Chapter 4 Milosh
4 MILOSH
‘We have four floors in total,’ Daphne states as we begin walking up the large staircase, her hair swishing behind her as she turns to look at me. ‘Basement, ground floor, first floor and second. Live-in staff have rooms on the second floor, while mine, my father’s and some of the guest rooms are on the first.’
‘I’m gonna need a layout of the estate, any blueprints and access to all security cameras, codes and keys,’ I tell her. ‘I also need a list of people who have access to this house, all the staff and the frequency with which they come in and out.’
‘Amelia can get all of that for you. I’ll show you where her office is in a moment then you can stop by later and she’ll sort it out.’
We stop short at the top of the stairs as we approach the first set of rooms. Just as Daphne goes to open what I presume to be her room, a mousey-looking woman comes out of the door opposite, holding a basket full of cleaning supplies.
‘Morning, Charlotte.’ Daphne smiles warmly.
‘Good morning, Miss Green.’ She smiles back, her eyes darting between me and Daphne. ‘I’m just setting up this guest room for our visitor per your father’s request. I’m almost finished. I just need to get some towels and remake the bed, then you can show him.’
‘Oh.’ The shock in Daphne’s voice is prevalent but she quickly recovers. ‘Okay, thank you, Charlotte, that’s great.’ She turns to me. ‘I’ll show you my bedroom first, while she finishes up. Then you can go and unpack your things.’
She opens a door to reveal a large, clean, feminine room, with cream-coloured walls, light furniture and large windows looking out to the driveway at the front of the house. Her bed is pristinely made, with too many pink-and-cream decorative pillows to count and a bedside table on either side. A bouquet of white roses stands on one and the other houses a few books and an alarm clock. In front of the windows is a small cream sofa with even more pillows.
Who needs that many pillows?
What would you even do with them?
‘The dressing room is through here,’ Daphne says as she opens another door and crosses the threshold. I walk behind her into a slightly smaller room, neatly packed with a ridiculous amount of clothes, shoes and bags. The vanity along one wall is painstakingly organized, with an expensive-looking perfume collection meticulously displayed on a tiered stand to one side and an elegant cushioned jewellery box on the other. We move into her bathroom which connects to both her bedroom and her dressing room. It’s the largest en suite I think I’ve ever seen and it has the same light pink theme as the other two rooms – classy, sophisticated and clean.
She’s wearing pink pyjamas, she has loads of pink clothes in her dressing room and there are pink decorative accents everywhere.
She likes pink. Got it.
‘How do your windows open?’ I ask as we walk back into the bedroom.
‘Um, by the latch at the bottom. You just have to twist and push.’ She goes to sit on the end of her bed while I check the sturdiness of the glass and latches.
‘Do any of these doors have locks?’
‘Yes, the bathroom locks from the inside and the door to my room has a key, but the dressing room doesn’t have a lock apart from the door to enter the bathroom.’
‘I’m gonna need a copy of the keys to your main bedroom door,’ I say as I turn back around to face her. I watch her as she gently pulls out the bedside table drawer furthest from me, her hair momentarily falling into her face before she delicately sweeps it back behind her ear.
‘Here you go,’ Daphne says, placing the brass key into my palm. A small shock passes between our hands as her fingers brush mine, which she clearly feels too, as she draws back swiftly.
She looks away, slightly flustered. ‘It’s the carpets.’
‘Excuse me?’ I ask.
‘The electric shock. They’re caused by the static in the carpets.’
‘Hmm.’ I nod, as I slip the key in one of my pockets. My eyes scan down her face, onto her neck, stopping at her collarbones, where I can see the rise and fall of her shallow breaths. I look back up at her only to find her eyes on my mouth. My tongue darts out to wet my bottom lip and she looks up, meeting my eyes. She’s parts her lips, about to say something before we hear a gentle knock on the door. We both turn to look as mouse-girl Charlotte leans her head around the door.
Her eyes glance between me and Daphne again, before offering a shy smile. ‘The guest room’s all ready, Miss Green.’
Great. Thank you, Charlotte. Daphne smiles. Charlotte nods once before closing the door, which leaves just me and Daphne again. I watch her as she slips on a pair of slippers that are at the foot of her bed before looking back to me. ‘Let me show you to your room, Mr Petrov.’
‘Milosh,’ I correct.
When we cross the hallway to the guestroom, Daphne twists the door handle, using her weight to push it open. When it doesn’t budge, I walk up behind her, placing my hand on the wood just above her head, and give it a shove to help her out. The door swings open, but for a moment we remain in the threshold, frozen. This close, I can smell her sweet, innately feminine scent. She smells like a mixture of orange blossom and marshmallows.
Great.
So not only does she look like a princess and talk like a princess, she even smells like one.
Recovering from my very obvious brain malfunction I clear my throat to refocus and walk past her into the room.
Placing my duffel on the plush footstool in front of the bed, I do a quick survey of where I’ll be staying for the foreseeable future. This room’s a lot more neutral than Daphne’s, with cream walls, brown and beige furniture and deep wooden accents. There are a few pieces of art hung on the walls, and the heavy floor-to-ceiling curtains are pulled back to reveal large windows looking out onto the Greens’ huge backyard. The bed features crisp white linens and a copious number of neutral-coloured pillows. Not as many as Daphne has, but still more than necessary.
‘The en suite is through here.’ Daphne motions, walking gracefully into the bathroom. ‘Extra towels are in the wardrobe. They’re replaced every second day. Just leave them on the hook here and Charlotte will collect them.’
I nod as I take in the bathroom. It’s smaller than Daphne’s but bigger than anything I’ve ever had. Both this room and the bedroom have the same vibe as the rest of the house. Classic and elegant mixed with small modern touches. The whole house screams money without trying too hard, including the people living within it.
The thing is, I’ve seen money before. The congressmen I protected were wealthy, but they were nowhere near Green wealth. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those ridiculous throw pillows cost more than my outfit.
Move on from the pillows, Milosh.
Focusing back on safety, I check the windows for sturdiness and look around for anything that could be used as a weapon if needed. Happy with my assessment I turn around, finding Daphne in the doorway with her head cocked, a curious expression dancing on her face.
‘Where would I find the keys for the wardrobe and the door?’
‘Room keys are normally stored in one of the bedside tables,’ she answers after a beat, turning on her heel and walking over to check the drawer closest to her. Once she retrieves the keys, her soft hand finds mine and places them in my palm, just as her chocolate eyes lift to meet my gaze. A crazy part of me wants to run my thumb across her plump bottom lip, just to see if it is as soft as it looks, but I hold off and settle for slipping the keys into another pocket, keeping my hand there to prevent myself from doing something stupid. She watches the fluid movement, her eyes tracking up my arm and settling on my bicep. After a few moments of silence, I clear my throat.
‘Would you, um, like to unpack now or do you want to do it after we finish the tour?’ she breathes, looking back up at me. I smell a fresh waft of that orange blossom and marshmallow scent of hers and instantly make up my mind.
‘I’ll do it later. Let’s finish the tour.’ I need to get a handle on myself and get this tour over and done with. The quicker I’m done with the tour, the quicker I can create some much-needed distance.
Jeez. I’ve only known the girl two hours.
Wildly inconvenient indeed.