Page 39 of A Linton Scandal

She narrowed her eyes. “And… you will make sure your damn friends from the other three families show up. Understood?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll call them.”

She huffed, giving me a disgruntled look. “It’s the least you can do, for the time I wasted looking for a wedding dress.” With that she turned on her heel and marched out of the office.

I was relieved the minute she left my office.

The only thing I was worried about now was whether or not Juliette was up for hosting an event with my mother. Especially one that would involve the entirety of the seven branches. I glared at the floor, thinking about how I would convince her it was a good idea.

Juliette

I woke up and didn’t move for a long time. A spasm echoed from my legs to my lower back. I would have stayed in bed if it wasn’t for the fact that my phone had decided to act bipolar by going off in intervals.

Sitting up, I stretched and slowly shifted off the bed. Entering the bathroom and immediately I flushed at the amount of bite marks and hickies that covered my arms and legs. I looked like a kid’s chewy toy.

With the shake of my head, I dropped the sheet I’d wrapped around myself. Running through my morning ablutions, I felt much better after a hot shower and getting cleaned.

Sadly, I hadn’t any idea where my clothes were. I had no choice but to dig in Mihai’s drawers and borrow a pair of his shorts and a T-shirt. Exiting his room, I brushed my tongue along my teeth that felt fuzzy. I needed to find my luggage—and quickly.

Wandering the hallways, I searched for Mrs. Forton, hoping she could direct me to my room. As I got ready to go downstairs, my name was called from behind.

Turning around, happiness rushed through me when I saw who’d been looking for me. “I was looking for you. I would say good morning but it’s already lunch time.”

She laughed, her soft brown eyes friendly. “It’s fine, I was told to let you sleep a bit longer by Mr. Linton, he told me to show you to your room once you woke up.”

I nodded, surprised she didn’t find it suspicious that I was staying in a separate room from Mihai’s.

She spotted my look of surprise and said. “It’s more common than you think for spouses to not share their rooms among the elite.”

She motioned to the right. “This way, let’s get you to your room.”

I followed her making sure that I kept track of where we went so that I was able to get back. As we walked along, Mrs. Forton told me a bit about the house.

“Mr. Linton, prior to his first marriage, spent most of his time in his apartment in the city but after marriage he moved here. I’ve been serving him at half capacity and only spend more time here during the day, in order to assist him with the young master along with Butler Simian. Of course, some of those duties will now be handed over to you.”

Hearing this I glanced at her. “Oh, and why is that?”

She offered me a polite smile. “Well now that you’re here I can go back to focusing on my original duties. I will hand over to you the responsibilities I have been temporarily handling. Such as picking Nelu up from school and assisting him with his homework. He also has an appointment once a week with the child therapist, at the private hospital since his mother’s accident. Which is shortly followed by his classes at the private academy.

“Accident?” I repeated. Trying to think back to the articles I’d read from back then and luckily, I was able to remember the article about how Mihai’s wife had fallen from a window during a benefit ball. “Oh, right. Then I’ll be taking over mommy duties then.”

She gave me a small smile. “Yes, I guess that’s what it would be called.”

“Cool, I’m glad to be of help.”

And it wasn’t a burden on me since I liked Nelu.

I listened to Mrs. Forton talk about the kid’s schedule. He had more things to do in one day then most adults I knew. I couldn’t understand how he was able to follow such a schedule and not rebel.

“How long has he been following such a schedule?” I asked.

Mrs. Forton’s expression turned thoughtful as we came to a stop. “I believe he’s been following this schedule since he turned four.”

I wanted to tell her to stop it immediately, but I would first talk to Mihai about it. After all, Mihai was his father. It didn't feel right for me to make a choice about his kid without him. Remembering she’d mentioned picking him up, I asked. “What time does he get off school today?”

Today being Thursday, which also meant I needed to check in with Sophie about the menu, I’d left her to see if Hannah had any questions. I frowned as I thought about it a bit more. I needed to check in with the hotel, since I’d been literally dragged away before I could meet them. Seeing how much was going on, I decided it would be best to send them my designs and refer them to another designer I knew. I would usually hold on to a job like this tooth and nail, but there was just too much happening for me to do that.

Checking her watch, Mrs. Forton said. “He doesn’t get out of school till 2:30. You have a few hours to get dressed and have something to eat. The driver will call when he’s outside.” She turned around and opened the door behind her.

---