Chapter Four

The black hummer rode smoothly down the asphalt road, winding and turning through every bend, coming to a stop at the large black iron gates briefly as Lance punched a code into the small silver box, causing the gates to groan and squeak as they opened slowly, allowing them to continue forward toward a circular drive.

Lance had arrived early that morning, immediately handing over $3,000, which she gave to Nikki instructing her to deposit $1,000 into her account and keep $2,000 for herself to use part as a down payment on a better apartment and the rest for food and a nice outfit. Nikki hugged her, begging her to be careful, and to call her as often as she could to let her know she was okay.

Emily agreed, and climbed into the hummer waving to Nikki as they pulled away from the curb and toward her temporary home.

The drive had lasted for over an hour, but once they had left the bright lights and fast pace of the city, and headed toward the secluded country area, she relaxed back in her seat, enjoying the scenery of thick trees, rich green grass, and blue smog free skies.

Emily felt as though she was heading toward heaven and as they drove through those large gates and down another long road coming to a stop in front of a magnificent mansion, she knew that more than heaven awaited her inside.

The three story brick home was large....larger than she had ever seen before, and extended further than the eye could see, surrounded by a thick forest of trees, except for a small clearing leading to a large lake off to the right of the home.

A large fountain stood in the center of the drive and another stood amongst thick green shrubbery that led to the beautifully crafted red wooden entry door matching wonderfully with the well designed architecture of the house.

Lance cut the ignition, sliding from the leather seats of the hummer, and walked around the vehicle, opening the door for Emily, offering his hand to help her out.

"Right this way Emily Cooper, I'll show you around your new home."

Sliding her hand into his, she allowed him to lead her up the step and through the door to the circular foyer with four other doorways surrounding them. The stairway stood to the left of her with a circled balcony allowing a view down to the foyer below, where the white and black tiled floor glistened from the cascading light coming from a large extravagant chandelier hanging lowly from the ceiling above them. The stairwell banister was black wrought iron topped by a deep rich wood that accented beautifully against the creamed colored walls, and the carpeting on the stairs suited the decor just perfectly.

A short, dark haired mexican man seemed to appear from no where,a nd Lance greeted him, instructing him to remove Emily's bags from the hummer, and place them in the room she would be staying during her time there.

"Come along Emily, I'll show you around the house."

He led her through the first door to the right of them, into a large sitting room filled with expensive furniture and antiques from miles around.

"This is the sitting room where the parties are held. I don't come in here much, but you are welcome in here at any time."

He watched as she glanced around the room in awe and gently squeezed her elbow, giving her a warm smile as she glanced toward him.

"There is more to see. Once I have showed you the places you are allowed to go, you can come back on your own and fully inspect them."

She laughed lightly, bushing off his words, and followed him back into the foyer and across the hall to another door. Bookshelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling with a sliding ladder, allowing you to reach the top shelves that would other wise be unreachable. The same chandelier that hung in the foyer, hung from the ceiling there as well, and a tan leather couch sat in the center of the room on top of a black persian rug with matching tan recliners across from it.

A heavy oak coffee table sat between the furniture with a tea set for decoration and an oak end table sat between the chairs with a small tiffany lamp perched on top of it. The room was beautiful and she looked forward to spending time in there reading.

"This is the library and through this door is the theater. I have several movies for viewing, but if there is something I don't have that you would like to see you can let Maria know and she will get it for you."

They walked through a doorway to their left, surrounded by books, and into the dark theater where again she was completely amazed. A large screen hung from the wall in front of them and three black leather couches sat stair cased in a row, allowing a clear view for all who were seated. The walls were painted a dark red and thick black drapes hung from the windows keeping out any form of sunlight, throwing the room into darkness for viewing pleasure.

To the right of her two mid evil style lights hung on the wall allowing a small amount of light when needed and were controlled by a remote that Lance had pointed out to her, showing her it's functions for starting the movies. She was surprise for how large the house was, that only one entry and exit were in the rooms he had shown her so far, and was about to question him when he pulled her from the room and back into the foyer through the third door she had seen next to the sitting room they had viewed first, that led them down a long hallway with several doors lining both sides of the hall.

