being his slave

Ch 10

I woke up to rain. The balcony doors were open, and the smell lingered in the air. After a quick shower, I went downstairs. Cole was dressed and apparently packed, judging by the suitcase and duffel sitting in the foyer.

"I have to fly out in thirty minutes. I have a serious matter to attend to in the Europe office." He started while I made myself a cup of coffee. "There will be more guards around as the new guys learn their shifts. I've asked them to drive you where you need to go, all things considered." Extra security because of the crazy ex-wife, check. When I turned to face him, he'd already grabbed his to-go cup of coffee and was by the table, picking up his briefcase.

"Be safe." He turned at my words and nodded, glancing me over from head to toe.

"I should be home by the time the boys are. If you decide to stay elsewhere, please call and inform me." A whole month, possibly a month and a half if the boys decided to extend their vacation. No wonder he was so somber this morning. The tense set of his shoulders told me his presence in Europe was necessary, despite what he may feel about the matter.

"Like you won't get regular updates from the guards?" I teased, smirking into my cup at the blush appearing on his face.

"Goodbye, Macy." Once he was gone, I checked my phone. Nine thirty, so I'd slept in due to the rain. He must have been working from home this morning because his breakfast dishes were going through the dishwasher now. I grabbed a bagel and a single serve packet of butter, slicing and spreading the butter with the same butterknife before I wanted with bagel and coffee in hand to the office.

I was still in the office two hours later scanning and putting away some books Cole had ordered when Maggie called me. We talked about the bullet journal, and she insisted on giving me all the tips and tricks to navigating Cole, the household, keeping the boys wrangled. She told me where to look in the kitchen to find her recipe book – everything she'd cooked and added notes on who liked what, extra recipes yet to be tried out. There was a section in the back labeled 'business dinners' that she skirted around, saying Cole would eventually have one at home and when he did, I would know. I pondered it for a moment before moving on, listening to her direct me to where she hid the snacks in the theater to make for easy restocking. Eventually I ended up on the patio outside the School House, a fresh cup of coffee and my headphones retrieved.

An hour later, Maggie had to get off the phone to have lunch. My growling stomach reminded me that I'd had a bagel for breakfast. I reheated last night's pizza and wandered back to the library, pizza box in hand. I took a seat on the floor beside his desk, staring up at the shelves as I ate. It was easy to think you were here alone, honestly. Until one of the guards walked past – shift change. I turned at the sound of him pausing outside the door. Oliver.

"Hey, Ms. Macy." I nodded in greeting, offering the pizza box when I caught his longing stare. "No thank you, I'm on a diet." I chuckled in response, swallowing my mouthful to speak.

"Cole said I had to have someone drive me places?" I asked jokingly. The seriousness that washed over his face told me the order was one I couldn't bend.

"Yes, ma'am. For security purposes, Mr. Luca would like you to be accompanied by a guard and a driver anytime you leave the estate. If you leave the house, he wanted one guard following you discreetly." I nodded once in understanding. Was he that nervous about his ex-wife? Or was this a way to keep tabs on me? Did I care, either way? I wasn't sure.

"If the rain stops, I'd like to go out around four, if that's ok?"

"Of course. I'm the driver today, so I'll let you know if things are good enough for travel." I nodded, waving when he waved before disappearing down the hall towards the foyer. There was a door with a hidden room near the front door, where a guard had a small room big enough for a mini fridge, a comfy chair, and surveillance equipment to monitor the perimeter and the major hallways of the house. I'd peeked inside once on my tour around with Maggie on the first few days on the job. She wanted me to be able to look for the boys quickly, so popping down to ask the guard on duty where they'd last seen them was a lot faster than running around.