Hunter's POV

Closing the door to Keegan's room, I look at the maid cleaning the kitchen. "Thalia, stay out of Keegan's room. The main room doesn't need to be cleaned. Once you've finished the kitchen, you're dismissed for the day."

"Thank you, Mr. Westbrook." Thalia finishes cleaning the counters and cupboards' outer doors.

Suri and I walk out of the Wing and head to the front door. Before we walk out, we meet up with Luna and Mike.

Luna shoots me a disdainful look before raising her hand to slap me. At the last minute, she puts her hand down. "How could you agree to meet with Mike and then tell him you wouldn't put money into his proposal?"

Suri shakes her head. "Luna, Hunter knows what's good to invest in and what's not. Mike's stuff doesn't hit the mark."

"Hunter's invested in mine." Luna grabs Mike's hand. "I can't look at you right now." She walks away with her boyfriend.

"Bye," Suri waves at them. She turns towards me with a smile on her face. "Can you hear that?"

We hear shouting coming from the front door.

Suri pulls my hand and drags me to the front door. Opening it, we watch as the driver takes her suitcase from her. "You can't take my stuff, " she yells.

The driver looks at her. "Somebody told me to get you off the property. If you don't, I will call, Suri."

"YOU WOULDN'T." Tia screeches.

Covering my ears, I look at Suri and say. "Take care of her."

"It would be my pleasure." Suri steps out the door and makes her way over to Tia. "You should leave, Tia."

"Why are you doing this, Suri?" Tia asks.

"Because you've disrespected us. You hit Hunter and push Keegan. She has a concussion because of you." Suri grabs Tia's arm. "All you've done since you got here is show jealousy over someone like my brother. The one family member who's not interested in you."
"Hunter, I'm sorry. Please let me stay?" Tia pleads as she looks at the house and sees me on the decking. "Please," She begs.

Tia's begging won't make me agree to keep her on.

"No, you should leave. Putting staff in danger isn't something I agree to. You're the problem that needs taking care of. Leave now."

Suri opens the car door. "Good luck with the job hunt, Tia. We won't give you a reference."

Tia climbs into the car and shoots us a nasty look. "This won't be the last time you hear from me, Hunter."

"Yes, it will be, Tia." Grabbing a piece of paper from my pocket, I give it to her. "This is a restraining order. It's to protect Keegan and me from you. Don't make things harder for yourself, Tia."

"Fuck you, Hunter." Tia tears up the restraining order. "I will go where I please, and you won't be able to stop me." She flips me off.

"Suri shakes her head. "I can't believe how much Tia's changed since we last saw her."

The car starts to pull away from the house. Tia opens the window and yells. "I HOPE YOU ENJOY MY FAREWELL PRESENT." She starts laughing as the car leaves the property.

Farewell present? What has she done?

Walking into the house, I move to the kitchen and talk to the staff. "Do you know what Tia means by a Farewell present?"

"No," they say. The only person who remains quiet is Dean.

"Dean?"

Dean starts cutting carrots and won't look up at me."I can't help you, Mr. Westbrook. I'm loyal to Tia."

Looking around the room, I ask. "Are you all loyal to Tia?"

"No," they say in unison."

"Dean, you have half an hour to grab your stuff and leave my house. You won't receive a recommendation from me." I tell Dean.

"I don't need one of those from you. I have friends who will give me glowing recommendations. A few people in town will give me a job. My Uncle Zane knows a lot of people."

A smile spreads across my face. "You don't mean Zane Coleman?"

Dean smirks at me. "Yes, Uncle Zane knows a lot of people. You will be in trouble once he hears about how you treated me."

Crossing my arms, I look at him. "Call him, Dean. I would love to hear what he has to say about the story you spin for him."

"Okay," Dean says as he takes his phone out of his pocket and calls his Uncle. It rings a couple of times before he answers.

Zane: Is everything okay, Dean?

Dean: No, it's not Uncle Zane. I was just fired.

Zane: What did you do?

Dean: I swear I didn't do anything.

Zane: Who's your boss? I will give them a call.

Dean: It's Hunter Westbrook.

Zane: Fuck, Dean.

Dean: What?

Zane: Hunter isn't the person you should cross. Is there another reason for your firing?

Dean: No,

Zane: If you're lying to me, I will know.

Dean: I'm not.

Zane doesn't answer, and then suddenly, we hear a dial tone. He ended the call with his nephew.

My phone rings, and 'Zane' appears on the screen. Turning my phone to Dean, I say. "Your Uncle is going to know everything."

Me: Zane, what can I do for you?

Zane: Tell me the reason why you fired my nephew? I know he's leaving stuff out. You're not the type to fire someone without a cause.

Me: I fired him because he has information that he won't share with us. It's about Tia, who has been kicked off the property.

