Chapter 7: Welcome Mrs Grey!

I stood, frozen.

I had an idea who it might be but I was conflicted.

Was it Brian? or was it the woman in the red dress?

I typed but before I could send the text, the line was disconnected.

I exclaimed and swore.

My hands lay akimbo on my waist, I held the phone against it and thought deeply about what I had just seen.

Before I could think of the next line of action, I heard footsteps.

Damon.

I didn't want him to think otherwise. So, I unlocked the door, rushed towards the bed and pretended to be asleep.

In the nick of time, I turned off my phone.

                                               ....

I woke up with all the muscles of my body aching badly. The aches and pains were familiar. I had probably slept in a terrible position again.

Wait, had Damon seen me like that?.

I hastily got up, adjusted my hair and wiped off the rheum in the corner of my eye.

I searched the room but didn't see him. I sighed in relief.

I was about to make my way back to sleep when I heard his voice come from the closet.

"Good morning Mrs Grey. How was your sleep?"

My pulse thudded so loudly I was sure he could hear it.

 A slight gasp escaped my lips. He was there?!

"Good—good morning Damon." I realised I had stalled.

He went quiet.

I held my chest and pulled the blanket closer to myself.

He walked out slowly, when he appeared I realised he wasn't fully clothed.

I turned away.

He chuckled.

"Ma'am, you can look, we're married."

I gulped.

Not until you put on your shirt. 

"Why?, don't you like what you see?"

He moved closer to me, and stood at the edge of my bed.

"I'm clothed"

I turned around slowly and peeped through the gaps in my fingers.

Wait, what?. How had he suited up in less than a minute?

He interrupted my thoughts.

"Any news from Brian?"

"No, not yet" 

"I see. Let me know if anything comes up."

"I will."

"Get dressed, you have to meet your staff"

He walked away from my bed and put on his cufflinks.

I got up shyly.

He sat on the couch in the room and smiled. 

"Take your time"

I freshened up and returned to the room. Some strands of hair sat on my face. I adjusted them hastily.

When I got out, he was still there.

"Great, let's go"

When we got out, I was greeted by the warm scent of freshly toasted bread. I sniffed.

"Can't wait to munch on those"

Soon, we were in the courtyard. Although most of the decorations were gone, there were still a few traces of glitter. I noticed them when the Sun shone.

I looked around, stood closely behind Damon and observed.

He spoke up.

"Good morning," he said firmly.

"Good morning sir" they bowed.

He motioned towards the man that stood not so far away from him. He stood somewhere between Damon and the staff.

More gathered.

I was alarmed. Was I really going to have to learn all their names? I couldn't even pronounce Vonsh.. or whatever his name was the last time.

I searched for him, his gaze met mine, he smiled.

Great.

The man spoke up. "Please introduce yourselves accordingly to the new missus."

His name, which I eventually learned, was Luke. He was Damon's personal assistant.

The first person introduced himself, then the second and then finally, Luke introduced himself.

He stepped closer towards Damon and whispered into his ear.

"This is Mrs Grey. You are to afford her with the same respect you do me, understood?"

"Yes sir"

"Anyone who wants access to me must answer to her first"

I froze.

He grabbed my hand calmly, "understood?"

"Yes sir"

Luke and Von smiled at me.

"Any questions?"

"No sir"

"You are dismissed"

They all left quietly. 

I could remember some names, some of the women who assisted yesterday were Ally, a pale skinned woman and the other 4 women. These ones were the kindest to me. 

However, I couldn't help but feel like the other women, especially one, held a slight grudge.  

She was the youngest among 6. 

I told myself I was over thinking it. Yet, the unease lingered.

Luke got off the call he was on and signalled subtly to Damon.

Damon turned over to me. 

"Mrs Grey, come meet your Body guards"

We walked for about three minutes towards another direction, still in the courtyard.

The men were behind a fence-like pillar.

"Introduce yourselves"

"Hello miss, I'm Ray. The chief body guard. Nice to meet you"

"Hello Ray. The pleasure is mine"

Luke smiled.

"These are ..." He motioned towards the slightly less large men and introduced them.

"Nice to meet you ma'am" they replied in unison.

"And this, is your assistant Molly." Damon added.

"Nice to meet you Molly"

"The pleasure is all mine Mrs Grey" she nodded.

I smiled.

"I'll handle your schedule and agenda henceforth. You don't have to lift a finger"

I liked the sound of that. 

My previous assistant was great but I needed a change now that I was Mrs Grey.

She could always assist at the office.

"Come, let's go have breakfast" he held my hand and directed me to the dining hall.

Damon's Body guards stood at the side of his cars. Mine waited for the next orders.

Luke signalled for them to leave.

Upon arriving at the dining Hall, we were served various types of food.

I wasn't expecting anything less.

I got toast, eggs and avocado with a cup of coffee.

Damon pushed the green peas over to me.

I tried to hide the disgust on my face. I almost threw up.

Luckily, after years of pretense, I could mask that properly.

Liliana walked in.

"Good morning" she greeted in a tone that sounded more like a question.

She walked over to my side and gave me a hug.

"Good morning Liliana" Damon replied.

While we were still in the warm embrace, her eyes darted back and forth on the menu.

"I'll have this"

She removed the green peas from my presence and began eating them.

Luckily, Damon hadn't suspected a thing.

"Arie, I'll be leaving in about an hour. I'd want you to accompany me to go shopping"

I nodded then looked over to Damon.

She smiled, "is that fine by you in-law?"

He nodded.

"Great."

"Here's the card Mrs Grey," he handed over a black card.

"There's no budget"

I smiled with gratitude. Power felt stinger than I imagined.

We continued eating in silence. I felt a little self-conscious about me still being in my sleepwear.

I excused myself and made my way back to our room.

Damon and Liliana chatted while I headed back.

When I got there. I shut the door and turned the key.

I reached for my phone on the bed.

 “You shouldn’t be here.” attached was another picture from the wedding.

I took a screenshot of the text and sent to Liliana.

She hadn't replied yet.

I went to take my bath.

             ....  

I got dressed in a simple flowery summer mini gown and tied my hair up in a bun.

As soon as I got to the dining hall, Damon stopped eating. He was only distracted for a minute when his assistant came to update him on his schedule.

"Ayy Chica, you look good!"

"Thank you. I learn from the best."

I took sips of the burning coffee. As it made its way to my throat, I couldn't help but savour its taste.

They made it just the way I liked it.

Liliana had probably told them.

Damon got up and adjusted his suit.

"Mrs Grey, I'll be off. Don't long for me too much"

"I'll try" I giggled.

He winked.

Liliana smiled.

I knew to him it probably didn't mean anything but to me, it felt like the whole world favoured me. His kind gestures were a contrast to Brian's controlling ones.

"Have a great day Liliana"

"Thank you. Have a great day as well" she replied him.

Before he left, the sound of heels echoed in the room. I stopped midway, the spoon inches away from mouth.

Liliana looked up. Damon stopped i

n his tracks.

"We should throw a welcome party soon don't you think?" An oddly familiar voice rang from the side of the room where the sound of heels came from.

Damon sipped his half-drunk orange juice.

It was the woman at the event.

She grinned. 

"Welcome Mrs Grey."