Secrets Of The Alpha: (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (His Secrets Series Book 1) (12 page)

Chapter 8

When I woke up the next day, the first thing I saw was my clothes neatly folded on the window seat. I got up and walked over to the window seat and looked at my now clean laundry. I knew that it couldn’t have been Vincent who did my laundry.

“Lou,” I said under my breath as I shook my head. I walked to the bathroom and took a quick shower before I changed to a pair of tights and a long floral dress top before I made my way downstairs.

“Morning, Lou,” I said as I walked into the kitchen where Lou was busy preparing breakfast.

“Good morning, Winnie. I have oatmeal and fruit juice waiting for you,” he said. His voice was a little more cheery than usual.

“Thank you,” I said as I sat down.

“My pleasure, ma’am,” he said as he put the food in front of me. I took a sip of my juice and then put the glass down as I looked at him.

“Lou, I thought I told you that I could do my own laundry,” I started.

“It’s alright ma’am. It was no bother, really,” he said.

“It’s not about the bother, Lou. It’s just that I thought I had been clear about that.” I took a bite of my oatmeal and looked at him. He shrugged.

“I did hear you loud and clear, but I was just trying to help ma’am. I know that you haven’t exactly been having the easiest time and I was just trying to help, that’s all,” he said. I raised an eyebrow over the other as I looked at him.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked as I looked at him.

“Well, I saw the phone book and I know that you are looking to get your career going and by the looks on your face yesterday, I guess I just thought that things were not going as well as you had hoped,” he said. I smiled and took another bite of my oatmeal.

“You have been a little busy body, haven’t you? Nosy much?” I asked as I looked at him.

“Not at all. I was just calling Ophagia a cab last night because of the rain and saw the book, that’s all,” he explained himself. I nodded and took another sip of my juice before I put the glass down. I looked at him and sighed.

“I need you to do me a favor, Lou,” I started as I twiddled my thumbs. “You can’t tell Vincent.” He nodded.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said. I smiled in appreciation and took a bite of my oatmeal again, but when I looked up he was still looking at me like he wanted to say something. I shrugged.

“What?” I asked as I looked at him.

“Well, it isn’t really my place,” Lou started as he looked at me. “But I just don’t understand why Mr. Muse is so troubled with you having a career. I mean, I haven’t known you for very long, but I think you would make a great actor,” he said. I smiled as I took one last bite of my oatmeal.

“Really? You think so?” I asked as I looked at him. He nodded.

“Sure. I think you have great potential,” he said. I smiled and took a sip of my juice. I wasn’t sure if he could tell that I was a little more than impressed.

“Thanks, Lou. That means a lot,” I said.

“Mr. Muse is in a meeting right now. I was just about to take this coffee up to him. Would you like to come alone?” he asked. I looked at him surprised. I was thinking that it would probably be better if I stayed down in the kitchen, but I found myself obliging to his request. I had a girlish thrill as we made our way to the business room.

“Winnie, good morning,” Vincent said when he saw me.

“Morning,” I said smiling.

“I’m sorry, baby but I have a work meeting right now,” Vincent said politely, but dismissively.

“Pardon me, Mr. Muse,” Lou started. “But I think Miss Campbell here just wants to spend some quality time with you, that’s all. You know, being your lady and all, she never does get any time to spend with you especially since your home is also your office,” he concluded. Vincent looked at him and then at me. The silence in the room was almost uncomfortable. He finally nodded and smiled at me.

“Of course. What was I thinking,” he said as he walked towards me. “You can sit in, Winnie.”

After the meeting, I was feeling a little excited. This was the first time Vincent had allowed me to sit in on one of his meetings. We made our way to his room and once we were there, Vincent walked to the window. He looked troubled and for the life of me I couldn’t understand why. As far as I could tell, the meeting had been a great success.

“Hey,” I started as I closed the door behind me.

“Are you okay?” I asked, looking at him. He turned around and crossed his arms over his chest shaking his head. “What?” the suspense was killing me.

“I think you might have been right about Lou, Winnie,” he said. I raised an eyebrow and then shook my head.

“No way. I think you were right and I was wrong, Vincent. And you better marvel in this moment because admitting I was wrong will only be happening once in a very long time,” I said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood but he was still not convinced. I could see it in his eyes.

“No, I just have a gut feeling that he might just be another Nathan Hughes,” he said.

“Oh come on, you’re being ridiculous,” I said as I walked over to the bed and sat down.

“No, listen. He is trying to butter everyone up just like Hughes did. Don’t you think that is a little strange?” he asked. I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Is this because he stood up for me, Vincent? Is that what this is about” I asked almost feeling angry with him. He shook his head.

“No, baby. That’s not it and you know it,” he said as he walked over to where I was. He sat down next to me and took my hand in his. “I just don’t know what this feeling is about and somehow I just can’t seem to shake it,” he said. I rest my head on his shoulder and exhaled loudly.

