“My room is over here,” Franny yelled in excitement, but the hallway seemed to go on forever with doors on each side before opening to large wood banisters that overlooked a beautiful living area. There were expansive windows on one side with a view of a lush forest area, and on the other side of the walkway, there was a foyer of sorts with a large crystal chandelier.
Hades didn’t say a word about the closed doors or the living spaces down below, nor did Archer. Instead, Archer hinted at the fact that I should avoid them. “Jameson doesn’t talk about his father. We don’t either. Franny’s the exception.” I met his gaze and saw the warning there.
When he got to the end of the hallway, which honestly felt like the length of a football field, he pointed to Franny’s doorway.
“This is her room,” Hades informed me with what I was finding was his signature monotone voice.
In it was a beautiful, ornate table with teacups and a bed that looked like Cinderella’s carriage. The lush pillows inside it were all pinks and whites, like she was sleeping on the comfiest setup ever known to man. I took in how they’d also built thin stairs against the wall up toward the cathedral ceiling to a small second story that had a play area filled with toys.
The space was probably bigger than the whole apartment I had back home before I’d taken this job. “This is amazing, Franny,” I told her.
She jumped on the bed and told me all about how her carriage bed lit up at night with sparkling lights. I saw how they intertwined around the bed frame. “They’re like a night-light.”
I smiled at how happy the little girl was. Here, I had to admit that Jameson had spent his money well. She appreciated every part of it, walking me around and pointing out all the toys. “Ms. Rosy sometimes has tea with me, and she even makes me fruity tea sometimes.”
Hades nodded in the doorway. “Ms. Rosy cooks for the family, helps with Franny at off-hours, and lives in the guesthouse.”
“How many staff exactly are here?”
Hades looked at Archer like he was considering it for a couple of seconds. “About ten of us. You’ll meet everyone.”
“We used to have more people here, but they didn’t listen,” Franny offered. “Ms. Valerie liked Daddy too much. She cried and cried when Daddy said she couldn’t stay or work here every day anymore.”
I glanced at Hades, but his thin-lipped grimace told me all I needed to know as Archer chuckled at Franny’s observation. Jameson probably had many women he’d slept with, and Valeriewasn’t one that got to stick around. “Well, I’m sure Ms. Rosy is going to stay around much longer,” I said.
What else could I say to a seven-year-old?
“You too. Ms. Valerie wanted to babysit Daddy, not me. That’s what I heard him saying to her. He wasn’t very nice.” Franny pouted as she grabbed one of her stuffed animals and set it on her bed.
“Your father was just protecting you, Franny,” Hades reminded her, but it was like he was talking to me.
“So, ten staffers.” I shrugged, trying to change the subject because I didn’t want to think of Jameson paying attention to Valerie instead of Franny either. “How big is this estate, exactly?”
“Over twenty thousand square feet. And we’re on about five acres.”
“So, not very neighborly?”
“You’d be surprised. Although the driveway is long, most neighbors know Jameson quite well. He grew up in Paradise Grove and everyone is … neighborly. His mother is only a few minutes away too.” He wasn’t offering the information to be nice. It was used as a warning. “His mom and friends come around. It’s a small town.”
“Town?”
“Community,” Hades corrected himself and then tilted his head. “You’ll find everything you need within these few miles, I can assure you. Paradise Grove is an exclusive, luxurious enclave. We’re all very happy to be within it.”
The line was scripted, but it sounded like Hades believed it too.
“Did you both grow up here?”
“Hades moved here when we moved into this house. Daddy knows him from college. Archer knows Daddy because of Hades. Right, Hades?”
His jaw flexed, and he motioned us both out of Franny’s room. “We can continue down the staircase this way.” We walked pastFranny’s room and around a corner, which had me turning back toward my room. “There’s more than one staircase?” We’d passed one that led to the foyer.
“Of course.”
We wove down a curved staircase and through another living area with cathedral ceilings and windows that stretched all the way up to them. Curtains that seemed at least fifteen feet long framed each window, and the room connected to an expansive kitchen with a dining area. “Rosy’s kitchen is behind this one.” Hades pointed at a doorway to the side of the cabinets without directing me back there.
Before he turned to go the other way, though, I told him, “I think I should see what Rosy’s kitchen area looks like too. I also need to meet her.” I was over not actually learning anything. I was a teacher, after all.
Hades frowned. “She’s busy.”