One door held behind it a sun room, another door, an inside pool, and another a formal dining room for dinner parties with a table seating thirty guest comfortably. The doorway at the end of the hall led to the kitchen where a full staff moved around busily cooking meals, and cleaning. She was surprised when everyone stopped their jobs and lined up, military style, greeting Lance the instant they saw him.

"Good afternoon everyone, this is Emily. She will be our guest for awhile. You will see to any need or want that she may have and please, do treat her with respect."

Emily nodded toward the group with a smile, but her brow furrowed as some stared at her in un-approval. She wasn't used to being catered to, and had no intentions of making the staff wait on her hand and foot, she only hoped that with time those with negative glances would come to like her and think of her as a friend.

"Ok Emily, lets go upstairs and I'll show you your room. You can meet everyone formally after you have settled in."

His hand slid into hers surprising her, and she followed him back down the hallway they had come, glancing over her shoulder with concern as the crew broke from the line, whispering amongst themselves as they immediately returned to work.

She couldn't help but wonder if she was the first that Lance had brought to his home to stay for a a long period of time, or if there had been others. With any luck she would make a friend on the staff and find out more about him and his life. Her mind had wandered and they had almost reached the top of the stairs when she remembered the fourth door in the foyer and tugged on his hand as she stopped.

"Lance, there was a room you forgot to show me."

He glanced over his shoulder tugging back at her to continue, and remained silent till they reached the landing at the top of the stairs.

"My room is at the end of the hall that way." He smiled, pointing to the left of him. "..and yours is at the end of the hall this way."

She released his hand glancing around to notice how the balcony circled around the banister over looking the foyer, but the rooms were hidden behind the view of the circled wall allowing privacy upon entering and exiting the rooms. She quickly fell into step behind him as he led her in the direction of her room, and glanced at the two closed doors at the end of her hallway as they passed.

"Those are just guest rooms. Not as large as the room you will be staying. I'm sure you will find your room to your liking."

He pushed on the double doors in front of them and stepped inside the room off to the side, allowing her to enter with a gasp as she looked around to the beauty that laid before her. The room was larger than the entire apartment she shared with Nikki, and everything she could ever dream of stood before her. A short hallway led you into the suit opening up into one large room painted a soft pink with a beige carpeting, and decorated very daintily.

A king size bed sat in the center of the wall in front of her and to the right was a large sitting area with a couch and chairs all set up nicely in front of large french doors leading out to a private balcony. She stepped further into the room spotting the plasma tv hanging on the wall across from her bed, and to the left of her bed, a walk in closet and in suite bathroom.

"Lance.....this is beautiful."

He smiled, walking past her and stepped into the closet, turning on the light, and motioned for her to join him.

"There are a few things in here I went ahead and had Maria pick up for you, but tomorrow we will have some clothes brought to you to try on and you can keep what will fit. I want you to look extremely nice when we are out and Marty gave me your size so I could get everything lined up. Hope you don't mind."

She shook her head, folding her arms across her chest, and walked around the closet looking over the few jeans and shirts, all of which were named brand, that he had placed there for her, while trying to hide the grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. The tour Lance had given her had been very nice, but she was ready to be left alone and release the excitement she had been trying so hard to contain.

"Your bathroom has been filled with tons of necessities, but again, if there is something you need just let Maria know and she will get it for you. You will get to meet her later."

She nodded once again, following behind him as he walked from the closet and stood next to the bed waiting patiently for him to leave.

"Lunch will be in an hour. I will send someone up to get you."

"Thank you Lance. Your home is more than I could ever dream of"

She fell back on the bed pulling a pillow over her face as Lance left, closing the door behind him, and squealed with excitement, quickly tossing the pillow across the room, standing, as she heard the door being reopened.

"I almost forgot...as I said, the parts of the house I showed you are yours to freely roam, as well as the grounds in the back of the house, but there are parts that are completely off limits. The door you questioned me about leads to a downstairs floor. There is nothing there but storage, but I prefer no one goes down there, it is unsafe. There is also a stairway down the hall next to my room, that leads to the upper floor and my office. I allow no one there as well. It's my private space and I wish to keep it that way. Other than that you are welcome everywhere, so enjoy."

He retreated once again closing the door behind him and she waited a moment before falling back to the bed kicking and squealing excitedly. This home was a dream come true and she wanted that dream to last as long as it could.

@2004Lancesharmony