Fredric flew the helicopter over the city and Autumn once again enjoyed the view. She got to see places she’d never seen before as they left the city limits. There were several different landscapes, from forest to plains, to even a mountain as they made their way to the country mansion.
Autumn had a general idea of where they were going. Last year she hadn’t been too excited. She’d been drugged through most of it. She had just met Penna back then, and they were still getting to know each other. Autumn had learned that Cage had a party out in the country every year. Penna had been excited to attend, as most did not get to even guard the location. The mansion apparently had its own staff.
For one week every year Cage would hold an event where all of his trusted contacts and some others would show up. They would have meetings and discuss the year's business before celebrating in a party at the end of the week. Autumn didn’t remember much from the mansion, only having been in her room. On the day of the party she had heard all sorts of noises and smelled all kind of foods. Penna had been nice and brought her a full plate of things to eat. Autumn had barely touched it back then. Stubbornly, she'd curled up in her bed or stared out the window.
Every so often she’d seen people in nice dresses and suits walking about. And at the end of the night Autumn saw the most amazing fireworks display in her entire life. If she hadn’t been so miserable she would have been quite impressed. Instead, she was only slightly amused for a brief moment before sinking into herself once more.
Autumn thought of the party now and the fireworks. She turned to Cage. He looked to be drowsing. “Are you going to be having another party this year?”
Cage yawned, sitting up a bit. He nodded and said, “Later in the week, on our last day there. I’ve got some business meetings until then.”
“Oh,” said Autumn. “Well, I guess I wouldn’t mind going this year. I mean, if there’s going to be one and all.”
Cage looked at Autumn, raising an eyebrow before he said, “As I recall, when I asked you last year you said you would never ever attend.”
“Well... maybe I changed my mind,”
“Really?” said Cage with a mischievous smirk. “Well, maybe I changed mine.”
Autumn scowled at Cage, knowing he was teasing her. He laughed at the expression on her face and said, “You can go if you want to. I’ll have Lane get you something to wear.”
Lane lifted her heard at the mention of her name. She let out a sigh and said, “Great. You should have told me before we left. It’s going to be tricky getting a dress out there.”
“You’ll manage.” said Cage, only looking at Autumn.
“Of course.” said Lane before turning back to her cell phone once more.
Autumn considered saying she didn’t have to go if it was going to cause trouble. When she went to speak, Cage quickly raised his hand to stop her as if he knew what she was about to say. “It isn't any trouble, Autumn. Relax.”
Autumn closed her mouth. For several seconds she was quiet before she said, "Thank you." to Cage and Lane. Cage nodded before shutting his eyes once more. He slowly drifted off to sleep as Lane continued texting on her cell phone. The helicopter ride was fairly silent after that, except for the noise of the helicopter itself. Autumn looked out the window for another hour or two. When she saw the mansion, she quickly pointed it out to the others. Lane put her phone away as Cage woke up and stretched.
Autumn got a clear view of the mansion as they slowly descended upon it. It had a red roof with dozens of chimneys. The mansion must have had about a hundred rooms. Autumn couldn’t help but wonder if she would get to explore it this time. She wondered when Cage had gotten the mansion, and if it had always been part of his family, or something he’d acquired in his business.
When they landed Cage was first to get out. Nearly the entire staff was lined up to see him. They quickly greeted him, bowing their heads. Several men who wanted to go over the week's business approached him. Fredric was quick to secure the helicopter before he joined them. Lane was a few feet behind as one of her cell phones rang.
The two bodyguards that had come with them helped Autumn out. One of them took Poppi out of his crate and handed him to her. She carried him as they led her up to her room. She was given the same room as last year. As Autumn put Poppi down on the bed, she asked if she could explore. One of the bodyguards asked the question into his radio before telling her she could explore certain locations only if they were with her.
Something was better than nothing, and Autumn was quick to say goodbye to Poppi. He was still a bit tired and more than happy to sleep on the dozen pillows that covered her bed. When Autumn left her room she couldn’t be sure what she wanted to see first. She walked down hallway after hallway until she found an elevator. She and the bodyguards took it to the first floor where she started to wander through more hallways. At one point she got lost, only to see there were maps around the mansion. She realized others must have gotten lost too.
She made her way to the mansion's front doors, wanting to start from there. When she got there she saw the entryway was full. It was almost like a hotel. They had several lines leading up to a front desk, with people getting searched and asking for information.
Autumn wondered who they all were. Some of them had women with them who didn’t look like their wives, while others seemed to be all by themselves. There were a few that looked tired, or nervous as they wrung their hands. Autumn didn’t get to stay there long as one of the bodyguard's phones rang. They were give a map of the mansion with red rooms and green rooms. The entrance room was currently a red room, so they pulled her away from the room.
Autumn figured she couldn’t hang out there because it was too busy. She made her way to other places in the mansion. She found the kitchens and several game rooms, along with two home theaters with at least fifty seats in each. A movie was playing in one of them and Autumn stopped to watch it for a while.
