Chapter Nine
~ Daniel ~
I took a deep breath and then carried the tray of coffee into the living room. I would have preferred staying in the kitchen until everyone left, but if Sir had taught me one thing it was to be a good host.
I set the tray on the coffee table and then moved over to Jackson's side. I leaned down far enough for him to hear me and said, "Breakfast is just about ready. Should I make enough for everyone?"
Jackson glanced up at me, one eyebrow raised. "Did you make enough for everyone?"
Technically?
"I'd have to add a few things, but I think there would be enough. I'd just need about ten minutes."
"Have you guys had breakfast yet?" Jackson asked the four men in the room.
I recognized two of them from last night. I had no idea who the other two men were and I wasn't going to ask. If Jackson wanted me to know who they were, he'd introduce them.
"Sam and I already ate," Miles stated.
"I could eat," the man sitting next to Jake said. His eyes were a very vivid green and he had collar length strawberry blond hair. "I'm Jai, by the way. Jake's husband."
I gave him a respectful nod, but didn't say anything.
"This is Daniel," Jackson stated. "Later today he'll be my husband."
Jake's eyes snapped to Jackson. "You decided to marry him then?"
"I did." Jackson sent me a small smile as if to reassure me. "Daniel and I still have a few things to iron out, but I think marriage is our best course of action. It'll allow me to make sure that Daniel is safe from people like William."
"You need to talk to Alejandro about getting him a bodyguard like Burke," Miles interjected. "He's been with Sam since the beginning and he's good at his job. He gives Sam the space he needs, but ensures he's safe when I'm not around."
Jackson nodded as if mulling over what Miles had said. "I'll give it some thought later. Right now I need to make sure Daniel is legally safe."
"You should bring Daniel by the office after you're all done so Norris can put the tracker in," Jake stated. "Like I said, most of us have one. It's helped us more than once."
Tracker?
I glanced at Jackson hoping he would expand on Jake's statement, but he said nothing. Not knowing if it was okay to ask about it, I tugged on Jackson's sleeve and then gestured toward the kitchen. As soon as Jackson nodded I hurried out of the room and back down the hallway.
I grabbed some fruit and started cutting it up. It would go nicely with the quiche I had made. It was a light breakfast, but I hadn't expected guests.
"Need any help?"
The knife in my hand clattered to the counter. My eyes as round as they could possibly be, I turned to find Jai standing in the entryway. He had a friendly smile on his face, which I appreciated, but he was a bit intimidating.
"I'm just cutting up some fruit to go with the quiche."
"Quiche?"
I nodded as I picked the knife up again and began cutting. "I made a ham, cheese, and spinach quiche for breakfast."
"Really?" Jai rested his face in his hands and his elbows on the countertop. "What kind of cheese did you use?"
My eyebrows shot up as I glanced at the man. "White American. I didn't want the taste of the cheese to overpower the maple ham flavor."
"Oh, good choice."
I thought so.
"I don't do as much cooking as I would like," Jai continued. "I work as Jake's marketing assistant so I don't have a lot of time to cook. We're usually working on some project or flying around the world for business meetings."
"That sounds kind of exciting, though. Better than cooking. I've never been outside of the state of New York."
"I'm sure Jack will take you on vacation at some point."
I wasn't.
I finished cutting the fruit and placed it all in a bowl with a serving spoon before carrying it to the dining room. I added a stack of plates and forks for people and then went back for the quiche. I also added several glasses and a pitcher of orange juice.
I would have preferred fresh squeezed, but there weren't enough oranges. There also wasn't a juice squeezer.
"Can you call people in for food?" I asked Jai as I carried the quiche to the table.
Jai nodded and walked out of the room. I looked around, trying to think if there was anything else I could add. Without a trip to the grocery store myself, I couldn't think of anything else.
Maybe I should ask Jackson if he could take me to the store or a farmer's market. I hesitated to ask, but there were things that were needed in the kitchen that just weren't here.
I didn't mind cooking for us, I really didn't, but there were spices and oils that I'd need in order to make good home cooked meals. There were only so many things I could make with what was here.
When Jackson walked into the room with the others, I hurried over to his side and clasped my hands in front of me, waiting for his next command.
"Sit down and eat, Daniel." Jackson gestured to one of the chairs. "We have a long day ahead of us. You're going to need the energy."
I waited until Jackson started to sit down before taking the seat next to him. Through the fall of my bangs, I quickly checked our guests, making sure they had everything they needed.
I was going to wait until everyone else had served themselves before getting my food, but Jackson piled a big scoop of the quiche onto my plate and then added some fruit.
Still, I did wait until he had started eating before I joined him. Sir had never required me to wait for him to eat first, but it was too engrained in me. The master always ate first.
Frankly, those first couple of years I'd been surprised I'd been allowed to eat at the same table as Sir. It had taken time for me to understand and accept the fact that I wasn't going to be treated as a pet.
