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“Most people don’t. It’s the way I like to keep it.”
“Is that why your place is so...so impersonal?”
It didn’t surprise him that she didn’t care for his ultramodern, minimalist style. It was the complete opposite of her warm, cozy bakery. “It’s not to your liking?”
She glanced away. “It...
it just needs some personality.”
He glanced around the room, trying to see it through Pepper’s eyes. Whereas Pepper’s bakery had photos on the walls, his penthouse only had a large skyline photo of the city at night. At the bakery, there were knickknacks, including a stuffed dog that he’d meant to ask her about but never had the chance. He didn’t have knickknacks. He’d never even thought of getting any.
The Polka Dotted Bakery oozed charm and hominess that made it unique. His penthouse was cool and detached. He realized that if he were to pack up his clothes, he could move out and it would be ready for the next occupant. It was more a hotel room than home.
Simon was stunned. He’d never seen his penthouse like this before. It was quite eye-opening. And not in a good way.
“Don’t worry,” Pepper said. “I’ll have the tree taken away.”
He shook his head. What would it hurt to let her keep it? After all, it must be important to her or she wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of buying it or the decorations. When she moved back to her apartment, he’d have it delivered to her.
“The tree—it can stay.”
Pepper’s eyes lit up. “Are you sure? I mean, you didn’t seem all that happy it was here.”
“Are you trying to talk me out of this?”
“No. No. I just wanted to make sure you’re truly okay with it. After all, this is your place.”
“And for the moment, it’s yours too.” He didn’t know why he’d said that. Maybe he just wanted her to feel at home. Because he certainly didn’t mean to imply that this situation would be anything other than temporary.
He got to his feet and turned to head to his study. He had some work to do. In fact, he had a lot of it to do. Normally, he’d have stayed at the office until late, trying to catch up, which never happened. But knowing Pepper was here had lured him home. He told himself it was the right thing to do, as he was the host and she was his guest. But deep down, he knew it was more than that. He just wasn’t ready to admit it to himself.
“Simon?”
He paused at the entrance to the hallway and turned around. “Did you need something?”
“Yes. You.”
“Me?”
She nodded. “Don’t you want to help?”
“Help?”
She gave him a funny look. “With trimming the tree?”
“No.”
Her beautiful face morphed into a frown. “Oh.”
She turned away and began rifling through the bags on the couch. He’d hurt her feelings. He hadn’t meant to. The fact of the matter was that outside of the office, he kept to himself as much as possible. Sure, he had the occasional obligatory dates to social functions, but he never invited those dates back here—back to his domain.
Pepper was the first woman in his penthouse. And he had to admit that his interaction with her was a lot different than dealing with his employees at the office.
At the office, he told people what to do and they did it. They didn’t ask for his company. They didn’t want to have personal conversations. They all had one goal—to make Ross Toys the biggest and the best.
But here with Pepper, he’d lost his footing. He couldn’t boss her around. He subdued a laugh at the thought. If he did try telling Pepper what to do, she’d probably knock some sense into him with her rolling pin.
And yet they did have a common goal—their baby. If they were going to raise a normal, well-adjusted child, they were going to have to learn to make compromises. Lots of them. He supposed this was one of those compromises.
