Melody's POV

A smile spreads across my face. "I'll take you up on that offer. Don't expect me to go easy on you, Hunter. Do you ski or snowboard?"

Hunter cuts his steak before turning his attention back to me. "I do both. Snowboarding is the one I prefer. I love doing 360s from the ramps before hitting the snow again. Will you tell me if you have tricks up your sleeves?"

"That is something you'll find out, Hunter." I wink at him before putting a piece of steak in my mouth.

Hunter laughs. "Damn, Sweetheart. I'm going to book our day on the slopes for Saturday. I hope you're not all talk about what you can do?" Hunter puts a piece of steak into his mouth. Once he's finished chewing, he asks. "How was  your first day?"

"It's been good. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Hunter. Being here is what I need after all the stuff that I've been dealing with. I will tell you more about myself when I feel more comfortable."

"I understand." Hunter's phone starts ringing. He looks at the caller ID and then excuses himself. He opens the door to his room and enters. Then, he closes the door before answering the call.

Once I've finished dinner, I put the plate on the trolley before walking around the decking to the front of the house. At the front of the house, I head towards the driveway and walk around.

I'm not alone for long before a red-haired woman walks in my direction, and I recognise her as Tia.

The woman is starting to annoy me with her presence at this house.

Tia stalks towards me. "Do you think you're better than everyone else? Is that why you had dinner in Hunter's Wing?"

Folding my arms, I look into her blue eyes. "I'm not better than anyone. Hunter wanted to have dinner in his Wing and didn't want to eat alone."

"Bullshit," Tia's hands form into fists and she's about to hit me, before I block her slap. "Hunter, it isn't like that. He doesn't break his rules, and there's no way he would be with someone like you."

"What do you mean by that, Tia?" I step away from her.

Tia circles me like I'm her prey. "You're not pretty." She flips my hair. "You're hair is average, and everything about you screams I need attention."

A smirk appears on my face. "Everything you've said describes you to T, Tia. You've worked for her for a long time and tried to climb into Hunter's bed. He turns you away all the time. You're not interested in working in Ayden's Wing because you've slept with him."

"Fuck you, Keegan." Tia tries to slap me again, and I grab her hand and twist it behind her back.

"No, thanks. I don't swing that way." I let go of her arms and pushed her away from me.

"Agh," Tia screams. "I'm going to pay you back for taking Hunter from me."

"I'm not taking anyone from you, Tia. Hunter is an adult, and he can decide who he wants to be with. You being a jealous, bitch. It isn't a good look for you. Take a hard look at yourself and see if this is the woman you want everyone to see."

"Fuck you," Tia stalks towards the house and slams the front door shut.

A couple of minutes later, Suri walks out the door. She walks over to me with a massive smile on her face. "Damn, I haven't see Tia that pissed in a long time. What happened?"

"I'll tell you while we're walking." I start walking down the driveway. "Tia saw me out here and accused me of being too good to join everyone for dinner. Hunter wanted me to eat with him, but I couldn't accept his offer. I will work closely with him and don't want to be on his bad side."

A smile spreads across Suri's face. "Hunter doesn't have a bad sign when it comes to someone that he likes. He likes you. You'll be protected because of him. Which automatically means that I will have your back. She won't have a job by the end of the winter because of how Tia's been behaving. Have you read The House Rules?"

"No," I admit. "Hunter told me about that before I started to work. I was going to read it before I went to bed. Do you think Hunter will break any rules he wants us to follow?"

Suri laughs. "My brother will break them with you. Let him take the lead on everything, Keegan. At least that way, no one can accuse you of breaking the rules. Are you going to make a cake tomorrow?"

"Yes," I smile. I'm making one for Hunter, which I will cook in our kitchen."

"Our kitchen?" Suri's eyebrows lift. "Damn, I haven't seen a woman take claim of that side of the house before." She teases.

"Shut up," I laugh with her. As we continue to walk, snow begins to fall around us. I start spinning around in the snow. "It's been a while since I've been in the snow." Grabbing some snow, I make a snowball and throw it at Suri.

"Hey," Suri screams. "I'm going to get you back, Keegan." She gathers some snow and throws it at me.

We keep gathering snow and throwing it at each other. Our laughter reaches the house, and it doesn't take long for Hunter, Ayden, Luna, and Mike to step on the porch.

Turning towards Suri, I say. "Let's get them."

"Okay," Suri winks at me, and we make a bunch of snowballs, and then we throw them towards the house. We watch as it hits our targets."

"Ouch," Luna hisses. "Who threw that?"

