"Oh, come on!" Lynn slammed the trigger on the controller.
"It takes two shots to kill. You didn't need to pump me full of lead." Eva complained through the earpiece.
"Well too bad." Lynn snickered evilly. She was sitting on the floor at the foot of her bed playing Call of Duty against her three friends. The TV sat on a low shelf in front of her, the volume nearly silent.
Lynn bit her lip in concentration. "I'm coming for you, Sammy."
"Ha! Not today!" Sammy's bot jumped from a building and shot Lynn's down.
"You mean jerk!" She hissed. "I'll get my sweet revenge!"
A laugh erupted from behind her. "Enjoying yourself, Princess?"
Lynn jumped in surprise and whipped around to see Reece standing in the doorway of her room. Her eyes widened.
"What was that, Lynn?" Eva questioned through the earpiece.
Lynn tore the headset off and clumsily got to her feet. "Reece, what- what are you doing here?"
"Hello to you too." He shrugged as he stepped further into the room. He looked around the room, taking in the simplistic decoration of the room. He didn't see a safe anywhere. "I'm going to be living here temporarily." He looked back at Lynn for a reaction.
Lynn's mind went completely blank for a moment. "Wha- uh, what? You're what?"
Reece bit back another laugh. "I said I'm going to be living here temporarily."
"Why? Not to sound rude, or anything, I'm just confused." Lynn fidgeted as she looked at him closely. She hadn't seen him since... Nope, she wasn't going to think about that.
"Our place is under renovation, we've been living in a hotel. Your father found out and offered the guest suite to us until our place is done." Reece explained, still feeling bad for lying to her face.
Lynn nodded. "Oh, I see... Well then welcome."
Reece pointed behind her. "I think you're losing terribly now. Sorry about that."
Lynn whipped around and dropped to the floor. "Dang it!" She put the headset on again. "Come on, you guys knew I was being distracted."
"Distracted by who?" Sammy questioned. "I heard a male voice."
Lynn glanced at Reece over her shoulder. He was sitting on the edge of her bed watching her with amusement. He raised an eyebrow at her and she quickly turned away. "Uh, it's just a dude. A new... maid."
Her friends laughed in her ears. "Girl, you don't have maids. Miss Sanders is there for a reason." Dellia laughed.
Sammy gasped. "Do you have a secret lover?!"
The others gasped as well and all began speaking at once.
Lynn threw the headset off in embarrassment and covered her face with a groan.
"Oh, I'm a dude maid now, huh?" Reece chuckled from behind her. He was completely entertained by this whole thing.
"That's better than what they actually think you are." Lynn grumbled, facing him.
"Oh, what do they think? I'm curious."
Lynn went red. "Uh, uh, nothing. You're the ghost, that's what they believe, you know. All that... paranormal... stuff."
Reece raised an eyebrow. Why was she flustered? She was only ever flustered in front of him once before. Was he making progress at last? "Why don't I believe you, Lynn?"
"Because you don't believe in truth." Lynn spat out.
A voice screeched from the headset on the floor. A voice they both heard. "Hey, lover!"
Lynn's mouth dropped. "Sammy!" She squeaked. She grabbed the microphone. "You and your big mouth! He is not a secret lover!"
Reece was not expecting that. So was finally having some success? He laughed. "I mean, they might not be wrong."
Lynn was ready to die of embarrassment and she sent Reece a glare. "Not helping!" She hissed.
"Wait, is that sexy Reece?!" Eva asked with a shocked gasp.
Reece coughed. "Did you give me such a loving name, Adalynn?" He asked with a smirk.
Lynn shut the game off and faced him. "That's what they call you, not me. And I gave you a name, Toad."
"I have to be honest, I much prefer their name for me."
Lynn grabbed one of her pillows and smacked him with it. "Shut up! Ugh, why did you have to interrupt my game? Now the girls won't leave me alone for the next week."
Reece offered a winning smile. "So, they think I'm a secret lover? Why not make that a reality?"
Lynn stared at him in shock. Why was he suddenly a flirt? He wasn't like this before, right?
"Oh my gosh! I can't believe you." Lynn shoved him. "Get out of my room, Toad. You're bothering me."
Reece didn't even budge. "Sorry, Princess. You'll just have to get used to me. Who knows how long I'll be here, anyway?" He laid back on her bed. "So, video games, huh? Adalynn Caine loves video games."
"Uh, I totally don't. I don't even have video games, what are you talking about?" Lynn said loudly as she peeked out her door. No one was within ear shot. She sighed and closed the door.
Reece sat up, looking at Lynn in concern. "No one knows you have that?"
Lynn nodded, looking at him carefully. "You won't... say anything, right?"
He sighed. What was wrong with her liking simple video games? "My lips are sealed. What are you allowed to like?"
Lynn never considered that question. "I like reading, so that's something I don't have to hide. Reading is good... classy, I guess. Um... I... I don't know what else, actually." Ever since her mother died she was always told to not do certain things. She quickly learned to hide things.
