James looked at the check in his hand. It was written to Miss Camellia Quintana and had an amount of $5,000. He sat in his desk in the library and pondered on whether to give her the check. She did not deserve the money when she was not part of the family, he cruelly thought. He sighed.

He had kissed her. Of all the girls he could kiss, he had kissed her. And more surprising was she did not like it. He should be the one hating the kiss, but instead he spent the entire time pondering why she slapped him and hated a kiss he thought she would like. He had not yet kiss Teresa on the lips, but he had kissed her. Disgusted with himself, he placed the check neatly in an envelope and pondered if he should give her the check.

He was a businessman, and he had to think coolly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James avoided her. He had his private dinner in the library and went straight to bed. He did not ask for her or dare to look for her. He kept Bow to his side whenever he could, for he did not want his dog to find her, then he would find her.

The car company was eager with showcasing their brand-new cars, and it relieved James to be occupied and away from the house. He knew she would be there and would not go anywhere. If he did not give her the check, she would have no money to leave the house. In fact, he wanted her to be in the house and not leave. For some odd reason, he wanted her to stay in the house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was almost 3 months since Camellia came to stay at the Shaw mansion, and she wondered when her check was coming. She checked with the maids every day when they brought in the mails, but there was no check for her. Worried, she contacted Mr. Jenson.

"All the checks go to Mr. Shaw, Miss Quintana. He must have your check, for I sent them out two weeks before the month end."

Angry that James was keeping her from getting her checks, she asked Mr. Jenson if he could directly send them to her.

"I would if I could, Miss Quintana. But he oversees all the finances that goes to the family. The check will need to be cleared by him first," Mr. Jenson replied.

Camellia hanged up the phone and forced herself to face him that day. She had avoided him after what happened a month ago, but if she wanted her freedom, then she had to face him just this once. $5000 would get her an apartment and she could find a job to continue paying for her living. Her plans were clear, and it seemed that nothing could go wrong. So, she anxiously waited for him to return from work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She waited that day, but he did not return for dinner. It was 10 O'clock and Camellia had fallen asleep on the sofa when the car drove up and parked in front of the house. He wearily came in and stopped at seeing her asleep on the sofa in the family room. Curious, he walked over to her and wondered why she was sleeping there. She could not possibly be waiting for him, he mockingly thought, but grinned at the thought.

Quietly, he knelt and looked at her. She looked young and vulnerable where she was sleeping. He could kiss her, and she would not be able to do anything. He frowned at the thought. He was not a cad, nor did he desire to kiss someone he despised. Angry at his thoughts, he roughly nudged her. She opened her eyes in surprise. Startled to see him so close to her, she quickly sat up and kept a distance. Her arms came out to shield her chest as if her pajamas were unbuttoned.

"Why are you sleeping here?" he blandly asked her.

She looked around.

"I—I was waiting for you," she finally said, as she looked at him in distrust.

His eyebrow lifted in surprised, but with the hostile look on her face, he knew it was not for a good reason. His hand unexpectedly reached out and touched her chin, before he stood up and said mockingly, "Did you miss me?"

His touched made her tingle, and hating herself, she narrowed her eyes. He laughed and moved to go, but scurried after him to his library.

"I was waiting for you so I could ask about my monthly stipend," she remarked bravely.

He turned and looked at her.

"Your monthly stipend? Why would you ask me about that?"

"Mr. Jensen tells me I am to receive some money from your father, Mr. Shaw. Though you may not believe it, but I only want one check so I may find myself a new home to move into."

He stopped and looked at her curiously.

"I won't take any more of your generosity, Mr. Shaw. And I promise that I will pay you back if you will give me a check that your father has given me," she remarked out of breath. "I won't bother your family anymore. In fact, I don't want to see this place anymore."

His eyes narrowed.

"And the debt that you owe this family? What of it?" he asked rather impatiently.

"I will pay all the money your father has given my father and me, Mr. Shaw. I will even sign a contract that I will take none of your father's money, if you would but give me one check to help me start out my life," she replied, hoping to have him see that she was sincere.

He took his suit jacket off and laid it on his desk. Then he turned and looked at her straight in the eyes.

"But I believe that if I give you one check, you will run away and never return to pay your debts."

She looked at him in horror.

"How can you say that?"

He grinned sarcastically.

"I know what is on your mind, Miss Quintana. You have a lover out there you know will hide you, only you need some money for you two to live on," he remarked unkindly as he watched horror crossed her face.

She was angry at his unreasonable remark, that she blurted, "And what good would it do for you to keep me here, Mr. Shaw, without allowing Sam to drive me to find a job so I can start paying some of your damn money back!"

There was disgust written all over her face.

"I can't even take a taxi and you cruelly disconnected me from Dr. Sirimon's offered. You will not even help me find a job, and yet you want me to repay you these debts? Are you crazy? How am I to pay you these debts? Must I sell myself to make money? After all, it is the only thing I can do with all the other options gone!"

He looked at her strangely and remarked in a whispered, "You would make a lot of money if you do that. I'm sure my brother would be your first client."

With much anger in her heart, she walked up to him and slapped him on the face.

This time, he did not let her go. He grabbed her hand, the one that hit him, and forcefully pulled her to him.

"If you want to start paying your debt, Miss Quintana, I can be your first client!"

He pulled her to him and kissed her. She struggled, but he held her tightly, until she stopped, and tears fell from her eyes. He stopped then and looked at her in horror. Her face was turned away in humiliation, but when he slowly released her, she faced him bravely. Without another word, her hand came up and slapped him again. This time he grabbed her hand only and pulled her to him.

"I can make you sleep with me if I want to," he remarked coolly.

She looked at him in horror.

"You can't. You would have to force me, and you know how wrong that is."

His eyes narrowed.

"But in your case, you will come willingly, for you owe my family too much," he remarked with a cynical grin. "The next time you raise this hand of yours again, I'll make sure you come to my bed, even if it won't pay off your debt."

She pulled away from him in disgust and backed away.

"I would rather sell myself to others than be in your bed, Mr. Shaw. Even your brother would be a better choice."

She knew she should not have said that, for at the mention of his brother his eyes turned deadly.

"If you dare seduce my brother, I will put you in jail for what you owe my family," he replied madly. "I'll make your life miserable if you do not stay away from my brother. But have a heart, I don't bed women who are soiled."

She controlled her anger well and smiled, "I am glad then, Mr. Shaw, for I won't need to worry about waking up next to you in bed."

She deliberately wiped her lips and cheeks before turning away to leave the room. He only glared at her in disbelief. His heart boiled with anger. [Author: uniqnovels.com]