False Security (17 page)

The first day at
the estate was a blur for Rachel. She stayed in her room, crying and sleeping.
All she could think about was her parents. The funeral had been nice, but it
went by so fast Rachel had no real time to mourn. A lot of people she didn’t
know came up to her at the funeral and told her they were sorry for her loss.
Rachel took little solace in the rushed sympathies tossed her way.

Paul visited her several times
that first day to bring her food and try to talk to her. She barely
acknowledged him, but soon she regretted her indifference toward him,
remembering her mother’s frequent admonitions to always be polite.

On her second day there, she
ventured out of her room with Paul as her guide. Her large eyes took in the
wonders around her while he led her around the estate, starting the tour from
her room in the basement. The basement acted as a separate house, with
everything they needed to live on their own, if necessary. He first showed her
his room down the hall and she was relieved to know he was close.

They wandered into the gym, and
she smiled at the equipment that surrounded the large, black mat on the floor.
Paul let her try each machine and warned her never to go in the gym without
someone else so she wouldn’t hurt herself.

Not too far down the hall from
the gym was the game room, with a pool table, four dart boards, a poker table,
and a foosball table. Next to the game room was a small kitchen that included a
microwave, stove, and a dishwasher. Paul let her know that the refrigerator and
cupboards were always fully stocked, but to be sure not to ruin her dinner by
snacking.

He took her upstairs and into
the main kitchen where he introduced her to the three cooks that worked at the
estate. Rachel had never before seen a kitchen so large. She walked over to one
of the counters. Palms down, she lifted herself up until her feet dangled above
the floor. She rolled her head down, and her reflection in the stainless steel
made faces back at her. She dropped down to her feet after Paul reprimanded her
for acting silly.

Rachel jogged across the room
and poked her head in the pantry that was as big as her bedroom at her old
house. She was excited to learn that their meals would be cooked for them every
day, but only after she confirmed she wouldn’t have to eat broccoli and no
longer had to do dishes.

Their next stop, the library,
had bookshelves built into the walls throughout the hexagonal-shaped room. In
the center of the library, several leather reading chairs were scattered with
tables and lamps next to each one. Wooden ladders were set on rails around the
room so books on the higher shelves could be reached.

A slim spiral staircase reached
for the second floor of the library, and Rachel thought it would be fun to run
up and down the stairs until she became dizzy. Instead of racing to the stairs,
she twirled around the center of the room, and the colorful spines of varying
thickness blended in front of her eyes, until Paul put his hand on her shoulder
and stopped her movement. Rachel vowed to read every last book.

Paul led her across the hall
into the conference room. Black leather chairs were pushed up to a cherry wood
table. Paul explained that while Donovan had an office an hour away in the main
corporate building for his company, he did most of his work out of his home. He
said Donovan held important meetings in the conference room, and she wasn’t allowed
to go in there unless she was told otherwise.

Rachel found the room boring and
didn’t mind it was off limits. She followed him to the set of heavy, wood doors
at the far end of the conference room. Before he opened the doors, he told her
the waiting room was on the other side of the doors.

“What’s a waiting room?” Rachel
asked.

“It’s where people sit and
wait.”

“What do they wait for?”

“They wait to have a meeting
with Donovan in the conference room.”

She wrinkled her nose. “That
doesn’t sound like much fun.”

He laughed. “It probably isn’t,”
he replied, and he pulled the doors open.

She gasped as she walked in.
“Wow! This is so cool!” Four leather chairs with majestic, high backs were
positioned in the center of the room. Rachel moved past them to examine the
cases on the walls, each housing different weapons. Guns, knives, whips, swords
and crossbows, along with some other weapons she had never heard of or seen
before, were all contained behind glass on the walls. “What is this?”

“This is Donovan’s collection.”

“Why would you want to keep your
collection in a waiting room?” Rachel asked. “Why not have books and magazines
to make people more comfortable, like in the doctor’s office?”

“He doesn’t want them
comfortable. He wants to make them nervous. It gives him an edge during
meetings.”

