AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The man smiles, instantly putting me at ease. “Ah, yes. Mr Caldwell made me aware. I am Cristoff. Make your way to the reception, and Beth will help you. Leave your bags; I will have concierge take them up for you.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
He opens the door, allowing me to step inside before he pulls my suitcases through. He reaches into his pocket, taking out what looks like a cell phone, which I quickly realize is actually a radio, and hits a button. A male voice sounds, and Cristoff talks into the speaker, asking what I now know is the concierge to come and grab my luggage. I smile and make my way to the reception, where a girl who looks a few years older than me waits.
“Hi, I am Beth. How can I help you?” she chirps.
“Hey Beth, I’m Aspen Kincaid, a guest of Mr Caldwell’s. I should have been assigned an apartment?”
“Yes, Miss Kincaid, let me grab your keys.”
She turns away from me and opens a locker on the wall. It reveals rows of keychains with small plastic silver… somethings attached. She grabs one off a hook, shuts the locker, and hands them to me. I stare down at it. It’s not a key, but a little round disk, like a fob.
“You are on floor thirty-five, apartment four.”
“Thank you,” I mumble, still staring at the weird thing in my hand. She giggles. My head snaps up, eyes narrowing on her. She jerks her head to the disk in my hand and rolls her eyes.
“It’s not a key in the usual sense, but it’s what we use here. There is a panel outside your apartment, and you flash the fob across the sensor. It will let you in. Malcolm will bring your bags up.”
I smile, repeat my thanks, and head to the elevator. I hit the button for the thirty-fifth floor and wait for the doors to open. Suddenly my nerves kick in. This is it—my internship for Ethan Caldwell. I met him once when I was a bridesmaid at his wedding to my aunt. I was only thirteen, but even then, I thought he was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen. With his piercing green eyes, dark hair, God-like face, and beautiful smile, he was surely every woman’s dream?
It's only as I got older and saw his pictures in the tabloids that I could really appreciate the raw masculinity of Ethan Caldwell. I know now he is definitely every woman’s dream. I sigh as the doors open and step inside. I know he will never see me as anything but an intern, his ex-wife’s niece, but just the thought of him kissing me, making love to me, making me feel things I have never felt before, makes me want something I can never have.
I want him.
Jesus, I need to stop with the inappropriate thoughts. If my aunt knew I was obsessing over Ethan like this, she would have never agreed to push for this internship for me. She thinks I am just really into investments, but really, I wanted to be close to him, to get to know him, now that I am older…legal.
For my age, I am considered innocent. I have had one boyfriend, who I lost my virginity to in high school. We broke up when I came to England for college, and I haven’t been with or even looked at another man. Well, apart from obsessing over my ex-uncle, that is. But he doesn’t count. It is just a silly little secret crush that I have. It will never develop into anything else. Why would someone like him look at me when he can have any woman he wants?
My stomach turns. He wouldn’t look at me, and that’s the problem. I am just a delusional little girl that wishes he would.
The elevator climbs, eventually coming to a halt on my new floor. I step out when the doors open and stride down the hall towards apartment four. Coming to a stop outside, I find the panel and flash it at the sensor. The door clicks; I push it open and step inside, only to stop. Jesus. The place is amazing. The floor-to-ceiling windows make it light and airy, with the most gorgeous views of London. I am sure tenants pay a pretty penny to live here. The view alone would be worth it. I move further inside, running my hands across the soft furnishings and high-end countertops. I grew up in luxury but having lived as a student for the last year in a dorm, I can appreciate this lavish apartment that I get to call home for the next three months.
I flop down on the couch, waiting for my luggage. I need it before I shower. And being the polite girl that I am, once I am all fresh and clean, I will go and introduce myself o Ethan. Beth said he lives in the penthouse on the floor above me, so I will go there when I get settled. I smile to myself.
I finally get to see Ethan Caldwell again.
* * *
After showering and dressing in some tight, cut-off denim shorts and a loose tank, I make my way up to the penthouse. Butterflies swim in my stomach at the thought of seeing him. I know I should probably wait until tomorrow when I go to his office, but I just can’t stop myself. I want him to see me as the grown woman I am now, not the little girl at his wedding.
I walk with purpose to the elevator, pushing the button for the penthouse, and step inside when the doors open. I know I am playing a silly game; I know I should get over my infatuation with him, but I can’t. I tried. No matter how many years have passed. He is the only man I see when I close my eyes. Even when I had my boyfriend in high school, I would fantasize that it was Ethan. I’m sick, I know, but I could never stop.
It was like seeing the sun when I met him; he blinded me, so he is all I see.
The elevator stops, the doors slide open, and I feel nervous. Pushing those feelings aside, I pad to his door and rap on it a couple of times. I wait for a long minute; when I hear footsteps striding towards me, even hidden behind the door, my heart pounds in my chest. The door swings open, revealing the man that stars in most of my fantasies, looking sexy as fuck with his bare chest and grey sweats. My mouth pops open; eyes widen as he grabs my wrist and drags me inside.
“Your late.” He barks as he pulls me further inside.
Late? What am I late for? I don’t start my internship until tomorrow. I don’t say this out loud. I can’t. My mouth is dry, and I have seemingly lost my voice.
“You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago. I pay good money for punctuality.” He continues pulling me along, only glancing at me briefly before he kicks open a door to a…bedroom?
That snaps me out of my thoughts. “Wha…whattt are you doing?” I stutter. He stops and spins to face me with a glare before his brows furrow. He steps back, taking me in. His eyes scan me from head to toe, and he frowns.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Aspen. I wanted to come and introduce myself?” I ask it as a question why I’m not sure.
