The house had been designed around the passions of Burgess and Winifred Egerton. For Winnie, gardens vast and ever-flowering had been her dream and Burgess had given them to her, but his obsession was born from his love of steeds and mares. It was soon after Burgess began to walk that he began to ride, and his adoration for the stateliness of one of God’s greatest creatures continued to grow through the years. So, the stables being under the house served two purposes. The view from the back of the mansion was unobstructed, and at any time during the day or night, Burgess Egerton could visit his beloved animals.

Addison walked to a small door tucked into the corner of the room behind her desk, and sliding the latch, pulled it open. The smell of earth and rock filled her senses, and flipping on a light switch, she descended a narrow spiral staircase leading to the gym. Careful to keep her hand off the wooden railing, its grain now opened and raised by the moisture in the subterranean passage, Addison circled downward, the oak treads under her feet creaking every step of the way. Reaching the bottom, she slowly opened the door.

She made not a sound as she stared at the intruder, trying to discern which unfortunate employee was about to lose their job, but then Addison noticed the ponytail. Lifeless rusty-brown hair tied with a band and flip-flopping in time with the woman’s strides, reality all but slapped Addison in the face, and her blood pressure began to climb. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she roared.

As she always did, Joanna had slowly increased the speed of the treadmill over the past several minutes, so when Addison screamed, Joanna was almost at a full run. Startled by Addison’s voice booming over the equipment’s squeaks and squeals, Joanna broke stride for only a moment, but it was enough to send her scrambling for the safety cord to shut off the machine, hoping to stop the inevitable. She didn’t. As the treadmill jerked to a halt, Joanna fell to the floor.

“Fuck,” she said under her breath, pushing herself off the concrete. When she saw the red scratches on the palms of her hands, for a split-second Joanna’s temper surged, but then she remembered about a bear...and a stick.

Joanna looked over at Addison, and when she saw her wearing yet another three-piece black suit, even though there was no one around to impress with her professionalism, Joanna’s sense of the ridiculous turned her mood chipper. “I’m exercising. You?”

“I was trying to work,” Addison said, placing her hands on her hips.

“Well, don’t let me stop you,” Joanna said, stepping back onto the treadmill. “Carry on, as they say.”

Addison’s eyes turned hard, and taking three long steps, she snatched the safety cord from the machine.