Mr. Brockwell

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

*Calista*

I woke up around nine, surprised I let myself sleep in that late. Normally I wake up earlier, just naturally. Quinn was coming over today, and I was beyond excited about seeing her. She's going to flip for Adrian's house, who wouldn't? It's a gorgeous mansion! It's still hard to believe that I'm living here, with my boss, in his enormous home.

I got ready for the day, showered and styled my hair curly. I applied minimal makeup, the way I usually do, and dressed in torn jeans and a cropped white shirt. It only took an hour to get ready, and by the time I was done, I could smell bacon in the air. I followed the scent downstairs into the kitchen, where Ida stood next to a chef at the stove. Bacon, eggs, and toast. One of my favorite breakfast combos.

"Top of the mornin' to ya, darlin'!" Ida greeted me with a broad smile, setting a plate in front of me.

"Good morning, Ida. Thank you for breakfast." I smiled, pulling the plate full of food toward me on the table.

"I'll join ya." She muttered and sat at the table with me, eating our breakfast.

"I'm guessing Adrian has already left for work?" I asked.

"Aye," She nodded, "He said he'd return home earlier, though."

"I don't know if he told you, but my friend is coming over to visit today. Don't worry, I already asked Adrian if it was okay, and he said it was." I smiled.

"That will be fine for you, sweetheart." Ida smiled broadly, finishing her breakfast.

She cleaned up the dishes and scurried back into the kitchen. Just as I leave the table, my phone starts to vibrate, and I pull it out of my pocket to find Quinn's name on the screen. Smiling, I answer the phone and heard the same shrill of excitement on the other line.

"I don't think I'm in the right place..." Quinn muttered over the phone, "Cali, the place is massive!"

"Then you're at the right place, hold on, I'll be right there." I squealed and ran towards the front door.

I yanked the front door open to find Quinn's befuddled face staring back. "Wow..."

"Wait until you see the rest!" I shrieked, pulling her inside the house and closing the door behind her.

"Holy shit... This place is... freaking incredible!" Quinn marveled at the entrance, as it showcased the living room and dining room.

"You have to come see my room!" I squealed and grabbed her wrist, yanking her up the staircase.

I dragged her upstairs and towards my bedroom, past all the other hallways. I watched Quinn's eyes light up when I opened my door to reveal my newly decorated room. It was truly beautiful, it reminded me of a bedroom that belonged in a royal palace. The comforter had a sheer lace cover over the top of it, cream with gold trim.

I watched as Quinn trailed her fingers along the lace on the comforter, admiring the details hidden beneath the satin material. The smile she turned around with, though, I wasn't expecting. She had a slight glimmer in her eye, and she suddenly threw herself against me. With her arms wrapped tightly around me, she whispered gently in my ear.

"I'm so happy for you, Cali. You're finally getting the treatment you deserve." She smiled, wiping off the couple of tears that escaped her eyes.

"Why are you crying?" I asked, confused and concerned.

"Tears of joy, honey. I'm just glad to see you living a good life, finally. I knew I liked Mr. B!" Quinn giggled, sitting on the edge of my bed.

"It's weird, though... how all of this happened. I mean, it sounds weird, to say I'm living with my boss." I murmured, shrugging and joining her on the side of the bed.

"Don't think about it like that, just live in the moment. Try not to think ahead or look back too much, it'll only distract you." Quinn winked.

"Maybe you're right?" I nodded.

"Show me the rest of this gorgeous house, girl!" Quinn cheered, and I giggled, showing her out of my bedroom.

I gave Quinn a tour of the house that I knew, because there was still a lot of ground I hadn't covered, plus some places I wasn't allowed to go. She was awestruck the entire time, which isn't surprising because Adrian's house is nothing short of impeccable. Between the expensive decorations and lavish furniture, she was in heaven. I giggled, watching her turn into a fan girl over everything.

