Chapter 21
Twenty-One
REGINA
I take back everything I said. The penthouse at the hotel was a mere coach house compared to Nico’s absurdly decadent home.
I’m glad he left me to my own devices and I get to explore without a guide.
This place is fresh from a magazine spread of trillionaires monthly, or something along those lines.
I am blown away by the sheer size of it, let alone the interior that must have won awards for design.
As I wander through every room, each one is grander than the last. It’s dripping in decadent living, from the art on the walls to the furnishings that appear to be brand new.
There’s even a full-size swimming pool in one wing of the place, along with a huge gym complete with sauna.
There are various rooms that appear to be offices of some kind and one that is definitely Nico’s because it reeks of his scent.
Masculine, dark, spicy and delicious. Just like the man himself and I am drowning in awe and interest in him.
After exploring my new temporary home, I wander back to the room Trent showed me, a kind of guest wing in the huge space where my belongings were, and it strikes me how out of place they look in this decadent space.
Money is tight, and I have never been one for frivolities, and yet my thrift store finds appear shabby and rather revolting now among such luxury.
It’s only as I attempt to get them into some kind of order that it hits me.
My entire apartment is in this one room.
I mean, not just my overnight bag either. My entire business takes up one corner and my possessions another. It’s as if I moved home today, and that thought causes me to sit down suddenly and stare into space.
What’s happening to me?
I stare at the rock on my finger and my world spins around me as, for the first time, reality hits.
I agreed to a fake engagement with a man so far out of my league we don’t even share the same planet.
He is definitely not like me, and I’m way out of my depth.
He is a successful businessman who must consider Basket Case merely an amusing hobby.
And yet he has treated me seriously.
It tugs at my heartstrings as I stare at the gift baskets spilling from a cardboard box. He is no doubt negotiating a billion-dollar deal, and I am about to retrieve probably five orders from my phone that will bring in around fifty dollars profit.
Failure isn’t a taste I like, and as I search for my phone among the mess, my heart is heavy.
I’m a joke, a fool and delusional. I should get a proper job.
Roll with the masses and join the line for the subway every morning.
What was I thinking giving up on life and daring to imagine I could influence anyone?
My shit is definitely not together, and now, here I am, agreeing to be a rich man’s stooge in a game of deception for God only knows what reason he has.
I finally locate my phone and check the screen.
“Fuck, there are at least thirty messages from Quincy on here along with only three orders. My heart sinks. Three. I suppose it’s because it’s so close to Christmas.
Most ordinary people have their gifting done by now, and with a sigh, I notice that my battery is still only at five percent, and I can’t find my charger in this mess.
Quincy will have to wait; the orders are my priority, and so I retrieve the details by carefully copying them by hand into my notebook, and as the battery dies a miserable death, I set about locating the items needed to make up the gift baskets.
I am knee-deep in packaging and ribbon when Nico returns, and as he leans on the door jamb, my heart races because—wow! I forgot how devastatingly handsome he is. His presence fills the room, and I almost can’t breathe as he stares at me with his dark, glittering eyes and smirks.
“Is business good?”
I stare at the three baskets waiting to be boxed and sigh heavily. “You know, I considered I was doing well until I met you and came here. To be honest, I feel like a failure right now.”
I’m surprised when he shifts off the door and heads inside, crouching down beside me where I sit on the floor surrounded by chaos.
I shiver as he reaches out and with one finger placed under my chin, tilts my face to his and stares into my eyes.
My breath hitches and my heart beats wildly inside me as he whispers, “You are the best at what you do, baby girl. If you aren’t where you want to be yet, keep walking, you will get there in the end.
Look around you and choose the path your strongest competitor is on.
Up your pace and strive to overtake them by figuring out their methods and adopting them for yourself. ”
I am drowning. There is really no hope for me as I stare into his passion-filled eyes and forget to breathe. I can see why he’s so successful now. He commands attention and has an authority that cannot be ignored.
“But I can’t compete with them.” I whisper, my lip trembling, and he steadies it with his thumb, and his eyes flash as he whispers, “Then allow me to invest in you—in your company. Whatever you need to make it successful, you shall have. Draw up a business plan and present it to me, and we will work together to achieve your dreams. I have faith in you, baby girl, and am happy to invest for once with no recompense for my investment.”
“You would do that?”
My eyes widen as I fall a little deeper for my Prince Charming who I believe is the kindest man on earth right now.
He surprises me every hour I spend with him, and my mind flashes back to the homeless shelter and the easy way he sat among people who have nothing, where he has everything. I am like one of them now, my world in a corner of his, waiting for his Midas touch.
It’s too much, and yet I can’t help smiling my gratitude as my eyes fill with tears.
“Why are you crying?”
His voice is husky, gentle even, and I sniff, “Because you are so kind. I’m not used to that.”
“Kind.”
He lifts one eye with amusement. “I’ve never been called kind before.”
He raises his eyes and then reaches for my hand, tugging me toward him, and as I fall against his chest, he leans down and whispers, “We leave in the morning and have a lot to do. Have you arranged your closet yet?”
I stare at him guiltily. “I’m sorry, I kind of lost track of the time.”
To be honest, I never found it, and I chew on my bottom lip with anxiety.
“Your orders.” He nods toward the baskets peering out from their boxes.
“Finish them and I’ll instruct my men to arrange postage. Meet me in the main living area and I’ll direct you to your next task.”
“Okay.”
I feel the loss when he drops his hand and heads for the door. As he leaves, my attention reverts to my main priority, and with a sigh, I set about completing one part of my life before I start the next.