Read the book: «Mr. Mellone’s unique сollection», page 2

Chapter 7

The mood was wonderful. And the girl agreed with great pleasure to assist with lunch preparation to the friendly housekeeper, when she asked Mellie if she wanted to help her. The woman introduced herself as Mona, and they both laughed at the funny coincidence – their names began with the same letter. Mona suggested to start with lunch, and then to show Mellie the house. But before that, she took the girl to the room where she was to live, so that she would lay out her things and take a shower after a hard road.

Mellie liked the room very much. And the part of the estate that she had time to consider, too. It seemed that everything in the house was thought out to the smallest detail, there was nothing superfluous, but at the same time there was everything that was necessary. The stairs diverged from the hall of the first floor in both directions to the floor above. Lacquered, carved wooden railings smoothly flowed around a large transparent column, inside of which flashes of the northern lights flowed, constantly changing color and shape. The column went right up to the roof, where it broke into many branches, or lianas, intertwining all over the ceiling above the hall. Therefore, it seemed that the ceiling was constantly changing. The spectacle, of course, was amazing! The first time, Mellie did not pay attention to this because of the abundance of fresh flowers and various plants, besides, she was very eager to see her employer. Therefore, she enjoyed looking at the beauty that surrounded her. She climbed the stairs, touched the transparent glass with her fingers and smiled when multi-colored lights, as if alive, ran across her palm. At that moment, the girl was again covered with a feeling of the unreality of what was happening. It was as if she was not just looking at the iridescent postcard, but was inside it.

The forked staircase ended at the second floor. A barrier of carved railings wrapped around the column like a thin bracelet. Mellie could see the first floor hall into the open space between this barrier and the glass. She and Mona climbed the stairs to the left, and after walking only a few steps down the left corridor, they found themselves at the door to the guest room – it was Mellie’s bedroom. Mona’s bedroom was a little closer to the stairs and almost opposite. Two more bedrooms were located further down the corridor, but they were empty. On the right side of the second floor the owner’s apartments were: his bedroom, the second mini-cabinet, a bathroom and a dressing room.

– I have to constantly be in touch with the owner and be close, he is practically helpless, – tears flashed in Mona’s eyes.

– Of course, of course, – Mellie hastened to answer and nodded in the affirmative.

– I just feel really sorry for him. It’s so unfair! Do you know how many people he helped and helps? Even me… He did so much for me that my life is not enough to thank him! I won’t bore you with the details, and, to be honest, I don’t want to, but it is happiness for me to be next to him and know that I can be useful to him, – Mona opened the door for Mellie with these words and continued. – Well, make yourself at home!

The room was wonderful. Firstly, it was located on the sunny side! And Mellie loved the sun very much – she associated life with it! Secondly, the room was spacious, but at the same time very cozy. It had a large, comfortable bed, built-in wardrobes, a dressing table with a mirror and even a small sofa with a tea table, but most importantly, the room had a balcony! Mellie was an avid smoker, but she really didn’t like it when someone smoked indoors, and she never did it herself. She preferred to go outside even in restaurants and cafes instead of visiting the smoking room.

– How does Mr. Mellone feel about the smell of cigarettes? I indicated in my resume that I smoke. Or does he smoke too? – Mellie asked, looking around the room.

– No, Mr. Mellone doesn’t smoke, but he’s absolutely not against smokers, – Mona smiled. – As he says, if people themselves want to ruin their health, we will not interfere with them. Of course, this does not mean that you can smoke in his cabinet or even in his presence, but no one prevents you from going out for a smoke break if you want.

Mellie’s mood rose even more. No, of course, if smoking was strictly prohibited, she would have quit… for a while. She could do anything for the sake of successful completion of the case, but it is much more pleasant to combine business with pleasure.

Chapter 8

Mellie spent her first night in her new home almost without sleep – she sorted through the accumulated information and impressions.

Firstly, she almost failed the interview, so decided to fill in the gap and learn a couple more languages. It is unknown where and with whom her life will throw in the future (and she absolutely had no doubt that her life would be long and interesting), but it certainly won’t be superfluous. Languages were easy for her, so she didn’t see any problems in achieving her goal. Moreover, there was someone to practice her speaking with.

Secondly, her employer turned out to be a very interesting person. He was an incomprehensible person… But, whatever it was, he was still a man – aged and in a wheelchair, and she was a young girl, she was full of life, so it shouldn’t have been difficult to fall in love with him. The main thing was to find the right approach. Usually, Mellie understood at first glance (very rarely from the second) how and what she needed to do to fully clarify the situation, but here… Nothing was clear. Her boss acted like he was the king of the entire universe. His whole appearance said: «I am not interested in what you think about me, the main thing is what I think about you!».

