Chapter 3 The following afternoon, I'd cleared all of my paintings from the living room and packed most of my belongings into boxes. It had taken the entire day. Thankfully, I hadn't run into Dorian. I would've been completely fine never seeing him again. I hadn't checked with Benjamin to see if a hotel had been booked for me. But either way, this absolutely sucked. I had no idea how long Remington's son would be willing to foot that bill just to keep me away from this place. Finding an apartment as soon as possible would be prudent so I could cut all ties with him. I'd love to be able to refuse his offer to pay for the hotel, but I needed to save all I could if I was going to have to start paying rent. My waitressing job mainly covered my tuition, so it wasn't clear how I was going to afford rent now. There was a very real chance I'd need to drop out of school. From my room, I heard dogs barking in the distance. Patsy had taken them home overnight last night to groom them. She had an extra-large tub that made it easier to bathe them both in one shot. Ah. That's why they hadn't made a ruckus when Dorian came in. They would've been all over him otherwise and would've provided me some warning that he'd arrived. I headed downstairs to see what was going on. The sight of the two Dobermans pinning Dorian against the wall gave me immeasurable pleasure. He was literally trapped. The best part? They were going straight for his balls. I couldn't have orchestrated it better myself. Serves him right. "Ladies!" I called out, snapping my fingers. "It's okay. Come here." Tallulah and Tess backed off immediately and ran toward me, wagging their stumpy tails. When I knelt, they began licking my face. Dorian ran a hand through his now-tousled dark hair. "What the hell is wrong with those dogs?" he griped. "I thought they were gonna bite my balls off." "They most likely wouldn't have done that. But they're crotch sniffers." "Crotch sniffers?" "Yes. When they meet someone, they go straight between the legs. It's like an initiation." "That's disturbing." "Everyone has their thing." I narrowed my eyes. "I'm surprised they don't recognize you." "I never met them. I haven't been home in two years." I nodded. That made sense. Remington had said he'd acquired the two Dobermans about a year ago, not long before I moved in. "Well, they're doing what they're meant to." "Sniff my crotch?" "No." I chuckled. "Protect the house from someone they assume is a stranger." He rolled his eyes. "I suppose." "They'll calm down once they get to know you." I petted them. "These dogs meant everything to your father. They were always by his side whenever he was home. And clearly, they thought you were an intruder. Just like you thought I was last night. The irony, right?" Dorian cleared his throat. "Well, thank you for saving me from unwanted attention below the waist." Something told me this guy was likely used to females trying to get a piece of him below the waist. I hated to admit it, but Dorian Vanderbilt was smoking hot. "No problem." I flashed my teeth. As I continued to pet the now pacified animals, silence filled the room. Dorian finally spoke. "Actually...I'm glad you're here, Primrose. I was going to come find you." "Oh?" I stood. He pressed his fingertips together in a steeple formation. "I want to apologize about last night." "You were going to apologize even before I saved you from T and T?" His eyes fell to just below my crop top ever so briefly. If you blinked, you might've missed it. But I didn't. I couldn't tell if he was admiring me or judging me for my wardrobe choices. I'd bet on the latter. After all, he'd made a condescending comment about crop tops last night. "This morning I spoke with Benjamin," he said. "He let me know that you've really helped keep things running around here since the accident, and that the dogs, in particular, like having you around. He mirrored what you said about the dogs meaning a lot to my father, which is why I can't bear to get rid of them, even if I don't need the complication of pets right now." Nodding, I said, "Benjamin has told me nice things about the kind of person you were when you were younger, which is why your attitude last night surprised me." He clenched his jaw. "Yeah, well, life has hardened me since then, I guess." "I don't suppose losing your father helped. I truly am very sorry for your loss, if I didn't make that clear last night." He paused for several seconds, looking down at the dogs before he met my gaze again. "I have a proposition for you, Primrose." I straightened. "All right..." "If you're willing to stay at the house, keep things copacetic with the dogs and staff, I'd be happy to fund your tuition for as long as you're living here." One minute he wanted to kick me out. Now he wanted to let me stay and pay for my tuition? Hello, Mr. Hyde. "I can't let you do that. I don't need a handout. As much as you might think I like freeloading, I won't accept that. My aunt never paid my tuition. But having a place to stay is much appreciated, because it's hard finding anything remotely close to school that I'd be able to afford. So, I will take you up on the offer to continue living here." I tilted my head. "What would you need me to do specifically, though?" "Nothing much. Just be here...keep morale up with the staff, so I don't have to. Or maybe just keep a look out for anything that might need to be brought to my attention. Not saying you have to manage anything formally. But I'm going to be too busy to pay close attention to what's going on around here. And as long as there are people on the payroll, it would be helpful to have another set of eyes and ears." Relief washed over me as I reveled in the fact that I no longer had to look for an apartment. "I can definitely do that." "Good, then. Feel free to stay as long as you need." "You're not selling the house anytime soon?" "Not anytime in the near future, no. With having to take over operations at Vanderbilt Technologies, I need to be nearby, unfortunately." "Why unfortunately?" "Because I'd much rather be back in Boston." "You don't like it here?" "It'll always be home. But with that comes things I'd rather not remember." "Do you know what you're doing, in terms of your father's business?" I was embarrassed that I didn't exactly know what Vanderbilt Technologies produced. Now didn't seem like the right time to ask, though. "He'd been training me to work alongside him for years. Even though I've been based on the