Page 60 of Spark

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I complained. “I can’t fit another bite.”

“We have our orders,” said Clive chiming in.

“Do your orders include wearing your sunglasses indoors?” I asked. They hadn’t removed them, and even though the shade had lightened a bit, I still thought it was weird.

“Yes,” they both said.

I rolled my eyes. “If I throw it up, it’s your fault then,” I snarled and then shoved the remaining bites of food into my mouth.

With my nerves constantly running amuck, it was difficult to devour a large meal. Normally, this much wouldn’t be that difficult, but my stomach had shrunk in size significantly, especially after my thirty-day liquid diet.

Shoving my plate away from me, I abruptly stood and stormed my way onto my balcony, slamming the French doors behind me. I heard the door to my bedroom close, and I knew they’d left. There were plenty of men standing around below me, so there was no need for them to think I was going to make some crazy elaborate escape now.

Trying to calm myself down, I sat on the lawn chair and curled into myself. I thought about the conversation I’d had with Darren in the car just a few hours ago. He’d mentioned his mother and how they hadn’t gone to war since her death. I’d never asked how she died since I never cared. It was probably better that she never got to live to see her sons become monsters anyway. But now, it seemed she had been killed, which must have started the war Darren had mentioned. A war he’d clearly won. He was young then, still just a boy, and I was sure the bloodshed that came from that kind of retribution was the cement to his character.

The loss of a parent was difficult. My dad, his mom—I didn’t know which was worse, knowing your parent and losing them forever or never really getting to know them in the first place. Either way, I was sure his dad wanted revenge for the loss of his wife, regardless of whether they had children. I wondered how it happened. Clearly, it was away from the estate and obviously by one of their enemies. If the war was bad enough to cause other organizations not to cross Darren’s, it must have been one hell of a fight.

Fuck. Just what the hell was I up against?

* * *

Toward the end of the evening, after the shift change, Jaden’s bodyguards arrived in my office to report on her day, even though I already knew how it had gone. I wanted to know what they thought, if they noticed the same things I did, and what they would do to avoid escalated situations in the future. Clive and Owen both sat in the black leather chairs across from my desk and sat like the perfect soldiers they were.

“So how was Jaden’s first day back?” I asked them, relaxing into my chair.

“Good, sir,” Clive answered. “Though she was a little argumentative, she is beginning to adjust.”

I nodded in agreement. “I noticed she rearranged her room today,” I said.

“Yes, she did do that,” Owen replied with a nod.

“Do you know why?”

“She said she didn’t want to return to the same room she once escaped from.”

I smiled at his ignorance. “You’re half correct, Owen.”

I could see his eyebrows furrow behind his special glasses. They were designed to register heat signatures as well as gain access to the security cameras throughout the estate so they could not only see every potential threat, but they could also watch Jaden without completely fucking with her privacy.

“Jaden rearranged her room in a way that she thinks will give her a defensive advantage against me,” I continued, and this time they both gave away their confusion. “Did you notice where she moved her bed? On the adjacent wall between her bedroom door and bathroom door? Did you notice which side of the bed she decided to sleep on? The one closest to the bathroom door?”

Clive and Owen raised their chins as if they suddenly realized what they had missed.

“It would take me an extra six steps to get around the bed to get to her before she’d make it to the bathroom. Before, nothing impeded me, and though those six steps are not much of a concern to me, nor will they protect Jaden from me any more than if her bed was right in front of the bathroom door, it was still something the two of you neglected to foresee.”

Clive and Owen both looked at each other as if they were ready to start apologizing, both clearly becoming uncomfortable.

“It’s okay, boys. I’m not mad, but this is an example of the kind of shit she will try to pull, and she’ll do it right under your nose if you’re not careful. Jaden is no idiot; she is very intelligent, and she will continue to find ways to push the barriers of her boundaries until she runs out of options. You must be there to foresee and discredit those options.”

They nodded in unison, their postures stiffening as they considered the challenge ahead of them.

“She will try to push you and annoy you. Do not give her the reaction she wants. It’ll only encourage her. One day, this behavior will cease, but until then, you need to be suspicious of almost everything she does because it’s almost always in her own self-interest. You don’t have to address every little thing she does, but make sure she understands that you’re on to her, and eventually, she will stop bothering. Understand?”

“Yes, sir,” they both said in unison.

“Good. I’ll be gone most of the day tomorrow. So long as Jaden is cooperative, she can leave her room. It’s supposed to storm tomorrow, so she is not to wander outside. I’ve had the staff set up her paint set in the upstairs office. You can suggest it after her workout if she likes. Questions?”

Clive and Owen both regarded each other before Owen spoke. “Do you want us to have her put her room back the way it was?”

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