Chapter 3

About a week has passed since Mia and Jake were put on the Grey case and Mia is currently at the office, waiting for Jake to finish up while collecting all of her questions and evidence files with the information about the suspects.

Just as she finishes gathering her things, Jake pops his head into the office.

"Hey, babe, ready to go?" He asks a smile on his face, his eyes crescents.

She rolls her eyes and turns around.

"Will you please stop that already? It's getting annoying," She says, getting a little ticked off.

"Oh, come on, you love it," He teases her.

"Whatever, let's just go," She says before she walks past him.

After about thirty minutes of driving, they arrive at a huge front gate and behind it a gorgeous mansion, standing proud and tall, with a beautiful garden and groups of trees surrounding it. It's the perfect place to be.

Mia's eyes widen at the beautiful sight before her.

Jake chuckles at her child-like excitement. He then presses the doorbell by the gate, and a few seconds later, the sound of an intercom is heard.

"Who is it?" A man's voice asks.

"It is Mr and Mrs Henson from the detective agency!" Jake says cheerily, Mia almost slapping the living daylights out of him.

"Of course, welcome to Grey-manor," the voice says again before the large gate starts to slowly but surely open.

Jake drives his Mercedes into the courtyard and parks under the trees.

Once they approach the big front doors, Mia's breath is taken away by the interior and the lobby part of the house.

It is all too much for her to take in. She knows that she had visited fancy places from time to time, but this is...wow.

Before she even has time to recollect her thoughts, they hear footsteps coming down the stairs.

Mia was expecting to find the rather old-sounding person, maybe the butler that they talked to on the intercom, to come and greet them, but instead, an angel greets them.

Before she knows it, the very handsome man is in front of them, holding his hand out to her, for her to shake.

"Greetings, I am Robert Grey, the youngest of the brothers. You must be Mrs Henson, Heffley told me that we had a personal change," He says, his voice just as deep as Mia thought it would be. 

"Uh, I apologize, but I am Ms Cooper, he is Mr Henson. I'm so sorry, he keeps telling people I'm his wife, although I'm not, and I'll be on the case, so you can just call me Mia," She says, first looking at Jake with an annoyed look, the male not even noticing her anymore, as he's just glaring at the younger male, who is casually checking Mia out.

"Well, I can see why he would want that. Any guy would be lucky to have you by their side, Ms Cooper..." Rob says, his voice deep and raspy as his eyes scan over Mia's body, the man standing way too close to Mia for Jake's liking.

He puts on a fake smile and stretches out his hand for Robert to shake.

"Hello, I'm Jake Henson, but just call me Jake," He says, Mia hearing some annoyance in his tone.

Robert shakes Jake's hand and puts on his charming smile, causing Mia to feel like fainting.

"Of course! Feel free to call me Rob," Robert says, sounding like a little boy, despite looking like he might be in his early twenties.

She looks at Robert with wonder in her eyes. How is he able to be so hot and so cute at the same time? It's so unfair!

Ugh, what is it with the men in her life being so hot and cute all the time, while she's just...meh.

Rob moves away from Mia, the burning glare Jake is giving him, clearly making him uncomfortable.

"Damon! They're here!" Rob yells, his head pointed to the side of the room where there is an open door.

A few seconds later, they see a tall man coming out of the room, with a pink apron tied around his waist. Hmm, I guess it was the kitchen.

"Didn't I raise you not to yell?" He says while slapping the younger boy on the back of the head. "But you're yelling!" Rob yells back at his older brother.

Damon whips a wooden spoon out of the pouch in front of his apron and points it at Rob. Mia watches as the colour physically drains out of Rob's face, as Damon threatens to hit him with it.

Just as Damon is trying to playfully hit the boy, Rob runs for the hills, literally.

He runs as quickly as he can, back up the stairs from where he came down, disappearing down the hall.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that. I'm Damon Grey, the eldest. You can just call me Damon or whatever you'd like," the man says, showing them his dazzling smile.

"Pleased to meet you, I am Mia Cooper, and this is Jake Henson. You have a  very lovely home," Mia greets politely.

This is maybe one of the most beautiful men Mia has ever seen.

The blond's face is perfectly proportioned, and his lips are plump and pink.

Mia hears Jake groan next to her, probably seeing the man's beauty as well.