To be honest, the girl expected to meet with a rare bore in an old dressing gown and a hood, an embittered grouch for the whole world because of his illness. And here… It was very interesting… Especially considering that he wasn’t interested in women. More precisely, perhaps he was interested in them, but that’s how they say: «The eye sees, but the tooth is numb». But it didn’t seem to bother him at all.

Mona told while cooking dinner that Mr. Mellone’s disability was the result of a car accident. He barely survived then. It seems that some kind of evil fate was chasing him, because a month after what happened to him, his wife died in a car accident. A young secretary of his wife died in the same accident. It was rumored that she and Mr. Malone seemed to have an affair, but Mona did not believe it, because she saw how much the owner loved his wife.

– Poor fellow, he changed so much for the worse after the news of his wife death, – telling, Mona secretly wiped her tears. – And he stayed in a wheelchair. He moved here after everything that happened to him. It used to be some kind of forestry, but Mr. Mellone redid everything and arranged it to his liking. Now it has become a whole kingdom! However, no one ever comes here. We live very secluded. These are Mr. Mellone’s rules. But everyone who lives here is quite happy with this, because the owner helped everyone very much at one time, and people are happy to share his loneliness with him as a sign of gratitude.

Millie listened, memorized, but for some reason the picture did not add up, no matter how hard she tried. Therefore, the girl promised herself to thoroughly sort everything out, since there was plenty of time.

Chapter 9

The conversation continued over dinner. According to Mona’s words, the boss had a lot of business correspondence, as well as friends around the world. And he preferred to communicate with everyone in the language of the interlocutor. Mr. Mellone believed that this brought them closer together and allowed them to conduct business more successfully. And, undoubtedly, he was right.

He also played the piano very well, and Mona often enjoyed his playing in the evenings. The owner did not drink, did not smoke, did not arrange orgies and never raised his voice at anyone. He was always ready to listen carefully and, if necessary, to help.

«This is not a human, but a straight angel of some kind!», – Mellie mused, listening attentively. But, apparently, this angel still flew over the road to someone or touched with a wing, since such an order was received for him. Yes, and with the condition not just to destroy, but… It would be very interesting to look at his will. Apparently, Mr. Mellone had unlimited funds. He had no children, no wife already, and, based on what he saw and heard, he was not going to marry a second time. «Yes, even if he was going to, he wouldn’t have time», – Mellie smiled cynically. If to find out to whom all his property will go, then the customer will immediately become known.

As if reading her thoughts about the will, Mona wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and said: «He left everything-all his property and money to orphanages, hospitals and animal shelters! He’s so wonderful!».

«It is very-very interesting! Who opened the hunt for you, and why, our wonderful?», – there was no limit to Mellie’s surprise. She liked everything to be clear, but here… The further away, the fog gets thicker! The object was just an angel in the flesh, he had no heirs, he was no longer young and he was sick, and it may be that he was about to die soon…

«So why the hell would someone have to shell out a fortune to get rid of an old man, and even in such a strange way? – Mellie continued to ponder. – Well, in fact, street dogs did not cooperate to improve their living conditions! And why should it be suicide? He is disabled. An accident would be just right and would save a lot of time. It’s crazy! Or maybe he drove someone to suicide a long time ago (when he wasn’t so perfect)? Or is it the brother or fiance of some girl from Mr. Mellone’s distant past (looking at him now, she can imagine that in his youth he was very nice), who committed suicide because of unrequited love for him? Maybe that’s why this is how he should die? Suffering too? Damn, this is already some kind of vendetta!».

Thoughts were swarming in рук head like a swarm of bees, but the only true thought didn’t emerged. In principle, all this did not matter at all for Mellie. She had an object and a customer who had to pay very good money. And it didn’t concern what anyone’s motives were. She was just very curious, that’s all…

Chapter 10

Mellie learned from Mona’s consistent and verbose stories that the estate was incredibly huge, and everyone who was there could go for a walk at any time, or even on a short trip. There was also its own mountain route, a hunting lodge right on top of one of the mountains and a guest house on the shore of the lake. There was even an island in the middle of the lake, where there was a hut, in case anyone wanted to feel like Robinson Crusoe. The only thing that was strictly forbidden was to cross the perimeter. In fact, those living on the estate were practically in prison, on a life sentence, only voluntarily. «How much does life have to beat to agree to such an existence?», – Mellie didn’t ceased to be surprised. Everything, absolutely everything there was strange and incomprehensible to her. And she was incredibly glad that she, so loving life in all its diversity, would not have to stay in this place for a long time.

