AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Uh, did you decorate this?” Macy asked.
I laughed. “Gold isn’t your jam?” I teased.
“Just tell me there isn’t red velvet carpet in the room.”
“Not anymore,” I said, grinning.
She looked at me with horror. “Seriously?”
“No, but there was a very thick red shag rug in the living room,” I replied. “And I hate to say it, but there were mirrors on the ceiling. I didn’t change much of anything when I bought it, but I did take the mirrors down and tossed the shag. Go ahead and look around. I’ll wait for the others.”
She stepped through the wide arch that opened to the massive living room that included a bar and dining area. The kitchen was discreetly tucked behind that area. There was a spiral staircase with a shiny gold rail. The steps were clear plastic that looked like glass. Standing there and looking at it from my guests’ point of view, one word came to mind—garish.
Once everyone arrived, I led them into the living space that was designed for entertaining. There were various seating areas arranged around the room. It resembled a hotel lobby in some ways.
“Everything is so shiny,” Macy gushed. “And the views! This place is incredible!”
“Thanks,” I said. “Everyone, I’ll show you the bedrooms, but before we do that, I want to go over the schedule for today. I’ve scheduled a bus tour, starting in two hours. My chef is preparing some snacks for us right now. We’ll eat, take our tour, grab lunch, and then have dinner at Top of the World. Our evening will end with a show. I’ve secured tickets to a Cirque du Soleil show. Tomorrow is a free day. I’ve got your cash and you are all free to do as you please. Any questions? Objections?”
No one said anything.
“Alright, let’s head upstairs,” I announced.
“How many floors do you have?” Macy asked from beside me.
“Four,” I answered. “The original floor plan was just these two floors. Some oil tycoon from Texas bought the top two floors and renovated them with additional bedrooms. I guess he had eight kids or something. There was a divorce about five years ago and I managed to get the place for a pretty good deal.”
The second floor was open to the floor below. My master bedroom was up there, along with a second bedroom. I wasn’t offering those to anyone. My goal was to put Macy in the second bedroom with the hopes I could sneak her into my room without anyone knowing a damn thing.
“Sorry, the stairs up to the next floors aren’t quite as lavish,” I joked.
There was another living room, a gaming room, and four bedrooms on the third floor. The fourth floor was technically staff quarters, but because I didn’t keep a live-in staff, they were available. While everyone was checking out their rooms, I pulled Macy to the side. “I’m putting you on the second floor,” I said.
“Alone?”
“Did you want to room with someone?” I asked.
“No, I just wasn’t sure,” she said, shrugging.
“Everyone, meet in the foyer in an hour,” I called out.
I hoped it wasn’t too obvious that I was showing any favoritism toward her. It was hard to hide. If anyone questioned it, I would chalk it up to her being my assistant and me needing her close. In the grand scheme of things, she did have a little more rank over the others, if we were to look at it that way.
“I cannot get over this place,” Macy said. She was standing at the banister that overlooked the open floorplan below. “Look at those chandeliers. Is that rose gold?”
“I think it is,” I said.
“And look at all those crystals. It’s incredible. There are so many details. I don’t know if I could ever see it all. I mean look at this!” She ran her fingers over the tiny crystals on the gold-plated iron balustrade.
“Someone put a lot of time and energy into this place.”
“And money,” she said, laughing. “I cannot even begin to imagine what something like this cost.”
“It’s not cheap,” I said without getting into the details when we made it to her room and I opened the door. “Do you like your room?”
She rolled her eyes as she looked around. “It’s as big as my apartment back home.”
“Want to see my room?” I asked with a lopsided smile.
