Chapter 37
I woke up before my alarm even came close to sounding off. I was nervous, and the sleep that I did get wasn’t very restful. I had planned on getting up at eight o’clock. My feet hit the floor just before seven. Maddox rolled over, opening his eyes.
“Having trouble sleeping?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.
I was jealous, vampires didn’t need nearly as much sleep as humans. Their bodies literally healed any issue as soon as it popped up. I was positive no vampire had ever perished due to lack of sleep. Humans, on the other hand, I’ve heard it has happened.
“Yeah, my brain can’t shut off so I can’t stay asleep. This is a big deal. I’m nervous—if you couldn’t tell. I feel like I am going to be under a microscope for the next three days. I know you say that isn’t the situation at all, but my body is telling me something completely different.”
I went into the bathroom and shut the door.
I was nervous, and I really didn’t want a damn pep talk or someone asking me a thousand fucking questions.
I turned on the shower and stripped off my clothes.
I stepped into the stall and immersed myself in the streams of hot water.
It felt amazing against my skin, and I lost track of time.
I was pulled back to the here and now when Maddox entered the room to use the toilet and brush his teeth.
“Are you good, baby?”
“Yeah, I’m good. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
I picked up my loofah and body wash from the shelf and started lathering up my body.
I heard Maddox leave, and I finished washing my body and hair.
I remembered the white wide-leg, high-waisted pantsuit that I would be wearing when everyone arrived.
White was my wardrobe theme today, and it felt a little ceremonial and pompous now.
Too late. I needed to stop trying to hide and quit worrying about what they would think of me.
I am me, and no matter how they feel about me, it is not going to change me.
I toweled off and brushed my teeth and hair.
I threw on my bathrobe because I also knew there would be someone here around half past eight to do my hair and makeup.
Bonnie wanted nothing left to chance, and the way I was feeling right now, that was a brilliant decision.
When I sat down at the island there was a cup of coffee that I could tell was for me.
Maddox drank his coffee black, and I did not.
I blew on the top before taking a sip. The taste was nostalgic, and it gave me a false sense of comfort that was intoxicating in the moment.
Today would have turned into a coffee kind of day if my brain didn’t remind me that it would also make my breath smell funny.
I didn’t need another thing to worry about.
Maddox set a plate in front of me with two pieces of toast and a banana on it.
“I didn’t want to risk too much, but you need food in your system.” He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “I am going to get in the shower.”
Picking up a slice of toast, I took a bite—it helped a little.
My stomach felt slightly more settled, and my anxiety started to loosen its grip.
Just a little, though—it wouldn’t be going away completely, anytime soon.
I sat and ate my food while sipping my coffee slowly.
When it started getting close to eight-thirty, I got up and dumped my remaining coffee down the drain and set my cup into the sink.
In my closet, I pulled my clothes and laid them on the bed.
Maddox exited the bathroom just as there was a knock on the door.
He was wearing a very lightweight pair of tan pants and a crisp white dress shirt.
His hair was tied into a knot at the back of his head.
I saw him lay the matching jacket on the bed opposite my clothes.
“I’ll get it,” he said as he left the room to answer the door.
A few moments later, he returned with a woman who had a beautiful head of hair and exquisitely done makeup.
She knew what she was doing, and it eased my anxiety a little further.
She set her cases down and began opening them up at my large dressing table.
Maddox crossed the room and wrapped me in a hug.
“You are going to do great today. I love you.” He kissed me gently.
“I am going to put my guys in motion and make sure the vehicles are gassed and ready to go once the planes are inbound. I want you to text me when you are ready. I will bring a cart to pick you up. You don’t want to be walking around the grounds in that white suit. ”
“I will text when I am ready to go.” I kissed him again, and he was out the door to start his day.
* * *
When I entered through the back door of the complex, I continued through the rear of the lobby until I reached the reception desk.
I looked around at a transformed room. There were a few tables set up with chairs.
The tables had black linen tablecloths and small centerpieces.
Water goblets and pitchers of ice water.
As I drew closer, I noticed a menu at each place setting.
