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so. I’m going to ask you not to come to the house for a few weeks. For the next three weeks, to be precise.”
    “What? Why?”
    “Because I don’t want any conflict around here while I’m trying to record love songs, Tyrone. I’m behind enough as it is.”
    He nodded glumly. “Yeah.”
    “Please send Darryl in here for me.”
    “Yes, Danielle.”
    Minutes later, Darryl Strawberry eased into my office. “Tyrone said you needed to see me, Danielle?”
    “Yes, I did, Darryl. Please close the door.”
    “Okay.” He frowned but did so. “What’s up?”
    “I need you to find something to keep Tyrone occupied. I don’t want him near this place if I want to do my best work. And I don’t want him interfering with Jeff’s work.”
    “What makes you think he’ll try to?”
    “Let’s just say I’m taking your advice.”
    “I hear you, Danielle. Won’t be a problem.”
    I finally relaxed. “Good. I don’t want to fire him.”
    “I understand, Danielle. But you might have to, as I was saying yesterday.”
    “I’m beginning to see what you mean.”

    Chapter Five
    Jeff
    I went back up to my room, pissed off, mostly with myself.
    That dude Tyrone thought he could intimidate me. Nobody else was coming to my rescue, so I called him out. The military and the automotive companies are the most demanding clients there are. If cameras black out in the middle of high-g maneuvers, you can kiss your contract goodbye. I was pretty sure I could handle this job.
    After what happened just now, though, I wasn’t too sure if I still wanted this job. But I’d signed that damned contract. Now I was committed. In a huff, I wrenched my duffle bag off the bed where Mitchell had thoughtfully left it for me, put it on the dresser, unzipped it and started to unpack.
    A knock at the door made me look up, to see Danielle standing there. I nearly dropped whatever it was in my hands. Smiling, she slowly stepped in to the room, heels clicking on the hardwood floor. “I see you’re unpacking.”
    I grabbed some socks. “Yeah.”
    “For a second there, I was afraid we’d scared you off.”
    Despite myself, I smiled. “Almost. But not quite.”
    “Good. I wanted to come up here and apologize.”
    Surprised, I said, “Apologize? What for?”
    “For having to defend yourself against one of my own people. That was unacceptable, Jeff. Unacceptable.”
    “Danielle, I can take care of myself.”
    “Jeff, the buck stops with me. You agreed to work for me. That makes you one of my people now. And I won’t have any of my people treated badly.”
    “I, uh, I appreciate that.”
    “Like I said before, dinner is at six. Clarice can escort you down if you like, if you’re still not too sure where everything is.”
    “Yeah. That would be really nice.”
    “Okay. Did you need any help unpacking?”
    “Nah, I got it, but thanks.”
    “Naomi is making a special surprise for dinner, so don’t wear anything you wouldn’t want to get barbecue sauce on. I’ll be changing clothes, for sure.”
    I cracked a grin. “Yeah, I, uh, forgot my tuxedo.”
    Danielle actually laughed at that. “You won’t be needing it. Not tonight, anyway.”
    “Okay. Thanks.”
    “Feel free to look around the house. You might be working here, but you’re living here, too. So make yourself at home.”
    “Thank you, I appreciate that.”
    “I’ll just leave you to your unpacking. Don’t be shy about speaking with Clarice if you forgot to pack something.”
    “That’s very generous of you. Thank you.”
    After that first day, the ice was broken.
    But the next morning, I suddenly woke up, and, seeing the time was nearly nine, I panicked and jumped out of bed.
    Still in my pajamas, a dark blue tank top and light blue pajama bottoms, I headed through the door to the bathroom, yawning and stretching like usual. I quickly did my business and left for the hallway, where I met Clarice, dressed in plain blue jeans and a thin white sweater. She must have seen my