Chapter 5 5
RED
Something isn’t adding up here.
This Viking, whoever he was, was clearly dangerous— lethal even. He was the kind of man who had a lot of skeletons in his closet and who could do more damage than good.
I could feel it.
He had a red flag all over his face.
And there was no way I would spend the night in his gothic house, no matter how amazing it looked, which felt like it came from a Dracula or Frankenstein movie.
I walked out of his office, passing through long and wide hallways and doors, and I hadn’t seen the main door. I thought I got lost.
When Gillean took me to the study earlier, it didn’t take this long, but I was too preoccupied checking out the sophisticated interior to even care which way.
“Can I help you?”
I jumped at the voice behind me. My heart jackhammered as I placed my hand on my chest before turning around.
“Hi.” I looked at the middle-aged woman. “You scare me.”
“I’m sorry, miss. Are you Master Zax’s guest?” Master? I inwardly snorted.
I nodded repeatedly. “Yeah. I’m kinda lost. Could you please help me find the main door?”
“You’re going in the opposite direction. It happened a lot to his guests.” She gestured. “This way.”
“So, he hosts a lot of guests?” I felt like I was fishing for information. Maybe I was.
Zax Skoll intrigued me so much that I even considered staying for a night to learn something about him since he didn’t exist on the Internet. But why? Who doesn’t have a LinkedIn account these days?
“Yes, miss. He’s a big deal around here. He hosts a lot of parties and galas.”
I stopped in front of a huge painting of a couple in Renaissance clothing. “His grandparents?”
“Yes.”
I sighed as we finally made it to the receiving area, only to be stopped by the man who had been sent to the study.
“Ms. Klein.”
“Don’t stop me,” I warned her.
He raised his hands and stepped back. “It’s late. It would be best if you stayed for the night. I can drive you back to the city in the morning.”
I checked the time on my phone. It was two in the morning. I sighed, contemplating the pros and cons.
“So?” Gillean smiled.
“Okay, fine.” I nodded. I was too exhausted to argue, and my father thought I was with my new boyfriend anyway.
“Let me take you to the guest room.” He gestured to the massive grand staircases.
“Lead the way.” I smiled. “So, tell me about your boss.”
He chuckled as we headed upstairs. “What do you wanna know?”
“First, the reason why I am here and why your friends were stalking me for two days?” The mansion was truly magnificent, and it must have cost him a fortune to maintain it.
“I think you should ask him.”
“I asked, but he gave me nothing but an intense look like he was about to telekinetically snap my neck.”
He chuckled. “He would never hurt you, Ms. Klein.”
“Just Red. R.E.D. What’s so hard with three letters and one syllable?”
“Okay, Red.” He smiled as we crossed another hallway and a living area.
“What does he do for a living? And doesn’t he have a family?”
His smile widened, and I knew what the smile was all about.
I rolled my eyes. “The house may be squeaky clean, but it makes me sad. It could use flower arrangements to enhance the already amazing decor. It might also boost his gloomy mental and emotional well-being. The estate is probably huge—”
He chuckled. “His land has 175—”
“Acres?”
“One hundred seventy-five thousand acres.”
“Wow.” I blinked with my mouth hanging open. “And he lives here alone?”
“The estate has been a sanctuary for us. This house has only twenty-three rooms and twenty-seven baths, but yes, he’s single.”
“Oh.” I swallowed hard. “That must be lonely.”
He smiled again, shrugging. “Never been married, so maybe he’s lonely.”
“He has no family or siblings?”
“His parents died in a plane crash, and he has a brother. Anything else you want to know, Red?” Amused, he opened the door to the guest room that looked like a presidential suite for me. I meant, how would I know what a presidential suite looks like? I’d only seen it on TV.
“This is huge.” I stepped in. “Is there any room smaller than this? I feel like I’m gonna lose just finding the bathroom.”
“No, ma’am. He specifically told me to take you to this room. The bathroom is on the corner.”
“Thanks.” I smiled at Gillean. At least, he was friendly, not pushing me and stuffing like a disposable item.
As he closed the door behind me, I looked around. The guest room has a sitting area, a nook, a high-end interior, fully furnished with luxurious golden damask-patterned wallpaper and a carpeted floor.
The bedroom set was beige and golden, which included the ornate tufted headboard of a king-sized bed situated at the center.
Before I could wander around, there was a soft knock on the door.
I checked who it was, hoping it wasn’t the grumpy, brooding host. I opened it and smiled at the middle-aged woman.
“I’m Beth, by the way. And I brought you some clothes to change into. If you want me to wash your clothes for you, just leave it on the seating area.”
I took the folded clothes from her, which I didn’t know who owned. “No. Thanks. I’m good. I’m leaving early in the morning, anyway, but I’m kinda hungry.”
She smiled. “I’ll make you some sandwiches. Any particular you like or any allergies?”
I smiled back. “Any sandwich, but no onion, please?”
Once she left, I sat on the bed to check the clothes. There were still price tags, and all were my size.
“What the hell?” Before I got angrier, I stood up and walked around, only to find the door to the balcony.
I opened it, the cool air hugging my skin. I hadn’t smelled genuine fresh air in a while, and I must say, the estate was something.
The backyard, the size of a football field, had neatly trimmed plants, and the rest was nothing but trees as far as my sight could see.
I showered and changed into the pajama set Beth gave me. As I was done drying my hair, my sandwiches arrived, and a glass of wine.
I ate on the balcony, wondering how my dad was doing. I texted him, but I knew he was sleeping, so I didn’t wait for his reply.
Once I was done eating, I brushed my teeth and went to bed.
I woke up feeling like being watched. I sat on the bed in an unfamiliar room until the memory of yesterday flashed back in my head. I quickly used the bathroom and changed into my clothes from yesterday.
I went to the balcony again and found half-naked men playing football, all gigantic and sweaty, and damn. They must have spent a lot of time in the gym because there was no way they could be that fit just by playing football.
But to my slight dismay, the broody host wasn’t one of them.
I went back inside only to find Zax already in the sitting area, still brooding with his jaw set hard and eyes narrowing at me.
“Mr. Skoll, thank you for the hospitality. Since it’s already morning, I’d like to leave now.”
