Pendelton Manor Read Free

year. We’ll pull your car around to the garage and grab your luggage. Come on, James.”
    “Welcome to Pendelton Manor, Sophie.” James winked at her then followed Adam down the hall and out into the stormy late afternoon without a qualm.
    “Don’t care for storms, huh?” Nora asked when Sophie cringed at the next loud burst from Mother Nature.
    “Stupid, I know. I’ve had a fear of storms since I was a kid. I’m sure I’ll get used to the weather here, though.” Sophie rubbed her arms as a chill went through her.
    “Come on,” Nora said as she headed toward the staircase. “I’ll take you to your room and as soon as the guys bring up your things, you can get dried off before meeting with Adrian.”
    “This is a gorgeous home,” Sophie commented as they ascended the wide staircase, her hand running lightly over the polished wood banister.
    “Arthur Pendelton, Adrian, Adam and Ash’s great-grandfather, built it over a hundred years ago. Ownership has passed down to the eldest son ever since. That would currently be Adrian, your new boss.”
    “I’m detecting a pattern with the names beginning with A.”
    “Something the guys all swear they’ll change if they ever have children.” When they reached the second floor, Nora pointed down the hall to the left. “Adam and Ash’s rooms are down there, yours is this way.” Turning right on the wide landing, she led her past two closed doors to the third at the end of the hall. “That stairwell goes up to the third floor which is entirely Adrian’s. There’s also an elevator that goes from the first floor directly to the third.”
    “He occupies the entire third floor himself? That must be over three thousand square feet.” Even after working in the Tremaine’s huge mansion for seven years, Sophie couldn’t imagine a single bedroom suite that size.
    “Each floor is three and a half thousand square feet and the solarium and enclosed pool added on to the back is close to two thousand. You’ve got your work cut out for you keeping this place looking good. Here you go.”
    Sophie followed Nora into the spacious bedroom falling in love with the room immediately. Pale mint green walls and carpet contrasted beautifully with the dark woodwork framing the doors and two large windows on each side of the bed. The bedspread and matching curtains were in a mint green, dark brown and rose print which brightened the room considerably. “This is beautiful,” she commented as she took in the matching dresser and small sitting area with two stuffed chairs in the same print positioned in front of a small television.
    “Nicole did a lot of redecorating when she moved in here. The bathroom’s over there.”
    “Nicole was Adrian’s wife?” she asked, saving checking out the bathroom for later as curiosity about the late Mrs. Pendelton took hold.
    Nora nodded her head, a look of sadness filling her eyes. “Yes, and one of my best friends. Nicole, Rachel and I were as close as Adrian, his cousins and James are. I still miss her.”
    “I’m sorry for your loss. She must be the reason you know so much about the family.” That and the fact that Nora was on intimate terms with not only one of the Pendeltons but their best friend also. Her mind and her body were still focused on what she had witnessed and she was finding it difficult to put that scene aside. Unlike most college age girls, Sophie had been too busy working full time while taking a full load at school to have much spare time for boys, let alone a sexual relationship. A one night stand her freshman year divested her of her virginity, a six month affair with a senior the following year in which the most time they had together was a few hours once a week, if that, and the one night stand the summer before her senior year that resulted in Emily’s birth were the total sum of her experiences in the bedroom. In the past four and a half years, her life had first revolved around making a living for her and Emily