“Give him a month, baby. Just one month and then you can make your decision then, okay?” I said. Vincent reluctantly nodded and kissed my forehead.

Chapter 9

It had been a month since we had the conversation about Lou and I was happy to notice that Vincent had warmed up to the idea of having him around. Things were so much better now with him not being so suspicious of Lou and honestly it made things so much easier for me because I had grown a little fond of Lou. It was on a Thursday morning when I walked down to the kitchen but there was no breakfast and Lou was nowhere to be seen. I walked to the laundry room, and then the garage looking for him but I couldn’t find him. This was strange because normally he would fix breakfast before doing anything else.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were up,” Vincent said as I approached him in the hallway. I smiled as he slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me to him to kiss me softly.

“I just came down a few minutes ago,” I said when he pulled away. “Listen, I am trying to find Lou…I can’t seem to find him anywhere.” Vincent nodded and cleared his throat.

“Unfortunately, Lou quit earlier this morning.”

“What…why?” I was confused. Lou hadn’t given any kind of signal that he might want to quit.

“Who knows, baby. Who knows,” Vincent said.

“Oh…I see,” I said with a faraway look in my eyes.

“Listen, Winnie. I have to head out this morning,” Vincent said as he looked at me, snapping me out of my trance.

“Oh…okay. Where are you…” he never gave me a chance to finish what I was saying.

“I’m already late, baby. I’ll see you later, okay?” he asked as before he planted a soft kiss on my forehead and walked out quickly leaving me both confused and sad that Lou as gone.

He could have at least said goodbye,
I thought as I walked to the kitchen. I got a bottle of milk from the fridge and some cereal from one of the cabinets and poured myself some before I sat at the counter to my lonely, quiet breakfast.

I haven’t known you for very long but I think you would make a great actor… I think you have great potential.

Lou’s words were echoing in my head. At first, I didn’t understand why, but when I was done with my cereal I knew what I had to do. I walked to the phone and opened the phone book before I began making calls about acting jobs. I had been on the phone for almost an hour when I finally gave up. But I was happy with my progress. The people I was talking to on that day seemed so much friendlier than the ones I had talked to the first time I called. I was still sitting there wondering why Lou had chosen to suddenly leave when the phone rang loudly, interrupting the serenity of the mansion.

“Muse residence,” I said when I answered the call.

“Hi. May I speak to Winnie Campbell?” the voice on the other end asked.

“Speaking.” My heart was beating hard and fast. No one ever called me on
this
phone.

“Miss Campbell, my name is Gloria Darling and if you are available, I would like to talk to you about an acting job.” I was almost jumping out of my skin.

“Really?” I asked, surprised. “Because most agencies reckoned I didn’t have enough experience.”

“Oh dear, once an actor always an actor. That’s what always say and I have a script that would be great with a fresh young face such as yours,” Gloria said. I was impressed. “Would you be willing to meet and talk, maybe today?” she asked. My excitement immediately died down. I would have wanted to meet this new agent, but I didn’t want to leave the house without telling Vincent.

“Today is a little…tight. I cannot leave the house,” I said.

“No problem. Just give me your address. I’ll come to you,” she said.

“Alright,” I said a little happier than I had been a few minutes earlier. This day was turning out to be better than it had begun. I was feeling ecstatic as I gave her the address. This could very well be the first day of the rest of my life.

“I’ll be there in the next hour. Maybe hour and a half,” Gloria said before she hanged up.

I got up and walked to the kitchen where I quickly got some cookie dough from the fridge and got the oven started. I could not wait for her to get here. The hour and a half that I had to wait for her seemed like forever but when she finally came, I realized that she was not at all what I had expected. She was an aging woman whose skin I though looked a little too pale. The deep red lipstick she wore seemed to be the only way I could be able to tell where her thin lips were.

“Gloria Darling?” I asked as I looked at her and she nodded.

“Winnie Campbell, I presume,” she said as we shook hands.

“Please come in,” I said stepping aside so that she could walk in. She looked at me and then looked around the house.

“This is surely a great place you have here,” she said.

I wanted to say that it was not really my place but somehow those were not the words I uttered out. All that I managed to say was,“thank you.”

I led her out to the living room where I had the fresh cookies and a pot of tea waiting.

“I hope you like tea,” I said as I began pouring her a cup. She smiled at me and shrugged.

“Who doesn’t like tea?” I stifled a giggle as I handed her a cup

She was too nice to be an agent. I was so used to the kind of agents who talked to you like they had something better to do and you were in their way. I then poured myself a cup before I sat down. I then felt silly when I realized that I had not offered her some cookies.

“Cookie?” I asked as I held out the plate.

“I wouldn’t mind one, thank you very much,” she said as she reached for one. I then took one and sat back looking at her as I sipped on my tea. “So, Winnie.” She leaned back in her chair and took a small sip of her tea. “Why don’t you tell me about yourself?” I shrugged and smiled uncomfortably. I always hated that question, mostly because there was no sure way to answer it. I looked at her and shook my head. I didn’t know what I was supposed to say.