I ate slowly, listening to the conversation going on around me. I was still confused by the whole tracker thing. I wanted to ask, but I wasn't going to do it in front of Jackson's friends. That would be horribly impolite and I didn't want to embarrass my new master.
"Daniel, are you ready for today?"
I glanced up to see Miles staring at me with an intensity that made me feel as if he could see all the deep dark secrets in my soul. I know Jackson had said I could speak with Miles, but I wasn't sure if that was still true until I peeked up at him and saw the smile on his face.
Jackson preferred honestly so I said, "I'm not sure what all is happening today so I can't say for sure that I am prepared, but Jackson said he would make sure I was safe."
"We're getting married first," Jackson stated. "My assistant will be here soon with all the paperwork. After everything is filed with the courts, we have to stop by my father's lawyer's office, and then we're headed to Jake's office to get you a tracker."
There was that word again.
"Tracker?"
"It's something Jake's lab guys invented," Jackson explained. "It has a five-hundred-mile radius, so if you get kidnapped or lost, we have a better chance of finding you. It also reads heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature so that those searching for you can tell what kind of condition you are in."
I glanced at Jake tentatively. "It can do all of that?"
Jake nodded before holding out his hand and pointing to a spot near his thumb. "Jai and I both have one as do Sam and Miles and a few of our other friends. It doesn't hurt to have it put in and after awhile you forget it's even there."
I looked at Jackson and received his nod before reaching out to touch the area Jake had indicated. I felt a small bump under my fingertip, hardly noticeable at all.
"I'm also going to arrange for you to have a bodyguard," Jackson said. "I want you to have free reign to go wherever you want, but I want you protected while you do it."
Free reign?
It wasn't like I planned to go a lot of places, but it would be nice to know I could if I wanted to. Sir had allowed me to come and go as I pleased as long as I told him before hand. Seems Jackson wasn't any different except for the whole bodyguard thing.
"Are you done eating, Daniel?"
I glanced down at my empty plate in surprise. Apparently, I was, but if anyone asked me I couldn't tell them when I'd eaten my food. I barely remember taking a single bite.
"I'll just clean up real quick." I stood and started grabbing dishes before carrying them into the kitchen. When I went back to the dining room to get more, Jai and Sam met me halfway, their hands full.
"Where can we put these?" Jai asked.
I sent him a small smile of thanks as I turned and headed back to the kitchen. "If you set them on the counter near the sink, I'll rinse them down and get them loaded in the dishwasher."
After Jai and set everything down, Jai gestured toward the dining room. "Sam, if you want to go join Miles, I'll grab the last of the stuff and help Daniel get everything loaded."
"Thank you," Sam murmured before walking quickly out of the room.
I gazed after him, a frown marring my features. "Is he okay?"
Had I offended him in some way?
"He's fine," Jai said. "Sam doesn't do well away from Miles. He has some issues from his past that make it hard for him to be around people he doesn't know. It'll take him a little while to get comfortable with you. It's nothing personal. Just the way he is."
I could relate. I had a lot of issues, but not all of them were from my past. Some of them were front and center in my present.
"My one word of advice," Jai said, "don't make any loud noises around him. Sam gets really jumpy around loud noises and voices raised in anger."
He wasn't the only one.
Living with Sir had been like a dream because he hardly ever raised his voice. He always talked in a clear calm tone and expected those around him to do the same. I had no idea what it would be like with Jackson.
I was kind of afraid to find out.
Jai continued to talk to me as I washed the dishes and loaded them in the dishwasher, although he changed to topic from Sam to describing the local area and things I could see and go do. I appreciated the information along with the friendly gesture.
Jai didn't seem to have the same hang-ups that Sam and I had, or more specifically that I had. He was friendly enough, which I also appreciated. He didn't treat me as a servant as some of Sir's friends had in the past. Even better, he didn't treat me like I wasn't there.
I wasn't sure if this all meant he wanted to be friends or if he was just being friendly. I knew there was a difference.
"Daniel?"
I glanced toward the kitchen entrance when I heard Jackson call out my name.
"Edward is here," Jackson said. "Go change so we can head to the courthouse."
Change?
I glanced down at my clothes in dismay. It wasn't like I had brought a lot with me. I didn't exactly have anything to change into. And why did I need to change anyway? My slacks and dress shirt should be perfectly acceptable for going to the courthouse. It wasn't like we were attending a party.
"Grab your shoes and a sweater or something. It's a bit cold outside."
That I could do.
I dried my hands off with the kitchen towel and then hung it on the rack before heading to the bedroom to grab a sweater. Luckily, that was something I had packed before I left the estate.
After getting my shoes and a sweater and putting them on, I made a quick trip to the bathroom to go pee and then run a brush through my hair. Another thing Sir had always insisted on was being presentable when I went out in public.
I refused to bring shame to my new master.