Chapter Six #3
"Yeah, I'm going to splurge tonight and sleep in a Bel Air hotel," she announced. "But like I said, I'm putting it on my personal card that I plan to pay off later, so Charles won't give us crap about it."
"Right."
"So any good places around here?"
Chase wordlessly pointed... somewhere?
"What's that?"
"Your hotel."
Emma turned and stared out at the abyss of Chase's backyard. "Where? Like a couple of blocks away? Or just in that direction or something?"
His hand dropped down and he released an exasperated sigh. "No, my guest house right there in my backyard."
She turned back to the small white building that matched the exterior of Chase's house.
"Wait here."
There was a bit of amusement in his voice as he grabbed the bottle of wine and emptied the rest of it into their glasses.
"Oh, don't do that," she said. "I have to drive after this."
Chase rolled his eyes as if they both knew she wasn't going anywhere else tonight. "You done with this cake?"
"I guess?"
He stood up and grabbed the box and the bottle, leaving the two glasses behind as he disappeared into his house.
Emma turned back and stared at the small structure again in Chase's backyard.
His guest house that he was offering her.
This was probably a bad idea. She didn't want him to think that they were somehow closer than they actually were, and the guest house was really close.
Physically close, sure, but there was also the mental closeness that was streaming through Emma's body as she looked at that guest house.
She was trying so hard to not have Chase become an actual part of her life.
He was the enemy after all, at least that was the way Emma wanted to think of him.
It would be harder to think of him as the enemy if he was letting her stay here.
"OK," Chase said as he walked back to their spot by the pool. "Come with me. Oh, and remember your wine glass."
"My lowball."
Chase shrugged and put his hand out for Emma to grab, but she didn't take it.
Honestly, it was easier to pull herself up with both hands considering all the tulle she had to dig herself out of, but she appreciated his gesture.
Then she reached over to grab the glass from Chase's hand that he had already picked up for her.
He nodded towards the house, and she picked up her shoes to follow him. The stone patio turned to grass before they reached a small concrete landing in front of the door to the guest house. Chase pulled a key out of his pocket and slid it into the lock.
"This sticks a little so you'll have to jiggle it around," he explained. "And it doesn't have the modern locks like the rest of the house. I hope that's alright."
"Yeah, I guess that's fine."
It was more than fine. Chase flipped on a few lights and the space became fully illuminated.
Emma could only stare in awe. She thought it was just going to be a little shed or something with a tiny cot in a corner.
But this guest house was huge, or at least bigger than some of the studio apartments she had been pricing out in Torrance before she found out about Nana's inheritance.
There was a bar-style kitchen along a back wall with a small fridge and a built-in electric stove top. There was a couch along the far wall that looked a little cramped for sleeping, but it would do for tonight. Opposite of that was a huge television mounted on the wall.
"Oh, almost forgot!" Chase walked over to a doorway and flipped on another light. "A full bathroom!"
Holy hell, it was a full bathroom. And it was modern and clean! Emma could've cried if she wasn't enamored by all of it.
"Oh, and fireplace."
Chase flipped another switch on the wall and a gas fireplace under the television sparked to life. She could really get used to this.
Or not. She could not get used to this. It was just for one night because Chase was trying to be a nice person, but none of this was because he actually liked her. It was because he felt sorry for her, because everything she owned was either in storage or in her car.
"So?"
She turned to see him looking expectantly at her. "So."
"You think you can stay here?"
"Yeah, this could work for tonight," she said with a small smile.
"Uh, about that." He put the keys on a little end table next to the couch. "What would you think about living with me for the next month?"
"Living with you?" she asked incredulously. "We just met a few days ago."
"I know, I got that. I was just thinking.
.." His voice trailed off and he took a quick look at the flames in the fireplace as if he needed something to focus on while composing his thoughts.
"So, a few of my neighbors have guest houses that they rent out, and I was thinking I would make you the same offer. "
"Rent your guest house to me?"
Chase took a deep breath, as if he wasn't sure of this plan, before nodding his head.
"It would be market rate, so Charles won't give me crap for leasing it to you for some exorbitant amount to get around his rules.
It would give you a place to stay. We would see each other every day so we could plan how to spend this money.
It would really work to our advantage, and especially your advantage. "
Emma's ruggedness softened a bit. Would it be the worst idea to live in Chase's backyard? It would solve several problems for both of them if they had the same goal of spending Nana's money as quickly as possible.
"You wouldn't have to couch surf," he said with a reassuring tone.
Emma gestured towards the little brown couch along the wall. "What would you call me sleeping on that?"
Chase got a mischievous grin on his face and walked over to a spot next to the wall by the couch.
He reached for a handle that Emma had just noticed and pulled the whole wall down.
It was a Murphy bed. The couch folded away under a Murphy bed.
It was like Chase had a solution to everything, and she could only deny his offer for so long.
"OK, fine."
"Yes!" he said triumphantly. "Do you need help getting your stuff out of the car?"
"I should be fine."
"Nevermind, let's get your stuff together."
Chase was like a happy puppy bounding out of the guest house to his grass.
"Lucy, you can stop my playlist."
The eighties ballads abruptly ended with a "Yes, handsome," as Emma tried to keep up with Chase as he headed towards the house before taking a turn towards her parking spot out front.
Chase asked her to unlock her car and she fished around in the tulle of her skirt before she found the keys in her pocket and pressed the remote button. He reached in and grabbed two of her duffel bags with ease.
"Are these good for tonight?"
"Um, yes, I guess."
"Excellent!" he said as he flung them over his shoulders. "You can lock that now."
She did as she was told and then followed him back to the guest house, walking in like he owned the place. Well, actually he did own the place. Emma was just his guest.
Chase flipped off the fireplace. "I didn't realize it was getting that hot." Then he put her bags in what looked like a small closet without a door with a few hangers inside and some towels on the top shelf.
"I think that should be it," Chase said. "I'm honestly not really sure though. Marcus usually takes care of everything for me."
"It's fine. I can figure it out."
But Chase just stood there staring at her, and she wasn't sure why. Maybe he was starting to realize that he asked a stranger to live in his backyard because her grandmother had a crazy plan for her inheritance.
"Uh, yeah, well," he stammered. "Do you need anything else?"
"Nope, I'm good."
Chase just nodded and finally took that as his cue to leave. "I left the keys on that table with your wine. You better finish that since Nana paid a lot of money for that bottle." He winked at her. "So yeah, I'll see you tomorrow I guess."
"Sounds good."
He gave her another awkward smile and headed for the door. "And listen, Emma." He paused in the doorway. "I don't want you to think this is weird or awkward or anything. I'm actually really glad you're staying."
"Yeah, me too."
Chase gave her one last smile and ducked out of the guest house, leaving her alone.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to take all of this in.
After so much weirdness and uncertainty for the past few weeks, she felt like there was some stability in her life, even if that stability did come from a guest house in a huge movie star's backyard.
She finally walked over to close the door and overheard Chase talking to his virtual assistant as he headed towards his house.
"Can you let Marcus know we have someone in the guest house who will be staying for awhile?"
"Sure thing, handsome."
Emma smiled to herself and quietly closed the door. Then she laid down on the bed and turned on the huge television to scroll aimlessly through Chase's Netflix account.
She felt like she should be weirded out by all of this, but for the first time since Nana died, she felt comfortable and content. And that's how she fell asleep in her expensive dress in Chase's guest house.