“Hello, hello, hello,” a shrill female voice called from the front foyer. “Hello! I’m home! Matthew. Matthew, where are you? Hey! Who are you? What are you doing in my house?”
Abbie, Ayra and I exchanged startled glances then rushed to the sound of the disgruntled woman. We arrived in the front drawing room just as the young woman prepared to strike one of our junior painters.
“What the hell are you doing?”the woman shouted.
“Miss?”I said calmly.
She turned to me, her eyes immediately showing her disdain for me.
“Who the hell are you?”she barked.
“I’m Keely Lee,” I said as I approached her, my hand extended.
She looked at my hand, then up at me. “And what is a Keely Lee doing in my house?”
“What’s going on here?”Matt said as he joined the fray.
“Matthew,” the young woman said, her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. “Finally, a familiar face. Who are all these people and what are they doing here? And why are they painting the drawing room?”
Darling came in behind him. She visibly blanched at the sight of the loud, young woman.
“Britney,” Matt said. “What are you doing back home so early? I thought you were on your honeymoon. You’ve barely been gone a week.”
She waved his statement away. “Oh, posh. Benjamin is such a bore. He’s old. He’s stodgy. And for heaven’s sake, he’s bald. And don’t get me started on the dad bod of his. Three days on a beach in Bali and I was ready to come back home. I mean, you should have seen the way people looked at him...then looked at me. It was clear as day that they didn’t think I belonged with him.”
“But, you married him, Brit.”
“Oh, get off my back.”
“Where is he now?”
She shrugged. “Still in Bali. Oh, Matthew, dear, don’t look at your sister like she’s an idiot. You’ve met Benjamin. He’s no fun.”
“But, Britney. You’re the one who chose the guy. You’re the one who married him. You’re the one who told Dad that he was the one for you. That he was your eternal love, your soulmate. And now, only one week in and you’re ready to call it quits?”
“You don’t understand...he may be a bore, but he’s a billionaire bore.” She squirmed in a rather coquettish manner. “Oh, Matt, you know how I like pretty things. And look at this rock,” she went on, holding her slender hand out to show him her ring. “How could I say no to this?”
Matt pulled in a long, deep breath and looked around at the crowd who simply stood by watching the highly interesting interaction.
“My apologies,” he said, clearly embarrassed. “Everyone, this is my sister, Britney.” He brought his gaze to me, his eyes apologetic. “Britney, this is Keely Lee’s production crew. They are going to be staying here and filming a Jane Austen movie.”
“A movie?” Her tone had suddenly changed. “A real film? Like Hollywood and everything?”
“That’s right.”
“Are there any big names that I should know about? Oh, I would love to meet Brandon Greenwall. He’s so dreamy. Or what about Nathan Collins?”
She looked at me with such expectation that I was reluctant to disappoint her. Still, I shook my head. “No, but we do have a few big names,” I said, intentionally keeping my big stars a bit of a secret. Somehow, I sensed that she would have the capacity to be quite disruptive if she chose to.
Matt delicately took her by the elbow and gently guided her out. “Come. Let’s discuss this elsewhere and let these people do their work.”
Once they were gone, everyone let out their heavily bated breaths.
Smacking my lips together, I looked at everyone. “I don’t really know what that was all about, but...let’s continue working.”
Turning to Darling who still stood there stunned, I put my arm around her shoulder. “Are you alright? You look so shaken up.”
Biting her lower lip, she shrugged. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen her.”
