I grunt back at him, “Search the house, see who you can find and bring them here. We’re going to be having a permanent guest in a week and I’d like to have this place secure and fully staffed to be ready for her.”
The look of astonishment on Carlos’ face almost makes me laugh when he sucks in some air. But I have shit to do. We can talk about the fast-track wedding later after everyone’s informed about the new arrangements.
“On it.” He grunts as he leaves.
I sit behind my desk and flip open my laptop, bringing up the security system. I scroll through, looking at the camera feeds for each room. I want to know how many cameras are working and how many we have monitoring the yard, especially the ones in the house. While I am away, I want to watch my bunny. If she refuses to speak to me or even accept my touch, I’ll learn all I can by watching.
Almost every room in the house has a camera, except for the bathrooms. I scroll through till I find the spare room where I plan on putting her. It’s directly across the hall from mine. The closer she is to me, the harder it is for her to avoid me. I take the camera and I move it around. There’s only one corner of the room where the view is obscured; it’s the small sitting area closest to the window. I’m going to have to talk to the security guy and see if he can put another camera in that corner. I want to see her every move.
I don’t have to wait long for everyone to shuffle into my office which consists of two other people; Danny leans back, taking aseat in the leather chair across from my desk.
Rose is closest to the door, gripping her hands together with a look of apprehension on her face. Since I hired her, she has been jumpy around me. I have always been polite to her, so I’m not sure what makes her so nervous, but whatever.
“Everyone is here, boss. What do you need us to do?” Carlos says as he moves closer to the desk, taking the last empty chair.
I look at everybody and snap the laptop lid down.
Taking a deep breath, I might as well jump right in. “I’m getting married in two weeks. I know it’s quite a shock. I didn’t plan on it. It kind of came as a surprise today. But we’re going to need to increase security and make sure that the grounds are protected.”
Rose still looks like she’s in front of a firing squad, so I try to soften my tone when I speak to her directly.
“Rose, you’re more than likely going to need to hire extra kitchen staff. I don’t know exactly what you’re going to require. Isabella will move in here in a week, and I’ll be spending a little more time at home. Since she’s going to be my wife soon, I expect that in the future we will hold functions here as well.”
I give her a look of understanding as her eyes go wide. “I know this is rather quick to dump on your lap. But as I said, it was dumped on mine today as well. If you have questions, Maria will be available to fill you in on how she runs my parents’ household. I’ll place a call to my mother tomorrow and tell her to expect your call.”
I look at them all and say, “That’s all I have for right now.”
I fold my arms across the desk. “Carlos and Danny, you get back to me on the extra security. I’d like a minimum of two or three more men. Things could get a little dicey around here after my meeting in New York, so I’d rather be safe than sorry. I hate to push this and interrupt your evening, but the sooner we get started on this, the better.”
Danny gets up immediately, heads to the door, and walks out. That’s just his style. All he needs are the details. No bullshit. No chatty Cathy here, he just gets the info and does the job. Rose follows quickly behind him, happy to be leaving the room as fast as she can. Carlos remains behind and closes the door behind them. He just looks at me with that stern expression on his face, as if to say, spill it. But I don’t want to play his game of twenty questions tonight. I figure if I blast him with details, he might just avoid the subject.
Keeping my tone even and stern, “Carlos, I need you to get ahold of our security guy who installed the cameras. I need two more cameras installed in the house before the end of the week.”
He assesses me for a moment. “Will do. Why not ask Sebastian if he’s a pro at this?”
I guess I won’t get off Scot-free after all.
“Sebastian and I have had a difference of opinion this evening. I’m thinking after my trip to New York and we both cool down, I expect things will return to normal between us. But for now, get someone you trust.”
He shrugs. “I know a guy who did some work for us at the club. I’ll get a call to him tomorrow morning. It’s too late to call now, but I could try?”
He just leans back against the door, crosses his massive arms, and studies me. I ignore him and go back to flipping open my laptop.
I nod.
“Call whoever you need as long as he’s discreet and knows how to keep his mouth shut. I want you here when he installs the cameras just to make sure. I’ll be at the office tomorrow, most likely heading to the club after that. But if you run into any problems, let me know. “
Carlos steps away from the door. “Give me the rundown of whereyou want the new cameras installed, and I’ll make sure that it’s handled.”
I try not to look at him, trying to conceal my intent.
“Spare bedroom and pool by the end of this week. I’ll give you a full list in the morning once I run down a few locations tonight. I want the outside patio garden area, that sort of thing.”
Waving my hand in the air as if it matters less to me.
“I want to know if anybody comes on this property. I want to know who comes and goes. While I am away, I want you to look into a private security detail for Isabella. I don’t want her to know she’s under surveillance, but I’d like to get a rundown on her daily activities, if and where she works, who she’s friends with, the full details for security reasons.”
Carlos breaks out with a lopsided grin. “Security reasons? Are you sure that’s all, boss?”
