~ Marcus arriving at the dining room ~<br/><br/>As he descended the stairs, the soles of his sneakers gripping the stone with ease, Marcus smiled.  The hallway he’d just left had been deathly silent save for the quiet murmur of voices in one particular room, the one assigned to the newest arrival to the island.  He’d heard Ms. Taylor’s voice and that of a man’s and knew it meant that his alternate choice had arrived already.  Chuckling to himself, he marveled at Angus’s efficiency yet again, thinking for the hundredth time that he really needed to hire that man to run his company for him.  He knew Angus would never go for it though and, in truth, he was too valuable here, serving Marcus’s interests in Scotland.  Still, it was a nice dream to have and it carried him the rest of the way down the stairs and into the lower hallway.<br/><br/>As he neared the dining room, he could hear voices and knew at least some of the group had beaten him down there.  That didn’t surprise him in the least since Nicci and Mari had talked about jogging and had probably woken up far earlier than he had.  Gluttons for punishment they were and he was glad to let them rise with the pre-dawn if it meant he got more hours in the bed.  With the creep of age, Marcus had learned the value of getting as much sleep as possible and since he had no work responsibilities right now, he planned on getting as much as of it as he could.  Reaching the door he paused and leaned against the frame, his eyes surveying the scene in front of him.<br/><br/>The first thing he noticed was the aroma of the food that his nose eagerly absorbed with each breath that he took.  His staff had gone out of their way once again, laying out a sizeable feast for them.  He could smell coffee, toast, the scent of fresh fruit, and so much more.  It was almost too much to absorb at once so he let his eyes move to the ladies next.  All three were there at the moment but he appeared to be the first male to arrive.  He smiled to himself, quite pleased to have them all to himself for a few moments.  His eyes fell on sensual Mari first, who was standing nearby, her lips sipping at something in a mug.  Next he spotted Mila and Nicci, both sitting at the table also with mugs in front of them.  All were dressed casually and looking as delicious as last night.  Pushing off the frame, he strolled into the room.  “Morning ladies” he said as he moved towards the bowl of fruit and plucked a strawberry out.  As he turned to them, he slowly brought it to his lips and took a small bite.<br/>