Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Harrison
It had been a long day, so the moment I walked through the door of my penthouse, I poured myself a double scotch and took a seat on the balcony. Looking at my watch, it was ten o’clock. Adalyn must be back in Seattle by now. Athena laid into me when she returned to the office this morning for leaving the way I did without giving Adalyn a proper goodbye. What the hell did she want me to do? Kiss her, hug her, fuck her? She achieved what she came to New York to do, and now it was time for her to return to Seattle. We thanked her, and I didn’t understand why the hell that wasn’t enough for Athena.
I finished my drink, poured another, and went to my study. Opening up my email, I scanned through the potential candidates for the interior design position. As much as I would have loved to hire a young sexy woman, it wasn’t a good idea, especially with my track record. I needed to get moving on this townhouse. I had already wasted enough time.
The next morning, Athena walked into my office with a wide grin.
“Good morning, my handsome twin brother.”
“Good morning. You’re in a good mood. You must have had a good night.” I smirked.
“I did. I would have called you when I got home, but it was too late. Guess where I was?”
“I don’t know, Athena. Where were you?”
“Our hotel.”
“Why?” I furrowed my brows.
“I was visiting with Adalyn.” She grinned.
“What do you mean you were visiting with Adalyn? I thought she went back to Seattle.”
“Turns out that Grandmother wanted her to stay for a while longer, so she put her up in the penthouse suite at the hotel as her special guest.”
“You’re kidding me. How long does she plan on staying?”
“I don’t know. I hope she stays forever. I like her, and she’s my friend.”
I sat there and rolled my eyes. “You’ve known her for two days, Athena.”
“So what.”
“If I were you, I’d stay away from her, or you may catch some of that bad luck.”
“Why don’t you like her?” She cocked her head.
“I don’t know her enough not to like her.”
She returned our grandmother’s ring, Harrison. That ring is worth fifty-thousand dollars. I can’t think of a single person who wouldn’t have pawned it. And despite all the bad things that happened to her, she still wanted to find the person the ring belonged to.
“Okay, fine. She’s a good Samaritan. She doesn’t belong here in New York. Where she belongs is back in Seattle trying to get her life back together.”
“And who are you to say that? She can get her life back together anywhere she pleases.”
She stood there with her hands on her hips while her eye steadily narrowed at me.
“What? Why are you just standing there like that?”
“No reason. Anyway, Jeremy and I are off. We have some errands to run.”
“Jeremy is doing work for me at the moment, Athena.” I glared at her.
“I know.” She smiled as she walked out of my office.
I sighed as I threw my pen across my desk, picked up my phone, and dialed Human Resources.
“Yes, Mr. Grant?”
“Have you found any candidates for the personal assistant position for Athena yet?”
“We have a couple of candidates we’re setting up interviews for.”
“Hurry it up! Understand me? I want someone in that position as soon as possible!”
“Yes, sir. We’re doing our best.”
I turned my chair around and stared out into the city. With a sigh, I got up, put my suit coat on, and headed to the hotel. I wanted to find out exactly how long Adalyn was planning on staying.
“Good morning, Mr. Grant,” Xavier nervously spoke as I walked through the doors. “Is there anything I can help you with today?”
“Just going up to talk to my grandmother’s special guest,” I spoke as I hastily walked to the elevator.
“Adalyn is a lovely woman,” he said.
I rolled my eyes as I stepped into the elevator and took it to the top floor. Stepping out, I walked up to her door and knocked. When she opened it, I took in a sharp breath as she stood there wearing nothing but the white robe the hotel provided, with her hair pulled up into a messy bun that sat on the top of her head.
“Harrison? What are you doing here?”
“I heard my grandmother asked you to stay in New York for a while,” I spoke as I stepped inside.
“Yes, she did. Would you like some coffee?”
“No. I can’t stay.”
“How about a muffin? The kitchen just sent up some freshly made blueberry ones.”
“I don’t want a muffin, Adalyn. I just came here to see how long you plan to stay.”
I placed my hands in my pocket and walked over to the window. I couldn’t look at her like that because all I could see in my head was me taking her into the bedroom and fucking her as hard as I could.
“I don’t know. Why?”
“I was just wondering, that’s all. I thought you’d be back in Seattle picking up the pieces of your life now that the ring was returned and out of your possession.”
“I was all set to do so until your grandmother practically begged me to stay.”
“Well, I just want you to take into consideration one thing,” I said as I turned around and stared at her.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“This suite you’re staying in costs eight thousand dollars a night, and the longer you stay, the more money the hotel loses out on. That’s a lot of money, Adalyn.”
“I can see money is the most important thing to you. No worries, Mr. Grant. I’ll be out of your hotel soon enough.” She bit into a blueberry muffin. “And like you said, I need to get back to Seattle and pick up the pieces of my life. The pieces I lost after finding your grandmother’s ring. Are we done here?”
“Yes. We’re done. Have a good day,” I spoke as I walked to the door.