Page 18 of The Silence of Monsters

“I’ll ask, but I think it’s unlikely. Everyone who works for me directly knows it is grounds for immediate termination if they are swayed by my mother. Maybe it’s too hot by the window. Are you sure you didn’t forget to take care of them while you were busy running back and forth to the city?”

Channing’s whole body stiffened, and she whipped around to give me a look that would’ve had a weaker man quivering on the spot. I immediately regretted questioning her thoughtfulness. If I weren’t exhausted and stressed over the war waging between her and my mother, I wouldn’t have made such a careless faux pas. We were just now settling into a nice sort of truce, and I instantly destroyed the peace with my carelessness.

“I would never let anything happen to my babies. I’ve kept these plants alive for years because Willow gave them to me for my birthday the last year she was still here. They were her final gift to me. She could never keep anything green alive. Whatever she touched withered away. She told me it was my job to take care of all the delicate things she couldn’t.” Channing barked out a bitter laugh and narrowed her eyes at me. “Did you ask me who I’m going to work for?” She flashed a smile that was all teeth and malice. “It’s someone you should be familiar with since he’s family. They say the enemy of my enemy is the best friend you can have in a fight. Your half-brother fits the bill perfectly. If your mom doesn’t want me working for anyone in her precious town, it makes perfect sense that I go and work for the only person who openly dislikes her as much as I do.”

My heart twisted and a cold sweat broke out all over my body. “You’re going to work for Alistair DeVere?” I’d only encountered my half-brother a handful of times. Other than looking nearly identical to me, there wasn’t anything that stood out about the young man. If I was being honest, it was the fact that Channing and the bastard had more in common than she and I did that made me want to keep her away from him. She always had a history of falling for the underdog. Alistair DeVere wasn’t an exact match for that description, but he definitely came up short when stacked up against me. The idea of her being allured by my face on a completely common man rubbed me the wrong way on so many levels. “I forbid it.”

Channing laughed, but it was a harsh and bitter sound. “You don’t get a say in the matter, Chester.”

She picked up the dead plants and disappeared out the door that led to the small, private garden.

I swore under my breath and dragged myself to the bathroom so I could take a shower. I didn’t mean to start a fight with her as soon as I returned home. Being at odds with her gave me a headache and made my heart feel like someone was squeezing it in a vise. And I definitely didn’t want her to join forces with my not-so-innocent half-brother.

There was a laundry list of things I didn’t want when it came to Channing. If I were to sit down and make a list of what I did want, I was scared to admit there was only one thing I could think of.

I wanted her to want me the same way I wanted her.

Channing

“Are you still mad about the plants?” Win’s voice taunted me.

I’d refused to say a word to him after he sprung the unwelcome task of being his plus-one for the evening on me. I had no desire to rub elbows with the rich and famous. The idea of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to attend a charity event, instead of just donating directly to a worthy cause, was wasteful and grandiose. I didn’t consider it a good time to dress up to see and be seen for nothing more than a tax write-off.

Sitting stiffly in the back of a limousine, I kept my face turned to look out the darkened window, remaining silent as the luxury car carefully navigated through the tangled city traffic.

“Among other things.” I was still angry about my dead plants, but there were plenty of other incidents recently that added to the list of why I was pissed off.

First and foremost, I was annoyed that he sprung this event on me at the last minute.

It was absurd that he thought I was a woman who would wear an outrageously expensive designer gown and accompany him without warning. If living in the city had taught me anything, it was that I was far from a sample size. Couture designers did not create their designs for women with average height and figures. When I refused to allow him to have something custom made in a rush, it spawned another argument over our different life experiences and status. He didn’t understand why I wouldn’t want an expensive dress tailored to fit me perfectly. I didn’t understand how he couldn’t see that a dress like that, which could only be worn once and then disappeared into the back of a closet, was wasteful and unnecessary.

I told Win if he required me to go with him to an event I had no interest in, he had to let me wear whatever I wanted. It took him a little while to agree. And he only did so after I promised not to show up in my pajamas. I owned nothing that would fit in with the other women attending the gala, but I could find something that wouldn’t embarrass Win too badly.

Other things on the growing list of things getting under my skin were the escalating occurrences of unexplained weirdness within Halliday Manor. I was convinced that Colette had her staff slipping in and out of Win’s wing to mess with me.

