Hidden in the Shadows

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Cody stared down the man before him, seriously thinking about knocking him on his tail in the dust. Cody said coldly “I believe you’ve said more than enough, and you know the way out.” He didn’t take the hint and fired off saying “Is this what you do? Wait until good people are down on their luck and swoop in take over their life’s dream.” Cody couldn’t help himself; he laughed and said “Is that what your neighbors told you, that they lost the place because of hard times?

Your neighbors just sold this place for over 5 million dollars; it wasn’t the bank who received that money.” He could see he’d taken the wind out of the man’s sails and he said coolly “The next time you even remotely think of speaking to Angel in the manner you did earlier. I will rip your spleen out if her father doesn’t beat me to it.”

Cody was so angry and preoccupied he missed Justin walking up with four men, until Justin asked, “Do we have a problem here?” The man who hadn’t learned to keep his mouth shut said “Yea the problem is you brought some citified girl out here and let her buy something she has no business touching.” Justin arched his brow and said “is, that, right?” Justin gave him a look that would singe others and said coldly “You mess with that little girl and it will be your funeral, you’re trespassing. I suggest you leave and never come back. That little girl has more class and respect in her pinky than you have in your whole body.” The man scoffed until Justin said, “That girl was taken from her real family many years ago, she’s just been reunited with them, if you bother her further it will be the worst mistake you’ve ever made!”

It was Angel who spoke next saying evenly “Justin you should know from experience the only way to change someone’s opinion once its set is by showing that you’re not what they think. I could care less what this person thinks of me. Even if he owned the biggest place out here, he couldn’t touch me. Just show him off the property and make sure the gate is shut and locked I guess the delivery men forgot to close it.”

She paused then said, “I will meet with you gentlemen later I have to meet with my grandmothers and they’re a force of nature.” She glanced at her watch and said “Say, in an hour?”

At their nods she walked away. Justin glanced at his brother Dash who was with him and said, “See to it Mr. Kingsley is shown from the property.” He paused then said “Oh, a word of warning you might want to pass on to your father Kingsley, that little girl is Hunter McDaniel’s daughter, she’s the granddaughter of Jamison McDaniel’s and Harrison Denae. I suggest the next time you choose someone to try and abuse you find a better target.”

He’d watched as with every word the man had turned a little greener.

Once the man was gone, he turned to the man next to him and said “Grant Michaels” meet Cody Hardison, Cody will be the horse trainer and in charge around here with Angel. Cody knows all about security, but he will be busy working the horses. You two will coordinate security measures to make sure she stays safe at all times Grant will be bringing his men with him this evening.” That said Justin headed off towards the house. Cody looked after him and said, “I’d love to be a fly on the wall when old man Kingsley lays into his son, and when Hunter gets ahold of him.” Cody nodded at Grant and said “Come on I’ll show you where you and your men will be bunking down. Let you get a feel for the place.”

When Justin entered the main house, he wasn’t surprised to see that the morning’s events had been shoved to the back of Angel’s mind. She was a tough cookie and powered through what needed to be done. After the interviews were done and then everyone said they could start immediately her grandparents had rushed to show the new housekeeper, and maid around. When asked if she wanted a cook Angel had informed them, she would cook her own food. She spent hours going over the catalogues with the housekeeper who pointed out things they would need for the house and ordering other things like small appliances that would match her kitchen and more dishes and silverware, better pots and pans.

Her things from Best Buy had been delivered earlier. It was coming up on noon when the buzzer at the front gate went off. Justin had left earlier but he’d introduced Grant who would head up security measures. Grant was the one who went to the control panel and viewed the video feed from the camera, he pressed the button for the microphone and asked “May, I help you?” She could clearly see whoever it was hadn’t expected there to be anyone else here. She saw on the monitor as one of Grant’s men literally came out of nowhere, moments later he said over the two-way “Boss, it’s a Mr. Kingsley, says he came to apologize for his son’s behavior he’d like to do so in person.” Grant glanced at Angel who nodded and said, “Let him up this once.”

Angel’s grandmothers had been told what happened to say they were not happy was an understatement. So, they insisted on them meeting him as a united front outside the house. They said he didn’t deserve to intrude upon her home. When the car finally came to a stop near them and the older gentleman got from his car.

