-Part 3
Jessi was scared. Though the boy was a bit odd, he was definitely intriguing… to say the least. And now she was headed to his…. Manor.
Butler had come to her house earlier that day and picked her up in a…. limo. It was odd seeing a limo in inner Dublin, outside the plain brick apartment building she lived in.
She got in fast, and they were off. They had been driving for about a half hour, and except for Butler's subtle warnings of 'If she ever hurt Master Artemis…' it was silent.
Finally, they came to the manor. The Manservant pulled in the gate, and down the long driveway. Jessi was gasping at every single thing, and Butler was rolling his eyes.
They finally pulled up to the front door. Artemis was waiting on the front steps, and before Jessi could open her door, the Manservant had pulled it open and was standing strait like a butler, holding her car door open for her.
Jessi got out hurriedly, and Butler got back in the limo and drove it around the building to park it.
"Um…. Can we go in?" Jessi asked, shivering in the May weather.
"Butler doesn't want me out of his sight with you. He made me promise to not leave his field of vision. I believe he thinks you're going to stick a knife in me when he's not looking."
"Do you believe that?"
"I have not had enough time to gauge you, but by the selection of your clothes and arrangement of your hair, and even the type of bag you carry, I would assume you are not a hired assassin."
"Why… How would you guess that?" I asked.
"I never guess. I know."
"Okay, how would you know?"
Butler came back around the corner and opened the doors for them, and Jessi followed Artemis inside.
"I know because the typical assassin, even while trying to hide the fact, would be wearing loose, stretchy clothes preferably in a dark color just in case they have to make a quick getaway. You are in jeans and a tank top, definitely not loose or dark. An assassin would have their hair tied up so they would not have it fall in their eyes at a critical moment. You're brunette hair is falling in loose waves around your shoulders. Not tied up.
"And assassins would carry larger bags, to fit lots of secret pockets to hide all sorts of things. Your purse is barley big enough to hold a book. I find it hard to believe it could also have secret pockets and even a knife or gun in there. So, judging by all these things, and more subtle things, you are not an assassin, even a badly disguised one."
"Wow…." Jessi was quiet. "You certainly have a lot going through your head." She said.
"I never stop thinking about more than 4 things at one time." He said frankly and simply.
"I can tell… Anyway. Why would an assassin be after you? And why do you need a bodyguard? You're just a kid."
Artemis puffed up at the 'just a kid' comment, but let it slide.
"I need a bodyguard and lots of protection because I am a billionaire and head of a lot of corporate companies. I also consequently am a lord of the underworld, black market and such. There are more people out there that want to see me dead than the whole population of Ireland. I have had bad business dealings with people from almost all over Europe, Asia, South America, and North America. I am a wanted man in many places. People do not much care for me. So, I would be careful when getting involved with me. You can still get out while you can, the door is right there and Butler is perfectly happy with bringing you back home and you never have to think about me again."
Jessi was silent and thought. He's trying to scare me away. He doesn't want friends for some reason. Maybe he's afraid to make friends… that's why he's trying to scare me away. Well, I won't have it.
"I'm fine right where I am, thank you." Jessi said politely.
An emotion passed over Butler's face she thought might be relief, and Artemis just looked startled.
"Okay then…" Artemis said awkwardly. "Well, I guess I can show you around the place. This is one of our living rooms…."