Chapter 113

"Hey. I'm glad you made it back. Was the flight back on the jet okay?" Rhys greeted her at the door.

Pearl looked at him and said nothing, walking past him and into the foyer. She made her way down the hall and into the bedroom. "What the hell is this?" Pearl called out, finding a large screen television hanging on the wall, with several small screens displayed. She saw the driveway, the studio out building, the guesthouse, the back patio, and every bedroom, living room, kitchen and foyer displayed. There was also a shot of the main room of the bookshop.

"Jim and I installed this yesterday. We have a security team on hand for any alerts." Rhys explained.

"So, there are men that can see every room of our house? What we do?" Pearl felt terribly violated.

"No. It only alerts them when we are gone or asleep for the night. The cameras are recording here at all times but until I set the alert for them, they can't see anything. It's for our safety. For your safety." Rhys took her hand and led her to the bed.

Pearl sat down next to him.

"Rhys, since I have met you, two women have plotted against me and put me in danger. Now David is involved. And Dylan. This is a mess. Can't you talk to her? Can't this be solved?"

"It's not that simple, Pearl. Not when money is involved. I have a legal team working on it all. It's going to be ok."

"What? When our bookshop burns to the ground? Our house? Our careers? Tell her she has no chance now, no matter what happens to us. She's ruined it with no hope. Can't you tell her that and this can stop?" Pearl didn't understand why it had to be so complicated.

Rhys looked down and shook his head.

Pearl knew there wasn't much use doing things his way. She knew she would have to take matters into her own hands.

Pearl slept on the couch in the library that night. She wanted nothing to do with Rhys, the cameras, the entire thing. She needed a mental break. She knew what she had to do. The next morning, she told Rhys she needed to run to town to pick up a few things. "We have people that can do that for you." Rhys said, sipping his coffee, he was still upset about her sleeping away from him.

"I know that. I just need to get out and some of the things I need are personal." She wasn't going to explain.

"Ok. I will ride with you. Jim can drive us."

"No. I'm going to drive myself. Having a driver and you along is just going to draw attention. I'll be fine. I'll run the errands and come straight home. I promise."

He looked at her and could see she wasn't changing her mind.

"Ok. You have three hours before I come looking for you."

"Rhys, it's almost an hour into town. I'll be back soon. It's tampons for Christ sakes!" Pearl stomped off and out the door.

She made it into the city in record time. She parked her Jeep in the parking garage and headed into the building.

"Pearl?! What are you doing here?" Pearl heard as she shut the door to David's office behind her.