Captivated

Chapter Thirteen

The ride home with Nadia was pleasant enough as we made small talk about things we liked and didn't like. Seems she likes movies that are action, romance and everything in between, except westerns; she was adamant that she didn't like westerns. She enjoys popcorn, movie nights with her son Deacon, spending time in the training gym at the manor and pissing Cameron off. Of all the others she claims that he puts up with her the most and the things that he lets her get away with are far more than the others could ever dream of getting away with.

We turned onto a dirt road that looked more like an overgrown trail leading to nowhere then an entrance way to a massive manor. In the daylight I could see how people on the main road would miss it if they didn't know where they were going, probably a safety measure created over the years by the security teams. The trees and brush seemed to get closer and closer, like they were swallowing you into the forest itself before breaking unexpectedly into the vast open valley. The dirt road became pavement and the large trees ran along at the edge of the road incrementally placed for esthetic reasons. They were tall, healthy and beautiful. I was hard not to admire the view.

We pulled into the courtyard and parked off to the side of the grander staircase that rose to meet the front doors and stepped out slowly heading up towards the door. Everything was much more impressive in the afternoon light than it had been last night lit up by the little solar lights. I was in too much of a sullen state this morning to even notice. The court was not as busy as it had been last night, with only a few people and vehicles around. I could see the armed guards off in the distance walking out in the grassy valley, but other than them I hadn't seen nearly half of the people that were here yesterday.

"Most of the people who were here last night have returned home, or gone back to their regular duties. It was an exceptionally busy night last night and it is rarely like that, with all the weapons and crates. When the job went wrong we had to improvise and so we brought everything back here to be divided and shipped out to the places it was destined to go in the beginning" Nadia said as if reading my mind.

"I see" I said quietly as I followed behind her. Being back at the manor made me uncomfortable, it was one thing to be alone with Nadia because she made me forget that my current situation was a cluster fuck. She had been so nice to me for the day, helping me to gather the things I would need and explaining little things that I would need to know. I sighed trying to push the deep depression dwelling in my chest away and trying to focus on the fact that I had successfully found one person who was a potential friend.

Nadia moved smoothly towards Cameron's office with an attitude of authority like she owned the place. She pushed the doors open and strutted inside glancing around the vacant room. It was silent, almost peaceful; without Cameron or anyone else present and it smelled of soft lemon and leather. "I guess he is out doing something" she said more to herself than to me. "Has anyone shown you around yet?" she asked.

"No" I answered.

"Okay" she smiled; "Deacon doesn't get home until after five so we have until then for me to show you all the places that you will need to know how to get to and maybe a few of the places you might like as an escape from the craziness that is this household." she said with a soft giggle. I nodded my approval and returned her smile and she turned on her heal and headed back out into the lobby. She stopped one of the workers and asked them to fetch all the things in the back of the vehicle from today and have them all delivered to Cameron's study. She stated that she would sort through the items later in the evening when we came back to meet with him.

"Alright" she said stopping in the center of the lobby facing the staircase. "The manor is easily 10'000 square feet if not three times that. It's a large building with four levels if you include the two underground ones. The very bottom level is the underground parking. Everyone who owns their own vehicle and all those owned by the enterprise are kept down there and maintained by our very own mechanics shop. They're also monitored at all times by our security team whose main control center is also on that level. The floor up from that one, the one directly below our feet; contains the staff quarters, a complete in house fitness center, a large pool, spa and a home theater. This floor is the main center of the house. Is contains Cameron's office, the kitchen, the dining rooms, several seating areas, meeting rooms, the ballroom"