Reece didn't like that one bit. Everything about how her father was with her was screaming 'make her a pretty robot'. That was all kinds of wrong. "Well, you don't need to hide from me, Princess. I couldn't care less if you're a normal human."
Lynn smiled softly. "Okay, cool." She sank into the bed next to him. "So, it's you and your grandfather, right? That's moving in?"
Reece nodded. "Well, that and add my uncles. They live in New York but they are staying with us for a year, so that's why they're here too."
"Oh, gotcha." Lynn didn't like Mr. Graves. At all. And the last time he was here he managed to make her own father talk down about her. She cried last he was here.
"I'm sorry, Lynn. I know that when your father gets with my family they're... Well to put it simply, they're assholes."
Lynn laughed a little. "Yeah, you're right, I guess."
"Well how about we don't talk about those jerks for a while? We have a perfectly good game in front of us." Reece bumped her shoulder lightly. "What do you say?"
Lynn couldn't help but smile. "Okay, I'll accept your challenge."
"We can invite your friends to play along with us."
"No, no, no. Bad idea. They have no filters, they could kill anyone with embarrassment. Even if it's second hand embarrassment." Lynn knelt on the floor and turned the game on again.
Reece joined her on the floor. Once again, he was finding the need to remind himself that he was doing a job. That Adalynn was his target, nothing more.
But as they started their first game, he completely forgot about his grandfather, and the money he was after. He was just a guy sitting next to a hidden girl playing a stupid video game.
* * *
Miss Sanders came in a few hours later announcing that dinner was ready. She was the only one to know about the things Lynn hid.
"Adalynn, you have a nice lavender dress for tonight. Your white heels should go with the dress quite well."
Lynn groaned and covered her face. Reece got to his feet.
"She has to dress up for a simple dinner? That's... weird."
Miss Sanders sighed. "I know, but her father requests it."
Lynn got up. "I'll push through, head held high." She smiled at Reece. "I'll be down in a minute." She stepped into her closet and closed the door.
Reece looked at the closet in some confusion. "What did that mean? Head held high, and stuff?"
Miss Sanders smiled sadly. "A phrase her mother taught her a few nights before she died. Adalynn lives by that. Head held high. The poor girl has nothing but that phrase sometimes."
Reece softened. "She's stronger than anyone sees, isn't she?"
"I'm there for her as much as possible, but sometimes I'm not enough. But yes, she is strong." The older woman smiled at Reece. "I can tell she trusts you. It's hard for her to find trustworthy people in her life."
Guilt settled into his body again. He was the last one she should trust. But he smiled. "I'll head down to dinner, then."
Down in the dining room, Lynn entered, deciding to not allow Mr. Graves to get to her again. The men in the room didn't even acknowledge her, but she didn't mind at all.
Reece smiled at her and offered her a seat.
Lynn was glad that Reece was with her. It made her feel much better.
Dinner was slow and dull as Mr. Graves took up most of the conversation. Reece and Lynn were both quiet for the entirety of the meal.
They left at the same time, hardly noticed.
Lynn let out a breath as they left the dining room. "That was unbearable."
"Tell me about it." Reece sighed. "I don't think they knew we were even there."
Lynn's eyes lit up with an idea. "Hey, I know. The kitchen is always empty. Well, that is, my father never goes in there, and neither will your family. I say we skip dinners and instead eat in the kitchen."
"That doesn't sound bad at all." Reece agreed. "Let's do that. It'll be way more relaxed."
Lynn grinned. "Sweet. Okay, I'm off to bed. I'll uh, I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Goodnight, Adalynn." Reece smiled as she jogged up the stairs.
Once she was out of sight he went to the guest suite on the west side of the mansion. It was separate from the main mansion, but it was comfortable.
He was sitting on the couch when his grandfather came in. "This may be our best mission yet, Reece."
Reece set his phone down. "Is that so?" Normally that would make him happy. But this time... it just didn't.
Mr. Graves poured himself a drink. "Have you gotten into the girl's safe? You went to her room, yes?"
"I didn't see a safe. You must have heard Mr. Caine wrong." Reece answered simply. He didn't want to have this conversation right now.
"Reece, I've gone to much trouble for this job. I will not accept any more delays on your end. I expect more progress."
"I am working on it." Reece snapped. "Adalynn is proving... even more difficult than I thought."
"Did you bug her phone to learn more about her?"
"I haven't had the chance."
Mr. Graves sighed. "She's just another rich girl, Reece. Do what you normally do. Gain her trust, take everything valuable, break it off. By then we'll be out of this mansion and on to the next job."
Reece wished Adalynn was just another rich girl. But somehow, he couldn't see her like that. "I'll do what I can."
"Good. Now off to bed. You'll be here all day, so I need you to gather information, such as the girl's accounts. And find that safe."
"Yes sir." So much for a simple job.
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This book is fun to write honestly. I hope it's enjoyable so far.
Thanks for reading (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)