Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Harrison
I was sitting in my office when I saw Athena walk by.
“Get in here!” I shouted.
She stopped and backed up until she was at my door.
“Yes?” She smiled.
“Come in. Shut the door and have a seat.”
She sighed as she did as I asked and took the seat across from my desk.
“What kind of game are you playing, Athena?”
“What on earth of you talking about?”
“Why would you hire Adalyn?”
“You asked me to find you someone—a person who will take your criticism and not act like a child. Adalyn is perfect for the job because she will not put up with your bullshit. She’s so pretty. Don’t you think?”
“Enough, Athena. How much am I paying her?”
“Well, I had to make it worth her while, and because she has to put up with the likes of you, I offered her a hundred thousand dollars.”
“WHAT!” I stood up from my chair and slammed my fist on the desk.
“Please. You’re worth billions. You can drop fifteen million on that dump, but you cry over a measly hundred thousand dollars to pay someone to fix it up? Now stop being a crybaby. I have work to do,” she said as she got up and walked out of my office.
Arriving home at six p.m., the first thing I did was pour myself a drink. Something I needed before Adalyn showed up. After Athena left my office, I looked at some of Adalyn’s work online. To my surprise, she impressed me. I went to my bedroom to change out of my suit. Maybe I should have invited her for dinner? No. That would be too risky. I needed to go over things with her and get her out of my penthouse as quickly as possible. The fewer dealings I had with her, the better off I’d be.
Damn Athena for this.
It was six-thirty when the doorman alerted me that Adalyn was in the lobby.
“Send her up.”
I waited by the elevator, and as soon as the door opened, she stood there holding a brown bag in her hand.
“Hello,” I spoke.
“Hey.” She smiled as she stepped into the foyer.
“What’s in the bag?”
“Burgers and fries. I don’t know if you’ve eaten, but I haven’t, and I’m starving. It’s from your hotel.” She grinned.
“So basically, I paid for it?”
“You sure did.” She smirked.
I sighed as I took the bag from her and went into the kitchen.
“Wow. This is nice,” she spoke as she looked around. “Why do you want to move?”
“I’m just renting this place, and I didn’t want to invest in anything until I found what I wanted.”
Reaching into the bag, I pulled out the Styrofoam containers.
“I would have pegged you for the high-rise penthouse type.” The corners of her mouth curved into a cock raising smile.
I opened the Styrofoam container and stared at the burger and sweet potato fries.
“How did you know this is how I like my burger?”
“I made a call to Athena.”
I took our food to the table and sat down across from her. She brought dinner. Now I felt like a jackass.
“Before we start discussing the townhouse, tell me a little about yourself.”
“Well, I’m originally from California. My best friend Carly and I went to the University of Washington, and then the plan was to move back to California with our college degrees. Then she met Daniel a few months before we graduated, and she couldn’t leave him. K&L Designs offered me a full-time design position, so I took it and stayed in Seattle.”
“Is that where you met your boyfriend?”
“Ex-boyfriend. And yes. We dated for three years before he just ended it out of the clear blue.”
“Do you still have contact with him?”
“No. When he left, I told him we were strangers, and he no longer existed in my world.”
“Good for you.”
I finished my burger, and we got down to business.
“I’m very particular with what I like, and I’m counting on you to help me with that. The last designers I hired didn’t have a clue. And if you don’t have a clue, I will tell you.”
“I know you will.” She smirked. “Is any of this furniture yours?”
“No. It came with the penthouse. I’ll buy all new furniture for the townhouse. Let me ask you something, Adalyn. What color scheme are you thinking about? You were inside the house. You had to have some vision.”
“I do.” She grinned. “I think you’re more transitional style. I know you’re not the full-on modern type. You’re just a little bit traditional with a touch of contemporary, but not all in.”
“What is transitional?”
“It’s a bridge between contemporary and traditional. It pulls from both styles. Rich woods, clean lines, neutral colors, and a touch of luxury elements such as marble. It’s a style that flows from room to room, and I think with the architecture of the townhouse, it’ll open up the space. Listen, Harrison, I need you to trust me. If there’s no trust, this won’t work. I’m very good at my job.”
“You were also fired. Explain to me how that happened.”
“We have a client, Vivian Hart. She owns a bunch of properties, has them decorated, and then rents them out. She’s our top and best client. I designed the cottage she purchased as a personal investment. She took a trip to the Cayman Islands and left the decorating in my hands. I emailed her color swatches, furniture, and everything. She loved what I’d done, and she approved it all. When she returned from her vacation, she told my boss she hated everything and that I never once consulted her when she was away.”
“Did you have the emails to prove it?”
“I kept records of everything. And when I told my boss that, he said he understood, but Vivian Hart told him either I go, or she does. Being the dick he is, he got rid of his top designer over a client.”
“I think I would have sued the company for wrongful termination.”
“I thought about it, but then I came home that same day, and my boyfriend broke up with me, and a week later, my apartment building burned down. So, I had a lot of other stuff on my mind.”
“Then you came to New York,” I said.
“Yes. Then I came to New York.” She smiled.
Fuck. I needed her to leave before I crossed the line.
“Okay. Well, I think we’re done here.” I got up from my chair.