“I’m sorry Miss. Darling…” I started before she put up a finger interrupting me.

“Please, call me Gloria,” she said.

“All right, Gloria,” I started as I circled my finger on the rim of the cup. “I don’t really know what I’m supposed to say.” She bit into a cookie and looked at me.

“I just want to know about you, that’s all,” she said.

“Okay. I’m Winnie, as you know. Acting is my passion, though I have not done it for a while, and I generally love life. I live for the day, rather than stress out about what tomorrow brings.” My answer surprised even me. I didn’t think I had that much to say.

“And that is how we should live every single day,” Gloria said. She raised her cup and smiled at me, “to life.” She said.

I raised my cup at her. “To life,” I said before I took another sip of my tea.

“So, you mentioned that you haven’t done the whole acting thing for a while. Why is that?” she asked. I shrugged.

“I guess all I can say is that life happened.” She frowned at me.

“What does that mean: Life happened?” she asked.

“I was a housekeeper and as much as I would have liked to dedicate my life and time to acting, some of my bosses just weren’t as accommodating as I would gave hoped,” I explained. She looked at me and nodded.

“Sometimes life just deals us a bad hand I guess,” she said.

“True that.” I looked at her as she bit into a cookie and then looked at me.

“So, Winnie, are you ready to work now?” she asked. I nodded, a little too enthusiastically.

“More than anything. I am in a great point in my life and I have the time right now. There has never been a better time,” I said.

“But this place is huge and you mentioned that you do housekeeping…” Her voice trailed off when I shook my head.

“
Used to
a housekeeper. Things have changed.” Her eyes grew wide.

“You mean that this big beautiful place is yours?” she asked and I shook my head.

“Actually, my boyfriend…fiancé owns this place.” Gloria shrugged.

“Well, this place is just as good as yours, then, huh?” she pointed out. I had never thought about it like that. I looked at her and smiled before I took a sip of my tea. “So, you and your fiancé, huh? Where is he? I would love to meet him.” I frowned and shook my head.

“I’m afraid that isn’t going to be possible,” I said as I looked at her.

“Oh, but why not?” She looked genuinely concerned.

“He had to step out this morning. I am not very sure when he will be back,” I said politely.

“Oh you poor dear,” Gloria suddenly said. I raised an eyebrow, confused at her pity.

“The way you said made it sound like that happens a lot.” I shook my head.

“What happens a lot?” I asked.

“Him being away.”

Dead on,
I thought as I looked at her. I bit into a cookie and took a sip of my tea as I wondered how I was supposed to answer Gloria without seeming rude. My life with Vincent was none of her business, but she was playing at my very soft spot. I had long wanted an outlet for all the secrets Vincent was harboring without bringing me on board. All I could do was smile politely as she looked at me.

“Your silence says a lot, you know.”

I looked at her and shrugged. I had no idea what I was supposed to say. “I wonder why he would leave such a beautiful woman alone like this. He should know that there are young single men looking for women just like you.” I was not very sure if she was being honest or trying butter me up. Either way, whatever she was trying was working. “He’s lucky to have you, you know.” She suddenly said. “You are so beautiful, so young and lively.” I looked at her and felt a warm tingle run down my spine.

“I guess he is,” I echoed.

“You know if it were me, I would have accused him of cheating for being away so much. But clearly you are the more patient one between the two of us,” she said. I looked at her and shrugged. Again, I was speechless.

After an hour of talking to Gloria, I felt more confident than ever about Gloria. She made it clear that she had worked with some of the big names in and around Hollywood. At first I had wondered why she had been so keen to work with me but when she said that she specialized more in developing talent rather than working with more established people in the industry, I felt I had a real chance.

My meeting with Gloria might have been the only good part of the day. When she left, I tried keeping busy, trying to tidy up, but the truth was that I was trying to keep my mind off Vincent. He was yet to come back home and I was worried. It had been almost ten hours since he left and there hadn’t been any word from him and I had no way of reaching him. But since him disappearing was no new thing, I had to come to terms with it. After all, he always came back to me in the end. I sat at the table trying to down the bowl of stew in front of me, but I just couldn’t. It was not the same without Vincent sitting next to me. I could not help but wonder if Gloria had been right.

“You know if it were me, I would have accused him of cheating for being away so much. But clearly you are the more patient one between the two of us.”

Her words were so clear. It was almost like Gloria was right there with me. I was just about to go to bed when I heard the front door open. I walked out of the bedroom and made my way downstairs.

“Hey, did I wake you up?” Vincent asked as he looked at me. I made my way to the bottom of the stairs and shook my head. “I thought you would be asleep by now,” he said.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I said as I looked at him. “Hungry? I made beef stew.” He took a moment and then shrugged.