Enchanted by the Demon Wolf

Chapter 4

"Let me worry about my own safety. If you think your little scare tactic is going to scare me then you are wrong, so tell me!", she insisted. 

She looked at Arthur as he gave her a worried look but Piers was smiling uncannily at her.

"I am sure the pay of $100,000 monthly to be my personal psychiatrist is too good an offer to pass up and that is why you are really here. I know it sounds good but it comes at a cost- you have to be my live in psychiatrist".

"You asked me to tell you what is wrong with me - well the truth is I do not know for sure. All I can say is, it is not always safe to be around me after dark!" 

"If you care for your safety, this is your final chance to go home but if you really want to know what is wrong with me, then you just have to accept to be my psychiatrist and find out more for yourself. You also need to know you are to stay in my guest room at night until you figure out what is truly wrong with me. You are only allowed to leave the mansion during the day if you so wish".

"So do you accept the job?", Piers asked her.

She felt he had indirectly called her a gold digger for believing money was the only motivation she had for taking this job.  

"Yes I do. I also want to make something clear to you", she replied with a smile. Piers looked at her with a blank expression on his face.

"You made a wrong assumption believing I only came here for your money. No, I truly came here to help you with whatever your problem is. Like I said, I am the best psychiatrist you can find in Seattle, if not the whole of Washington!"

"But since you chose to make this about money, I want to make you a bet, one you can't refuse", she said.

"I am listening?", Piers said, intrigued by what she said and the challenge she wanted to lay before him.

"I bet you I can work for you for free for a month and within that month, I can figure out a diagnosis for what is wrong with you but you will have to pay me thrice the offer you are making now at the end of the month if I succeed and also make me your permanent psychiatrist. But if I fail on my promise then I'll have to leave empty handed without you paying a dime at the end of the month", she offered.

Piers chuckled at what she said. He looked at her like she was crazy. It was indeed an offer he could not refuse. She didn't care why Piers chuckled or why Arthur looked alarmed. Whatever it was, she was sure she could deal with it.

"I accept", Piers answered. He stared at her blue eyes deeply, as if trying to decipher her, as she had surprised him. Arthur looked more alarmed than ever before but he said nothing. 

"Excellent. Then we have a deal!", she said excitedly, extending her hands to shake his. This time around he shook her hands with a faint smile on his face, as if he was wishing her "good luck".

"When do you intend to start your therapy sessions?", Piers asked.

"Today, you are now officially my patient but

 I'd like to settle down first before we can start our first therapy session", She said smiling at him. She was proud of what her wit and persistence had accomplished with the most arrogant man she had ever met in her life.

"Okay, I'll be in my study. Just inform Arthur to let me know when you need me", Piers said, as he returned back to his study, leaving behind Arthur and her. 

Alex yet wasn't ready for their first therapy session, she needed to get the upper hand on him in their bet. If she is to win her bet with him, she needs to do a thorough background check on him. She needed to know a lot about him, his personal history; where he grew up, how he was growing up, those he worked with and his family history.

It was obvious to her he wasn't going to be an open book for her and if she must succeed as she had promised she would within a month she had to get those details from those closest to him and Arthur was the first person on her list of persons to interview.

"Please walk with me Arthur", she requested politely.

"Yes, Dr. Alex. Where would you like to go?", Arthur asked.

"Please take me around the favourite places of Mr. Piers in the house", she requested. 

"That will be my pleasure", Arthur said, as he led the way. She followed him by his side.

"So tell me, how long have you worked for Mr. Piers Anderson?", she inquired of him. She felt he must have worked for him for a very long time because of how old he was.

"I am the butler of this house. I am the longest working staff here and have worked in this house for 55 years. I started working for the Anderson's when I was still a young man at 20 years of age. I worked for his late parents Henry and Lilian Anderson before young Piers was born. So I have practically worked for Piers Anderson all his life till now", Arthur said. 

He sounded proud of his accomplishment, like he lived a fulfilled life working for the Anderson's. She could tell he must have made a fortune as he refused to retire even at 75 years of age. She simply figured out his age by adding up when he started working for the Anderson's at age 20 plus the 55 years he had worked for the Anderson's.

"And how well would you say you know the behaviour of Piers Anderson?", she asked.

"More than most, I'd say", Arthur said, not revealing too much.

"That's more than good enough", she said, pleased with the news she was getting from him.

"How was Mr. Piers while growing up as a boy. Did he have a rough childhood?", she asked. She knew as both a psychologist and a psychiatrist his arrogance and strong willed nature didn't just develop overnight, it had a root either in his childhood or teenage years. A traumatic event or events must have made him the way he is.