Angel knew immediately he wasn’t here to apologize he was here to size up the girl who’d sent his progeny running back home. She imagined his son had forgotten to tell him who her family was. She was proven right on that front when her grandparents introduced themselves and said, “This is our granddaughter Angel McDaniel’s.” She would guess junior would be getting his tail handed to him later for that slip-up. She said evenly “How can we help you Mr. Kingsley?” Before he could answer Grant’s two-way radio went off saying that the dealership was here with the trucks she had ordered. She glanced at Grant and said, “That’s Cody’s job to handle, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go run him to ground and be back shortly.”

That said she left Mr. Kingsley staring after her in shock with her grandmothers and Grant. Belle looked at Kingsley closely she’d seen his kind all her life, she said “I take it Mr. Kingsley you didn’t expect to find out my granddaughter had such a large and protective family. Albeit she could handle the likes of you and your son on her own. Let me make this clear for you, if you or your son harasses my grandchild again, you’ll wish you’d never heard of me.”

She watched him turn red and say, “You can’t tell me what I can or cannot do, it is a free country.” Marigold said coldly “While you’re telling yourself that remember that my granddaughter alone can buy and sell you twenty times over and she’d still never go broke. On top of that, between our families we would welcome the chance to take on anyone who sets out to harm her. I think it’d be best if you left now.” When he would have said something else, Grant stepped forward and said, “You heard the ladies, time to go.”

Grant found it ironic that the man who claimed he came to apologize left as furious as his son had. Just as he was leaving the interior designer arrived, the ladies said they would take her inside while he fetched Angel.

He found Angel and Cody going over the trucks she’d ordered with a fine-tooth comb, making sure everything was the way they had chosen. When they were done, Cody said “All three dually are perfect Angel, we shouldn’t have any problem hauling with these.” Angel nodded then turned to Grant who said without pause “The interior designer is here.” Angel nodded then turned to Cody and said “We pick up the trailers tomorrow morning, there will need to be two trips made to get all five trailers.

We should be ready for the auction tomorrow night.” Cody nodded and said, “We might get a few good horses tomorrow. But we might have to travel to see some, top of the line horses.” Angel nodded and walked away heading back to the house.

Grant turned to Cody and said, “She’s being pulled twenty ways; no one can survive at that pace man.” Cody smiled a bit then said “She can, she has to stay stimulated mentally or she becomes restless. That girl has an IQ of 187 her brain processes and remembers things faster than anyone you know.”

Grant had met geniuses in the military they were tech analyst, intelligence officers, and encryption specialist that not many people got to see in the light of day. What Cody just told him meant this girl was probably as smart if not smarter than the lot of them.

When he finally made it back up to the house it was to hear the interior designer going over details with Angel, he listened as the woman seemed amazed that a nineteen-year-old could so clearly have the same ideas and color schemes that she herself would have chosen. When Angel was done with the interior designer and told her point blank any workers would have to be screened before entering the property by Grant she walked to the kitchen.

When Grant finally caught up, he was mildly shocked to see she was cooking. He’d heard she hadn’t asked for a cook, but he hadn’t expected a nineteen-year-old to know how to cook. He asked casually “What you, cooking chef?” Without even looking up Angel said, “I’m cooking lunch for everyone; I figured if I left it to all of you, you’d starve.” Grant arched his brow and said, “It’s not your job to take care of us.”

Angel laughed and said evenly “I’ve heard that once before today.” She was in the middle of chopping an onion for whatever she had cooking on the stove when her cell rang. She snapped it up and answered “Hello, Angel speaking.” She seemed to listen more than she talked with a lot of uh huh and okays. Then she said “Okay, yea I can be there tonight.” Before hanging up at which point Grant asked, “Be where?” Angel looked up, she’d forgotten she had a security detail for a minute and said, “At Angelo’s tonight, my father wants me to have dinner with him.” Grant nodded absently and said, “You should be safe enough inside the restaurant, but we’ll stay with the car out front.”

For Angel, the rest of the day flew by, her grandmothers helped her pick what to wear this evening to dinner. The dress they picked out was a one shoulder dress that reached just above her knees; they picked her new jimmy choo heels to wear with it. They talked her into wearing her hair down and applying a tiny bit of makeup which they both agreed she didn’t need to enhance her looks. They dug through her massive closet and found her a cashmere wrap to wear with the dress. When she looked in, the mirror she had to admit she didn’t think she was seeing the same person.

Other than a raised brow from the men on her security detail no comment was made about her appearance. When she arrived at the restaurant there was a line formed waiting to get in. She excused herself as she walked directly to the host who remembered her from the last time she’d been in and said, “Miss. McDaniel’s how lovely to see you again, your table is ready. and your father is waiting.” She heard a lot of grumbling and people asking who she was as she was led to the best table in the place where her father sat.