The girl also found out that the boss always had breakfast, lunch and dinner alone in the large dining room. But the table was always served as if it was waiting for many high-ranking guests. Each meal was necessarily accompanied by quiet classical music, which Mr. Mellone simply adored, and always chose himself, depending on the mood, what he would like to listen to. He also loved to walk very much, so the paved paths ran away from the porch in all possible directions. In case he wanted to rest or have a snack, gazebos with everything necessary were located on the lawns and on the sidewalks for this.

In general, Mellie’s employer was very sensitive to his beloved and created for himself a kind of paradise on earth. In his paradise, everyone and everything was designed to maintain paradise conditions in perfect order and make living as comfortable as possible for Mr. Mellone. «Well… Whoever pays, orders the music. It’s not known how I would be weird if I were in his shoes with his money…», – Mellie even began to feel something like respect for her boss. Anyway, it took a strong hand and a remarkable mind in order to build such an empire, and even so that everything functioned as in a well-oiled mechanism. Both the strong hand and the remarkable mind of the owner were very well felt. Especially the hand, it was not just strong, it was steel and incredibly powerful, like the grip of a Doberman. Speaking of Dobermans… These cute dogs turned out to be a dime a dozen on the territory! And all of them, as a selection, were taught to kill. They were trained to kill at once. They were trained to kill any outsider. Therefore, it was not recommended to leave the house at night, and in general it was recommended not to stick out without an escort once again. «It can be very dangerous for your health!», – that’s how Mona put it. Mellie laughed until she hiccupped at these words! Indeed, your health can be significantly shaken if five not very friendly dogs cling to you at once!

– You need the dogs to get used to you. You won’t tame them at all, you’ll still remain a stranger, but so that they at least know that you can walk everywhere unhindered. Mr. Mellone will introduce you to them later.

«And thanks for that! It’s not enough for a killer of my qualifications to stupidly become a dog’s dinner…», – Mellie thought. For some reason, Mona’s words made her uneasy. The rich imagination immediately reacted and gave out a video clip with musical accompaniment about how Mr. Mellone took her to the dogs and in his velvety voice gave a single command: «Take it!». Ten minutes later, only bloody fragments remained of Mellie, but Mr. Malone only smiled leeringly, looking at all this. This was followed by a series of retrospective shots telling that throughout his life, once a year, the boss arranges a holiday for his dogs and feeds meat to young girls whom he allegedly hires for work.

Mellie shook her head: «That’s it! I think I’m tired after all, and it’s time to rest! I’ve never seen anything more idiotic in my life!». Spitting in her heart and scolding her overly exuberant imagination, Molly asked where she could smoke. After all, if it was impossible in the house, was it possible to go out at least on the porch without fear of being devoured by carnivorous dogs? It turned out that it was possible to go out on the porch, but only accompanied by Mona. It was for the time being.

Chapter 11

The next morning, Mellie walked into the office at exactly ten in the morning. She put on a pantsuit and gathered her hair into a strict bun. Her boss was already sitting at his desk, perfectly dressed and combed, as if a whole crowd of hairdressers and stylists had worked hard in the morning. Mellie realized that his appearance had nothing to do with her arrival, Mr. Mellone always looked like this, and she was dreaming…

The owner asked in his velvety voice how she slept in her new place and whether she liked the estate. The girl thanked him for the excellent room and replied that she had not had time to see everything yet, but she really liked what she managed to see. When the exchange of pleasantries was over, the boss pointed to a whole stack of catalogs that needed to be updated and sorted. All of them were in different languages. The work has begun. The silence in the cabinet was broken only by the tapping of keys and the rustle of pages. When Mr. Mellone announced a lunch break, Mellie just shook her head and continued to work. The lesson captured her with her head. She had imagined a boring, monotonous routine, but it was nothing like that – the illustrations themselves were colorful and the explanations for them were interesting. It was as if she went on a tour of some fabulous places and learned a lot of interesting things. Surprised by the fleeting way the case fascinated and captured her, the girl was delighted. It was incredibly wonderful that the work brought her pleasure.

Mellie was so engrossed in what she was doing that she didn’t even notice when Mr. Mellone returned from lunch, as evening came. Only when she heard: «That’s it for today!», she realized that the working day had come to an end, and felt how hungry she was. After collecting the papers, Mellie put them in front of the boss and came across an attentive look with a note of curiosity.

