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I chuckled and took a sip of my drink. “Happy to rescue you from the mountains of caviar and expensive champagne.”
We spent the next hour catching up, but I avoided any talk about the tabloid. And she didn’t ask. She knew when I was ready, I would tell her. So unlike my mother.
A few hours and four more missed calls from my mother later, I locked the door to my apartment at Goodacre Estates and made my way to the elevator bank. I rounded the corner and stopped in my tracks at the sight in front of me. There was an older woman standing in front of an apartment door, dressed to the tens, complete with a fur coat and a diamond necklace that had probably cost more than my apartment. She stood with her hands clasped in front of her as a mob of cats swarmed at her feet.
“Um, hello.” I waved as I got closer. I had to pass her to get to the elevator, so there was no avoiding the situation.
She gave me an assessing stare as a cat that weighed close to twenty pounds waddled over to me and rubbed on my leg. I reached down to pet him, and he tried to nibble on my finger.
“Pinocchio, no!” she scolded and clapped her hands together.
The cat licked his lips and gave me a look that promised he would have eaten me alive if she hadn’t been there. I shivered and hurried past her to the elevator.
“He’s a hungry boy,” she cooed as the doors slid open.
“I know the feeling.” I plastered a smile on my face and backed slowly into the waiting elevator. “Have a nice evening.”
I pressed the button for the penthouse and entered the four-digit passcode Ryzen had given me earlier. The doors opened when I reached the top floor and I hesitated to step out.
No turning back now.
I stepped into a seating area, one of Ryzen’s security guards leaning against the wall. He nodded at me, then turned his direction back to his phone. That was weird. Did this guy live here or something? I shook my head just as Ryzen came around the corner, a bottle of wine in one hand and two glasses in the other.
“Right on time.” He grinned, and I couldn’t help but return the smile when I saw his dimple. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but damn, he was hot as hell. He wore ripped jeans and a button-up shirt that was open at the top.
“Well, a gang of cats almost mobbed me on my floor, so you’re lucky I’m on time.”
He handed me a glass and poured some wine into it. “A clowder.”
“A clow-who?” I raised my eyebrows at him and took a sip.
He chuckled and poured himself a glass of red as well. “A gang of cats is called a clowder.”
“Oh, well, don’t I feel stupid?” I laughed and rubbed my free hand against my shorts. Now was not the time for sweaty palms. Besides, I had nothing to be nervous about. I hadn’t even signed the paperwork yet.
“Come. Let’s take a tour before we begin.” Ryzen held his arm out and ushered me down a long hallway to a living room area. I was mostly silent as we went from room to room. Come to find out, the cat lady on my floor was a Miss Swanson, a widowed seventy-five-year-old who liked to spend her time taking her cats on long walks through the building. Chatty, but harmless. I nodded at his explanation and tried to not ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ at every turn we took.
We walked under black and gold foiled ceilings, the walls the same color, covered in what felt like suede. He took me through his kitchen that could fit at least twenty people and had light-up countertops and a full bar. There was even a secret panel against the wall that opened up to a hidden wine cellar that he proudly said held up to fifteen hundred bottles. I didn’t see any empty slots in it either.
Every room had an oversized fireplace that was made from marble and hand-carved. They were easily fifteen thousand dollars each. I knew this because my sister had similar ones in her home and had bragged about how much it had cost to fly them in from Italy.
We stopped at the foot of his king-sized bed, and I took a gulp of wine. “And this is where the magic happens.” He winked and filled up my glass to the top.
Is he trying to get me drunk?
One thing I was learning about Ryzen was that he was a shameless flirt. I had to keep telling myself this was a business deal. A game. Not an actual relationship. It was in my best interest to keep that in mind from now on.
I chuckled and walked out the open doors that led to the private terrace. It faced east so you could see the lake, and on a night like tonight, it was enchanting.
“Watching the sun rise every morning from here makes you feel like you are on top of the world—powerful.” He sighed and leaned against the railing. A firepit off to the side illuminated the terrace. We were quiet for a moment as we both stared off over the lake and watched as cars drove down Lake Shore Drive.
He seemed relaxed now, not as commanding and stressed out as he had been the few times we had met days before. Was this the real Ryzen? He pushed his fingers through his hair and glanced over at me, grinning. Boy, was I going to be in trouble if he kept giving me that panty-melting grin.
He took a drink and placed his glass against the rail, then turned towards me. He reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear, his fingers trailing down my chin to my shoulder, his hand landing on the side of my stomach. “We need to practice being close to each other. So it looks natural in public and in front of Covington and my colleagues.”
“Oh, yeah, for sure. Makes sense.” I tried to relax as his fingers splayed against my side and he tugged me closer to him. I held on to my wine glass like it was a life jacket. He towered over me, my eyes at his chest level. Why did he have to smell so damn good? It wasn’t fair. His head came down and he pressed his lips against my cheek, kissing me there, before switching sides and kissing me on my other cheek.
“You try now.” He peeled my wine glass out of my hand and set it down next to his. “Just do what’s natural.”
