"Good morning, miss. It's been so long since Sir Owen had a visitor. It's nice to meet you, I'm Victor, the building manager."
"He's a friend." Owen added while cracking his neck.
"Yes, and also a friend." Victor reached out his hand and Lucy stood up to welcome it.
They sat in the great room.
"So, what may I help you with?" Victor was looking at Lucy who was not prepared for the question and almost immediately looked at Owen as if he had the answers. And he did.
"Men trespassed their home last night, their initial claim being that her father who has long passed away took a loan, them being the creditors. I want you to check the authenticity of the info. There's a possibility of the police being involved. I'll send you the pictures of one of the perpetrators taken in front of the police station this morning. Get all the other information from her."
This is the most words Lucy heard Owen say in a single breath, which was surprising in itself but what's even more astounding is the clear summarization of events and how the other man was not reacting as if it was out of the ordinary.
Both men are on their phones, for which Lucy assumed was for the photographs Owen mentioned. Victor is simply holding his chin looking at the screen, pressing a few more buttons before looking up to meet Lucy's gaze.
"Sorry, you had to go through that."
Lucy didn't feel quite up to answering the remark with words so she simply nodded and gave an understanding smile.
"Please put your contact info on this phone so I can reach you later for the information I need." The man was so sure and intentional that Lucy automatically accepted the phone and started dialling her phone number on the keypad display.
She was at the fourth digit when she realized the weight of the help these people wanted to extend. She's an employee, an employee who is already indebted to Owen, basically a blip in the man's life. This goes beyond what a normal acquaintance would do and she can't bear to have these people involved if the authorities did have a hand on this.
She stopped typing, clenching on the phone in her hands.
"You don't have to." Instead of looking at the man in front of her, she twisted her head to face Owen with burrowing eyes instead.
Owen nodded, which was not a proper answer at all. For Owen, it meant that he knew that he didn't have to, but was doing it regardless.
"This is too much, you might get into trouble." Owen stayed unfazed.
Another voice answered for him.
"If I may say, miss. Not to pressure you or anything, but if he offered, it means he's prepared to see it until the end." The voice came from Victor who was on the opposite seat.
He leaned closer. "And, believe it or not, this is a simple request, not much trouble at all." He shook his head with an unconcerned demeanor before leaning back in his chair.
Lucy looked at the phone again and unclenched her grip. He looked at Owen again, who nodded just like before and she continued to finish pressing the rest of her mobile number on the device.
Victor stood up and gestured to take the phone from Lucy's hands. "Thank you. I guess that's it. Owen, miss Lucy, I'll go ahead." He nodded and then swiftly headed towards the large door. He was gone in seconds.
"Thank you for all this help, Owen. I don't know how to repay you."
"Just continue doing your job." Owen didn't need anything from Lucy. Helping her was on a whim.
"We know that's not enough, this is too much." She tapped her hands on her lap.
"Stay here." He blurted out without changing expressions, also surprised by the words that came out of his own mouth. Owen is immediately digging the corners of his brain to come up with an explanation that would be at least remotely acceptable to the young woman's ears.
"What?" The expected response from Lucy.
"As my personal staff." Smoothly delivered as if it's rehearsed. Yes, that's right, she can be a part of the staff.
"I'm sorry I don't understand."
"You can't go back to your house, it's dangerous. Unless, we hire guards for you, maybe at least five." He threw in a bait proposal that will surely get rejected so his initial offer will be considered more seriously.
Lucy was deep in thought and had her eyes on her own fidgeting hands.
"You will work as my physical therapist as usual. Regular sessions will be done at the gym. My personal treatment requests will be done here. I have plenty of rooms, you can take that one." He pointed at a corridor. There's a door at the end of the hall but he changed his mind in a heartbeat. "No, there." He pointed at the door beside the one he came out of later.
Lucy understood that the last room Owen offered was the one beside his own room. "Why the sudden change? Can't I just stay there, lightly pointing to the room at the end of the hall with her thumb?"
"Ghost." With this, there was a clunk behind Lucy which made her jump.
.
"That's my cat."
A white Persian jumps off the shelf and walks up to Lucy's foot.
"His name is Cosmo." Owen is as expressionless as ever.
Lucy massaged the feline's chin, effortlessly.
Owen, irritated with the creature acting all mushy with his guest, whispered under his breath. "Show off."
"I will go with you later to fetch your stuff, you can rest for now, I'll call you if I need anything." Owen pushed himself off the seat.
If you need anything, not if I need anything? Lucy decided to push back her immediate question and stopped Owen for a more urgent concern.
"Wait, wait." Owen already stood up. "We haven't really agreed on anything. I haven't agreed to anything yet."
Owen, as if only remembering that fact, answered after a brief reconsideration. "Then rest now and we will talk about it over lunch."
With that, he strode towards his room and shut the door. Lucy was left on the couch dumbfounded. She always gets stunned how absurdly short conversations are with Owen but this is on another level.
She felt Cosmo rub his body against her foot and found comfort in the contact. Maybe she did needed the rest. She stood up, walked, following the same path Owen took, and stopped at the door beside his.
Things are starting to slow and she is finally grasping the situation she's in. This is all too weird for Lucy, but surely not in a bad way. How she got here, the offer to investigate, it's all too fast but she unexpectedly felt safe.
She turns the knob and pushes the lush door trying to calm her mind, but she was in awe again. She breathes in the size of the room. Never in her life has she seen such a display. She dared not settle her bag on the expensive-looking console and simply carried it with her until she reached the bed.
The bed. It looked so inviting.
She already had a good night's sleep last night considering all that transpired. The meds she took really took the light out of her. But, looking at the fluffiness in front of her was just so mouthwatering, she couldn't resist.
She crawled to the bed from the bottom, over the comforter and all, and just embraced the softness under her body.
Owen said they'll talk over dinner, she grabbed her phone from her back pocket to look at the time. 10:15.
Maybe she'll take a nap for an hour.