Chapter Six

The past two weeks in the mansion had been quite an experience for Emily. The day after her arrival truck after truck arrived delivering the most magnificent gowns and designer casual clothing she had ever seen, along with millions of dollars worth of diamond jewelry and an array of sexy lingerie to wear beneath her gowns as well as for sleeping.

Olivia, one of the servants, had spent the day along her side helping her to try on the clothes and organize them in her large closet according to style. She had never felt more like a princess then she had at that moment, and Lance had promised her that should she decide to leave at the end of the year, she could take all the clothing with her.

Except for meals at night, she hadn't seen much of Lance since her arrival and she had spent her days wandering through the home, looking over the exquisite decor and sitting in the library reading through some of the collection of books Lance kept there. The staff had been quite pleasant with her, catering to her needs and serving what ever she requested for breakfast and lunch wherever she cared to eat. Most of the time she ate her breakfast in the sunroom, enjoying the warmth of the bright sun as it filtered through the windows around her, giving her a feeling of peace, while her lunch meals were served on the veranda of the back grounds allowing her to enjoy the scenery of the flower gardens and forest that laid in behind them.

Dinners with Lance had been quiet most times, both of them concentrating on their meals, and what little conversation there was had been limited to her days and things she had done. She had questioned him in the begining about his job and how he had become such a popular lawyer at such a young age, but those questions had politely been pushed to the side, bringing up subjects of her life and how she had ended up in Florida. After the first week she had given up her questions and allowed him to take the conversation wherever he wished and concentrated on getting to know the staff better, still hoping to make a friend who could inform her on all she wanted to know.

She had finally had a chance to meet Maria and she was nothing of what Emily had imagined her to be. She was an older woman, somewhere in her mid 60's Emily would have guessed, mexican in decent, and very strict and straight forward. She led the well organized staff, and thought very highly of Lance. His wish was at her every command and she would stop at nothing to keep him happy. Emily had learned quickly to stay away from Maria as much as possible, for she certainly didn't look too fondly upon Emily and what little request she had made had seemed to be putting Maria through too much trouble, so Emily stuck to spending her time alone and asking Jose, the short dark haired mexican man she had met her day upon arrival, for anything she needed.

Jose was a quiet man but had taken a liking to Emily, checking on her constantly to see if there was anything she needed, and she had quickly come to think of him as a father figure. She enjoyed his company the few times they had been able to sit together during his free time to talk, but Maria had quickly ended those conversations whenever she caught them, sending him out to run errands for Lance and leaving her with a glare of evil.

Lance had a dinner gala later that night and Emily was looking forward to it, being it was her first time away from the house since she arrived two weeks before. Maria had chosen a long sleek black spaghetti strap gown that split up the side to her thigh and bore a low neck line revealing just enough cleavage to draw attention to her full breast. A diamond tear drop necklace with matching earrings had been chosen by Maria as well, but the diamond tennis bracelet and black heels that strapped around her ankle had been chosen by her, causing Maria to frown upon her for her choices. Why Maria despised her so was beyond her, but she could careless, given the princess lifestyle that had been handed to her.

After lunch Emily had wandered into the library, sitting down to read over a novel she had randomly pulled from it's shelf and kicked her shoes off, tucking her legs underneath her as she sat on the couch curling up to get comfortable to read. After a few pages she found her eyes becoming heavy with sleep and five hours later she jumped from the couch and her nap she had fallen so deeply into, to run up the stairs and prepare herself for the dinner. With a quick shower she applied her makeup, pulled her hair into a lose ponytail of curls, and slipped into her dress, shoes, and jewelry just in time to make it down the stairs to find Lance talking with Maria as he waited for her.

"You look quite stunning tonight Emily. Glad you could make it on time."

A sly grin creased the corners of his mouth and she felt her face flush as she casually looked down at the gold watch that circled her wrist. Lance had informed her the night before at dinner to be dressed and waiting for him at 6:00 sharp. Her watch indicated she was over 15 minutes late and she cringed, remembering him telling her that one thing that annoyed him the most was lateness.

"I do apologize Lance. I fell asleep in the library earlier and woke with only a short time to prepare. I promise you it won't happen again."

Before Lance could even respond to her Maria had cocked her brow, passing over to him a shawl she had picked out for Emily to drape around her shoulders, and began to circle her, inspecting the attire that she wore.

"Lets see that it doesn't. No one here keeps Mr. Bass waiting and that includes his guest as well."

With a soft chuckle, Lance extended his arm for her to take, and smiled at the shocked expression registered on her face.

"We will not be home till close to the break of dawn I imagine, so you and the staff may leave as soon as things are done. Take the night off early and enjoy."

With a nod, Maria smiled warmly at Lance and took the brief case from his hand clutching it in her own as Emily slid her arm through his.

"Have a wonderful night Mr. Bass. The staff will be here bright and early in the morning."

