“Yes, sir?” he spoke from the driver’s seat.
“Greyson has been fired, which means you are now in charge of the route maps. You will go tonight.”
“Y…Yes, sir,” he stammered in surprise, and I was sure he knew what being fired meant.
It only took a few minutes after we started to drive off for me to hear what sounded like an avalanche of police sirens. It took another three minutes for me to see them on the other side of the road, speeding down the street one after the other.
“Greyson was fired because of his mouth,” I told Monk as he pulled off the shoulder and back onto the road. “No one gossips about my family…especially if you fucking work for me. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
CALLIOPE
They all stood in a line in front of the stairs, all of them not sure where to look. They were scared. They had a reason to be. I had just fired almost half of them.
“You all have been through a lot this year,” I said, leaning back in my chair and crossing my legs. Still, none of them looked at me. “If you’re here, that means you have my trust. It means you are my people. Of those I had fired, most did nothing wrong. I let them go with benefits. Hell, they might even think they got the better end of the deal, but they didn’t; you all did.”
I nodded to O’Phelan, and he waved for the guards who came over, handing them all boxes. One by one, I watched as they opened them.
“Oh my…” All of their eyes looked at me.
“I love diamonds and not just because they last forever,” I said to them, rising out of my chair, “but because they are symbolic. They are made from pressure. Most natural diamonds are anywhere from 1 billion to 3.5 billion years old. Formed under a pressure of 725,000 pounds per square inch, in three-thousand-degree heat. Can you imagine being squeezed and burned and crushed by the weight of the world, then carried to the earth’s surface in volcanic eruptions, deposited in igneous rocks, just so some person, most likely someone in a third-world country, could mine you and wrap you up to offer as a gift. The beauty of a diamond is ironic and cruel. It says a lot about us as people. It’s natural to want things that survive, that are hard to get. It’s just a shiny rock…and yet people have killed and died for them.”
Stepping in front of them all, I looked down the line, and this time, they all looked back, staring me in the eye. It made me smile.
“You survive my pressure, you survive the heat that I undoubtedly unleash on you…and in the end, you will be worth more than that rock in your hands. People will flock just to get near you because you aren’t just maids, or butlers, or guards—you aren’t just the help. You are my people. I chose you. I am trusting you. If you need anything, let O’Phelan know. He will let me know. Everything he tells you comes from me. Everything he hears, he will report to me. Do not disappoint me.”
“Yes, Mrs. Callahan,” they all answered.
“Brilliant, now there is a list of things that need to be finished. O’Phelan?” I turned, and he nodded, walking forward to speak to them. When he did, I noticed both Helen—who now wore a simple light pink dress—Evelyn, Coraline, and Mina, all standing by the living room doors.
“Nice speech,” Helen replied, eyebrow raised as she looked me over.
“Thank you. It might be a bit over their heads, but we will see…” I replied, walking over to them. “Forgive me for not getting you anything—”
“You shot my daughter and kicked her out of my house.” Mina’s eyes narrowed on me.
“It’s my house now, too. But if it bothers you, you are free to join your daughter wherever she is,” I replied with a grace that surprised even me.
“How about we all sit for tea?” Coraline, aka the peacemaker, added quickly—like mother like daughter it seemed.
“Can we make it wine?” I asked, nodding to two of the maids before walking over to Evelyn and offering her my arm.
She snickered to herself. “You really want us to like you.”
“You will like me because you will have no choice in the matter.” I winked, leading her into the living room. “Come on, Aunty Mina…don’t be a sourpuss… You and I both know your daughter needed a reality check. Believe me, I was kind. She won’t limp or anything later.”
She said nothing but followed us into the living room. I helped Evelyn sit before taking a seat on the ivory sofa in front of the fireplace, which hadn’t been turned on yet. The first thing I did was look at the family portrait hanging above it.
“Would you believe me if I told you I had already scheduled the family photographer to come in a few days,” Evelyn muttered, shaking her head as she looked up at it. “We needed to update it due to Ethan’s…wife.”
“You do, and here I am, so they can still come,” I said, amused, though I had a feeling that was only partially the truth.
“Red or white, ma’am?” the maids said as they came in with a cart.
“Always red,” I said to her.
“Where is Giovanna?” Coraline questioned, and I simply pointed over her shoulder. Their heads turned to see Gigi curled up in a ball on the window bench, Priscus and Verus around her, as she took a nap.