The Rage of Storm ( MC No Limits Book 3 )

Chapter 2

Josie

"Josie, please bring the plate to table 3," I heard Dante say, and I looked up from my book when I heard his voice.
"If they see you, they will scream at you again," he said quietly and nodded in the direction of my cousin.
Dante was a hard-working father of four. The older chef had been employed here at my aunt's restaurant for years. I don't think he was here because of the nice employers; more and more, I thought he was just here to look after me. Like a dad, he behaved towards me, and I idolized him and his family who liked me very much.
"Sure, Dante," I replied and put my book down.
If I had the choice, I would never work here, but I don't have that choice. After my father died when I was 14, my mother became ill. The loss of her big love was so great that she lost her mind. At the beginning, I took care of her, but Aunt Maria, mom's sister, took everything into her own hands. She got custody of me and put mom in a loony bin. My mother's condition has been questionable since then. I was able to visit her regularly, and the therapy she got there seemed to be good for her. However, she was never the same woman again, and constant medical supervision was necessary as she was self-harming. Aunt Maria was a single woman who seemed to be getting her life under control after my father's death. The once-poor woman was literally swimming in money, and when she took me in, it was supposed to be a great blessing for me. But that wasn't it. It wasn't a blessing... more like hell on earth.

My cousin Carol was Aunt Maria's only child, and when I moved in with them, they were supposed to be my new family. It had nothing to do with family; I was just not a member of the family. I had to cook for them, clean, and do almost all of the housework. If I didn't do it right, I was punished, beaten, or locked in the basement.
"You have no one but us. If you don't make an effort, then I won't pay for your mother's therapy. Let's see how long she survives without the hospital," she shrieked as she threatened me.
If I had told someone that, she would have punished me with my mother. She wasn't able to cope on her own. And I had no choice.

Carol was a popular girl at school, captain of the cheerleaders. With her football superstar boyfriend, she seemed to be the queen, and I was lucky to be part of her circle of friends. She always told me that.
Not that she wanted me with her, Aunt Maria ordered her to, so that she could keep an eye on me. What should I have done? I was a child without anyone in the family. Aunt Maria was the last relative of mine, and so I was trapped for the sake of my mother.
Carol and her boyfriend Sam were disgusting and cocky, confident in themselves. Full of shit to this day.

"Mom will be back from her vacation today. I hope you did everything she asked you to do," Carol told me as she looked at me.
"Of course, Carol," I answered her and walked past her to bring the food to the table.

The restaurant belonged to Carol and was a gift from her mother for her graduation from college, which I never got to finish. The only thing I did was work so that I could give most of my wages to Aunt Maria for mom. If I had started working somewhere else, she would have left mom to fate. I wouldn't have been able to pay for all of this on my own, so what else was there for me? My life was limited to the restaurant and the house where Aunt Maria lived.
Working, cleaning, cooking, and everything again.
The only break I got from all this was in books. I couldn't afford them, but Dante and his wife regularly gave me new ones that I devoured. After work, I didn't have time to go to the beach like Carol and Sam or anything else.