She shrugged. “Makes sense to
me.” She moved over to one of the cases, which contained three crossbows. Her
fingers grazed the glass. “Can I shoot one of these?”

“Don’t you play with dolls or
something?”

She wrinkled her nose and stuck
out her tongue. “Yuck,” she said. She walked out of the room and gazed out the
French windows at the other end of the foyer. The small glimpse of the woods
made her long for playing outside with her friends. “Can I go outside?” she
asked Paul.

Paul shut the waiting room doors
behind them. “In a little bit. First, I want to take you upstairs.”

“What’s up there?”

“That’s Donovan’s private floor.
His bedroom, office, study, and some other rooms are all up there. We aren’t
supposed to go upstairs, but I know he’s anxious to meet you. He asked me to
bring you to his office when we were done taking a tour of the estate.”

“If he wanted to meet me why
didn’t he come see me sooner?” Rachel asked, as they climbed the flared
staircase. She kept her hand sealed to the rail and fought the temptation to
run her fingers over the wrought iron balusters. “Doesn’t he care that I’m
here?”

“Yes, he does care, but he
wanted to give you space and meet you when you were ready. He lost both of his
parents, so he understands how hard it is.”

Rachel realized she had not
thought of her own parents since Paul started the tour. The pain of her loss
once again crept into her chest and threatened to smother her. She pushed back
at the sadness and tried to focus on the carpeted steps she climbed. At the top
of the stairs, she peered down the dark hallway and hesitated.

“Do you have any questions for
me before I leave you here?” Paul asked.

“Can we go outside later?”

He laughed. “Yes, I’ll take you
outside in a bit.” He took her to a door halfway down the shadowed hallway.
“Come back down when you’re done. I’ll wait at the bottom of the stairs for
you. There are other people here that can’t wait to meet you.”

She smiled. “Thanks, Paul.”

Donovan rose from his seat
behind an antique desk as they entered the room. Rachel stepped onto the first
of two extravagant rugs, and trailed behind Paul across the long, intimidating
room. In front of her, Donovan shut the monitor of his laptop. As she neared
the desk, Rachel wanted to touch the handcrafted moldings, but she kept her
hands clasped behind her back so she wouldn’t misbehave.

“Rachel, this is Donovan King,”
Paul said.

She accepted Donovan’s
outstretched hand across the desk. Her hand bobbed up and down in his, and she
hoped he didn’t feel her hand trembling.

“I’ll be downstairs when you’re
ready,” Paul said to her with a wink.

“It’s nice to meet you, Rachel,”
Donovan said after Paul shut the door. “I understand you’ll be staying with
us.”

She swallowed hard and
straightened her posture. Donovan towered over her. Much taller than Paul, he
seemed larger than life to her. “Yes, sir. If that’s okay with you.”

“Of course it’s okay, but only
if you promise to call me Donovan.” A warm smile softened his face and Rachel
smiled back, relieved to know he was friendly. He sat down and indicated the
chair on the other side of his desk. “I’m glad to see you came out of your
room. I was starting to get worried about you. Did Paul show you around?”

“Yes.” She slid into the leather
chair across from him. She placed her hands in her lap and crossed her legs at
the ankles. “It’s a really big house.”

“Do you like it?”

Rachel looked around the desk at
the inset bookshelves. Some had books on them, while others had vases and other
décor. She was sure if she accidentally broke a vase it would cost more money
to replace than she even knew existed. “Yes,” she said. “I like the house a
lot.” She leaned her head in closer and whispered in a conspiratorial tone.
“The waiting room is the best. I would like to learn how to shoot the
crossbows.”

“I bet you would. The cases are
only opened for cleaning, so you won’t be able to shoot one of those crossbows,
but maybe one day you can try a different one out. My father started that
collection when I was about your age, and I kept it going over the years,” he
said. “How are you doing? About your parents, I mean.”

Her smile faded and tears forced
their way into her eyes. Paul was always trying to get her to talk about her
parents. Even though she didn’t want to discuss them anymore, she also didn’t
want Donovan to think her rude. “I miss them a lot. I wish they would come
back, but I know they can’t.”

