Chapter 6
Ivy had dusted all the rooms of the house, polished the wooden furniture and then prepared an elaborate dinner for the two of them. She had baked a spicy chicken pie, cooked up a batch of breaded drumsticks and a bowl of steamed vegetables. For dessert, she had prepared some fruit custard. All of the dinner had been laid out on the table by eight. At exactly seven she had heard Leon walk back into the house and then heard his boots as they crunched up the stairs.
At eight she stationed herself behind a chair at the dining table, the food was served and ready to be devoured. Leon wasn’t late to make an appearance.
He looked like he had showered and shaved. He had changed out of his clothes for the day into a pair of fresh jeans and a crisp white cotton shirt, folded to his elbows again. His jaw was smooth and paler than the rest of his face. His hands looked freshly washed, less dusty but still as rugged and rough as before.
He entered the room, pulled out a chair at the head of the table and sat down. Ivy sat down too, and poured herself a glass of water.
“I was afraid you’d be too young for all this.” She heard his deep voice and looked up. He had been watching her as he ate. He was definitely older than her, but not that much older. He looked like he was in his late twenties, still too young to own a ranch as lavish as this.
“But your cooking skills are excellent.” He said and Ivy felt her cheeks flush. A compliment was not what she was expecting from him.
“Thank you. These are all my late mother’s recipes.” She said, trying to suppress a smile. As much as she detested the way he spoke to her, she still couldn’t lie to herself and convince her brain that she didn’t want his body. Leon Cooper was the first man to set her body on fire like this.
“Why did you drop out of college? Your father said you were only there for two years.” He said, after a few moments of silence.
Ivy breathed in deeply, and took a bite of the hot pie.
“Because I wasn’t good at school and felt like I was wasting my time. I wanted to do something with my hands, something practical.” She said, meeting his sparkling eyes.
Leon took a sip of water to wash down the food he had been chewing.
“Getting an education is practical experience. Your father should have never let you drop out of college.” He said and Ivy felt the rage return to her veins. When was, he going to stop pissing her off? Who was he to lecture her?
“I didn’t want to waste my time doing something that I didn’t enjoy.” She said snappily, and looked away from him. She could feel her cheeks growing more bright because of the anger she could feel.
Leon gave a small sarcastic chuckle that made her look up again.
“Nobody does what they enjoy for the rest of their lives. You have to do what you have to do.” He said, glaring at her with narrowed eyes.
“You look like you’re enjoying your life. Why are you criticizing mine?” Ivy found herself saying, and she noticed the way Leon’s face immediately hardened.
“You don’t know anything about me. What makes you think I’ve not earned this lifestyle?” He thundered at her, his voice was raised and his eyes were focused on her. She could see the rage in his reddening eyes.
“What makes you think you know anything about me?” She asked, taking another bite of her pie. She wanted to enrage him more, she wanted to set his skin on fire. He had done the same to her, and she believed he deserved it too.
Leon stood up suddenly from the chair and banged both his fists on the table.
“Don’t expect you can talk to me that way, young lady!” He thundered again. Ivy scrunched her face, and dropped her cutlery on her plate to look up at him. She was glad that he was angry, that she had made him this angry.
“I only work for you, Mr. Cooper. I am not your ward or your wife. You have no control over how I speak.” She said, looking up at him calmly. She could see the way he was glaring at her, how angry he was, how he didn’t expect anyone to speak to him that way.
Leon banged the table again with his fists.
“This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have hired you. I will speak to your father so he can come and collect you tomorrow morning.” He said, stepping towards her.
Ivy wiped her mouth delicately with a napkin on her side, gulped down the rest of her food and then slowly stood up.
“I will gladly make the phone call myself. And I will be sure to tell him what a displeasure it has been to work for you. Just for a day.” Ivy hissed at him, as she watched him walk closer to her.
“You are a nuisance.” He barked at her, and she saw a vein throbbing on his forehead, how his eyes glittered with anger, how he had bunched up his fists. Ivy raised an eyebrow and smiled at him.
“You knew that when you hired me. You saw that in my eyes. Working here wasn’t what made you give me the job.” She said, and stepped towards him herself. Their bodies were now inches away from each-others. She could smell him, a mixture of his sweat with the musky scent of the aftershave he had splashed on his face. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins as she glared at him defiantly.
In a flash his lips were on hers.