The way Maria could change so quickly not only surprised Emily, but angered her as well. She was sure that Maria would cause her some sort of trouble before the years end would arrive, but for now she brushed away any thoughts of the older woman, and clung to Lance's arm, excited about the night out she was about to have.

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Jazz music played softly against the murmuring of voices that filled the room with different conversations being held amongst the large group of people who were seated at the many tables lining the floor of the banquet room. The dinner was being held in a dining hall at one of the finest hotels in town and was nothing more than a group of friends gathering together to talk over business, politics, and money. Emily had stuck to Lance's side smiling when she needed to smile and laughing at just the right moments, turning all heads as she walked through the crowd serving her purpose. Lance was pleased at how she impressed everyone and remained at his side, letting him lead the show, never trying to out do any of them. She had met many people, but most of them were in the same career as Lance, while others were doctors or in the medical field in one way or another.

"You having a good time?"

She turned to the dark haired italian man who had been seated next to her and smiled warmly, nodding her head.

"Yes, I am. Everything is quite breathtaking and the meal is extraordinary."

The man smiled, surprised by her polite manners and use of words considering where she had come from. Lance had filled him in on his decision to invite the woman to live with him, so he wasn't surprised to see him stroll into the lobby with her on his arm, what he was surprised by was how beautiful she looked, and how well she was able to present herself.

"You'll get used to them after a few more. This dinner is being held by the Van Sickles. That's that couple over there."

He said, laying his arm across the back of her chair, leaning in closer to her while pointing to a man and woman who sat at a near by table.

"Each dinner is held by different couples and each couple tries to out do the other. It can get quite ridiculous sometimes, but each one is highly publicised, sometimes celebrities come, and the meals are free, most of the time, so you can't help but come and enjoy the show."

She laughed, picking up her glass of wine to take a sip and turned her head back toward him as he stuck his hand in front of her.

"I'm Dr. Joey Fatone by the way. We met once, but........"

She sat her glass to the table and placed her hand into his accepting his slight shake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm......"

"Emily. Yes, I remember."

He released her hand, dropping his back to the table and kept his eyes on her as he lifted his own glass, raising it to his lips. She suddenly began to feel uneasy under his glare, and took a deep breath looking around the table to the group of five men sitting with them before returning her eyes to Joey.

"So.....Dr. Fatone, how do you know Lance?"

"I met Lance right after he moved here and we became good friends. He was studying law, following in his fathers footsteps, and I was studying medicine. Our careers took off and we sorda partnered our careers together. Worked out good. And by the way.....call me Joey."

"And Joey does his damnedest to be a ladies man, you'll have to watch out for him."

She glanced across the table to where the voice had come from recognising Chris from the night at Dazzled and laughed along with the rest of the table.

"I'll keep that in mind Mr. Kirkpatrick."

"Name is Dr. Kirkpatrick to you, and I want to know how Lance managed to get between your......"

"STOP bothering the lady Chris." Lance spoke, giving Chris his best warning glare before turning to Emily. "I do apologize for him. He has no manners to speak of, so how the man manages to keep patients is beyond me."

She smiled, ducking her head to stifle a yawn, as the men continued their playful banter between each other. The five course meal had lasted for hours, and the wine she had been sipping, along with the conversations between the six men she had been sitting with, were begining to take affect, causing her to become tired. Lance slid his hand into her lap, letting his fingers lace with hers, and leaned closer to her, brushing away a stray curl from her face with his free hand.

"Looks as if someone is growing tired with us fellas. Guess I better be getting her home."

Emily looked up to him fighting back another yawn as she quickly shook her head objecting.

"No, I'm fine, really, It's just the effect of the wine. I'm good though."

"No, It's 2:00 a.m., I guess we really should be going."

He released her hand, standing from the table, and pulled her chair out offering his arm as she stood.

"Goodnight gentleman, I shall see each of you later."

"It was nice to meet all of you. I'm sure I'll see you all again soon." Emily said, slipping her arm through Lances as the five gentlemen stood from their chairs nodding to her, each mumbling a goodnight as they exited the room.

The ride home was quiet.....too quiet, and Lances eyes never left the view in front of them as they sat in the back of the limo waiting to get home. She fidgeted in her seat, afraid he was angry with her over leaving the dinner,a nd watched him for a moment from the corner of her eye before clearing her throat and turning her upper body toward him.

"I do hope you are not angry with me of our departure from dinner. I did say that it was quite alright if we stayed......."

Her words were cut short as his eyes met hers with angry cold stare, and she shudder from the fear that suddenly ran deeply through her causing her to wonder what she had gotten herself into.

"We did not leave that diner because of you Emily......don't ever make the mistake of thinking that again. No one makes me do anything I don't want to. I make the decisions."

His eyes returned to stare straight ahead again, and she leaned back in the seat, staring out the window as the sound of her heart beating rang loudly in her ears. Never in her life had she felt the fear the man sitting next to her had caused, she only hoped that fear subsided, never to return again.