“I understand that. It’s hard
when you lose someone you love so much. I was seven when my mother died of
cancer. Her death made me sad for a long time, but after awhile it got better
for me. It will for you as well, even though it may not seem like it now. Do
you believe that?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Now, let’s talk about your
future. The room you’re in now is temporary, so don’t unpack too much. I’m
having some rooms in the basement remodeled so you will have a large room with
your own bathroom. I’ve also spoken with Paul and we both expect you to
continue with school,” he said.

Rachel’s mood brightened. “Oh,
don’t worry, I love going to school. I get all A’s and I never get sick and
miss days. When can I go? I hope there are lots of nice kids there.”

“You won’t go back to an actual
school building. Do you know what home school is?”

“Kind of.”

“It’s where children can learn
at home instead of going to school with other kids in a formal classroom
setting. That’s what you’re going to do, if you agree, of course.”

Rachel frowned, disappointed she
wouldn’t get to go to school and make new friends. “I think that’s okay, but
don’t I need a teacher or something?”

“Of course you do. Paul is going
to teach you everything you need to know. We ordered your schoolbooks
yesterday, so you can start on Monday. You’ll also go on rounds with Paul
whenever he’s scheduled. You will learn a lot by doing that.”

“What are rounds?”

“That’s what we call patrolling
the grounds to make sure no one trespasses.”

Her eyes lit up. “Do I get a
gun, too, like Paul?”

Donovan laughed. “I’m afraid not
for quite a few years. You have to learn how to shoot one and care for one
first. Even then, you’d have to show that you’re responsible enough to own your
own gun.”

“I’ve always wanted to learn how
to shoot a gun, but my daddy would never let me. He didn’t like guns much.”

“Maybe after you get settled in,
I can teach you all about guns. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Now, do you have any questions
for me?”

She pursed her lips as she
thought. “I didn’t see any televisions.”

“That’s because we don’t watch
television here.”

“Why not?”

“We don’t have time. Everyone
always has work to do, and television can be quite distracting.”

“Oh. Are you married?”

He let out a nervous chuckle.
“No. I’m afraid I don’t have time for that, either.”

“What do you do for work?”

“I own a security company. It
takes a lot of hard work to run the business.”

Feeling comfortable for the
first time since arriving at the estate, Rachel narrowed her eyes, ready to
challenge Donovan. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight.”

“Are you Paul’s boss?”

“Yes.”

“But you’re younger than he is.
How can you be his boss?”

“He’s only five years older than
me and sometimes it works out like that. Are you always so full of questions?”

Rachel tilted her head. “I like
to know things.”

A smile tugged at the corner of
his mouth. “That’s not always a bad thing.”

“I know,” she said. “Can I go
outside now?”

He stood up. “Sure. I’ll take
you downstairs and we’ll find Paul. He’ll introduce you to the rest of his
team, and then you can go outside.”

“How many other people are
there?”

“Four more. Tony, Joe, Eric, and
Aaron. They help with security and also live here. Paul is in charge of all
four of them, as well as some others that you’ll see from time to time.”

“You mean they live in the other
rooms in the basement? Do the maids and the cooks live here, too?”

“No. They go to their own homes
at the end of each day. There are a lot of people that come and go here, and
you’ll get to know all of them in time.”

“I’ve never known anyone with
cooks and maids before.”

“You’ll be spoiled by it. In
fact, one of the maids is yours alone. Claudia now works only for you and she
will help you out with everything you need. If you need clothes or shoes or
anything at all, let Claudia know. It’s like having your own personal
assistant.”

Rachel couldn’t help but smile. “Am
I that important?”

“You are,” Donovan said.

Rachel followed Donovan out of
the office and back down the steps. She restrained herself from running down
the staircase like she would do at her house. She always seemed to be in
trouble from her mom and dad for running up and down the steps, and did not
want to get in trouble with Paul or Donovan for doing it here.