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“It’s all been arranged. I also have you set up to meet with assistants to interview over the next couple of days to help you with your transition.”
“You can’t help me?” I don’t want anyone else to know how broken I am. How uneducated I really am.
“She can most certainly help you out. I don’t need three assistants,” Geoffrey says from the sliders. “Is that okay with you, Patience?”
“Of course. I would love to help Ms. Chambers.”
“Please call me Guinevere.” I look over to Geoffrey. “Are you ready?” I notice a large man behind him. He’s dressed in a suit and has dark hair and piercing eyes. He’s so big that he dwarves Geoffrey, and I move back away from him.
“Sorry to startle you. I’m Noah Caine; I work for Securities International. I wanted to come introduce myself. All of your guards work for me. If you have any problems or need anything, please let me know.” His voice is deep and husky, but as he moves closer to me I see a kindness in his eyes. A gentleness that I imagine he doesn’t let others see. When he holds out his hand to shake mine, I see a wedding ring on his left hand.
“Guinevere,” I introduce myself. “But you know that, don’t you.” I move around the table toward him and shake his hand. His hand is so big it could crush mine, but he’s gentle.
“I do, but now it’s official. Here’s my card. I put my personal cell on it. My wife wanted me to tell you if you want to come over for dinner some night, she’d like that.”
“Why?” I pause and try to form the correct question. “Why would she want that? She doesn’t know me.”
“We know Rocco. She’s excited there is another woman in the group.” He chuckles, and the sound is deep and warm.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Rocco is just the police detective who helped me.” I pull away from him, but he stops me with a hand on my shoulder.
“You believe that?” he says softly so only I hear him.
“I don’t know what I believe,” I whisper.
“Well, it’s time for us to go. Thank you, Mr. Caine, for stopping by and meeting my niece. Milton is still out there; I want Guinevere protected.”
“She will be. Have a good day. Remember, Guinevere, call if you ever have questions.” He nods his head to the card, and I clutch it close.
“Okay,” I reply. I watch as he moves back through the living room and out into the vestibule where the elevators are.
“Guinevere, you understand you can’t go anywhere without protection, correct?” Geoffrey asks me directly.
“Yes, I understand.” I can’t argue with him because he’s right, but it causes a pain in my chest thinking that it’s not Rocco protecting me. He told me he’d protect me. Maybe I should go see him myself and find out why he told me that. I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do though. Should I just ignore it and get over what happened? He probably lies to all his witnesses to get something out of them.
But what did he gain by lying to me? Besides, I wouldn’t know the first thing about trying to find him. Maybe Noah could help me?
As we move off the veranda, I turn back to pick up our plates to take them to the kitchen. Lillian stops me and takes them from me. She smiles and nods her thanks as I hand them to her.
We stand waiting for the elevator to descend, and I look at my reflection in the shining doors. The change from the night before is big, but I still don’t feel like I fit in. I have a jacket over my arm with a purse that matches the yellow in my heels. I slipped Noah’s card into my purse next to my ID. I remember all my journals and wish I had gotten them out.
“Geoffrey, will I be able to go back to George and Carmen’s to get some things.” I turn to look at him. The elevator doors slide open before he can answer, and we walk through the lobby. Two men move to walk with us, and Noah moves to my side with them. The doorman nods and greets us as we move out the door. I pull the sunglasses Patience got for me down over my eyes and move to the SUV. The inside is like a limo instead of a normal SUV. I noticed a man standing across the street watching us as we exited the building, and I turn to look for him through the blacked-out window. I realize instantly it’s Rocco, and I’m confused.
Why would he be here if he wanted to be away from me?
That confirms it for me. I need to find out what he meant by his words and why he would be here now. I just need to find a time when I can get away from everyone to see him.
“Did you hear me?” Geoffrey’s voice has a gruffness to it as he tries to get my attention.
I shake my head. “No, I’m sorry. I was looking around, getting to know the area.” I don’t want to tell him I saw Rocco just in case he tells me he’s here because of Milton possibly coming after me. In my heart I want Rocco to be here for me, not the case.
“I said we got all your stuff that was worth taking. There is nothing there, and with George and Carmen making bail already, I don’t think it would be safe for you.”
“Oh.” I look down, my voice quiet. I’ve lost all my journals.
“What did you want?”
“It was nothing, just some notebooks.”
“Detective Distonoli got those. I’ll make sure they get returned to you. He must have forgotten to grab them when he got your purse off his desk.”
I look up at him, I can’t hide the smile on my face. Rocco got my journals. He knew I’d want them.
“Thank you.”
The rest of the day goes by with signing papers, setting up meetings, and then the stylists. I’m so glad I have Patience with me. She has kept me calm, and every time I feel overwhelmed, she steps in. I had the hairdresser cut about five inches off my hair. It’s still halfway down my back, but the natural waves are coming out more now with the weight removed. I was shown how to put on some makeup—they told me I didn’t need much. Now I’m lying in my bed looking up at the ceiling, wondering what Monday is going to be like meeting the board. I’m nervous, but Patience told me I don’t have to do much talking. True to his word, Geoffrey contacted Rocco and my journals were all delivered by a courier before dinner.
