Disclaimer: I own nothing. At all. Zip, zilch, nada, nothing.
Forbidden
By Today's The Day
Chad Dylan Cooper arrived a little before one o' clock at the Munroe Mansion. He glided his shiny black Sudan into its parking space and quickly turned off the engine. Climbing out of the vehicle, he checked his watch once again. He had to be on time. He smoothed down his stiff attire and walked up the stone path to the grand doors that marked the entrance of the more than humble home.
Chad knocked a precise three times on the white steel doors, waiting patiently for them to open. As he stood there, he noticed two security cameras that blended into the scenery. The lenses were directed towards him, watching his every move. The little red blinking lights indicated that whatever he did was being watched and recorded somewhere in the building before him.
He averted his attention back to the steel-plated door as he watched in amazement as they were slowly pulled aside by two burly looking attendants. When they were fully open, he took a hesitant step inside.
"Mrs. Munroe will be with you shortly, sir," said one of the men that had opened the doors. "Please wait here in the foyer until notified otherwise." And with that, the man left to summon the master of the household, leaving Chad alone with the other servant.
Chad absorbed all that was around him, taking every little detail into mind. Two staircases wound up until they met securely in the middle, joined by one connecting set of stairs. The steps were clean marble and were elegantly carpeted by a red satin that emphasized the grandeur of the home. Sturdy, black iron railings bordered the outer reaches of the steps, securing safety to those who ventured up the magnificence of the stairs.
He was surrounded by incredibly high ceilings and walls, all of which were made of the finest plaster that which was fixed by the finest artisans. Gold-gilded frames decorated oil paintings of amazing landscapes and numerous bowls of fruit.
A small, cherry wood table stood daintily by itself in the large foyer. A cup-sized crystal bowl was set in the middle, holding a handful of imported mints. From the looks of it, no one had dared take one of the small candies, for fear that Mrs. Munroe would notice and be angry.
Chad was snapped out of his observances, as he heard approaching footsteps against the marble floors.
"Ah! Mr. Cooper, I am so glad you were able to make it," came a loud, almost jolly sounding voice. Chad nodded respectfully as Mrs. Munroe greeted him. "You don't know how grateful I am to you."
"Of course, ma'am," replied Chad.
Mrs. Munroe laughed. "Mr. Cooper, you may call me Connie. For we shall see a lot of each other now, shall we not?"
"Yes, of course, ma'am-Connie," corrected Chad. "You can call me Chad, if you like."
"Now! Let us discuss your duties here in the Munroe household," started Mrs. Munroe. "You will be acting as my daughter's bodyguard. We will be needing your assistance mainly 24/7. You will work Monday to Saturday with Sundays off. Of course, you will be required to be on call all Sunday, if, we perhaps, need to go on a family outing, per se? Your work hours are 6 AM to 8 PM. Be prepared to work late most nights, though. You will be paid your salary the second Saturday of every month. Lateness and absences in your attendance are unacceptable, and will lead to immediate termination of your job. Now, are there any questions?"
Chad paused for a minute, accepting his fate. "No ma'am."
"Connie."
"Connie, sorry."
"Well then, we're glad to have you aboard! I hear that you are the best at what you do. Hopefully, you won't have to prove your excellence, but if you do, then I most certainly hope that you will pull through."
"I will do my best."
"Well, your best better be sufficient when protecting my daughter."
"Yes ma'am."
"Connie!"
"Sorry, I'm used to calling my bosses by their respective titles."
"Then let it be 'ma'am'. Now shall I introduce you to my daughter?"
Chad nodded silently in response. Mrs. Munroe then led the two-person expedition up the grand staircase and down the carpeted hall. They came upon a simple white door and Mrs. Munroe knocked lightly on it.
"Come in," came a soft voice. Mrs. Munroe opened the door, a grin spreading across his face.
"Sonny!" she bellowed happily. The serious demeanor from before diminished as she saw her daughter. "How are you my sunshine?"
"Hi Mom. I'm good!" she giggled just as cheerfully.
"Good, good. This is Mr. Cooper. He's your new bodyguard, sweetheart," explained Mrs. Munroe.
"Hi! I'm Alison. But my Mom calls me Sonny, so I guess you can, too!" she greeted, smiling.
"Hello Sonny," said Chad, a hint of a smile forming on his lips. The girl before him was only a few years younger than he was. He was shocked to see how friendly and outgoing she was, and even more shocked to see how friendly and outgoing Connie Munroe was when she was with her daughter. Although that was to be expected, seeing as she loved her and she was the center of her whole world.
He examined her, noticing she was a slender girl. There was no way she could ever fend for herself in a fist fight. She had just-below-the-shoulder-length chestnut hair that cascaded down in graceful curls. Her warm, chocolate eyes told of a life of great prosperity and ease. He could see that she had never had to work a day in her life; she was pampered.
