Chapter 0346
#25 BONUS
The moment we walked into the community center, we were overwhelmed. The place was packed with people. Some I recognized from the gossip columns, high society members. Others I’d seen at work, current employees, or in pictures at work as previous employees. Many I didn’t know at all.
Logan seemed to recognize more than me. His hand closed tighter around mine as we walked farther into the room to meet Mr. Hudgens standing in the center. He was holding a sign in sheet that he handed to Logan as we approached. Logan glanced down at it
“I thought I recognized one of my old nannies…” he said
“Yes,” Mr. Hudgens said. “Many of Senior’s servants past and present also wish to do what they can to stop what he’s doing. You will also notice a few distant relatives on the list. I’ll introduce you if you’d like. I’m not sure you’ve ever met them.”
Logan clenched his jaw. “That would be for the best.”
Dylan peeked over Logan’s shoulder and whistled. “That’s a hell of a list, though looking around this room,
I guess I’m not surprised. How should we do this, boss? Divide and conquer?”
That would be the easiest way,” Mabel said. “If you agree, Logan? Hazel? Mr. Hudgens.
“Yes,” Logan agreed. I nodded.
“I suspected something like this would be necessary,” Mr. Hudgens said. “There is a copier in the office there, if you want to make copies.”
“Allow me,” I said. Releasing Logan’s hand, I held mine out for the paperwork. “I’m good with copiers.”
Logan gave me a strange look. “You aren’t my assistant anymore…”
Rolling my eyes, I snatched the papers from his hand, “I’m still good at it. Let the master work.”
He smirked at my antics. “Very well.”
Mr. Hudgens showed me the way to the office. I returned a few minutes later with enough copies for Logan, Dylan, Mabel, Mr. Hudgens, and myself. After passing them out, we each picked a direction. Mr. Hudgens went with Logan to introduce him to his family. The rest of us went on our own.
1 headed to those wearing less expensive clothes first, thinking they might feel more comfortable sharing with someone who has a similar background. My turn to high society is so recent, I still don’t feel like i belong there. Honestly, I’m not sure I ever will.
The former and current servants seem grateful for my decision. They relax some as we all introduce ourselves. One by one, they come forward to tell me their stories. With permission, I record everything on my phone so that we can listen to the playback later.
More than one servant was shortchanged on every single paycheck since they started. One woman, a cook, was owed $28,000 dollars. When she tried to seek arbitration to get some of that money back legally, she was harassed by Mr. Hatfield’s Seniors so much that she eventually backed down, frightened.
Mr. Smith was apparently the worst of the lot.
“He was so cold,” the cook said. “He has icicles on his soul.”
Chapter 0346
+25 ROHUS
Another, Logan’s former nangy, explained that she was constantly berated by Senior for Logan not immediately accepting his new life. Every time Logan talked back to his grandfather, the nanny took the blame. Verbal harassment was so rampant, she worried about what was being done to Logan
“The day I quit, I went to the child protection agency,” she said. She was an older woman, with deep–set frown lines. They seemed even more prominently now, as she remembered a sad past. “The minute they heard Mr. Hatfield’s name, they stopped listening. They told me it would be better for me to forget the whole thing, and they kicked me out. They even threatened to call the police on me when I refused.”