– Are you interested? – how did he manage to say that? It seemed that the voice enveloped from all sides at once.

– Very much! It’s all so breathtaking! – Mellie was really very excited, she didn’t expect this from herself.

– That’s wonderful! I rarely make mistakes and after meeting you, I assumed that you are an inquisitive, dreamy and generally multifaceted nature. I am very glad that I was right this time too. But in the future, I ask you to take breaks anyway, it’s mandatory for lunch. I don’t want you to faint from lack of oxygen or from hunger! – One of Mr. Mellone’s dazzling smiles graced his face.

Mellie unconsciously smiled in response, it suddenly dawned on her that she really hadn’t left the office – neither to the toilet, nor for a smoke break.

Chapter 12

Mellie slept like a log that night, and she had wonderful dreams – she was traveling. She woke up in the rosiest mood and literally flew down to the kitchen to share her impressions with Mona. She swallowed her breakfast, chattering incessantly, in a hurry, as she was very impatient to get back to work faster. Mellie thanked Mona, ran out into the hall and almost bumped into Mr. Mellone, who was sitting in his chair with the look of an emperor. He was wearing a cocoa-and-milk shirt and mustard jeans.

– I would like to introduce you to our lesser friends, – it seemed that the voice penetrated into the blood and spread throughout the body like raspberry jam. Mellie immediately realized who he was talking about, and involuntarily shivered.

– Don’t be afraid of them. Dogs feel fear, more precisely, an excess of adrenaline in the blood, but they do not distinguish feelings, so they take it as a sign of aggression. If you are friendly, they will feel and respond to you in the same way, – brown almond-shaped eyes looked friendly and soothing.

The girl thought: «Thanks a lot, my kind boss! The last thing I would like is for a pack of killer dogs to decide that I am an enemy for them!», but she said out loud: «I really love animals!».

Mr. Mellone’s smile at these words became downright unrealistically wide. And Mellie decided that this is how an alligator smiles in anticipation of a hearty lunch.

The wheelchair smoothly rolled down the ramp and stopped in the middle of the yard. There was a soft, barely audible whistle, and they turned out surrounded by a cheerfully bouncing flock. Each of the dogs tried to lick Mr. Mellone’s hand or face, and he laughed merrily and ruffled their necks. But as soon as he spoke, everyone, as if on command, stopped jumping, sat down in a circle and stared at him with devoted eyes. The boss introduced Mellie according to all the rules, just like at a social event. Each dog took turns coming up and sniffing Mellie, and she in turn had to pat the animal on the head.

Finally, the introduction ceremony was over, and they returned to the house to work. As on the previous day, Millie plunged into the most exciting travels and barely broke away for lunch. She ate lunch very quickly and returned to the cabinet. The day again flew by unnoticed. In the evening, giving the updated catalogs, Mellie suddenly had like an electric shock, and she couldn’t help but ask: «All these places… You were there yourself, weren’t you?».

– You are not only very talented and efficient, but you are also a very perceptive girl! Yes. That’s exactly how it is. And if it’s interesting to you, I can somehow share my impressions with you, – Mr. Mellone’s voice was as stringy as white honey, and the same transparent, and his cat eyes shone from the inside.

«Do I want to? Yes, of course I do! And not ever, but right now, right now I wouldn’t refuse!», – Mellie flashed through her head, but she politely thanked aloud and said that the idea was just wonderful. Then she said good night to Mr. Mellone and left.

This time the girl slept much worse, she couldn’t sleep for a very long time. She was haunted by the thought that something was wrong. Or rather, everything was wrong. She really worked; moreover, the work brought her great satisfaction. Inquisitive by nature, Mellie absorbed information like a sponge. And she really wanted the boss to share his emotions with her. And she, in turn, wanted to share her emotions with him. All this was more than strange, because the priority should have been her main job, her goal, for the sake of which she was doing the work. And the details of the execution were just an addition to the overall picture. But it was the opposite. Only two days had passed, and the girl did not want everything to end faster. She managed to understand that her boss was an extremely interesting, even one might say, unique person. She had never met anyone like him before, and she wanted to get to know him better, she wanted to hear what he would tell in his velvety voice, she wanted to share her opinion.

Cold reason stubbornly insisted that he didn’t like everything that was happening, but the adventurous streak blithely waved away, they say, we have a lot of time, why not spend a little for your own pleasure.

Reassuring herself that it was just a period of adaptation, and everything, as always, would fall into place, Mellie was able to fall asleep after all.