She couldn't fight. She never experienced hardship. He didn't particularly enjoy helpless, spoiled brats, but there was something about her that made him pause and re-think his immediate stereo-typing. There was something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"Well I think we'll get along quite well!" announced Sonny, seemingly decided upon what she had just said.
"Yes, I believe so," agreed Chad, nodding solemnly.
"Well then, I'll leave you two to get to know each other. Meet and greet, as I like to call it. And Sonny dear, will you show him around the house? And where he'll be sleeping?" asked Mrs. Munroe.
"Of course, Mom!"
"Thank you sweetheart. I'll be in my office if you need me," said Mrs. Munroe, leaving the two by themselves.
"So I'll take you on a quick tour, okay?" grinned Sonny.
Chad nodded. "Alright."
Sonny walked down the hall, guiding Chad along the way. "That's my Mom's room at the end of the hall. It's not to be entered by you or me. Only the servants get to go in when they're doing the laundry. Otherwise, it's absolutely off limits." She pointed to another door that adorned the hallway. "That's going to be your room. You'll be staying there for as long as you work here." She came to a stop and opened yet another door. "And this is the bathroom, as you can see."
Before Chad could stop and observe it, he was being pulled away. The two of them made their way down the stairs, back into the foyer. Sonny made a curt right, leading them immediately into the dining room. "As you can see, this is where we're going to eat our meals. And this," she paused, gesturing to the next room. "...Is the kitchen. Our Chef makes amazing food here. And this place is also where I come for midnight snacks. I love having Ben and Jerry's Reese's Peanut Butter Cups at one in the morning! The Chef always leaves some out for me. But don't tell my Mom, okay?" giggled Sonny.
Chad smiled. She had a wonderful giggle that sounded much like a chiming of small bells. "Okay."
Sonny then pointed to a door in the kitchen. "That's where the servants sleep. My Mom says not to go in there, but I sometimes do and the maids and I play Monopoly in there. It's really quite fun."
They walked back out of the dining room and back into the foyer. Sonny guided them straight across the foyer, right into the living room. "This is the living room, obviously. I don't usually hang out here. It's for when Mom has guests over. She doesn't want me to accidently break anything." They walked through the enormous room into a smaller one. "This is the game room. There's pool, ping pong, a plasma TV, board games, books, video games...the works. I like this room a lot...but I'm not usually in it since there's no one to play with. But I bet you're good at the Wii, right?" she smiled at Chad.
"I've never played, honestly," he admitted.
"Oh wow, I didn't expect that." They walked through the room and through an archway. "The glass doors lead to the back yard and these small stairs..." she started, and then began to walk up the steps. "...Lead to..." They continued to walk up the stairs. She then inserted a little key into the door pushed up against it. "...My room!" she said happily. "You need a key to get up and down these stairs. And I'm the only one with the key!"
"Well you'll have to make me one," said Chad.
"Why?"
"If I'm going to protect you, I need access to all the places you have access to," he explained calmly.
"But I don't want to give you one!"
"You have to," he answered nonchalantly.
"Fine!"
"Fine."
"Good!"
"Good."
"Great," she muttered under her breath. "Now leave! I want to be alone."
"Fine, whatever," replied Chad, opening the door to her room and then leaving in a huff. Sonny slammed the door shut in haste. She let out a little sigh and then slid down on the floor. The new bodyguard was handsome. Absolutely stunning. He had soft, wind-swept hair and sparkling blue eyes. The moment she had laid eyes on him she had felt her heart start racing. He was gorgeous.
Yes, she had a slight crush on her bodyguard. So what? It was to be expected.
She sat in silence, trying to slow her heart rate. And then she heard it. The soft, tentative knock.
"What?" she snapped, knowing it was him.
"Uh...since I'm protecting you, I sort of need to be in the same room as you."
"No."
"Let me in."
"No."
"Come on!"
"No."
"What if your mother comes out and sees?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"That's it, I'm going to get in there."
"No."
There was silence. She thought she heard footsteps walking away, so she sat quietly for a minute. Had he seriously just left her there? She hesitantly pulled the door slightly open. Not being able to see anything, she jerked it open, poking her head outside. She looked down the hall, but didn't see anyone. And then she felt the full slam of the door being opened entirely, and the light tap on her shoulder.
Chad smirked. "Told you I'd get in."
A/N: I don't know why, but this idea came to me all of a sudden. I'm not sure if I should continue. Just wanted to get it out there :p Tell me if you liked it (or not) in a review.
And be sure to look out for another story of mine: "Yearning For Tomorrow" Yeah, I'm working on it now, but it's a re-make of the whole "Groundhog Day" movie theme. It'll be out soon! (Hopefully)