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As soon as the library emptied and all that remained were the books, Amelia, and Cassius, she joined him by the door and locked it up for the night. Once outside, a car pulled up, jet black with tinted windows and black rims.
“Uber?” she inquired.
Cassius let out a laugh. “Never. It’s my driver.”
Amelia smirked, pinching herself again. Somehow, her, just being herself, a plain Jane in the middle of the city doing her daily job as a librarian ended up somehow piquing the interest of a literature and art collector who was by all accounts, seemingly the most eligible bachelor in the history of eligible bachelors.
Just before Amelia got inside the vehicle, the door being held open by the driver, she turned to Cassius and had to ask him a few questions.
“You aren’t married, or a serial killer of some sort, right?”
Cassius couldn’t help but laugh. “No, and no. I’ve never had the time to settle down, and as for the killer part. I don’t think I could even hurt a fly. I have a housekeeper for that kind of stuff anyway.”
Good enough answers for her, Amelia thought. Not that she wasn’t planning on getting into the vehicle anyway, but she may as well ask just to clarify, just in case. Amelia laughed as she got into the back of the dark sedan, Cassius joining her as they both got comfortable in the big leather seats.
“Ready?” he asked, glancing over to Amelia.
Amelia nodded once, turning to look straight ahead as Cassius motioned with his hand and the driver on the other side of the tinted partition window began to drive forward.
CHAPTER THREE
The driver made his way through the city streets until he pulled into a parking garage. Amelia knew where she was but didn’t know the exact building. All she had seen through the tinted window as they pulled in was that the building was tall, one of the many skyscrapers that littered the city’s skyline.
Cassius had been reading passages from the Dubliners to her to pass the time. She also inquired and asked him more about himself.
“Where did you grow up? Do you have any family?”
“I grew up just outside the city,” he had said, saying that his childhood was rather normal considering that his parents were both executives. He never wanted for anything, but his parents also made him work his ass off to prove that nothing would ever just be handed to him. “As for family, besides my parents, I have a brother who also lives with me. He’s an architect and actually drew the designs up not just for this building, but our penthouse too.”
A penthouse? Just how wealthy was Cassius?
“What’s your brother’s name?” Amelia inquired.
“Lazarus,” Cassius said. “You’ll like him. We’re very similar. He’s a bit smarter than me. I’m more into the arts. He’s more of the brains behind us.”
That made Amelia chuckle, especially since Cassius was the one who was adept at literature. To even have the desire to read in today’s world of smart technology was a rarity in itself. But to be interested in such old texts and books and to read them for entertainment when most people would lose interest in just a line or two? That was a different level of intelligence. Old English, in the style of Shakespeare alone, was almost impossible to understand for many. Amelia remembered when she was younger and started reading that it fascinated her, but her other classmates always hated his stories. Movies and plays were a different kind of more simpleton method of portrayal for them. A more visual medium than one where you had to do the work, and that was why Amelia enjoyed doing the reading. It wasn’t just because it was cerebral. It was because it was up to the reader to do the work. It was an exercise not just for the brain, but for the eyes too. And Amelia had been doing it for so long, she could fly through several two-to-three-hundred-page books in a single day.
As the car pulled into the darkened parking garage and slowed near an elevator, the driver put the car into park and got out. Amelia’s door suddenly opened at the same time as Cassius’s. The driver had opened his door, but someone else had opened hers. When Amelia peeked out to look, it was a man who looked like a chauffeur, or a butler even.
“Welcome madam,” he said, a distinguished older gentleman with a clean shave who smelled of aftershave and a smooth cologne. He held the door open until she stepped aside and then closed it behind her.
“Please, follow me,” he said as he looked over to Cassius. “Good evening, Mr. St. Claire.”
“Good evening to you Marcus,” Cassius returned.
Marcus bowed slightly before motioning with his hand for Amelia to follow as Cassius walked around the car and joined her. They all headed over to the elevator. As soon as Marcus pressed the button, the elevator doors opened, as if it was already waiting for them and was at the ready. They entered. The interior was a smooth black reflective tile. It was the fanciest elevator Amelia had ever seen. If nothing else, this was going to be one of the coolest experiences. She was soaking everything in. Even the doors closing and the smoothness of the elevator rising seemed fancier than anything she was used to.
“Shall I prepare your usual Mr. St. Claire? Or should I do something differently for your extinguished guest?” Marcus asked, his hands folded together behind his back as he remained staring forward at the closed elevator doors.
“That’s an excellent question, Marcus. Amelia, what kind of food do you like?” he asked. “Marcus can make anything your heart desires. He’s an excellent chef. A man of many talents and skills that not even I possess.”
Marcus chuckled. “Sir, you’re far too kind.”
Amelia wasn’t sure what to say. She had never had such a service before. A butler? A chef? Amelia couldn’t wrap her head around this. The fact that people lived like this was mind-boggling for her. Sure, she made well for herself being the head librarian at a major city library. Sure, she lived comfortably, but her condo wasn’t the most extravagant. It was simple and provided for her all she needed, which wasn’t much. But living big like this? If this was how fancy things were so far, she couldn’t even begin to fathom what was still to come.
Just then the elevator stopped, and the doors opened with a loud ding.
“Ah, here we are,” Marcus said, stepping aside to allow Amelia and Cassius out first.