Quinn knew a lot about history, so she was drooling over half of the famous artwork and structures that decorated Adrian's home. Educating me on each piece of furniture she passed by, it was adorable. I knew she'd fancy this house, who wouldn't? Especially with all the history it has to offer, like a museum of sorts.

After a couple of hours, Quinn finally settled down and accepted that she was surrounded by all kinds of expensive historical furniture. She found an old chessboard and begged me to play with her, so I thought, why not? We sat on the couch in the living room, setting up the board between us.

I haven't played chess in a long time, but I think I remember the rules. I know Quinn enjoys playing, so she'll probably beat me, but as long as I'm not getting a history lesson the whole time, it'll be great. We had about an hour until dinner would be served. That's plenty of time for a game of chess.

"To make things more interesting, I have an idea." I said with a wink, scurrying into the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of wine.

"That'll definitely make things more interesting!" Quinn chuckled, but didn't deny the glass of wine.

We played for a while, as time flew by and five o'clock quickly neared. Dinner was almost ready, and Adrian still hadn't returned home. The couple glasses of wine were starting to hit hard, and my body felt tingly all the way down to my toes. Quinn and I sat giggling, at what I wasn't sure, but we forgot all about our chess game.

The front door threw open and caught our attention, as Adrian and four other men walked through with plastic storage tubs in hand. Quinn and I immediately stilled our giggles, staring at the unfamiliar figures in the entrance. Adrian smiled crookedly at me, something that made my heart jump into my throat. There was tension in the air, and I wasn't sure why, but the silence was deafening. The four strangers stood absentmindedly at the entrance, unsure of what to say. I watched Adrian's eyes scan the room, taking notice of the wine glasses and chessboard.

"Looks like you ladies are having fun." Adrian blessed us with a broad grin, one that made me breathless.

"Who are your friends?" I asked, more brazen with the liquid courage in my hand.

"These are just some old buddies I ran into, they're going to help me fix a broken speaker in the movie room." Adrian explained, in a tone I'd never heard before.

"I didn't know one was broken..." I noted with an arched eyebrow, causing one of the men to chuckle.

"This is Christian," Adrian said, pointing to the man with light brown hair, "the one that's giggly."

"Christian Torsney, nice to meet you ladies." Christian smiled, holding out his large hand for us to shake.

"I'm Teo Hayda." The man with short black buzzed hair and tan skin added, keeping his head tilted down.

"This is Cooper Freling," Adrian pointed to the man with blond hair and blue eyes, "And that over there with the blue hair is Dallas Salotto."

"It's a pleasure to meet you ladies." Dallas added, nodding and smiling particularly at Quinn.

"This is Calista, and her friend Quinn." Adrian said, with a quick glance at his friends.

"Are your friends staying for dinner?" I asked, hopeful, because I know Quinn likes Dallas too.

"We'll be sticking around for a little while..." Christian said with a smug grin.

Adrian shot a glare towards Christian and the others began to chuckle, leaving Quinn and I confused about what they found funny. I shrugged it off and smiled at them, standing up from the couch and suddenly feeling the wine course through my veins. Stumbling away from the couch and towards the empty room, my feet found the edge of the coffee table and I soon began to trip. In a drunken stupor, I closed my eyes and fell forward into familiar arms. I glanced up to find Adrian cradling me gently against his chest, peering down at me with a crooked smirk.

"How much did you drink?" He asked, his voice soft like silk.

"A few glasses..." I muttered, still pressed firmly to his chest.

"Good thing dinner will be ready soon." Adrian chuckled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, helping to stabilize me against him.

"We'll bring this stuff downstairs, and meet you back up here for dinner." Cooper offered, and the others nodded in agreement, shuffling downstairs.

"Are you staying the night, Quinn?" Adrian asked with a friendly smile.

"Oh, you should!" I squealed, causing both of them to laugh.

"Okay! Thanks for the offer." Quinn smiled and Adrian motioned us toward the dining room.

