"Boss... I advise you not to get too close to that woman."
"Why not?" Henry asked amiably.
"She's the boss's fiancée."
"How can that be? Dester is already married."
"The culture of people like him... Of... Ah! He's part of a sect that accepts men marrying more women."
Henry frowned.
"I already live with other men, from the same family as Dester, and... They only have one wife."
"Yes. Some wives don't accept that they remarry."
Henry sighed.
"She's beautiful. Dester never told me about her."
"Why should he? You're partners, not friends. They're getting married soon."
"She told me that, and other things..." Henry then began to tell the boy the things she'd told him, and he noticed the pallor on his face. Even if he didn't confirm it, he already knew. Brianna didn't lie.
"Boss... He does these things with his fiancée, but he's forbidden anyone to talk about it, and she's forbidden to tell either. If he finds out, he'll kill us both and lock her up somewhere. He loves her, but he's sickly jealous of her."
"I'm not afraid of him... He won't know until the time is right. But tell the others that they're not supposed to tell you what they've seen here. I don't want Dester to know about our meetings. And during the afternoon, I don't want any men hanging around here. You can go to the shack on the property and play cards.
"If Dester finds out..."
"I'll find a distraction for him. He won't be here... But be prepared. We'll have to leave in a hurry."
"When?"
"I don't know yet."
"Boss... If you're thinking of stealing his fiancée, you'd better think again. He'll be after you forever. And it's not easy to hide from someone with the resources he has." The werewolf said eagerly, explaining to Henry that Dester was a werewolf, and could easily track any human, that he knew the scent, and Brianna was his favorite perfume.
"We'll see about that later. I haven't made up my mind about taking the girl with me, but I'm determined to beat the shit out of him. At least send her back to her relatives. What he's doing to her is unacceptable. The girl is unprotected, helpless, far from her family and everything she knows."
The young man left, his thoughts conflicted, and Henry began to think. That young woman was too beautiful. As soon as he saw her, he could feel the fragility and sadness in her eyes. He felt like hugging her and comforting her, and regretted not having done so.
He returned to the mansion where he was staying and found Dester pacing back and forth in his office. As soon as he entered, the boss looked relieved.
"Where have you been? I've been looking for you in every corner of this house."
"Why were you looking for me? Something important?"
Dester smiled and went over to the work table and took some champagne out of the ice bucket, which Henry only realized was there at that moment. He opened the bottle and poured two glasses, handing one to Henry, who looked at him inquisitively.
"Toast with me, my friend! In three weeks' time, I'll be a married man."
"Did your wife die while you were looking for me around the house today?" Henry asked wryly.
"I'm very powerful, Henry. I'm not bound by traditions of monogamy. I can have a thousand wives if I want to."
"Very exciting." Henry said nonchalantly. "And where did you hide your fiancée?"
"That doesn't matter." Dester said, and downed all the champagne in one gulp.
"E... When am I going to meet the woman who diverted you from your purpose of being monogamous until death?" Henry asked, and placed the glass, with the champagne intact, on the table. He couldn't celebrate that poor young woman's anguish.
Later, when he was older and more experienced, he would remember that clear signal he had given Dester that he wasn't pleasing her, and that Dester hadn't noticed.
"I think I'll give an engagement dinner so that you and other friends of mine can meet her. What do you think?"
"I think it's a nice idea. Will your first wife be attending?"
"No. She hasn't had an engagement dinner and would storm off during dinner."
"I didn't know she was so insensitive." Henry said indifferently and looked around. "I need to make a call. Can I use your phone?"
"Sure. Make yourself at home." Dester said, pointing to the handset on the desk.
"I need privacy. Is there another phone somewhere in here?"
"No. You can make yourself at home here. I really need to get out of here so I can arrange with the cooks what's going to be done for dinner tonight." He said and left.
Henry went to the door and looked at the empty corridor with satisfaction. He locked the door and dialed the number. After a few rings, he heard a woman's voice on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Sarah?"
"Yes. Henry?"
"Do you want to make a hundred dollars, easy?"
"What a silly question. What do I need to do?"
"I want you to come to the boss's mansion. And I want you to seduce him, ask him out, take him to the motel I'll tell you about and make him forget the time. I need him out of here for the afternoon."
"Dester is crazy about me... This task is easy, but dangerous. How about two hundred dollars?"
"Deal."
"The man who's living with me will stay with my son so that I can get there. Will you pay for the taxi for me? Or do I have to take the bus?"
"I'll make sure that as soon as you get here, the taxi driver gets the fare."
"What about his wife, Henry? She'll kill me if she finds out I'm staying with her husband."
"She's always on the balcony of her room in the afternoons. Don't worry."
Henry hung up after they had agreed on the motel Sarah and Dester should stay in. And she agreed to stay only after the job was done.