The Rules of the Red - 2014 Watty Award Winner |✓|

Chapter One - Part Three

in the security rooms – which would be in that door, on your right. It stays locked at all times, but you should have the keys. Mr. Talbot did speak with you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did." I said. "This afternoon."

"That's good then." she said brusquely, and proceeded to lead me directly through the middle door.

While the floor and walls of this room were of the same color and pattern of marble as the rest of the house, the furniture in here was entirely black – a contrasting design which I enjoyed immensely. Two large, marble end tables framed either side of a spotless sectional couch, and a matching coffee table also lay in the center of the room, with a glass vase of roses positioned in its center. A thick, shag carpet lay beneath the furniture too, appearing so soft-looking and comfortable, that I promptly removed my shoes just to have a reason to stand on it. Upon seeing this, Mrs. Trentley cast me an approving look which quickly disappeared when she saw how comfortably I flopped down upon the furniture.

A few feet from the couches, a large, flat screen TV was fastened to the wall, with its bottom edge resting on a tall, sleek entertainment stand that held the latest PlayStation, Xbox, and Wii systems, along with several different games for each console. But playing video games remained the furthest thing from my mind. There were more adult things that needed to be done.

"This is used as the main waiting area, because it's the closest room to the front door." Said, Mrs. Trentley. "Any guests that choose to visit the manor will be shown here to await your arrival. They'll have to buzz the gate to get in, but I've an app on my phone that allows me to open it from anywhere in the house – even if I leave, I can still can open, it as long as I have access to the Internet."

"So when I buzzed the gate earlier, and spoke with you on the intercom, you were doing that all of that from your phone?" I asked, with a fair amount of approval.

"I can also connect to the security system and watch footage from the cameras, and anytime the doorbell rings, my phone will tell me." She replied, with a decent amount of pride of her own. "It's these 'appy thingys' on the 'smartphones'. A friend showed me how to use them and I've never gone back. They'll do all the hard lifting for you. It's genius."

"Mmm," I said in agreement, falling back into the couch cushions with a deep, comfortable sigh. "I'll have to keep that in mind, Mrs. Trentley..."

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