Chapter 8: Who Are You?

My shift was almost over when I saw Dax walk into the restaurant. He looked out of place in his suit. Sometimes I disliked how he looked like a model for a fashion magazine. Why did he have to be rich and gorgeous?

I pushed away those thoughts and blinked a couple times. It didn't seem real that he was at my workplace.

What was he doing here anyway? I didn't think he had a reason to see me until later. I was going to move in after my shift was done.

My one co-worker looked at Dax and mouthed "He's hot." I hoped he hadn't seen her do that. I doubted Dax would be interested in her, however.

When he got close to me, I asked, "Why are you here?"

"I'm going to drive you to my place."

"Can't I just follow you with my car?"

He shook his head no and said, "I'd rather drive you there myself. I'll get one of my workers to bring your car over."

"Well, I was finishing up actually. Can you wait just a couple more minutes?"

He nodded while I finished cleaning the milkshake machine. One newbie made a big mess using it earlier. I had to clean it, despite it not being my fault.

After I was finished, Dax led me to his red Tesla that was parked away from the other cars. I had never seen such an expensive car before. It was really clean, almost as if it had been washed that very day.

Dax opened the passenger side door for me. An odd warmth came over me at his gentlemanly action. My body was betraying how I really felt about this man.

On the drive over, I tried to make small talk. "How long have you been running the company?"

Dax glanced over at me when we were a stoplight. "It's been a few years."

I was surprised that he actually answered me. I tried to ask more questions but he blew them off.

The drive was longer than I thought it would've been. It turned out that he lived on the outskirts of the city.

Maybe he wanted a more secluded life away from prying eyes. That made sense with what job he had. I was sure reporters wanted to know about his every move.

When we got to his place, his car was immediately recognized and the gate opened automatically. I could tell how different we were at that moment. Everything seemed so surreal for me. I'd get to live somewhere where other people always dreamed of being.

It was temporary but at least I could experience it once. Dax had more money than I'd ever make in one hundred life times. I didn't even have a proper security system.

Dax interrupted my thoughts and spoke up, "I can give you a personal tour of the estate if you'd like."

"That would be really nice. If you don't mind of course."

"No, I'm fine with doing a tour. You are my guest after all."

That's when the gates opened up to a very large estate that really made my apartment look like a wasteland. He had what looked like acres and acres of property. Dax drove up a long driveway and parked it in front of a large garage.

From the garage, I was able to see the view of the estate better.

Dax spoke up and said, "Welcome to the Ryan estate. You can look around out here if you'd like. I'll be waiting for you inside."

"Your place is so elegant."

"Thank you."

Dax left before I could say anything else. Then I took in the full view of the estate, and my mouth almost dropped open.

There was a humongous bright blue pool with a beautiful waterfall underneath an gigantic rock structure, which gave the appearance of an underwater cave. The pool was in front of the three-story mansion that had large windows and pillars for its structure.

As I kept looking around, I noticed that there was even a stable for horses in the distance. It was large enough to live in by itself. I also spotted some really high hedges blocking the view of Dax's mansion from his neighbor's.

They were cut into exquisite animal shapes such as a swan and horse.

When I finally went inside, Dax led me to my room on the second floor. It was incredibly luxurious and was three times the size of my bedroom at my apartment.

The king sized bed looked like a heavenly upgrade from my lumpy twin. It even had a curtain surrounding it to give privacy. I spied a sparkling light fixture in the center of the room, and there was a couch and giant flat screen tv in there as well.

Dax suddenly spoke up and said, "You also have a whole new wardrobe in your closet. Feel free to take a look."

"Wow. I definitely want to see this!"

I stepped into the closet, feeling as though I had been transported to store full of luxury brands. There were many clothes in a few different sections, and more shoes than I'd ever seen were on multiple shelves.

A full-length mirror was also in there. Necklaces, earrings, and bracelets of various metals and colors dangled from one wall, shimmering in the light of the chandelier. I could get lost in a place like this but in a good way.

I had never experienced such luxury before; I always bought on-sale clothes and even went to thrift stores. Now I had more clothes than I could have ever imagined.

"Than…"

Dax cut me off and said, "There's no need to thank me. I'm just being a good host."

He was hard to believe sometimes. I just wanted to thank him for everything he's done for me. I didn't know what his deal was.

I decided to explore my new "home." I had to take the opportunity, because I'd never get to be in a place as magnificent as this again.

As someone who loved food, I had to see what the kitchen looked like. It was expansive and had all the latest appliances, and there was plenty of space for several people to be around its huge island. My kitchen only had room for two people max.

Dax's place had a few bedrooms on the second floor alone. I was surprised since I assumed he lived by himself. I kept getting impressed over and over, as I kept finding new areas of the house.

While exploring, I was drawn to go up the spiral staircase to the next floor. I started walking up it, but started to trip halfway up the stairs.

As I was about to fall, I landed in the strong arms of a very handsome young man.

I noticed right away that he looked very similar to Dax but younger. His eyes were the same shade of bright blue but seemed friendlier than Dax's.

The man spoke in a very masculine tone, "Hello. I'm Jared." He looked into my eyes and said, "Who are you beautiful?"

Interesting, he was already hitting on me, though we had never met. I hadn't received the attention of a man in a long while, so I kind of liked it.

I felt myself reddening and said, "I'm Danica Winters. Dax invited me to stay here with him."

Jared looked confused for a moment and said, "That's odd. My brother doesn't normally date. You must be extraordinary."

Dax didn't mention he had a brother to me, so I was kind of surprised to learn he had one.

I explained, "I'm the surrogate he hired. I'll be staying here during my pregnancy."

He seemed to take in my words before he said anything else.

Then Jared smiled and said, "I'm glad he picked such a beautiful woman. I could get used to seeing your face around." He added, "You're a much better view than my overly serious brother."

This man sure was a charmer. Why wasn't Dax like this? Maybe I'd actually like him better if he was like Jared.

I wondered why he was at his brother's mansion. Did he live with Dax? I hadn't been informed that Dax lived with anyone else. Maybe I hadn't thought this through enough.

Seconds had passed and suddenly Jared grabbed me and tried to press me closer to him. I was too shocked to react to his sudden movements. As I watched Jared's face lean closer to mine, I saw Dax appear, fury painted on his face.