"Is there a particular flavor you like, sir?" Jerome asked as he started walking. Cam had no choice but to start walking himself if he wanted to continue talking to Jerome.
I chuckled as I watched the two men walk off together. Jerome was very good at making people feel comfortable. If anyone could get Cam calm, it was the butler.
"Oh, he's good," Dalton whispered.
"He is." There was no disagreement there. "Jerome officially works for Knox, but he butlers for Burke and Crosby as well. It's the same with Mary, who's the cook. I'm pretty sure they've been here since before the building was built."
"I can't imagine what it's like to have a butler and a cook."
"Me either. I live downstairs." Technically, I was on the same level as Jerome and Mary. I was an employee. Knox, Burke, and Crosby, as well as their husbands, never treated any of us as if we were employees, though. We weren't best buds like the three original owners were, but I still considered them friends.
"What should I do?" Clark asked.
I wasn't quite sure why he was here.
"Why don't you go with Jerome and get some food," Dalton suggested. "I know you've got to be hungry. You barely eat enough to keep you alive."
Clark's lips turned down at the corners, and he couldn't quite meet our eyes. "Mr. Brasov says if I gain five more pounds, he's going to fire me."
Dalton snorted. "You'd be lucky if he fired you."
"Brasov is messed up in some really bad stuff, Clark," I said when the man looked as if he was going to cry. "If you need a job, we can help you find one, but working for him will only lead to trouble."
"I don't have a lot of skills."
"I'm sure we can find you something." I smiled, trying to reassure the man. "Go get something to eat and then get some rest. We can figure all this out in the morning."
"Okay."
I waited until Clark walked away before glancing at Dalton. "Seems to me that Brasov has surrounded himself with a lot of dancers who feel as if they have no other choice but to do what he wants."
"Yeah," Dalton replied with a sad tone. "He surrounds himself with young guys who don't know any better. Over the years, Cam and I have tried to help some of them out, but Brasov has everyone so scared they are afraid to try to go against him."
"Why do you stay working for someone like that?"
"Because, as bad as Brasov is, there are worse people out there. At least he's a known evil." Dalton frowned. "Although I didn't know his evil was quite so deep until he drugged me and tossed me into that room."
"Most people are really good at hiding the blackness in their souls."
Madeline was a perfect example of that.
"Come on." Dalton gave a little tug as he pulled me toward the hallway. "Let's go get you looked at, and then we can see about getting some food in you as well. Besides, you have to show me where I'm going."
"Second door on your right."
Walking didn't seem to get any easier as Dalton helped me down the hallway. I knew it was whatever drug they had given me, but I hated the feeling of not being in control. It was something I'd always strove to have. That need for control had been great when I was attending Harvard Law.
It hadn't worked out so well for me in my everyday life.
Considering this was a little out of the realm of every day, the need to take back control was riding me hard. I knew once I got the drugs out of my system, things would look better, but right now, my world felt as if it were upside down.
The door to the guestroom was open when we reached it. "Doctor," I said when I spotted the man standing close to the window. "I think you're expecting me?"
The man didn't smile, but then, he never did. "Come in and lie down on the bed."
I chuckled at Dalton's wide-eyed look. "Dr. Brashear has been the private doctor for Silver Spoons Inc. for several years, Dalton. He knows what he is doing." He was very good at his job, but his bedside manner sucked.
"If you say so," Dalton mumbled.
