Page 7 of Unspoken Confessions
I glanced over the huge ass kitchen, with all of its new, shiny, expensive appliances that looked as if they hardly got any use. I might have raised a brow at the six-burner gas stove that sat in the middle on one side of the island. I wondered if I was allowed to use it. Or if I cared whether or not I was allowed to.
“Living room,” Jen said as he walked to the middle of the massive, open room and did a cute little spin. “Nick doesn’t spend a lot of time in here. Feel free to use the TV or anything else. There are TVs in each of your rooms, but this one is, well, bigger. And you know what they say about bigger.” He tossed a wink at me, the tip of his tongue popping out of his mouth and pressing against his top lip. Then he turned around like nothing had even happened.
I snorted but also found myself smiling.
Next was the downstairs office, which we were free to use if we needed to. He also pointed out the decent-sized pool outside and a huge grill, which looked like it had been touched just as much as the hardware in the kitchen.
Everything in this house was for show.
Such a fucking shame.
Yeah, every second that ticked on I liked Mr. Movie Star less and less. In fact, the needle was swinging so hard in the negative direction to the point it couldn’t move anymore.
Jen led us up a set of open stairs that could be partially seen from the kitchen and most of the living area. The whole place was very open and that was one thing Ididlike. I didn’t feel like the roof was about to close down on me.
“This room,” Jen said in a hushed whisper as he stopped and pointed to the first door which was closed, “is off-limits.”
I raised a brow at him. Nothing was off-limits to us. If Nick was in that room then we needed to have free access to it.
“This is Mr. Sterling’s sanctuary. It is important that when he is in there, he is not disturbed. It is his quiet workplace. I’m serious on this.”
I didn’t understand why the man would choose the room that was right at the top of the stairs and in the middle of the house to be his so-called sanctuary. It seemed very exposed. I could see most of the first floor from the balcony in front of it. Any noise would bounce right off the high walls and ceiling and echo right here where I was standing.
I shook my head and tried not to care. I didn’t, really. I just wasn’t clear on the thought process behind it at all.
“We understand,” Austin said as he took a step forward and nodded.
Then Jen showed us where our rooms were further down the hall. Mine was the last stop before Jen pointed to the room at the end and told us that was Mr. Movie Star’s bedroom.
So the layout of the house wasn’t bad. I could work with that. A good amount of rooms but it wasn’t so huge where I’d get lost. And if someone somehow managed to make it in, I could quickly narrow down their location with little chance they could slip away as I moved.
After the tour was concluded, we headed back down to the kitchen. Jen offered us some fancy water. I declined. Austin didn’t. And I rolled my eyes at him.
Then we got down to business.
I was surprised Nick Sterling had left Jen to handle everything.
Was he hiding?
Probably. Most likely pouting behind that stupid door we weren’t allowed to go behind since I got the feeling like he wasn’t happy to have us here.
“One request that I didn’t share with Mr. Willis,” Jen said, his face looking stern and serious for the first time. “Mr. Sterling doesn’t know anything about the letters. I would like to keep it that way. I’m sorry to spring this on you, but I wasn’t sure if I’d be forced to fill him in before you got here. Luckily, he didn’t throw a tantrum worthy of explaining how serious this is.”
What the hell?
Not sure I liked it, but I didn’t have much of a choice.
Austin said nothing and Jen took that to mean we agreed to keep quiet about it.
“I’m here most of the time,” Jen said moving on. “Anything that you need to know I’ll fill you in right away. I do not plan to keep anything from you. And since you both have signed an NDA, I know nothing I share will leave this house.”
We both nodded. We took Nondisclosure Agreements very seriously. So did Reed.
“Good,” Jen said with a smile. “Okay, so he has a personal chef that comes every other day. Her name is Carol and all her info and background should be in the file you received. I’m sure your boss also did his own background check and since I haven’t heard anything, I’m assuming nothing was found that I don’t know about.”
“Correct,” Austin said.
“She prepares his meals for two days at a time and leaves them in the fridge. I’ve made her aware of your presence and, for a nice pay increase, she has agreed to make food for you as well. Leave a list of any food allergies or things you don’t eat, please.”
