His words are fiery hot and burn me. Regardless of how I feel, I go back to doing my work. A hand grabs my arm to stop me from cleaning. I look up to find Apolo’s warm gaze.

“Enough.”

I don’t want to cause any problems between him and his brother, so I loosen my arm from his grip.

“Sir asked me to clean, and I must do as he’s asked.”

Apolo shakes his head and grabs my arm again. “‘Sir’ has gotten enough of this.”

Out of nowhere, Artemis shows up right next to us and abruptly grabs Apolo’s wrist. “Don’t touch her.” Apolo and I furrow our brows in confusion. “Go to your room, Apolo.”

“Only if you leave her alone.”

Artemis lets out a sigh. “Whatever. You two, get out of my sight.”

I don’t think twice and make my exit as quickly as possible.

There will be enough time later to get breakfast ready. It is clear that this Artemis Hidalgo is not the caring boy I grew up with.

This man is a shell of his former self. He is cold, and I despise him.