Zane: Is that the woman who put Keegan in the hospital?

Me: Yes, Sir.

Zane: I will give you the information before dinner. Send the car to my place. I need to have a conversation with Dean.

Dean's mouth drops open. "You know my Uncle?"

A smile appears on my face. "I met him today. He has a close relationship with Keegan. Are you going to plead the fifth when it comes to the safety of a girl that your uncle cares about?"

"I don't care that Uncle Zane likes her." Dean crosses his arms. You're present, and it will come to you before you know it." He walks out of the kitchen and heads towards his room.

Suri looks at the remaining group. "Have you heard what Tia did?"

"No, madame."

Looking at them, I say, "Who wants to step up as a chef?"

"I do," Arden says. "Is there anything I need to know? Like, are there any allergies I need to know about?"

"Shellfish and nuts are both things that need to stay away from the house." Arden looks at the others and says, "We've seen nuts being brought into the house. We didn't know someone was allergic to them."

"Do you know if it's been added to food?"

Lola steps forward. "I'm not sure, Sir." She looks around the room. "Dinner will be safe as we never started cooking it."

"Thanks, Lola. You may continue with your work."

The phone in my hand is still connected to my call with Zane.

Me: Are you still there, Zane?

Zane: Yes, I can't believe he's on the side of the woman who put Keegan in the hospital. Do you know if Dean was close to Tia?

Suri: They were hooking up in the kitchen today.

Zane: Shit, I'm going to have a word with him when I see him. I won't allow him to contact Tia. I'll send a car to pick him up. It will be at the house ten minutes after my men arrive.

Me: I'll let my men at the gate know. Thanks, Zane.

Zane: You're welcome.

Me: Bye, Zane.

Zane: Bye, Hunter.

The call ends and I look over at my sister. "We have to be careful with that cake. Someone needs to try it before it's served to Keegan."

"I agree. Ayden will taste the cakes. I'm sure he'll be able to tell which one has nuts in it and which one doesn't," Suri says.

Suri and I move over to the swinging chair, and we sit. We start swinging as we look out at the driveway.

The front door opens, and Dean walks out. He looks at me. "You're going to regret firing us. We were the ones who ran the house while all of you did whatever you wanted."

Suri looks at him. "You worked for us. You shouldn't have worked against us and done what Tia told you to do. That woman was nothing but trouble. We continued to hire her because of the relationship our mother had with hers. Now that time is gone. It's up to us who works here."

A car comes to a stop in front of the house. A smile spreads across his face. "Thank you, Uncle Zane. Getting me a ride out of this fucking asylum."

Suri and I ignore his comments as four more cars drive towards us. "Is this protection necessary?"

"Regarding Keegan, I don't think there's enough protection."

Dean looks at the cars and back towards us. He stops before the vehicle. "Who is Uncle Zane protecting? I've never seen him put together security like this before."

A smile spreads across my face. "That would be none of your business, Dean. We won't be seeing you again. Get him off my property."

"Yes, Mr. Westbrook." One of the newer security guards steps forward and helps Dean into the car.

"Clive," Dean says. "Why are you here?"

"That's on a need-to-know basis, and you, Dean, don't need to know anything that's going on. Have fun with Zane. You've pushed him too far this time."

"What are you talking about?"

"You'll find out in due time." Clive slams the door shut and walks over to me. He extends his hand. "I'm Clive Vance. A close friend of Zane's and one of his most trusted bodyguards. Can you show me to Miss Jennings' room, please?"

"Yes, I can. Follow me." I lead him through the house towards my wing, pointing things out as we go. I let him know where all the exits are and how many people are in the house.

When we get to my wing, I type in the code and let us in. As we approach the door, I see Keegan sitting on the couch with earphones in her ears. She's singing along to one of Melody's songs. I notice it as 'Shutting the door'

Keegan has a fantastic voice.

Clive moves over to Keegan and taps her on the shoulder. She slightly jumps before a smile spreads across her face. "Hi, Keegan."

"Clive," Keegan says and stands, hugging him. "Zane sent you?"

"Yes," Clive looks towards me. "I think he sent too many people here, but I can't say that to my boss without him telling me off. He wants the best for his favourite girl."

Keegan laughs. "Of course he does."

Ring, her phone rings, and she looks at it before turning towards us. "Excuse me. I have to take this call, it's my sister." Keegan walks away from us and enters her room.

Clive watches Keegan until she closes the door. "I will be outside her door, " he tells me before walking down the hall and standing outside the room.

When I arrive at my office, I turn the computer on and wait for it to boot up. I type in the password before checking my emails. I don't see anything urgent in the emails, so I look over the proposal for one of the projects that the company needs.

When I have finished the final part, I will send it to Matteo. I wait for the email to send before turning the computer off and heading to my room for some downtime.