Page 18 of Man of the Year

He stomps out. The staff entrance door opens and closes, and I meet Rosalie’s eyes. “Is he okay?”

She rolls her lips in. “He’s fine. Just upset. Don’t mind him. He’s a good guy. He’s just…”

“Doesn’t know how to be friendly?” I prompt.

She chuckles.

Uh-huh. The number of times I’ve heard, “He’s not an asshole, he just has a lot on his plate right now,” probably tops the list of most used excuses for assholes.

I get Rosalie to casually chat for a minute, asking her about the house, other rules, and what we’ll be doing for the party as I plant off-topic questions in between—about other employees, our boss, and the company he has.

Rosalie is stingy with replies, but I get useful bits here and there. I was right—besides being a driver, Nick is Rosenberg’s assistant and, apparently, his lackey, though Rosalie calls him an old-fashioned “butler.”

I bring up Julien’s words about special favors. “Julien and Nick don’t get along?”

She trains her hard stare on me. “A pretty girl like you? You should keep your head down in a place like this.”

“What do my looks have to do with anything?” I press on. Her words make me wonder what Darla looked like.

Rosalie’s friendliness vanishes in seconds. She starts rearranging boxes of party supplies on the kitchen island.

“Stay away from the boss and his business,” she says, her movements jerky and irritated. “I’ll see you tomorrow at ten in the morning. Don’t be late. Wear the right attire.”

Well, there’s that.

She walks out abruptly, leaving me by myself. Julien is nowhere to be seen. I’m grateful and surprised that he’s not escorting me out of the house to make sure I don’t steal anything. He seems like that type of guy.

Right now, the house is a giant ghost town. I grab my purse out of the locker and check my phone. There’s a missed phone call from my friend Tess. A number of text messages from other people. Everyone is freaking out about Cara, asking what happened. I don’t have an answer to that.Yet.

Before leaving, I tiptoe toward the living room, wanting to sneak a look around.

From what I’ve learned cleaning the bathrooms and staff area, the cameras are in the main hallway, living room, upstairs hallway, the staff staircase, the back terrace, and two more cameras around the property. I kept a mental note of the house plan. When I get home, I will do a sketch of the mansion as well as the location of the cameras and try to calculate several pathways through the house to avoid them.

I am about to step into the living room when Rosalie’s voice behind me makes me jump out of my skin.

“You looking for someone, sweetie?”

She stands in the middle of the staff hallway, her unblinking stare on me.

Heart pounding, I feign a cheerful expression. “I was just looking for Julien. Have a question for him.” I can tell my lie didn’t fly.

“I can pass on the question. What is it?”

I wave her off. “Regarding the paycheck. I’ll ask him tomorrow.” I smile, walking past her. “Have a good night, Rosalie.”

“You too, sweetie. And, Natalie?”

I turn and meet her cold stare.

“It’s in your best interest not to snoop around in this house.”

I nod and walk away. I don’t hear a single sound behind me. That means Rosalie hasn’t moved, and she’s watching me.

TWELVE

NATALIE

The air outside is hot. The sky is dark, but the lights around The Splendors illuminate the mansion and garden in a magical way. In many fairy tales, horrible things happen in pretty castles. Just saying.

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