Chapter 9

MARI

Pierce gave me a full rein to do what I pleased in his home, which I did for the last two days. But besides the breathtaking view out of the back side of his home and the large pool off the kitchen, it was a standard mansion complete with a library full books he probably never read and more TVs than any human needed.

I had three televisions in my old apartment in San Francisco and zero in my shack in Guatemala, and I was a hell of a lot happier in Guatemala. Pierce was the epitome of excess, and even though a small part of me remembered this lifestyle and longed for it, I now saw how having things didn't make me a better person.

My friends in San Francisco were always searching for something more, which was one reason I secretively longed to be friends with Aspen and her friends. They seemed normal in a city full of abnormal people. My first experience with a truly happy family happened in Guatemala in the poorest villages I visited on my trip.

I lost everything to find what I wanted—friends and family I could be myself with even in the worst of times.

Even then I struggled with who I was in the past and who I'd become in the future. Pierce told me to be myself, and my friendly nature would win the town's people over. But being surrounded by wealth and money had my old personality swimming to the surface. I yearned to wear four-inch heels and thousand-dollar dresses. It clawed at my brain. I was one champagne glass away from snapping back into old habits.

I'd also gone stir crazy in Pierce's home. Everywhere I looked were large spaces full of quiet as I wandered the rooms looking for Pierce himself in a quest to find something to do that afternoon. I hadn't been so slothy since… well ever.

We visited every shop and building he owned the other day, but I wanted to go back out into the city again to meet more people and mingle. Maybe a walk along the beach. And I desperately didn't want to do it alone.

In San Francisco I'd always been surrounded by people who would have called themselves friends, but none of them were true. When I fell from grace, no one called to check on me, offered me support, or help or even wanted to give me a place to sleep when I needed it. In Guatemala I made friends with the other volunteers. We bonded over our trials and tribulations. Yet even there I noticed something lacking. I didn't quite fit. Being alone in Pierce's house brought my need to connect with someone roaring to the surface.

"Pierce," I called out at the top of the stairwell and headed toward his room, hoping to find him there or in his office. His bedroom door was open, and with a quick scan of the room I saw he wasn't there. Across the hall, the space he used as an office was slightly ajar, so I pushed it open the rest the way and stuck my head through the opening.

Leaning over Pierce's desk, Melissa dug through a stack of papers quickly.

"Um, have you seen Pierce?" I asked catching the woman off guard.

She jumped back with a startled scream and her wide eyes met mine.

Immediately after, before I had time to ask questions, I felt heat at my back and turned to see Pierce along with Oliver on their way through the threshold to the office. Not wanting to be the only one left in the hallway, I crowded my way inside as well.

"What the hell, Melissa?" Pierce said, putting together the pieces.

Melissa dropped the booklet she'd been clutching in one hand. It was a large ledger of checks, like businesses used to write out expenses. Pierce used the same thing to write me a check less than a week ago.

"I just needed a few more dollars. Grandma's bills weren't paid and you know how expensive the nursing home is," Melissa sputtered, her face turning red.

I stepped back, getting Pierce and her both into one line of sight as his shoulders rose and he stood taller, anger taking over his features. "I gave you a ten percent raise two months ago. This is unacceptable behavior. You need to get out." He pointed his hand to the door, and I stepped away making room.

"But my family?" Melissa argued.

"They're not my concern anymore. You're fired. I would've helped you, Melissa, but no one steals from the Kensingtons. This is the last straw."

Oliver stood quietly at Pierce's side, shaking his head at the events that transpired. I couldn't decide if he was okay with Pierce's actions or upset by them and my own conflicting emotions battled.

"Are you sure?" I asked Pierce under my breath as Melissa stormed out of the room wiping a tear from her eye before it fell.

Pierce spun on me, a deep line set across his forehead. "This is my house. I put up with a lot of crap in this town from those people but I won't have a thief in my house. She makes more than most people in this area, and I've given her a second chance already. It's my staff and you don't question what happens here." Anger laced his words and I took a step back until Oliver stepped between us.

"We've known her family for our whole lives, Pierce. Something has to be going on besides what she said."

Pierce shook his head. Rage wafted off him even as a door on the first floor slammed closed. "I bet it's not about money. She's looking for information. Fucking Katy. I swear, Oliver. I can't take it anymore."

That name again.

"I'm sorry. You're right. I would've fired her too," I said trying to ease the tension. It wasn't a lie. If I found the staff rifling through my possessions, I would've let them go on the drop of a hat. There is a certain amount of privacy anyone should be able to expect, especially in your own home.

Unfortunately, the last two years I've seen what desperate people will do when times are tight. If it was money, my heart went out to Melissa. She'd always been nice and sweet to me. She didn't appear to be someone to skim money off the top of her employer, but you never knew what people did when they were out of options and no one was looking.

"Pierce and I have to run the Clearwater for a meeting. Do you want to come along or will you be okay here for the afternoon?" Oliver asked as Pierce stalked to his desk and arranged the papers Melissa riffled through, trying to see what she was searching for so openly she'd risk her job.

No way did I plan to get in a car with him. "I'll just hang out around here. Sit by the pool."

Fall would quickly descend on Pelican Bay, and there wouldn't be many days left to enjoy the water if my quick Google search taught me anything about the climate. Alone time, which started out seeming like a horrible idea that morning, held much better promises now.