"Oh! Thank you! I did all of this myself, with no help from my useless brothers, I might add," He says with pride in his voice.

"I apologize for doing this, but I am currently busy preparing lunch in the kitchen, so I sadly won't be able to tour you around," Damon says, releasing a sigh, annoyed because Robert made his problem Damon's.

He takes out a bell from the apron pouch and rings it. What doesn't he have in that pouch of his?

A few seconds later, a fancy-dressed man comes up to Damon, greeting them with a hospitable attitude.

"Heffley, will you please escort our guests to the game room? The rest of the boys are bound to be there. Chris should show these lovely people around," He smiles at Mia, making her knees weak.

Heffley nods and starts to walk upstairs, Mia and Jake following close behind him. They pass a lot of fancy-looking rooms, and after what feels like forever, Heffley stops and stands next to a big door, noises coming from the inside of the room.

"The rest of the young masters will be inside this room. Please just call if you need anything," Heffley says, smiling before leaving them outside the door.

"So, you got everything you need?" Jake asks, still pouting but a little bit relieved that he decided to come with. He could protect Mia against those predators.

Mia nods back at Jake, knocks, and then opens the door, revealing three boys in the room.

One boy with bright red hair and a boy whose hair is a very dark brown, his dimples showing as he laughs at his brothers while Rob is busy cheering on his brothers.

This site makes Mia smile, seeing how happy they look together.

Jake sees her smile and instantly gets jealous. Mia is his, not theirs. He is the one who has already known her for multiple years. It's not fair that the people who make her smile are the people she doesn't even know!

He clears his throat, and all the boys look at him immediately.

"Mia!" Rob yells, instantly by Mia's side, dragging her towards his brothers. The only thing she's able to do is giggle and fawn over how cute the younger boy is being.

"Mia, these are my brothers. Chris, and Austin. Guys, this is the pretty lady I was telling you guys about!" Rob says, pointing at Mia, his brothers nodding, remembering that Rob had just told them of the cute girl he saw downstairs.

Mia starts to feel shy, especially after Rob called her pretty. No one has done that before. Well... except Jake, but she hates him, so it doesn't do anything to her. Maybe once, long ago, but not anymore.

When Rob said it, though, it felt like it was the first time someone called her pretty.

"Hi, I'm Mia Cooper, but you can just call me Mia, and this is Jake Henson, my colleague. We will be handling this investigation," Mia says as she introduces Jake and herself with a smile, the dimple on her right cheek coming out.

"Well, first of all, I'm very sorry for your loss, and I promise we will catch the killer if it's the last thing we do," Mia says, determined.

The boys look at each other, giving each other knowing looks before Chris nods slightly as if agreeing with the others, before looking back at Mia and Jake.

"Thank you, we all appreciate your condolences, but if I could give my honest opinion, I think it's better off this way, I mean of course having our father gone will be more challenging in more than one aspect, but in the long run this happening is for the better," Chris says, leaving Mia a little stunned at his statement.

Before she can ask him why he thinks that way, Damon comes in through the door, letting everybody know that lunch is ready.

"Guys, please stay for lunch. There is a lot of food, so no need to worry about that," Damon says, his hands on his hips just like a mother.

Mia thinks to herself, deciding that they should join for lunch.

"Sure," Jake says, happy for the chance to check out the intentions of these men more. 

"Okay, let's get down to the dining room," Damon says, everyone following him as he walks in front of the group.

They arrive at a big, fancy dining room, all the food already filling the tabletop.

Everyone goes to stand by a chair.

Mia is in the middle of Rob and Jake.

"Please, make yourselves at home, and enjoy the food I prepared," Damon says before motioning for everybody to sit down.

"Please, dig in and enjoy," Damon says, smiling at Mia and Jake.

After Mia finishes dishing up, she brings some of the food to her lips and tastes it, her eyes widening at the sudden pleasure prickling at her taste buds.

"Damon, this is amazing! Did you cook this all by yourself?" Mia says, her mouth stuffed with some of the food.

Damon is only giggling at her chipmunk-like face.

"Yes, I did. Cooking is a passion of mine, so I love to do it as much as I can," He says.

"So if I may ask, what were your relationships with your father, and do you know of someone who would've wanted to harm him?" Jake asks the boys after they dig into the food.

"Well...yes, I know of someone..."