Picturesque

Chapter 8: The Donnelley Estate

Now that I was inside, Neil gently removed his arm from me so that he could go get my bags. I felt the urge to hold back onto him, to not have him leave me alone in this bewilderingly large and fancy house. I must have had a lingering grip on his arm because he stopped and turned back towards me, taking my hand in his and patting the back of my palm. "Mr. Donnelley will be down any moment. I'll be right back with your bags."

He gave me that fatherly smile that I recognized in Neil. It was comforting and handsome, and it made me feel a little bit better as he released my hand and went back outside to the car.

When I heard the sound of footsteps on the staircase directly above my head, I gasped a little in fright. I felt like an alien standing on a foreign planet as I awaited the person to arrive down the stairs, following the sounds with my eyes as the footsteps turned the corner of the staircase and began to descend down the flight right beside me.

My eyes finally saw the figure of a very tall and filled-out man practically jogging down the staircase. Suddenly, I started picking at my clothes, making sure my dress was neat and my hair was tidy, that I did not have mustard anywhere on me from the sandwiches that Neil and I ate for dinner in the car. Once I felt slightly reassured, I folded my hands at my front and watched the man come down the last few steps, his hand holding onto the rail as his feet made contact with the marble floor and he swung around to face me.

I wasn't sure if I had expected to see a Greek god, but this man's face looked very normal to me. His blonde hair was combed over to the side, and although his face looked clean and strong, there was a little chubbiness to him. He was wearing a dark brown suit that fit loosely on his tall body, and he looked like he was an older version of all the football players Georgia had introduced me to in college.

"Rebecca Hayes?" he called out my name in a boomingly loud voice that echoed sharply off the walls and into my ears. The sound made my back straighten.

"Yes," I answered, my hands fiddling as I tried to decide the best way to meet the man who I assumed was now my boss.

"Martin Donnelley," he grinned widely at me, and as he started walking towards me, I realized just how tall he was. I also noticed that while most of his suit was a little loose on him, the fabric of his blazer was stretched tightly over his broad shoulders, threatening to rip. "It's such a pleasure to finally meet you."

He outstretched his hand to me, and I took it. I nearly fell over from the strength with which this man's large hand consumed and shook my smaller one. I matched his teethy grin, squeezing his hand that felt like it could break mine right off my arm.

"Peter told me so many good things about you, how you are the best student he's ever had. I heard you got one of the most prestigious scholarships to the university. I'm so very thrilled to have you here with us—Neil's getting your bags right—Oh, there he is! I hope he treated you well on the drive—must have been such a long drive. You hungry? We already had dinner, but if you're hungry, we can get you something made real quick. Oh, there's Neil."

Mr. Donnelley had spoken so fast all while still violently shaking my hand that my head started to feel dizzy. I just kept the same grin on my face and nodded in unison with his words before he finally let me go and walked past me to the door. Even the air that whooshed around him as he walked felt like a sharp breeze blowing in my hair.

"You get her dinner, Neil?" Mr. Donnelley asked as Neil struggled to fit through the front door as he carried my bags which were stuffed full, which really wasn't that much considering it was everything I owned.

"Yes, sir, we had sandwiches in Nevada," Neil said with a sigh as Mr. Donnelley took my bags from the driver who now looked pathetically small standing next to the man whose head was one inch from hitting the doorway.