East Coast, we'd been working together remotely. His plan was that if anything were to happen to him, I would move into his position. I just never thought I'd have to take the helm so soon. I still have a lot to learn." "Well..." I exhaled. "I'll stay out of your hair unless I need to let you know anything pertinent. And I'll make sure my art stays out of the living room." His tone softened. "What did you do with your monkeys?" "They're currently in my bedroom. As you know, I was expecting to pack them into a moving truck with the rest of my stuff tonight before you so graciously got your head out of your ass. But I'll take them back to school. They have a storage room for student projects there. Hopefully they'll eventually be sold." "I see." I waited for him to mock my art again, but he didn't. I looked down at the dogs. "Anyway, you should probably try to get to know the ladies, so they don't freak out around you again." He shook his head. "I'm not crazy about dogs." "Ohhh." I gave him a disappointed look. He tilted his head. "What?" "People who don't like dogs can't be trusted. Cats, too." "And monkeys, I presume?" "All animals, yes. It says something about you if you can't tolerate the kind of pure, unbiased love they have to offer. It's the purest form of love there is." "I didn't say I couldn't tolerate them. Just not interested in getting my face licked." "Face licked is better than balls nicked. The sooner you warm up to them, the better off you'll be and the less chance of that happening. They're yours now, whether you like it or not." He grimaced. "Clearly they're not happy with me." "They will be once they can sense the good in you. If what Benjamin says is true, I know it's in there somewhere." I grinned. "What's Benjamin saying about me exactly?" "Just that you're not all that bad." He cracked a smile. I was now able to appreciate just how gorgeous Dorian Vanderbilt was, as the ugly personality that had masked his face faded a bit. Actually, stunning was probably the right word to describe him. A perfect, symmetrical nose to match his perfectly angular jaw. His eyes were a blue-gray color, like oxidized steel. "Well, if you'll excuse me..." I cleared my throat. "Now that I don't have to move my crap out today, I'm gonna go make myself a late lunch." He gestured toward Tallulah and Tess. "Feel free to take them with you." I pointed to a chair in the corner of the room. "Go sit over there, Dorian." His forehead wrinkled. "Why?" "That's where your dad would sit at night and read or have a glass of scotch. Just humor me." Dorian moved to the corner of the room and sat in the upholstered chair. I led the dogs over to him. "Come on, ladies. It's okay. This is Dorian. Your brother." Dorian rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Great." "Tallulah likes to be rubbed between the ears. Tess, too. Don't be surprised if Tess rubs her asshole on your feet, though. That's just something she likes to do." "Something to look forward to." He reluctantly rubbed between each dog's ears until they seemed completely unaffected by him. Slowly enamored, actually. I giggled. "I'll leave you guys alone." After I left the living room for the kitchen, I ran into Benjamin. "Dorian is letting me stay," I announced. He winked. "I knew he'd smarten up." "Smarten up, huh?" I nudged him with my elbow. "Seems to me like you talked him into it." "I might've put in a few good words for you." He shrugged. "I wasn't gonna let you go without a fight." "I appreciate it, my friend." "You deserve to stay here as long as you need to. Christina would've wanted that." "No one deserves a place like this. It's a privilege. And the fact of the matter is, it's Dorian's decision now." "Well, he made the right one." Benjamin smiled. "You must've known deep down that Dorian had a heart if you even attempted to convince him to let me stay." "Of course. I've known him since he was a kid-since before his father began setting expectations so high that it burned Dorian out. He left home to put some distance between them. Dorian is good people, but it might take you a while to see it." "He's lucky to have someone like you around who knows the real him." "Believe me, I still don't want to piss him off. But I don't lose sleep at night worrying about my job like Patsy." He chuckled. "I probably know too much for him to get rid of me." I leaned in. "Like what?" "Well, for one, it's kind of hard to fire someone who used to help change your sheets when you pissed the bed as a kid." He winked. "But you didn't hear that from me." I covered my mouth in laughter. "Oh shit." Patsy entered the kitchen and whispered, "Are we gossiping about Dorian?" "Yeah." I nodded. "Seems we're safe." She pretended to wipe sweat from her forehead. "I'm so happy I don't have to say goodbye to you guys." I grinned. I lingered in the kitchen for almost an hour, shooting the shit with them. After I finally managed to stop chatting long enough to make a sandwich, I carried it upstairs. To get to my room at the far end of the hallway, I had to pass all the other bedrooms. It occurred to me that I had no idea where Dorian was sleeping. I assumed he wouldn't want to take his dad's room, as that might be a little strange, especially since the walk-in closet was still filled with Remington and Christina's clothing. Talk about haunting. But maybe he would want to claim it, since it was the best room in the house. Halfway down the hall was a small window that overlooked the patio below. I peeked out and noticed something moving outside. Dorian stood at the edge of the pool. His thick, black hair was wet and slicked back. His skin glistened with water droplets, every gorgeous ripple of muscle on display. Well, damn. I'd suspected the body probably matched the face, but here was my proof. I was practically drooling, and it wasn't anything to do with this sandwich. That was the body of someone who worked out religiously. His gaze rose without warning to meet my stare. I nearly fell back from the shock of getting caught. Embarrassed, I did what my mother always taught me to do in awkward situations: lean into it. I smiled and awkwardly gave him a thumbs up. His eyes slowly narrowed as he returned the gesture, probably officially regretting his decision to let me stay. In a romance-themed observation show, several participants undergo a series of interactions and conflicts filled with love, misunderstandings, and power struggles. In the end, one couple rises to over...