My cell phone charger went missing, as did other insignificant things I left lying around. My favorite t-shirt was gone. I couldn’t find a pair of earrings I wore regularly. A pair of sneakers I left by the door disappeared. A photo album from my childhood that I brought every time I moved vanished. I left a bottle of wine on the kitchen counter one night, and the next morning it was empty. Typically, I would’ve blamed Win, but he was away for work when it happened. The worst was when my hairbrush disappeared while I was in the shower when I knew I left it on the counter. I hadn’t heard anyone walk into the bathroom or felt my internal warning system ring at all. It was unnerving to know that while I was naked and vulnerable, someone was close by without alerting me. And the whistling and humming from the walls never stopped. Some days, the sound was louder and clearer than others. But it was always there. I felt like I was being watched and I was never actually alone. I felt more unsafe living in the million-dollar estate than I ever had living in a shitty apartment in the city.

No wonder Winnie was convinced the house was haunted.

The whole inexplicable situation heightened the tension between me and Win. I wanted to put nanny cams all over the apartment to catch whomever was messing with me. Win had an entire security team at his disposal. It enraged me that he wasn’t taking the circumstances more seriously.

He kept insisting his mother wasn’t behind the abnormalities. He assured me that he’d spoken with her and the staff on the estate. He told them that if anyone attempted to mess with me, he would promptly fire them. Colette was indifferent, but the people who kept the home running were acutely aware of who paid the bills. Win seemed to take offense to the fact I constantly questioned his control when he wasn’t at home.

I included Win’s endless interference with my new job on the list of things that routinely made me angry.

Once I made an alliance with his half-brother, things between the two of us wouldn’t be as easy. Playing house with him for a couple of weeks was fine and dandy while I found my bearings. However, I wasn’t about to let Win forget that I was sleeping under his roof unwillingly. As uncomfortable as he was with Alistair being in my life, it paled in comparison to my unease under the vengeful eye of his mother. It made sense that if I had to suffer, so did he.

It was fortunate that Alistair DeVere was so much easier to deal with than the Hallidays. He was significantly younger than Win and far less uptight. He’d grown up in a fairly average, middle-class household. He had two loving parents and three younger sisters who treated him like he was a superhero. It wasn’t until Win’s father passed away, leaving Alistair a huge chunk of money and access to a portion of Halliday Inc., that the secret of his mother’s affair with the affluent man was revealed. The news caused a lot of friction in his parents’ marriage. The father who raised him wanted him to turn down the inheritance and stay clear of anything to do with the Hallidays. His mother felt like Alistair was owed everything bequeathed to him since his father had never offered a cent of support over his lifetime. Alistair told me he was torn between the two, especially since his parents separated after the news came to light. Unfortunately, his youngest sister became very ill not long after his birthright became front page news. The only way the family could pay for her round-the-clock medical care and pricey treatments was for Alistair to accept his portion of the inheritance.

True to form, Colette kept the kid tied up in litigation for years after the death of her husband. She didn’t want him to see a penny of the Halliday fortune.

His sister almost died while Colette tried to use the law as a weapon. Alistair was barely an adult at the time and in way over his head.

The scorned widow didn’t want to give him anything. But Win still had a tiny sliver of his heart left. He offered to pay the medical bills for the ill sister if Alistair agreed to relinquish his shares in the company. He could fight Colette for the money, but Win knew his mother like the back of his hand. As soon as the claim to Halliday Inc. was off the table, Colette would back off. It sounded messy. It was no wonder my new boss hated the Hallidays as much as I did.

Now, Alistair was running his own interior design business and doing well for himself. He didn’t hesitate to hire me when I finally landed a meeting with him. I wasn’t sure if he actually needed a part-time personal assistant or if he just wanted me on the payroll to irk the Hallidays. Either way, I liked his attitude and enjoyed getting away from the Cove every few days. I was starting to view him as a mischievous younger brother the more time we spent together. It was a perfect set up, aside from Win hounding me endlessly about every aspect of my job and relationship with his half-brother.

Win sighed as the limo pulled in front of one of the most luxurious hotels in the city. There were paparazzi behind barricades on either side of the road. Uniformed police officers patrolled the area with cautious eyes. It looked more like an award show than a charity event.

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