His brows creased. “Mom?”
“You sound like you sucked on a lemon. You’ve done that twice in your life. Once when you hid the three kittens under your bed. And once when you hid Annie LaSalle in your closet.”
“Mom, please.” Troy took a deep breath. “Okay, you win. My assistant and therapy aide is staying with me. Gwendolen had surgery two days ago and needs to rest,” Troy sighed.
“Now, was that hard?” Fani patted him.
Troy rolled his eyes.You don’t know the half of it.“C’mon, say goodbye to Beth. I need to get some work done.”
A few minutes later, the security caravan pulled up to his door. Troy helped his mom climb from her seat. “What do you think so far?”
“Very nice,” Fani said. “An army can live here.”
Troy swallowed hard.And so it begins.
Trask opened the door.“Mrs. Bremen, I have your bags.”
He was interrupted by a man in black trousers and a khaki shirt with the name Bob embroidered onto the pocket. Below it said House Staff. “Sir, I’ll take it. Good morning, Mr. Bremen. I’m Bob; good to meet you.”
“Good to meet you too.” Troy smiled. “This is my mom, Fani Bremen. I guess we’ll place her bags in her room. Mom, I’ll show you your room, and then you can explore.”
As they made their way to the central circle, Tim was walking with Gwen down the center hall. Fani looked her over and remarked, “You must be Gwendolen. You rival Circe. Please don’t turn my son into swine.”
Troy choked, “Mom, stop.” He glanced at Gwen with a regretful look.
“All I said was she’s beautiful.” Fani stomped her foot. “You remember your mythology; Circe was a stunning enchantress.”
She’s my enchantress.“Mom, meet Tim Holland. He’s a physician assistant who’s been helping me get ready for my surgery.”
“Good to meet you, Mrs. Bremen.” Gwen offered her hand.
Troy watched his mother’s brief and cold acknowledgment. Tim followed with his own greeting.
Wes Crockett met them in the center circle.“Hello, Fani.”
“When did you get here?” Troy asked.
“Clearly just in time. Are we going to make some moussaka?” Wes leaned in and kissed Fani’s cheek.
“Wesley, so good to see you; show me the kitchen. We can make a list.” Fani laughed and hooked her arm around the crook of Wes’s elbow. He waggled his eyes at Troy and led Fani away.
Troy smiled at Gwen. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Tim and I were heading to the office.”
Troy raised a brow. “Work?”
Gwen crunched her nose. “Actually, shopping. Owen left me a listing of wholesalers and a generic list of items. He told me to choose. I also wanted to order some business clothing. I’ll need it for when I return to work, or I guess I should say if. Nothing like retail therapy.”
Troy’s eyes narrowed. He reached for his wallet, opened it and handed her a white card. “I don’t want you to pay for anything for the house.”
“I’ll assess her in a couple of hours.” Tim waved. “Gwen, if you feel off, you need to stop.”
A tall woman with pure white spiked hair ran toward him with Wes on her heels. “Mr. Bremen? Your mother. She’s undoing everything. She says you don’t need my services.”
Wes had an amused look on his face. “Josie, don’t worry; she has no say in your employment.”
Troy hung his head. “I’m sorry, Josie. I will speak to my mother. In the meantime, Gwendolen and I finished your list. I’d greatly appreciate if you could work around her. There will be a bonus in your next check.”