"Suri," I throw her under the bus with her sister. I throw another and it hits Hunter in the chest.

Hunter runs down the steps and grabs some snow. He makes a ball and throws it at me. "Games on, Sweetheart."

Grabbing more snow, I throw a ball at him before I start running.

Hunter chases me, and it doesn't take long before he catches me. "Gotcha, what are you going to do now?"

Throwing a handful of snow in his face. "That," I run away before he can recover from my sneak attack, and the balls move towards Suri. "Hide me."

Suri moves towards a bush."Hide there." She makes some snow balls and leaves them close to me. "I'll find my brother. Sneak attack him from that spot." Suri moves away from me.

From my hiding spot I watch as the siblings play with the snow.

Mike lifts Luna and they spin around in the snow. "I love you, Luna."

"I love you, Mike." Luna's teeth begins to chatter. "I'm getting cold."

"Let's go inside." Mike takes her hand and they enter the house.

Ayden looks around the garden and watches as his brother ad sister throw snow. "Where's Keegan?"

Hunter stops his snow fight with his sister and scans the area. "Keegan?"

Suri moves her finger to her lips telling me to stay quiet. She knows from this hiding place I will be able to sneak attack him when he least expects it.

There's a stick sticking in the snow and Ayden trips over it sending him flying into the snow. I start laughing and when I realise that Hunter might be able to hear me I cover my mouth and hope that he won't find me in the bush.

"Shit," Ayden yells. "Why didn't anyone tell me about the stick?"

"I didn't see it." Suri says. She holds her hand out and helps her brother to his feet. "I'm getting cold. I'm going inside." Her eyes go to my hiding spot. "See you in the morning, Keegan."

Ayden and Suri walk into the house, leaving Hunter and I in the garden.

"Keegan," Hunter calls my name. "You can come out now. It's the two of us now."

Picking up a snowball I throw it at Hunter and it connects with his face. "Come and get me, Hunter." I step out of the bush and throw the remaining balls that's at my feet. Once they are gone I start running.

Hunter chases me and it doesn't take long before he makes us land on the ground. He makes sure that my body lands on top him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm good. You took the force of the fall. How are you, Hunter?"

"I can't move." Hunter tells me seriously.

"Hunter?"

Hunter wraps his arms around me and starts laughing. "Don't worry, sweetheart." He moves a strand of my hair. "I want to..."

Cutting him off I say. "We should go inside." The snow is coming down heavier than it was when I started the snow fight with Suri. I start shivering.

Hunter stands and wraps his arms around me. "You should have worn warmer clothes before venturing away from the house."

As we walk past the North Wing I see Tia looking out the window. Her face is scrunched up and it's turning red.

Hunter looks towards the window. "I don't know what her problem with you is. I'll talk to her in the morning."

"Please, don't." I touch his arm. "I can handle her myself."

Hunter looks at the window one last time before we head towards the West Wing. "If you can't handle the situation I want you to come to me, Keegan. You shouldn't be bullied here."

"Thank you, Hunter." I kiss his cheek as we enter the West Wing. "I will see you in the morning." I walk through his room and then close the door.

Opening the door to my room I move toward the bed. On it I see a piece of paper with HOUSE RULES on it. I will read that once I get into warmer clothes.

Grabbing my pyjamas from the suitcase I quickly change before climbing into bed. I pick up the HOUSE RULES and read it.

HOUSE RULES

Quiet Hours: Quiet hours are from 11pm to 7am. Please respect the neighbors and tenants during these hours.
No Smoking: smoking isn't allowed inside the property. If smoking outside, please dispose of cigarette butts appropriately.
Visitors: Any visitors must be approved by Hunter Westbrook in advance. No overnight guests are allowed without prior permission
Damages: Any damages or breakages must be reported immediately. The Tenant might be held financially responsible for repairs or replacement.
Garbage: Please dispose of trash in the designated bins and follow local recycling guidelines.
Respect: Be respectful and professional in communication.

No Romantic Relationships: Do not have a relationship with someone working in the house.
No Sexual Relationships: Do not have sex with someone working in the house.
Work: Jobs must be done in an orderly manner.
Problems: If there's any problem see Hunter Westbrook.

I'm not going to have a problem following those rules. Except for the no romantic and sexual relations, as I feel those two will be broken between Hunter and I before the end of the winter break.

Grabbing my phone I look at it and see a message from my sister. "Call me when you have time. I want to talk to you about my boyfriend."

A smile spreads across my face. "I'll call you in the morning." I whisper to the room.

Turning the lights off, I snuggle into the bed and it doesn't take long before I fall asleep.