Chapter 14
MELANIE
THE SUNLIGHT STREAMING THROUGH THE CURTAINS WOKE ME UP.
Well, that and the fact that the last place I was in definitely did not have any curtains or sunlight. I leaped up from the bed, instantly on high alert and surveyed the room. All I saw was a startled woman in a maid’s uniform holding a drape and looking at me like I’d gone mad. I relaxed my stance and cleared my throat.
“Um Hey there, I said with an awkward half–wave.
She left the room muttering something in Spanish under her breath and I took a second look around my surroundings as I started to recall the events leading up to me being here. The bed was a standard double with gray sheets and a thick duvet Beside it was a nightstand with a lamp and four drawers. There was a desk with a computer at one end and a wardrobe and vanity table at the other beside a door that I assume leads to a bathroom.
I walked toward it and pulled open the door. Yep, bathroom. I tried to recall the last time I’d taken a shower and came up blank. I raised my right arm up, took a sniff and immediately made a beeline for the shower. I stripped off my bloody and worn clothes and stepped in to find the essentials there. I took a quick shower and stepped out again, feeling human for the first time in days.
1 brushed my teeth with the toothbrush and paste I found near the bathroom sink and wrapped myself in the equally provided robe. I re–entered the room to find a set of clothes neatly laid out at the foot of the bed and I approached it hesitantly
It was an official looking outfit consisting of suit pants and a blouse coupled with a pair of plain black pumps. There yellow Post–It note attached to it which said:
“Put me on!”
it wasn’t the same handwriting as the last note I got so someone else wrote this one.
was a
I dressed quickly and looked at myself in the mirror over the vanity table. Except for my tangled hair, I looked quite professional 1 checked the table for any sort of comb or brush and came up empty so I decided to see if anybody in the house could get me one. He’d said there’d be staff here so it was safe to assume someone could assist
I stepped out of the room and followed the sound of pots and pans to the kitchen where I was confronted with none other than Julio the chef. My new boss really knew how to punish people.
Julio gave me a beady stare and pointed imperiously to one of the chairs at a table
- 511.
I opened my mouth to say I was actually looking for something else but remembered the last showdown we’d had and just sat. He slid a plate of pancakes drowned in butter and syrup over to me and handed me a fork. “Eat” was his terse
instruction..
I dug in and took a bite, surprised at how hungry I actually was. While I ate, Julio set down a glass of orange juice and a white envelope beside my plate. Curiosity had me reaching for the envelope but my hand was smacked
I looked up to see him glaring down at me in disapproval “Finish your food first.
Jeez. He’s like a mother hen. If mother hens were six feet tall and packing a ton of muscle, that is
I gobbled down the rest of the pancakes then took the envelope and tore it open before he could object.
away instantly.
I took a golpest orange juice as examined the contents and almost spat it out again. When he’d said any capacity of his choosing I’d imagined he meant something tailored to my skill set.
Recon A spy: A bodyguard, even. Not this. This was just boring. And humiliating. It explained why I was dressed so professionally. I will definely be having words with him over this.
I left the kitchen and located someone who got me a brush. After I was done, I walked out the front door to the driveway where a car was waiting for me like the letter had said it would be
It was the same Bugatti from yesterday and I ran my lund lovingly over it before getting in, prepared to launch into a spiel on how I was being undervalued. However, stopped in my tracks when I realized it wasn’t him in the driver’s seat, but the guy who was always with him.
Chapter 14
“Oh look, it’s the sidekick” I said drily, arching an eyebrow when he smiled at me. No one I’ve encountered here has ever smiled at me. I immediately distrusted him.
“Good morning to you too. Did you sleep well?” he replied and I shifted toward the door a bit more as he started the car. eyeing him with more than a little caution. What was up with him?
“Also, my name is Blaine, Blaine Daniels. So if you could stop calling me the sidekick, that would be great he continued. “Okay, weirdo” I replied and he sighed and mumbled something in Spanish about always getting the dumb nicknames. Well, hey, maybe this won’t be so bad after all. I could even pump him for more information. With that in mind, I turned towards
him…
“So what exactly do you guys do?” I asked and he cleared his throat and smiled like it was his favorite story.
“We deal primarily with pharmaceuticals, but over time the company has expanded and now includes interests in real estate, electronics and petrochemicals. We also own a security company” he said.
“So basically drugs, hackers, babysitters and other harmful substances. Nice“, I summarized staring out the window.
He laughed “Well, that’s one way to look at it. It’s a lot more though. You’ll see.”
I had no intention of seeing anything but I kept that to myself and kept mute the rest of the drive.
We pulled up shortly to the building and I got my first look at it from the outside. It went up, up and up as if in a bid to touch the sky. Large expanses of glass and slate gray walls made up the infrastructure and I wondered just how many people worked in here. We entered the massive double doors and took an elevator.
“He asked me to bring you up to his office. Blaine said as he pushed the button for the top floor.
“I bet he did” I muttered, remembering my new role.
When the doors opened on the top floor, we got out, went through a reception area and an outer office before coming to another set of doors. Blaine knocked once, opened it and went in with me following behind.
The first impression I got was: Wealth. The suit of offices with its streamlined décor and sleek electronics spoke of opulence, while the man sitting behind the massive desk in a deep blue suit exuded power. I see why some of the people in his employ seemed afraid of him.
“Yo,” Blaine said, walking over to the sofa at one end and collapsing in it looking right at home.
“You said to bring her here.?
Mr. Alonso raised his head and stared directly at me before standing up and coming round to lean against his desk “Indeed. Blaine, let me introduce you to my new personal assistant.”
