Intimate Conspiracy

CHAPTER ONE: PART-TIME LOVER

EPISODE 1

ARISSA used to work as a staff in a five-star hotel. She was in charge of housekeeping, but she would sometimes fill in as the receptionist. That was where she met Froilan, her fiancé, who was working as the assistant chef.

And after almost two years of dating, they decided to get married. But Froilan wanted her to stop working. He wanted her to get pregnant after the wedding, so she had to resign to take care of their future home. Froilan got them a decent house inside an exclusive village. It was peaceful. Arissa liked the environment very much.

Sadly, she was alone most of the time as she was too shy to make friends with her neighbors. She did not want to tell Froilan. She was scared he might get the wrong idea that she was not satisfied with what he could offer.

She was new to the neighborhood. Maybe Arissa should give herself a little more time. And Froilan, too. Ever since he got promoted, he got busier and rarely got time to spend with her. He said he was doing it for their future. Once he had saved up, he would quit his job and start his own restaurant. But for now, they had to sacrifice. And part of that was not having enough time to be intimate with each other anymore.

If she was, to be honest to herself, it made her frustrated.

But Arissa found a way to be productive without going far from home. She found a part-time job as an on-call housekeeper for a doctor living in a big, fancy house. His only company was Nancy, the cook. He was a widower, and he used to practice in the US. But he came home. He could not ask for more wealth, and his two children were all stable.

His name was Dr. Gary Rodriguez. He was charismatic and even looked younger for a fifty-year-old man. He was twenty-five years senior to Arissa. He was tall, masculine, and oozing with sex appeal.

Arissa never thought that someone could make her blush other than Froilan. But she was not just imagining it, was she? She could feel Dr. Rodriguez’s gaze through her skin. It was not making her uncomfortable. In fact, she felt overwhelmed and desired.

He was not the only old man who gave that look to her. There were businessmen and politicians checking in, but she was not interested in them. They disgusted her. But Dr. Rodriguez was different. He was not old to her.

“Are you married, Arissa?” he asked when she thought the interview was over.

They were sitting face to face in the living room. Gary was wearing plain clothes, but he looked expensive and sexy nevertheless.

“H-hmm?” She flinched in her seat. “N-no, sir. But I am getting married. I’m engaged.”

He nodded.

“What a lucky man. I mean, look at you.”

Arissa smiled shyly. How could simple compliments make her knees weak? It was not like she had not heard it before. But when Dr. Rodriguez said it, it felt different. It made her believe that she was really an attractive woman.

“T-thank you, Doc.”

Gray glanced at his luxury watch.

“You know I would love to chat with you all day, but I still have an appointment. I hope you have a great time working here.”

Arissa blinked.

“What do you mean? Am I hired? Just like that?” she asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, why not?” Gary chuckled. “You are an experienced, hardworking young lady. I don’t have any reason not to entrust my house to you. If you ever need anything, just tell Nancy, okay?”

“O-okay.”

They both stood up.

“Thank you so much, Dr. Rodriguez! I promise to do my best!” she said gratefully.

“I know you would.” He offered his hand. “I would appreciate it if you just call me ‘Gary.’”

“B-but you’re my boss.”

“And that’s an order.”

Arissa hesitated, but she took Gary’s hand nevertheless. Her heart skipped a beat when he squeezed it.

What was this happening to her?

And she thought Gary would let go of her hand at once, but he brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles. Arissa swore tiny bolts of electricity crept through her senses, making her swoon as he caught her eyes.

“I’ll see you around, Arissa.”

Arissa could only bite her lip when Gary finally left. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest.

THAT week, Arissa cleaned one of the guestrooms.

She became friends with Nancy, who was also longing for a companion. Cleaning would only take a couple of hours, but Arissa stayed to eat and chat with Nancy because she loved to hear her stories, especially when it’s about Gary and how he raised his children when his wife died in a plane crash while on vacation.

Nancy said that after he lost her, he never became interested in women again. But Arissa wanted to contradict Nancy and ask her what the look Gary gave her when they first met was. She did not want Nancy to think that she was delusional, of course, so she kept it to herself.

“I made a new friend. Her name is Nancy, and she was the cook at Ga—Dr. Rodriguez’s house,” she told Froilan when he was home.

“I'm glad to hear that,” he replied in an exhausted tone.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, of course. You know how the kitchen was always busy. I’m sorry I can’t join you for dinner. I’m so tired.” Froilan exhaled.

“I understand,” Arissa said in an uncheerful tone.

“I’ll make it up to you next time, okay?” He gave her a quick kiss on the lips, but it felt bland.

She chose to stay quiet and watched Froilan enter their room.

With a sigh, Arissa sat at the dining table and ate dinner alone. She should not be upset with Froilan, should she? He was doing everything for their future. She must understand.