I rushed to Aunt Maria's house to get everything ready for her arrival. I put on music and danced alone in the kitchen while I cooked food. My little ritual that I did when I was alone. Every single little rebellion was denounced, and being able to do something a little bit freely was like a blessing in this hell. I was swaying my hips and singing the song that brought me joy when I felt someone standing behind me. The man who was leaning against the wall looked at me, had probably been watching me for a while and was staring down at my body.
"Corazon, I didn't know your daughter could dance so well," the man said with a grin.
The shiver ran down my spine when I saw my aunt looking at me angrily.
"That's not my damn daughter. That's Josefine," she answered him as she looked at me in disgust. "Even better... Josefine," he repeated my name and I stared from Aunt Maria to him.
"Are you hungry? I cooked," I asked her, and she wrinkled her nose.
"I don't have time to eat. I have to get a few things and leave," she answered me.
"Oh, you're leaving again?" I asked her, and she looked at me angrily.
"I didn't know I had to ask you for permission! Someone has to work so you can live like a queen here," she shouted at me.
A queen? Damn, if that's how queens live, fairy tales only tell us shit.
"Maria... why don't you go get ready. I don't have all damn day for your shit!" The man said as he lit a cigarette, and Aunt Maria looked at him.
"Sorry, David, I'm on my way," she said quietly, which was very strange to me. She wasn't quiet around anyone and, above all, she didn't take orders.
"May I eat?" the man asked me, and I nodded.
He told me to sit with him, and I did as if I had a choice as I put the dish in front of him. His look at me was uncomfortable, and I turned my eyes away, ashamed and humiliated as always.
"What are you doing here?" He asked me, leaning on his elbows as he looked at me.
"I live here, sir," I answered him to which he laughed.
"Sir?... You can call me David. I'm not a sir," he said, smiling.
I just nodded and looked at the table, hoping this conversation ends soon.
"Josefine, look at me," he ordered me as he put his hand across the table and took mine. I looked at him; the whole situation was very uncomfortable for me, and I tried to avoid eye contact. His eyes slid from my face to my breasts, and he licked his lips, making me shiver.

He was a good-looking man a few years older than me, with dark hair and darker eyes. He had high cheekbones and clear skin; he looked like a model, and his appearance showed me a lot of power.
"Do you like living here?" He asked me.
What the fuck should I answer? Sure, at 28, I still like being my sick aunt's slave so that my crazy mother can stay in the loony bin?
"I am very grateful to Aunt Maria," I lied, and he smiled.
"Sure, you are," he answered me sarcastically.
"What a shame that she keeps such a beautiful woman in the house to herself," he said as he tilted his head to the side.
"You should eat before it gets cold," I told him to change the subject, and he looked at the plate in front of him.

I watched him as he began to eat, and he raised an eyebrow at me.
"You can cook," he stated, and I nodded.
Sure, I can do it; I had to learn it when I was 15.
"What else can you do, Josefine?" he asked me and grinned.
What the hell is that? I looked at the table again and jumped when he suddenly stood up and walked next to me. He tugged my chin with his fingers and lifted my face towards him. His thumb slowly stroked my full lips, and he bit his own lip as he looked at me.
"You don't even know how beautiful you are... and so innocent," I heard him say.
I had to swallow when he looked at me like that. It was uncomfortable, and I didn't feel comfortable with his touch.
"I'm ready," I heard Aunt Maria say as she threw her bag on the floor.
"I'm not yet," David replied without breaking eye contact with me.
I looked at Aunt Maria and hoped she would be able to decipher my look and help me for once. "David?" She asked him, and he looked from me to her.
"She's coming with me!" he said to her.
"What? She can't leave here," my aunt replied, which he didn't like, and he straightened his suit. "Excuse me?" he asked her in a stern voice.
"I need to make some changes. She can't leave until I find a replacement or my whole business will go down the drain," she told him.
"And that's my problem?" he asked her.
"If my business doesn't work, then yours won't either. She keeps all my books and has done so very well for years. Do you think Carol knows shit about the important things?" she asked him and breathed a sigh of stress.
David looked at me amused and grinned. "A smart one too," he added.
"What do you even want with her?" Aunt Maria asked, and his eyes became stern as he looked at her.
"How about you don't give a shit, Corazon!" he shouted, and I jumped.
"Fine, give me a month to sort everything out," she snorted to herself.
"A week," said David.
"You have to give me two at least, David," she asked, distraught.
"Two weeks. Not a day more!" he answered her.
"But you have to pay me out!" she demanded.
"Pay? I'm not paying for anything that's mine," he hissed back. "I won't have to call my father, Corazon? Ethan doesn't like it when I complain about employees," he said to her, and she swallowed.
"Of course, David," she said angrily.
"Well, I had enough stress in Tijuana! If you're ready, let's go. See you in two weeks, Josefine," he said to me and walked out of the room. What the fuck!