Bepanda,

The Mansion,

9:30 a. m.

The sound of cutlery resounded in the dining room. On the table, a large stout man sat at the head of the table artistically cutting through his steak.

His plain face is void of any emotion and looks like he has woken up from the perfect side of the bed. On the other side of the small table is his niece, Crystal Melody Taylor.

A lock of chestnut hair curled her back, her heart-shaped face buried in her plate of food. So far, so good, she has no reasons to complain about anything.

At twenty-three, Crystal is bound to her uncle for life, difficult at times to explain why she can't live with her uncle, but then, they are glued together. Today seemed promising, the sun had been overheard since morning, and if she hadn't woken up to make breakfast for her uncle, she would still have been sleeping.

Uncle Maxwell placed another chunk of the sliced meat into his mouth, looking at his niece all the same.

Crystal knew that something was up with this old man today.

He always did have some plan to come up with, something that would make him run his business effectively.

At ten, Crystal's parents the involved in a plane crash while going to London. The effect was disastrous especially for her at that age. For her not to be sent to the orphanage, Maxwell signed up as her paternal guardian.

It is sad because Maxwell was the one to manage Dad's company. Nothing profitable has come out of it, and two years ago, the company started facing a stage of recession.

It has to be, especially when one has a careless uncle like Uncle Max.

To boost it, Maxwell has turned his niece into a thief. Crystal's beautiful face will cover up for her lost reputation.

"No one will ever believe you stole from one or two men, Crystal, your heart-shaped face and bulb eyes do the trick perfectly for you already," Maxwell always says convincing her.

Each time their eyes met at the table, Crystal always saw it, trying as much to focus on her food, but then, her Uncle's tearful appearance on her body always made her tremble, thinking that he was planning another assignment for her. Of course, he did.

Pushing his plate away from his face, Max was done with the meal and he picked the white napkin to dab his lips with it.

"Thank you, for the meal, my favorite little niece," he muttered."You are welcome, Uncle Max," she let out trying her best to be polite. Every one of Crystal's friends always wished to be like her.

What more could she ask for?

She had the perfect blue and grey eyes, almond in shape, and accentuated her seductive looks each time she lured a man to her bed as she tried stealing from them. Crystal's favorite logo is,

"Their money, my body," She laughed at the face of the men who always thought that having her would mean the world to them.

Well, it doesn't matter much now, does it? The moment she makes them sleep, she steals from them and elopes, at least, she is very good at sneaking out unnoticed.

Another part of Crystal's pretty face that attracts men to her is her lips. Oh! that juicy lips of hers, exquisite, always full and blossoming. The way her lips were carved made one know that God had taken his time to use his sharpened pencil on his lips.

They were not only attractive but made men want to bet on having her.

Unknown to them is that she wasn't interested in knowing of the men, she just wanted their bags filled with money, and some free time flirting with them.

Well, the flirting never exceeded an hour, the time for them to know one another and move on with their lives. "Crystal, are you there?" Maxwell asked. She had to take several seconds to process whatever her uncle was saying before replying to him.

Realizing that she hadn't heard anything, she decided to ask. "Excuse me?" she let out. This time, he looked at her quizically, raising a brow to study her face for a short while.

"Are you alright? you seem distant from this place," he explained. That was right, she had her problems, and he was one of his problems, but then saying it to this man would murder and make the man think that she was disrespecting him.

"Yes, Max, I am fine," she lied through her teeth. To Crystal, a peaceful environment like this is all that is needed, nothing more, nothing less. She loves the atmosphere so far, especially as Max wasn't mad at her.

"If you are fine, why then are you playing with your food?" he shot. At this time, she locked her eyes on her plate, noticing that she had been picking her egg with a fork and not putting any of it in her mouth.

"I just lost appetite," she said. A look at her and Max knew something was aching her heart, he had to solve her problem if he wanted her to work for him again. At least, bringing her to a compromising position might make things work out for him.

Max is too greedy to even let his niece have her way about it. She has been a toy in his manipulative hands, always being the obedient little girl he trained her to be.

Rebellion now will only mean that she wants to destroy his plans, something that he is totally against.

Standing from the table, she straightened his shirt. Gently, he placed his palms on the mahogany table, making sure his entire weight was not on it.

Looking at his niece who had grown overnight, he said in his husky voice.

"We have a meeting at 11:00 a. m. in my office. Make sure you are the Crystal, we shall have a word together," he muttered.

After saying that, he walked away.