Over the next few days Autumn went nearly everywhere in the mansion. She saw people playing golf, or using the game rooms and theaters as they all waited to speak with Cage. Autumn went swimming several times. She wished the tower had a pool. Whenever she ran into someone, they never looked directly at her. And they quickly walked away. If she played a game or went swimming she found people would either move to one side of the room or leave altogether.
One woman she didn’t know came up to her and asked her who she was. Before Autumn could answer, her bodyguards asked the woman who she was. They got her information before sending her away. Autumn wondered if Cage had told people not to speak to her.
She found herself getting kind of lonely. Cage was always busy. She only saw him when he was moving from one place to the next, and he was never alone. Lane and Fredric were almost always with him, but so were at least a dozen other people. Some people would be attempting to change their meeting times, or secure a second meeting. Some of them were trying to arrange a meeting for a friend of theirs.
Cage seemed annoyed as he moved from one meeting room to the next. Each room had a long boardroom table, or some couches. Autumn didn’t really get a good look as people were always waiting in them and her bodyguards would tell her to move on.
On the fifth day they were there, it rained. Autumn found herself bored as she and Poppi wandered around the mansion. A few people had left and more had arrived. Autumn wondered what Cage was up to and asked the guards if he was busy. They checked and told her he was in one of the green rooms. Autumn went to him and found him sitting in his study. He was pouring over a mountain of paperwork, looking over contracts and investments as opera music played quietly in the background.
When Autumn entered the room he looked up briefly to take notice of her before he went back to his contracts. Autumn wandered around the room, watching through the window as the rain fell outside. She listened to the music. It sounded amazing and she wondered how the singers could get their voices to be so perfect for so long. She rested a hand on Cage’s shoulder and s
aid, “It’s so beautiful.”
“Hmmm, what?” asked Cage, not looking up from his paperwork.
“The music.” said Autumn.
“Ahh.” said Cage. “Yes, have you seen it? This opera is even more stunning in person.”
“Hmm.” said Autumn, as Cage ran his tongue over his teeth. He flipped through his paperwork, reading each one carefully. He had a pen and paper for some notes and quickly jotted something down.
Autumn pulled away from Cage and moved over to his desk. She leaned up against it as she continued to listen to the music. She closed her eyes and really let herself feel it for several minutes before she asked, “What is it like?”
“What is what like?” asked Cage, having lost himself in his paperwork once more.
“The opera. What do you do when you go?”
“What do you do when you go to a symphony or a play?”
“So it's like that?”
“Not quite, but there are some similarities.” said Cage, pulling away from his paperwork. “The opera is a bit more elegant. It's more of an event. You dress up in your best. Many people bring a set of special binoculars that function at low magnification, called opera glasses, to view the performers more clearly. The box seats have the best view in the house.”
“Box seats?”
“Yes. The box seats are private balconies, positioned to afford the best possible view and acoustics. I own one so if I ever want to attend, or have someone else attend, it's always available.”
“So what then? Do you just watch?”
“For the most part. Or you can close your eyes and just listen. Operas are usually very complex pieces of music, and normally they are long. There's usually an intermission that provides the opportunity to stretch your legs, and possibly to get a snack or anything else a person might need before the opera resumes. Most opera houses have mechanized equipment to facilitate set changes. They've gotten quite good at using them for extra effect. And many of them provide onscreen translations of the opera as it's being performed.”
“Hmm.” said Autumn, attempting to imagine it all.
“You really are fascinated by this?” asked Cage, looking at her.
“Well, yes. I’ve never been.”
“Well then, we’ll just have to fix that. I’ll take you to the opera as soon as we get back. How about that?”
“Don’t you need to tell them in advance?”
“No. I just told you I own a box seat. It's mine, so it's always saved for me and those I want. So what do you say to another date?”
Autumn smiled. She was excited but she didn’t want to show it too much. “I suppose.”
Cage chuckled at her before he turned back to his work. Autumn watched him work for a few more minutes. She wondered for a moment if he was a workaholic. Besides the one day they’d had, she hadn’t seen him take a single day off. He always seemed to be up to something.
Later that day as Autumn wandered around the mansion she saw things start to arrive for the party. Tables were set up and decorations were hung. Food truck after food truck came and went. Lane seemed to be the party planner. She walked around with the staff, telling them where everything should go and what should be done.
The next day Autumn was sized for her dress as she was eating lunch by herself. Lane showed up randomly with a tape measure. She took several measurements and pictures of Autumn before messing with her hair. She did a few styles and then disappeared back into the chaos that was party planning. Sometimes Autumn felt sad that she didn’t do much, but at times like this, whenever everyone was stressing to make everything perfect, she didn’t feel so bad.
On the day of the party Autumn woke early to the sounds of people hustling and bustling around the mansion. She smelled some amazing odors coming from the kitchen. She left her room without her bodyguards and snuck down to see what they were making.