It looked to be made up of salads, sandwiches, and a few side items. People would be arriving over the course of three hours, and some would be hungry, others not so much.
At any given time over the next three to four hours, people would be ordering and eating the food offered.
There were other tables in the room that had troughs filled with ice and different types of beverages. Another was covered with chips and assorted snacks. The last table had gift bags that were personalized with each guest’s name. A true reception area had taken over the lobby.
Maddox was by my side—we were looking for Bonnie. She was exiting the library and noticed us right away. Her face lit up and she headed straight for us.
“How are you feeling today?” she asked, wrapping me in a hug.
“I’m doing alright—trying to keep the nerves at bay,” I answered, being honest.
“Well, you look amazing.”
“What’s in the gift bags?” I asked, being nosy.
“A personalized note, keys to their cabin, a map of the grounds, and a list of events, personalized for each person. Not everyone that will be on property will be privy to Scott and Alexander’s testimony.
There is a travel tumbler, a candy bar, some gum, a bottle of spring water, mints, and a few other things.
Nothing too important. The good stuff is in the baskets that were left in the cabins. ”
“They were a wonderful touch. You make us look so good.” Bonnie was beaming; it was very apparent that she thrived in situations such as this.
“So, we have about two hours before the first guests arrive and around an hour before we send the first car to the airport,” Maddox added, just to keep everyone on task.
“I am going to meet with Ronan and make sure we are ready to go when everyone arrives. He will be by my side and hopefully, on his game and ready to help me through this.” Maddox rolled his eyes, and I scowled at him.
“That is getting old,” I snapped, turning and walking toward the elevator. The doors opened, I stepped into the metal box and pushed the button for the top floor.
When I reached Ronan’s office, I knocked and within seconds he was opening the door and stepping aside to allow me entry.
“Joslyn, how are ye feeling dis morning?” he asked, just as everyone else had.
This wasn’t helping at all, and I wish people would just stop asking me that.
“I’m fine. Are you ready for today?” I took a seat across from his desk.
“I’m ready for today. I didn’t ‘ave to do much preparing though. I ‘ave known dese people for quite some time. Ye will ‘ave to learn about dem and figure things out for yerself.” I could appreciate his honesty. I preferred people that way—honest, even if it was brutal. “I can indeed answer any questions dat ye may ‘ave as people are arriving and ye are meeting dem for de first time. It does help dat dey don’t all arrive at once. It’s spread out a little to give ye some time to retain information and not just be bombarded by it all and den nothing sticks.” He wasn’t wrong about any of it.
“Great, I just hope everything goes smoothly.”
I was starting to feel like everyone was at ease and not anticipating any issues.
I needed to exude more confidence, and this insecure thing wasn’t serving me well at all.
Not that it was intentional. I couldn’t help it.
Everyone kept reassuring me that everything would be fine, and I had nothing to worry about.
What the fuck did they know about being me? I stood up from the chair.
“I will see you downstairs before noon.”
Ronan rounded the desk and opened the door for me. “I will see you in a bit,” he confirmed as I exited the office and headed downstairs.
As I stepped off the elevator and turned the corner, entering the expansive lobby, I saw Maddox with a large group of his security team.
It looked as though he was breaking them into pairs and sending them where he wanted them to be.
The closer I got, the easier it was to decipher the look on his face.
He wasn’t stressed, but he didn’t look happy either.
The men scattered, bound for their posts and assigned tasks.
“You look so serious,” I teased, as I got within earshot. He smiled at me as I came nearer.
“I take my job very seriously. It’s important that I do, for everyone’s sake.” He put his arm around my shoulders. “So, what are you doing right now?”
“I just left Ronan’s office and wanted to get something to eat before everyone arrives. It’s going to get busy around here. You want to have some lunch with me?”
“Sounds great.”
“I don’t want to mess up anything in this room. Maybe we should go to the kitchen and sit in there.”
“Joslyn, you are wearing white. We have time to switch out the tablecloth. You aren’t sitting in a kitchen where food is everywhere, and people are prepping and cooking.”
“Good point.”