Chapter Two

Saturday

About 4 o’clock

There was a knock on the door.  “Yes.” Jason said.

The door to Jason’s penthouse opens “Sir, Mr. Brown is here with Miss Brown,” Renaldo said in his usual monotone voice.  “Shall I show them in?”

“Yes.”  Charlie walked in, behind him she followed silently.  Her eyes were a chestnut-brown, they were beautiful but Jason could see that there was something missing.  They weren’t alive, they seemed to just stare at nothing.  Other than that she looked like a normal 16 yr-old.  She looked similar to Emily, but not as tall.  She had long light brown hair, almost to her waist.  She wore bright colors that made her look like an exotic flower, beautiful but with a hint of something magical. 

“Erin, this is Mr. Morgan.  The man Sonny told you about,” Charlie said, stepping aside.  Erin’s face moved to face Jason.  Jason felt a chill run down his spine.  She seemed to be looking right through him like he was a sheet of glass.  Jason put his hand out to greet her, and amazingly her hand met his.  He could not understand how she knew where his hand was or where he was standing.  She just seemed to know. 

“Hello, Erin.” Jason paused.  “You can call me Jason.”

“Nice to meet you,” Erin said distantly.  Her voice was soft though not fearful the way most people were when they first met him. 

“Well, I have to get going now or I’ll miss my flight.  Erin be good.  I’ll call you every few days.  And I don’t want to see a recurrence of what happened in Florida.”  With that Charlie kissed the top of her head and turned to leave.  He turned around one more time and spoke to Jason.  “Her tutor will arrive on Monday.  Here is the number to reach me if you have to.” Charlie then left. 

Jason and Erin just stood in silence for a few moments.  It was Erin who broke the silence.  “Don’t feel like you have to entertain me.  If you could just tell me where I’m staying, I’m pretty sure that it isn’t here. I’ll just go and unpack.” Erin’s sweet demeanor dropped.  Her true attitude about being there showed.  Jason could tell that she didn’t want to be there.  He couldn’t blame her.  She didn’t know anyone and she was going to be there for months. 

“No problem.  I’ll take you there.  You have your own apartment just across the hall.”  Jason walked Erin to the door, unlocked it and handed her the key.  “Where are your bags?” 

“They will be delivered tomorrow.  I have my suitcase for now.  Before you leave can you show me what is in this apartment.  For if you haven’t noticed I’m blind.  It’s not like I can see the layout.”  

Jason wasn’t accustomed to people who gave him attitude. 

“Never mind, just tell me the layout.  I’ll find my own way around.” 

“Okay.  The first room is a living room, then to your right is a bedroom, with a bathroom.  To the left is the dining room with the kitchen behind it.   If you go straight through the living room there is a flight of stairs that lead to the second floor.  There are three bedrooms up there. The main bedroom right next to the staircase to the right, has its own bathroom.  To the right to there is another hallway that leads to two more bedrooms on the left and the study to the right.  There are two entrances to the study one down that hallway and one down the main hallway.  At the end of the main hallway, on either sides the rooms are empty.” There was a pause.  “That’s about it.” 

Erin couldn’t hide her surprise.  “Wow.  That’s big for just one girl.  It’s like the size of a real house.” 

“Yes it is large.  My lawyer lived there until a few moths ago.” 

“Why did he leave?  The job finally get to him?”  Erin asked. 

“No.  He got married.”  Jason thought for a moment.  “What did you mean ‘the job got to him’?” 

“You know what I meant.  Your line of work is rather explosive.”  Erin answered playfully.  “No need to worry about me learning too much about what you do.  I already know almost as much as you do.  Why do you think my dad brought me here instead of leaving me in Boston?  I’m a major target for anyone who wants to get to my dad.”

Erin said it so mater-of-factly that it caught Jason off guard.  He wasn’t expecting for her to be that large of a risk factor to her father.  “Whatever you say,”  Jason answered guardedly. 

“I think I’ll go find my way around now.  Bye.” With that she entered the apartment and closed the door. 

Jason didn’t quite know what to make of her.  She was like no one he had ever talked to before.  She had no fear, she was blunt and to the point, she had attitude and she knew enough to put herself in major danger if she wasn’t careful-she was like him.  That worried Jason.  He could take care of himself and keep himself out of trouble but could he do the same for her?  He knew that he didn’t like it when others tried to take care of him,  and neither would she.  For both of their safety she would have to trust him-that meant he would have to earn her trust, and if she was anything like him that would be hard. 

Erin put down her suitcase and felt her way around the room.  There were two couches facing each other with a coffee table between them; other than that there wasn’t anything else in the large room.  Erin made her way to the dining room.  She noted that the dining room was raised when she tripped over the step.  The dining room had a fireplace, a long table that could seat 10 people, and there was a buffet table against the wall, with a window above the buffet table.  Erin knew it was there because she could feel heat from the sun shining into the room. 

She found her way into the kitchen and noted that it, too, was large.  It had everything in it that anyone would want.  Erin made a note that she would have to get someone to do her cooking.  She went up the stairs and into what Jason had told her was the main bedroom.  It was the biggest bedroom she had ever been in.  The bedroom was even larger then the kitchen.  Erin went back downstairs and got her suitcase and brought it back to her room.  She had everything packed so she knew where everything was and what it was.  Erin put some clothes in a dresser and hung the rest of her things in the large walk-in closet.  She found in one end of the room a stereo system and put in one of her CD’s.  She fiddled with it until she knew what most of the buttons were; she made a mental not to have Miss Carelson tell her what the other buttons were.