There were all sorts of food being made. From every kind of meat, to all sorts of curries and stews. They had nearly every dessert she could think of. Autumn went to a table that had appetizers waiting to be chilled. She ate some barvarian crab meat and shrimp rice balls. There were so many good things. At one point she picked up a powdered donut ball that had the most delicious chocolate filling.
Autumn swooned at it melted in her mouth. A few seconds later Cage came walking by with Lane and Fredric. There was at least a half a dozen chefs with them. They paused when they saw Autumn. Lane quickly shook her head and sternly said, “You shouldn’t be touching this. It's not ready yet and it's for the party.”
Cage looked upset for a second as he looked around. He didn’t see any of Autumn’s bodyguards. He quickly turned to Fredric. “Fire the guards that were supposed to be watching her and get me two more right now.”
Fredric nodded and Autumn quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, it's not their fault. I woke up early. I heard the noise and smelled the food. Really, I wasn’t thinking. It was my fault.”
Cage looked at Autumn and sighed. “It’s their fault for not anticipating this. Lane, get her a plate of what is ready and wait here for the new guards to arrive. Once they arrive, meet us out at the gardens.”
“Yes sir.” said Lane, before Cage and the others moved on.
Autumn stood there in her nightgown with chocolate drizzle on her face. She felt like an idiot. Lane must have been thinking the same thing, though she didn’t say it. She ordered some of the staff to make Autumn a plate. When Autumn's new bodyguards arrived, she gave the plate to Autumn and left without a word.
Autumn was used to her bodyguards being switched out so she didn’t have an attachment to them, but still she wondered what happened to them when they got fired. When Autumn had wanted Adel removed, Cage had only relocated her. Autumn had a feeling that firing didn’t work the same in this world as it did the normal world.
When she asked her new guards what happened when they got fired, neither of them answered her. They were like stone walls. Autumn went back to her room and ate her plate of food. She shared some of it with Poppi. She made a mental note to always tell her bodyguards when she was going somewhere.
After she ate, Autumn mostly hung around her room. She played with Poppi. He seemed a bit pent up in this new place, but she assured him they would be going home tomorrow. Autumn wondered if he could understand her as he bounced around playing fetch with her. He almost reminded her of a rabbit.
An hour before the party started, Lane showed up at the door. She had a dress and a pair of shoes. Autumn assumed she would be getting dressed, but Lane quickly told her to follow her. Together they went to another area of the house that looked like a salon. All sorts of women were having their hair and makeup done. Autumn sat in a chair and had her hair washed and styled. She then got her nails and makeup done. When it was finished Lane took her back to her room, where she changed into her dress.
The fabric was unlike anything she had felt. It was lighter than air and fell through her fingers like water. Its sparkled and shone with all sorts of beads and gems. It had to be the most expensive thing Autumn had ever worn. It fit her like a glove and made every part of her look amazing.
With her hair and makeup, Autumn almost didn’t recognize herself. She took a moment to just stare in the mirror. Lane’s cell phone kept going off and she tapped her foot, saying they had to go. She helped Autumn put on her shoes and away they went. Autumn nearly had to run to keep up with Lane as she escorted her to her seat. She was one of the few people seated and looked around at all the decorations in awe.
A few minutes later the champagne was poured and the music started as people streamed into the different rooms set up for the party. People took their seats at the tables and wandered around dancing. Nearly a half an hour later, Cage took to a balcony. The music stopped and the lights went dark as a spotlight fell on him. He gave a speech thanking everyone for their hard work and the deals that had been made this past week. He made a few jokes and then told them all to have a good time.
The ligh
ts came back on and music started up once more. The food was brought out onto several long tables. Autumn was quick to get up and look at it. She stood in line at first, but her bodyguards quickly moved people so she could go through. She felt awkward disrupting the line. She was quick to pick out what she wanted before she got back to her seat. She ate and had one glass of wine before she started wandering about.
There were three other rooms besides the main ballroom. Each room had a different party theme with different music. There was a fourth room but it was dark when she went in, and there wasn’t any music going. But there were people having sex. Autumn caught at least five people caught up in an orgy before one of her bodyguards lifted her up around the waist and pulled her from the room. Autumn didn’t know what to think of that room, but she assumed Cage catered to all types. Everyone’s definition of a party had to be different.
She wondered where Cage was, but she had a hard time finding him in the crowd of people. She thought she saw him upstairs, then downstairs, and then she couldn’t be sure. Suddenly someone grabbed her hand and pulled her into them. Autumn’s eyes went wide as they kissed her. It took her a second to realize it was Cage.
She wanted to slap him for startling her like that, but he pulled her to the dance floor and they began to dance. He led her around the floor and oddly enough she found she knew the moves to keep up with him. All of her dance lessons finally paid off. She made a few mistakes, but he caught her when she did.
Together they danced three songs. Not a word was spoken between them as they stared at each other. Cage looked amazing in his tuxedo with his hair pulled back. And the way he looked at her made Autumn blush. She couldn't help but think her face must look like a tomato. Her heart pounded and she couldn’t be sure if it was because of the dancing or because of him.
Kept (Bound Book 1) Page 18