Ida was setting the table when we walked in. Adrian helped me sit at the table, because I couldn't keep my own balance. Quinn giggled and sat next to me, helping to keep me anchored to the chair. Ida raised an eyebrow at me, with a knowing smirk, shaking her head. She set a tall glass of water in front of me with a wink, causing Quinn to burst into laughter. That caused Ida to give Quinn a glass of water too, instead of wine.

"Ida, I'm sorry I didn't inform you all earlier, but we'll be having four extra guests tonight." Adrian informed Ida, sitting down next to me at the table.

"Four extra guests, hmm?" Ida raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"Look at our lovely Ida!" Christian hollered with twinkling hazel eyes, "You haven't aged a bit!"

"Ah, the charming Christian Torsney. I won't lie and deny I've missed your sweet charm around this house." Ida chuckled, hugging Christian, and showing him to an empty chair.

"Christian may be charming, but he's probably crawling with diseases at this point..." Teo muttered under his breath, entering the room with a smug grin.

"f**k off. I do not have any diseases." Christian grunted, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms across his broad chest.

"I'll be back with dinner. Let me inform the chef of the extra guests." Ida smiled and exited the dining room.

Adrian's friends were all huge guys, and by that I mean muscular and built like a Greek God! Every single one of them looks like he could be a wrestler, football player, or, I suppose, from the Military.

Christian was tall, like Adrian, they were the tallest of the bunch. He had light brown hair that he slicked straight back, the rest of his hair was buzzed short. Christian was a good-looking man, and something told me he was very well aware of that. He was poised and alluring, somewhat of a sweet talker.

Teo had pitch black hair and a tan complexion, always caught with a stoic expression. Though he was quiet, something told me he had a lot to say, he just waited for the right opportunities. Teo was the smallest, but that's not saying much, because the man was still massive compared to me.

Cooper had light blond hair and easy blue eyes, paired with a bright smile. He was very easy going, down-to-earth, and fun to talk to. He had his own type of charisma, compared to Christian, and I could tell he was extremely intelligent.

Last, but not least, there was Dallas. Quinn couldn't take her eyes off him. He was striking with his aquatic blue hair that stood up on top of his head. Dallas was an attractive man too, but in an unconventional way, compared to the others. His eyes were an emerald green that sparkled when his eyes met Quinn's. I couldn't help but smile, watching the two interact. Everyone else had to feel the vibe between them, it was monopolizing the energy in the room.

"So, are you ladies from New York?" Christian asked with a devilishly handsome grin, sipping his glass of wine.

"No, I'm actually from California, but I've lived here for a while." I replied, sobering up with each bite of dinner.

"What about you, Quinn?" Dallas asked, not removing his eyes from her.

"I was born and raised here." Quinn responded, her New York accent edging out.

"That's hot-- I mean nice, that's nice." Dallas cleared his throat, now hiding his blushing face.

"Oh my gosh..." Adrian mumbled under his breath, shaking his head that was bent down.

"Why did you leave Cali, Calista?" Cooper asked, changing the subject and taking the heat off Dallas, while low chuckles still vibrated through the room.

"It's a long story..." I shrugged, offering a fictitious grin.

My past wasn't something I wanted to talk about, ever. Even my best friend, Quinn, didn't know much about my past and I wanted to keep it that way. The Bonetti family that I left behind wasn't much of a family. The reason I moved across the country was to escape the life I had there, or lack thereof. I wanted it to stay in the past, therefore, I never brought it up.

"We've got time." Christian grinned, leaning back in his chair to get more comfortable.

"Not enough..." I grumbled, avoiding everyone's gaze.

"It looks like everyone is finished eating. I'll show you all to your rooms." Adrian said, standing out of his chair and encouraging the others to follow.

I didn't miss the squinted glance Adrian passed at me, before the boys left the dining room. He's probably wondering what I'm trying to hide, and I don't blame him. It was an awkward response, but I didn't know how else to handle it. Like I said, not even my best friend knows the worst of it, and she doesn't need to... no one does.