13. EVE
13
EVE
A sh had his meeting alone, and I had training with Stella. He returned and went straight to his office, closing the door for at least an hour. I didn’t dare ask if he needed anything, He had warned me I shouldn’t know anything about this mysterious client. However, I heard several things crash to the floor; something even hit the door. The rest of the day passes quickly.
“Eve.” Ash swings his office door open. His jacket is off, his tie is loose, and the top few buttons of his white shirt are undone, showing his tattoos.
“Yes, sir—Ash.” I stand up, knock my stapler, sending it to the floor. I wait for my instructions.
“I’m driving you home. No Uber.” He nods.
“My home?” I point to my chest, thinking of Ash standing in Macy’s one-bedroom apartment next to my bed on the couch.
“Yeah. Be ready to leave in five.” He closes his office door before I can object.
This was happening. I grab my phone and call Macy, but she doesn’t answer. The couch is probably still covered in my blankets. Oh, gosh… he was a rich man, used to lavish surroundings. He would be disgusted with me if he knew.
“Ready?” He comes out, this time in his jacket, ready to leave.
“I thought I had five minutes?” I stammer, wishing I could stop this from happening. There’s no way he won’t want to come in and see how I live. I mean, I would.
“I'm ready to leave, and you work for me, so you're done when I am.” He grabs my jacket and holds it up, waiting for me to slip into it.
“You don’t have to drive me all the way. Parking is ridiculous,” I say, putting my arms in the jacket's sleeves.
“You don’t have a valet?” he asks.
“With what you pay?” I laugh, but he doesn’t. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“Are you saying I pay poorly, Ms. Stone?” He looks serious, then smiles. “I just want to see where you stay.”
“It’s not much to see,” I stammer, convinced I can get him to just drop me off.
“It’s where you sleep. I’m sure it’s great.” His hand falls to the small of my back, pushing me toward the door.
The car drive seems to take longer than usual, even though he drives like a race car driver. He adds my address to his GPS, saving it as a favorite. Our conversation is quiet, but the expression on his face shows he’s troubled.
We finally reach Macy’s building, and there’s a parking space practically at the front door. That never happens to me. He parks, gets out, and opens my door for me.
“My lady.” He holds out his elbow for me to take.
I slip my arm in his and pull myself next to his body, which he seems to like, as he leans down and kisses my lips.
We walk to the front door, and I unlock it. “No doorman here.” I hold the door open for him, and he follows me.
“It’s nice, Eve. Not everyone has a doorman.”
I had to come clean. As soon as we get to the apartment, it will be apparent that only one person lives there, and I crash on her couch. “Look, I haven’t talked about my living situation. I don’t actually live here.”
“I don’t understand.” His eyebrows scrunch up in that boyish way—gah, he’s so handsome.
“My friend Macy lives here, and I… well… I sleep on her couch.” I can’t look at him, embarrassed I’m not further along in my life at my age.
“You sleep on her couch?” he says, just as the elevator door opens. There’s a couple inside.
We enter, and I press my floor. We say nothing, and Ash has a look of concern on his face. Maybe he was rethinking all of this. The doors open to my floor, and we step out.
“You can have a place in my building. We have condos. I’ll make one available for you,” Ash says.
“No. I can’t do that.” I grab his hand and drag him along the hallway, not wanting the neighbors to hear our conversation; I wasn’t supposed to be living there. I quickly open the apartment door and drag him in. “Macy?” I call out.
“Alone?” he asks, his hands joined in front of him. His gaze wanders around the small apartment and the mess of blankets on the couch.
“Seems like it. Well, this is it.” I laugh uncomfortably, unsure of where this conversation could go.
“Why are you staying here? Where were you before?”
“With my ex. We split, and I had to move out. Well…” I stop, not wanting to get into that conversation.
Ash walks further into the apartment and looks into the kitchen. “Where’s all your stuff?”
“Here.” I point to the few bags in the corner. “I didn’t take much.”
His eyes squint, and he’s silent, but I can tell he’s thinking of something, perhaps a better way to say his thoughts. “This is the ex that—”“Yup,” I interrupt him.
The door opens, and Macy flies in with bags in both arms. “Hey, you’re home. You will never believe what I got—” She stops mid-sentence and looks from Ash to me, then back to Ash. “Who’s this?” A look of concern crosses her face.
“Mr. McKenzie. This is Macy.” I nervously twirl my arms together, wanting to hide somewhere.
“Like the Mr. McKenzie? Like of the McKenzies… in my apartment?” Macy has a fake smile forced on her face. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” Macy grabs my arm and hauls me into her bedroom, closing the door.
“What the fuck, Eve! I have the Mafia in my living room? What the heck is he doing here?” she whisper-yells at me.
“He drove me home. My car broke down this morning on the way to work. I tried getting him to drop me off, but he doesn’t listen well.” That was an understatement.
“The fucking Mafia doesn’t listen to people like us, Eve. There’s a reason he wants to know where you live.” Macy’s hands are flying about as she talks and paces her room. “This is not good. He’s taken an interest in you. Of my gosh! What if he wants to use you as a drug mule? Or me? I’m not doing funny ass shit.”
“No. I promise he’s not into that.” I grab her arms, trying to hide my smirk at the thought of Ash smuggling drugs from her.
“How do you know? He’s fucking Mafia.”
“He’s good Mafia, though.” I regret it as soon as I say it. What is a good Mafia?
“He needs to leave.” Macy’s hands are on her hips. “You tell him, or I will.”
“I will. We have been working on some big projects. I'm sure he was just curious about where I lived.” I hated lying to her, but I wanted to keep our perfect affair between us. I didn’t want anyone to ruin what we had.
“Now.” She points to the door, pushes me forward, and follows me back to him.
“I should get going.” Ash's phone is in his hand, and my thoughts wander back to his ex. Was that where he was going?
“Why?” I blurt out, not wanting him to go suddenly.
He nods slightly to Macy, letting me know he has likely heard our entire conversation. “You’re home safe. Mission accomplished.”
I step forward, but he’s already at the door. “Nice to meet you, Macy.” He waves, then leaves.
Wow, that was fast. My cheeks flush. “I’ll be right back.” I follow him before Macy can protest.
“Hey!” I call out just before he reaches the elevator.
“Sorry, I didn’t want to get you into trouble.”
I fall into his arms and hug him tight. I didn’t want him to leave. I hadn’t seen this version of Ash all day. “Don’t go.”
His powerful arms tighten around me and squeeze as he chuckles. “I think someone missed me today? Maybe?” he whispers in my ear.
“Never.” I squeeze him tight, breathing deep, the smell of his cologne instantly putting me at ease.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Call me when she’s asleep?” He nods toward my apartment.
“Are you going home? Alone?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
“Always alone, unless with you. I’m not going anywhere, beautiful.” He kisses the tip of my nose, then my lips.
“See you in the morning?” I say as he pulls away from me.
“I’ll pick you up.” The ding of the elevator pulls us apart. “With your favorite breakfast sandwich.” He smirks as he steps into the elevator and the door closes.
I’m falling for this man hard. No, I’m fucking addicted to him.