They chatted through dinner talking about everything that had happened that day, when she got to the part about the Kingsley’s her father hadn’t been too thrilled. Once dinner was through, she turned to the waiter and said, “Give my thanks to the chef that was an amazing meal.” The waiter turned ten shades of red and rushed to do just that.

She and her father were still talking business when to her shock and amazement the Chef showed up at their table. He told her he was glad the meal met with her expectations and anytime she was in the restaurant to let the wait staff know to tell him she was there he’d always make sure her meal was perfect. After he was gone, her father asked, “How’d you manage that one, no one has been able to get Angelo from that kitchen since this place opened.” She shook her head absently.

She turned to her father and said, “I have an idea for a project, and I would like your opinion.” At his nod, she continued saying “I’d like to find a small ranch, nothing as, elaborate as what I have now, but one that can be setup as a therapy center, for hurt kids, adults, or, at risk youth, even those who have been in trouble with the law. I think taking care of the horse’s and having some responsibility might help them to get better or turn their lives around.”

Hunter was proud of her she hadn’t been here a week and was already more worried about others than herself. He said “We can do some research and have the corporation’s real estate people look into it for you. I can get you an answer about the cost and everything you’d need to start it up by tomorrow night.” Angel nodded and said, “The auction is tomorrow night.

I’m going to let Cody run with this one while I learn from him, see what we can get, you are more than welcome to come with us.” All his life he has looked for the next big thing, or the next girl, or the next project to keep him busy, when he suddenly in that moment realized if he’d just had his daughter all along, he wouldn’t have been missing anything he needed to find. He said evenly “I will be there.”

They were getting ready to leave when he saw the disaster coming toward them. He swore under his breath, at Angel’s arched brow he whispered quickly “Someone I dated until recently she’s making a nuisance of herself.” Angel looked at the woman headed towards her and wondered what her father had seen in her, other than her looks and body she didn’t have much to offer. But, then again, she knew most men were only after the looks and body.

When Gwen met them on their way, out she said coldly “So, this is your little bastard?” Before Hunter could say anything, Angel laughed and said “Seriously, that’s the best you got? I’ve heard worse than that from five-yr. old. Before you try to take me on girl you better up your game. Here’s a news flash for you, my father wants nothing to do with you, so rather than embarrassing yourself and making yourself look tired and petty, why don’t you go do whatever it is you had planned originally. Because if you mess with me sweetheart, I will make it my life’s mission to make the kind of clientele you need scarce for a lifetime.”

Hunter had watched slowly as first Gwen’s face had turned red. She was so angry then it had begun to lose its coloring as she realized she was making a fool of herself. Giovanni the front manager came over and asked, “Miss. McDaniel’s is there a problem?” Gwen didn’t miss that he’d addressed the girl instead of her which infuriated her more. It was when the man continued saying “Your Grandfather will not be happy someone accosted you in his establishment.”

That was the moment she realized she’d never win, the girl wasn’t just a McDaniel’s, she was also a Denae as well. Angel on some level could feel sorry, for the woman before her because she could tell she was infatuated with her father, but she didn’t love him, and he didn’t love her. To think it was even remotely smart to attack his daughter had been just absolute failure on her part.

Angel hadn’t noted Grant until he said “Angel, you ready to go?” It was Hunter who responded saying “I think she had some other things she wanted to get done tonight, before heading home.” Angel smiled at Grant and said “Oh, yea I need to go to the nearest Best Buy, I need a few things.” Grant glanced at her father and asked, “Are you coming, sir?” Hunter shook his head and ignoring Gwen who was still standing there staring at them said “No, I have some work to do tonight, research for Angel here.”

Grant’s eyebrow rose and he said, “More projects?” at Hunter’s nod, he couldn’t do anything but shake his head. She was moving at warp speed, he figured she had to burn out at some point. When they were gone, he turned on Gwen and said coldly “If you ever talk to my daughter that way again, I will have you blackballed everywhere.” That said he walked away without looking back.

Gwen was very unhappy in that moment and didn’t realize she was about to get even unhappier as Giovanni said, “Miss. Johnson I’m going to have to ask you to vacate the premises, we refuse you service.” If he’d, slapped her couldn’t have gotten his point across more forcefully. She’d let her temper get the better of her and she’d screwed herself.