CHRISSY
December 11 — 6:12 PM
Old Stonewood Hunting Lodge – Foyer
“Very well,Jacob will be your partner in the Game.”
For half a second, I thought my knees might give out.
The words hit like someone cutting the rope on a noose I hadn’t realized was already snug around my throat. Air rushed back into my lungs in a sharp, shaky inhale I couldn’t quite disguise.
I was staying. I wasn’t getting shoved out the front door and sent back to Stonewood proper, with my tail between my legs, before the Game even started. I still had a shot.
Granny Irene still had a shot at spending the remainder of her days in as much comfort as I could provide.
I let out a breath, slow and careful, like any wrong move might make someone snatch the offer back.
Across from me, Jacob stood with his head slightly bowed, hands loose at his sides like he hadn’t just volunteered to throw himself under a bus for a woman he barely knew.
I didn’t understand him, but I was also absurdly, stupidly grateful for him.
The man in the sharply pressed suit, whose eyes looked like they’d seen war, let his gaze rest on me for a heartbeat longer. He had an air about him like he didn’t have time for anyone’s nonsense, and maybe he was deciding whether or not I was causing nonsense for him. Finally, he shifted, addressing the room at large, his crisp, silky voice carrying easily through the foyer.
“For those of you who don’t yet know me,” he said, “my name is Henry. I’ll be serving as Master of Ceremonies for Mr. Stonewood’s Game.”
Master of Ceremonies.
Of course, the billionaire recluse had someone like this running point for him. Henry looked like he’d been born with a security clearance and a three-piece suit. I couldn’t imagine him ever being a child, and bit the inside of my cheek at the thought that he must have sprung fully formed from the god of private security’s trigger finger like something from a twisted myth.
Henry continued, “There will be a formal dinner at seven-thirty this evening, where you’ll formally meet each other and receive your first instructions. However…” His attention cut back to me, pinning me in place. “Given your late arrival and the… complication with your originally assigned partner, Miss Jones, Mr. Stonewood has not yet decided whether you’ll be permitted to attend.”
My relief curdled.
“Seriously?” I asked before I could stop myself. “Because someone else broke the rules?”
Henry didn’t so much as blink.
“Mr. Stonewood is a man who values discipline and order,” he said. “You are already on thin ice. He’ll review the footage and make his decision before dinner.”
Footage? Right. Cameras. Of course there are cameras.
I swallowed hard and nodded, not trusting myself to speak again.
“For now,” Henry went on, “Jacob will escort you to your room. You are to remain there, door locked, until you’re given further instructions. If Mr. Stonewood allows you to join the others for dinner, you’ll be notified.”
Door locked.
The phrase scraped down my spine, even though I was the one who’d willingly walked into this place and signed a contract that basically told me I was a volunteer prisoner, if what Jacob hinted at in the truck and the light skimming I’d done on the contract were anything to go by. Maybe I was crazy…
Henry turned to Jacob next, that cool green gaze of his sharpening. I tensed and bit my lip. I didn’t like that look one bit.
“Don’t forget to report to Mr. Stonewood in the West Wing afterward,” he said. “You’ll have to answer for inserting yourself into the Game the way you did.”
Jacob’s jaw shifted, a small tic that told me more than any outburst would’ve. He kept his eyes lowered, voice rough but quiet.
“I couldn’t just let her lose the Game before it even started because her partner was a careless, horny bastard who only wanted to get laid,” he said.
A few of the other women tittered at that. One of them snorted. Heat prickled at the back of my neck.
