After Lexi left me alone at the dining table, I lost my appetite as well. So, after a while of trying to get myself to eat, I finally gave up. Several minutes later, when the maids came in to take the food away, I watched in annoyance, because I didn’t like food leaving the table.

“Make sure that doesn’t go to waste,” I reminded them as they cleared the table.

“Of course, sir,” one of them answered.

I gave an approving nod, then left the table to head to my bedroom for some privacy. They knew exactly how I liked things done around the house. In fact, most of the hired help on the grounds had been on the job for more than two years, and I could call them family, but for the fact that I didn’t see them as constantly, though they were always there.

That thought gave me an idea, though. Grace, one of the longest-serving maids, had been here since I first got the place, and she’d been so great I never let her go. She never asked to be let go, either, so things worked out for everyone.

This wasn’t a problem I could take to just anyone, after all. I couldn’t ask my friends, and I sure as fuck couldn’t ask my family. My friend already knew about the contract, and even he had a problem with it. Even if it were Grace, I wouldn’t give her the full details, but because I’d brought this strange young woman into the house and gave a bunch of instructions about how she was to be treated, she would have guessed. Grace was a smart woman, after all. I also knew that she wouldn’t push for information unless I approached her first.

“Fuck,” I muttered to myself, frowning. “I sent her off with Edward…”

It had been the best move for my son, but now that I thought about it, she would have been good company for Lexi to have around, because I sure as fuck failed at that. As far as I knew, Lexi hadn't gotten friendly with any of the other maids since Grace left, so she pretty much spent all day by herself.

That was something I’d overlooked, something I would have to rectify as soon as possible.

But first, I had to speak to Grace.

I moved to the seating area of my bedroom and sat down on one of the chairs, pulling my phone out of my pocket. Grace had an emergency phone with her that I’d insisted on her having whenever she was off the grounds, and I would need to call her for something. It was separate from the phone she used with friends and family so she would always know who was calling because my number was the only one saved to that phone. She was number three on my speed dial, and I tapped on the button, then put the phone to my ear. She picked it up on the third ring.

“Hello, Ryan,” she said with her usual gentle, almost motherly tone. It always calmed me down when she talked to me like that, as if, when I lost Kora, she’d suddenly become a mother to both me and my son. It didn’t calm me down at that moment, though. “You only call when there’s an emergency, but I have Edward with me here. Is there something I can do for you?”

I took a deep breath, ready to ask, only to pause.

What exactly was I going to ask?

I hadn't completely thought that through. Crap! But then, after a moment, I figured a cutout version of the truth should be fine.

“It’s about the house guest,” I admitted. “She, uh…”

“You made her mad,” she guessed.

I winced. “Not… I mean, I’m not sure she’s mad, she just got up and walked away in the middle of dinner. I don’t know how to interpret it.”

“And you called me for advice,” she guessed again. “Like a teenage boy, wanting to know what went wrong with wooing his first crush.”

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t word it that way, Grace,” I complained.

She wasn’t a crush, after all, and Lexi and I hardly had that kind of a relationship. I was pretty sure Grace would scold me, though, for being so cold as to term it all a business contract.

“So,” she prompted. “What exactly did you say to her to get her so mad?”

“Um,” I floundered, frowning as I waved my free hand around as if that would bring an idea to me. “We were… talking about something. Something important. It’s to do with the agreement we have for her staying here, and I thought we were on the same page. But I just realized today that we’re not, and I guess I’m not quite sure how to get her to understand my point.”

I was pretty confident that that was all that was needed. After all, she knew the details already. Even if she hadn’t read the contract, down to the fine print, I had told her, and what I didn’t, she could have guessed. She was acting as a surrogate in exchange for enough cash to get her through college, which necessitated her leaving after the agreement was over. So when she’d mentioned the possibility of sticking around, it had worried me, for several reasons that I’d listed out to her already, but that seemed to be what made her mad at me in the first place.

But I firmly believed I was in the right, so Grace’s reply confused me a bit.

“You’re going about this all wrong, Ryan,” she said in a chiding tone.

“What?”

She sighed. “Lighten up, Ryan. Can you learn what that means and try to do it? We can even make it homework if you’d like.”

“You don’t have to do that, I know what it means,” I said defensively. “And it’s not like I’m making impossible demands or anything! I’m sure if you’d heard you wouldn’t disagree with me right now because it’s for the best.”

Again, she let out a sigh, and this time, it had me frowning.

“That, right there is your problem, you know? You probably won’t tell me what it is, but that doesn’t matter. You’re assuming whatever decision you’re making is the best. How does this girl feel about that? Because you know you can't just make decisions for her, right? That would get her mad at you.”

That had me going still in my seat. I tilted my head back and stared blankly at the ceiling. Grace was right because I was the one pushing all the decisions in everything we did. I drafted the contract by myself, and yeah, I gave it to her to read before she agreed, but what if there was something she’d wanted to add in or wanted to clarify or change? I hadn't been there. She’d signed, and I found out afterward. Hell, I hadn't talked to her much at all.

“Why don’t you try talking to her again?” Grace suggested. “And this time, discuss the two of you, as soon as you possibly can, before she has time to grow even angrier.”

“Do you think she would talk to me if I went to her now?” I asked anxiously, unconsciously running my hand down my thighs.

Grace hummed. “Well. If she’s in a bit of a huff now, going to see her too early might not be the best idea either. She’d probably ignore you if you tried your phone, too.”

I knew that already, which was why I hadn't bothered to try contacting her that way. And I figured she hadn't wanted to see me, which was why I hadn't gone to her room.

“If you want a quick fix, there’s a book the young miss appears to like. I’ve heard news from the other maids, and it proved my theory correct.”

“What theory?” I blurted out, impatient.

“Lexi loves to read,” she said, telling me something I already knew. Then, she went on. “Once she discovered your classics collection in the library, she fell in love with one particular book.

I got her hint immediately and grinned.

“Thank you, Grace,” I said quickly. She gave me the name of the book, and I was on my feet and racing out of my room after quickly hanging up the call.

In the library, I moved to my little covered office. I had plenty of pen and paper in the drawers, and I went through them until I found one of each. I wrote down a quick note, for Lexi to meet me as we’d originally planned so that we could have a proper talk.

Then I went hunting for that book, I was relieved when I found it.

I kept glancing over my shoulder to make sure there wouldn’t be anyone there to see me, though I didn’t understand why; but by the same token, I loved the idea.