Chapter 6

The next morning Matt threw himself into his early morning training and his work on the Mansion viciously.

Rayne let him go for the first few days, but called him on it soon after a couple of days about how poorly he was taking care of himself.

Matt thought to argue, but Rayne had been a drill instructor for armed troops, and Matt could see that he didn't stand a chance of wining the argument and he knew it.

But Rayne knew that she had to get his sense of humor back, but that wasn't going to happen until the showdown with Vanessa first.

And Thursday afternoon the familiar carriage showed up coming down the road. At this point there were about three months left on the Mansion. It was interior time.

This is the point when he normally would have given Vanessa a tour to see what new innovations he was putting in and get her input on designs he may have overlooked.

Thinking about that made his face grim.

Rayne noticed and told him he needed to relax or he would never get through the day, and to just be himself.

Then Rayne reached out and put her hand on his face, while she looked him in the eyes and said "Hey, you really shouldn't frown. You never know who might have fallen in love with that smile of yours and now they miss it."

And then she left to walk the perimeter to give him some privacy.

Matt stared with wide eyes after her, and he was shocked she said that.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" said Matt under his breath.

But before he could really consider it Vanessa jumped out of the carriage and tried to throw herself in his arms.

Matt caught her and took her hand in his and walked towards the villa.

All Vanessa was thinking was that he wanted to get an early jump on tonight's activities.

Rayne was still trying to figure out why she said that to Matt. But she really did love his smile. Maybe more?

As Rayne was coming back up the other side she saw that Vanessa was now leaving the villa.

"That was fast. I haven't been gone more than ten minute's tops," thought Rayne.

Vanessa's face was a mask of rage and fury, but she wasn't yelling or screaming as she came out. She just looked just very, very angry.

As she caught sight of Rayne she marched over her direction. When she was almost on top of Rayne, Rayne noticed her diamond ring was no longer on her finger.

Rayne could see tears in Vanessa's eyes as she yelled "I hope you're happy you slut you got what you wanted. Now Matt isn't marrying me because of whatever you said too him. I knew you were doing him, but I let it go because I knew you would be gone soon. But you made sure to screw up my life real good before you left didn't you?"

Rayne coolly looked at her

"I have never slept with him, and my job never included that. I have never said a word about anything concerning you too him before the other night. Not when you told me about your lovers, plural by the way, not when I saw you leaving their homes in the middle of the day when you said you had previous engagements and couldn't be with Matt. I didn't even say anything about you obviously giving away Matt's secrets to Roger," said Rayne with a scowl.

And at that Vanessa sucked in a lot of air and looked at Rayne scared.

"Just how much does she know," she thought.

"But Matt figured it out for himself when one of your other boyfriends was running off at the mouth about Matt's newest invention he was getting ready to steal from him," said Rayne.

"Then there is the fact that Matt and I both saw you standing there in that dress that barely qualified as a dish rag covering you, and we both saw good old Roger with his hands everywhere but between your legs the other night. And that may have even happened and we just missed it," said Rayne savagely.

"So if you want to blame someone, blame yourself. I did nothing but stand by quietly as you buried yourself," finished Rayne. Then she turned continued on past the shocked woman.

"This isn't over you slut! I'll have my man back and you won't be able to stop me!" yelled Vanessa at Rayne's back as she got in her carriage.

As Rayne reached the villa she saw Matt come out. But strangely he didn't seem upset anymore.

"How did it go?" asked Rayne with a little surprise.

"That was the interesting part. I really don't care how it went," said Matt slowly.

"She couldn't at first accept that we weren't going upstairs to have sex. Then as I tried to explain it was over she wouldn't listen, as if she denied it, it wouldn't be true. Then she started accusing me of getting rid of her to only be with you. She was blaming everyone, but herself for this. But the more she talked the less I cared. Now I could careless because I'm happy and free," said Matt smiling.

Rayne found herself smiling back at him, and they returned to the construction site.

But as they walked Rayne had a thought.

In Rayne's experience, when someone is upset enough to say "this isn't over" and they have money or power, or both, and they don't have a sufficient reason to fear you, they will be back.

And Rayne found herself frowning again at that thought.

Dinner that night it wasn't the somber affair that Rayne thought it would be. In fact it was fun and interesting. And at times she would almost call it flirtatious.

She really enjoyed herself.

But at times she felt guilty because it felt like she was enjoying herself at the expense of someone who really wasn't her rival for Matt. Vanessa was with Matt before Rayne got here, but now she was gone. But regardless of the reason why, it was lighter and more fun that night, than it had been in months to Rayne.

As they called it a night and headed to their respective beds Matt watched her walk down the hallway until she went in her room. He was aware that she didn't close her door, but now he really hoped that all the times Vanessa visited that she couldn't hear them.

What Rayne didn't know, was after the first time Matt saw her in that red dress that Vanessa had picked out to embarrass her at her first party, that was when Matt really started to think of her as more than a bodyguard.