Arthur looked over his shoulder when he got chills down his back to see Matilda staring down at him.
He couldn’t care less about her, an unpredictable Master Davian was higher on the danger chart for him than she was.
"See yourself out," Master Davian said the three damning words after they got to his bedroom.
Arthur politely bowed and headed for the door. He had hoped that he would be able to have a conversation with his Mafia King.
Hopefully, it would be one that would assure him that he wasn’t getting the axe, along with Matilda and her daughter.
Davian sat on his bed, sorting out his thoughts. It was smart not to say anything to Matilda then, because he didn’t trust his words.
There was a lot to deal with here, but he focused on something entirely different.
Matilda’s interference, however unwanted, had been useful because it was only a matter of time before his feelings about Lake got more complicated.
He couldn’t care less about Matilda’s claims of Lake being a gold-digger. The reason he wouldn’t be retaliating was that he knew he eventually had to get rid of the Omega.
Matilda had just stuck her nose and hastened the inevitable.
He could even be pleasant and let her stay for however long she wanted, even after she rudely moved into his house without informing him.
It wasn’t any trouble to him because he was barely in the mansion, and when he was, he was usually holed up in his study.
For now, what was more important than Matilda’s presence was dealing with his unstable rut, which was the sole trigger for how the past couple of days had turned out.
Matilda returned to her room and paced from one end of the lavish space to the other.
She had dropped by Savannah’s room first and told her daughter to take a nap. It was better she handled this all alone.
Davian was unsettling, the Mafia King gave nothing away, his empty eyes eerie.
She couldn’t even say if his lack of a response to her was a good or bad thing, hanging on the edge.
Matilda flinched at the sound of a knock on her door, stomping forward to open it, bracing herself for the inevitable.
Arthur stood on the other side, his expensive coat unable to hide the cheap dress shirts he wore to cut costs.
"Can I help you?" Matilda asked through pressed lips, her words sharp like needles.
"Master Davian bid me to let you know that you’re welcome to stay at the mansion for however long you’d like." Arthur generously informed her.
"He did?" Matilda asked in disbelief.
"I wouldn’t tell you a lie." Arthur tipped his head.
Matilda’s expression turned dark at that, "But you would lie when it benefits you. Or else, why wouldn’t you inform me that Davian was returning?"
"Because I only just learned of it as you did," Arthur said coolly, "The Master returned far too early."
Matilda stared at him for several long seconds, like she was trying to decipher his thoughts by peering at him through her thickly lined eyes.
"I will find out if you’re plotting against me," She dropped her voice to a whisper. "And when I do, that will be your last day in the mansion."
Matilda slammed the door in Arthur’s face then, a smile blooming on her face at the information that Davian would not be kicking her out.
The most important part of her plan had been achieved, everything else from here one out would be easy compared to this.
She had to go tell Savannah...
Outside the door, Arthur hesitated for a bit before starting down the hallway.
It wasn’t until hours after Lake had gone and Matilda was still in the mansion did he realize that he had made a grave mistake in inviting her.
To get rid of a pesky pest, he brought a venomous snake, and now he had to find a way to live with her or risk being bitten.
He gritted his teeth as he went to his room, wishing that he had been able to influence Master Davian’s decision more.
But even without it being said, the Master knew that he was the one who gave Matilda information.
It was plain to see, he was the only other person that knew about Lake’s theft.
But he had told Matilda in good faith, which was another grave mistake of his. He knew now that she would throw whoever under the bus to make sure she got what she wanted.
So, when Master Davian called him to tell him that Matilda and her daughter could stay for as long as they wanted, he could only accept and go inform her.
Arthur needed to keep his distance from Master Davian, because if the Mafia King decided that his chattiness about mansion matters was a grievance, he might as well count his days.
He barely got to his room before he was approached by a house staff. The maid had been working there for under a year, but she did her job well enough.
She also had never had a complaint before, so her seeking him out was unexpected.
"Do you need something, Laura?" He paused to have a conversation with the maid.
"Yes," Laura said with her chest puffed out, a slight tremble in the single word.
Arthur immediately picked up on her odd reaction, "Is something wrong?"
"You could say that." The maid pursed her lips, her curly light brown hair in a knot on her head.
"I don’t want to be a server for Miss Matilda and her daughter anymore," Laura said in a rush.
Arthur’s brows lifted at that, Laura never turned down a task.
"I would rather be given laundry duty." She ended her tirade with her arms crossed over her bosom.
Arthur didn’t need to ask why, the two women could be insufferable. "That can be arranged."
Laura let out a sigh of relief, she had be questioning herself before approaching Arthur.
Thinking that a complaint would cause her to lose her job, but now she was glad she did.