Chapter 34
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FOUR
Maxim
Sia had a social life…
And I didn’t like it.
I came home to find my house filled with people one night, people I certainly didn’t authorize in my home. Especially when I came home to spend time with Sia.
I’d even brought her flowers.
I put them away upon finding her in my library, again with people in it with her. There were a couple of girls and guys who all appeared to be her age. They lay on my polished floors, books in front of them.
Annoyed, I left the room, a growl on my lips.
I tossed the flowers on the kitchen table when I spotted Val in there. She had a clipboard in her hand and looked to be going over security protocols like she did sometimes.
She spotted the flowers, looking at them curiously.
“ They’re for Sophia for the dining table ,” I passed off, not needing her to question me. We already had weirdness between us after she allowed Sia to go to school by herself. I later spoke to her about that and had been glad I’d been able to keep my temper in check.
Val may or may not be specious about Sia and myself. If she was, she never mentioned anything. It wasn’t her business to mention anything, but I wasn’t trying to make our relationship more obvious by scolding her more than necessary for not looking out for Sia. I came at her professionally when addressing the issue with her though I had every urge within me to release Val from my staff.
That was how crazy Sia Reynolds made me. Val was one of my most trusted and Sia triggered actual thoughts to remove Val from her position.
Grunting, I lifted my hands to sign. “ Who are those people in my library? ”
“ You mean Sia’s friends? ”
“ Sia has friends? ”
Val’s primary focus veered to me at that point. She’d been going back and forth between signing and studying her clipboard which she’d placed on the counter. She lounged against the countertop. “ I believe it’s her study group. It’s Friday night, right? ”
“ Correct, but I don’t believe I authorized people to just be in my house. ”
“ All due respect you weren’t here to authorize, Boss ,” she eyed me, her sign a bit flippant. I supposed she was still annoyed I’d scolded her. She hadn’t taken it lying down but that was Val. She stood firm on her position that Sia was safe and could handle herself.
I saw that first hand, but I didn’t fucking care. Had I been here she wouldn’t have left my sight.
Laughter hit the room then, chatter. It appeared Sia and her “friends” were done because soon they were passing the kitchen.
I watched them all laughing, the guys in the group way too close to her.
One fucker even had his arm around her.
The only thing stopping me from stopping that was Val and the fact the guy removed his arm before they all headed outside. I watched the group reconvene in the back gardens through the kitchen window, their books still in hand.
They obviously all knew my property well and immediately took seats out there. I had stone benches, and they sat on them, the sun setting around them and my vineyard behind them. Sia had people out there like this was fucking holiday break.
“ What is she studying? ” I asked, passing off my glare in that direction by heading to the fridge instead. I got some juice and chose to pour it in front of the window.
“Biology, I believe.” Val’s full attention was still on me, my head of security way too observant. Her arms folded. “I believe she wants to be a vet.”
I knew she wanted to go into the medical field. She must have decided she wanted to work with animals. There wasn’t much about Sia on paper I didn’t know.
The same went for her body.
The few weeks in which we spent time together felt like eons ago. I nearly mourned them now.
But leaving had been necessary…
I told myself that, and it was true. What I had to take care of was necessary and not just for the safety of my home and my daughter. It was for Sia’s well-being too.
It was for our well-being.
The only world in which she and I could be together required me to leave and take care of my business. I had taken care of it and now we had a chance.
I drank down the juice in my glass. I ended up drinking the whole bottle, my eyes on the back gardens the whole time.
“ Anything I need to know, Boss ?” Val was beside me now, but her stare was outside. She made it brief before facing me.
I put my glass down.
“Make sure they don’t leave that area,” I barked while signing. “And if they come inside the house, they don’t go anywhere but the library. I don’t want them anywhere else in the house.”
I left the room before Val could respond.
I didn’t think what I said required a response.