Chapter 13 ~ Isabella ~
C ool evening air. Finally.
As I stepped out of the elevator at the foot of the skyscraper where Carter's apartment was located, I was grateful for the fresh breeze that blew in my face on this spring evening. It was already dark. The streets around me were brightly lit, and the headlights of passing cars painted the same pattern over and over on the street and sidewalk.
I slowly walked down the street. I had come on foot. It was quite a trek to my place, but the walk would do me good. It gave me time to think about what Carter had just told me.
$50,000 for playing the role of the woman by his side for a week!
As I hurried along the street behind other pedestrians, I pinched my right cheek lightly. This wasn't a dream, was it? I shook my head.
No, this was reality. My cheek now burned slightly, and it was still a lukewarm spring evening in New York. And I had just been at Carter's. He had looked damn sexy, waiting for me in his apartment. When I had stepped out of the elevator, I could have sworn I saw pure desire and lust in his eyes.
Just like on the night we had spent together in the hotel.
And even as I was leaving, Carter had wanted me. Quite clearly. Yesterday, he had gotten an erection with each of our touches. And today was certainly no different. At this thought, my core began to burn slightly, and my body tingled.
I pinched my cheek again.
Isabella Abbott! You should be thinking about what this offer means for you right now! $50,000 for playing Carter's future wife for a week.
That was pretty easy money, wasn't it? I had already felt like Carter's fiancée yesterday, even though it had just been a game. A very pleasant game. If I continued the same game for another week, I would get $50,000. That was the offer.
The money will save you, Isabella!
$50,000 was probably nothing for a man like Carter. For me, however, it was an incredible amount of money. I had never possessed so much money at once. With it, I could pay off a pretty large part of the loan. Not everything yet, but a lot. The next payments would be secured. I would have room to breathe, keep the bank off my back, and could look for a new job in peace.
In a nice little hotel that would hire me even without Emmett Kershaw's letter of recommendation. A boutique hotel, that would be something just right for me. Only a few rooms, very personal service, and a pleasant atmosphere. An island of tranquility in bustling New York.
Secretly, I dreamed of opening such a hotel myself one day.
Isabella! You need a lot more than $50,000 for that.
I would have to take on new debts for that.
The first step is to pay off the loan for the apartment. And Carter's money will help you with that. It will get you out of the jam you've been in since yesterday morning. Since Emmett Kershaw fired you.
Carter's offer was exactly what I needed. A lot of money. And fast.
Why was I hesitating then?
Why had I asked Carter for time to think?
Because I didn't know what he was thinking.
And that was driving me crazy.
Was this just business for him? Or more?
And how could I find out what was going on in Carter's head?
By now, I had reached the foot of the older skyscraper where the apartment that Owen and I had bought together was located, and which was now my apartment. Even if Owen saw it differently.
I shrugged.
Owen was really old news now.
As I opened the door, two large men in dark clothing pushed past me. I paid them no further attention. There was a lot of coming and going here, and I had no overview of who lived here. Impatiently, I pressed the button on the elevator and waited for the doors to open. This was really no comparison to the elevator that led to Carter's penthouse. Directly from the street! I had never seen anything like it! Yes, there were elevators that led directly from the street to the waiting rooms of various doctors' offices. Or to individual companies. But to a private apartment? And one with such a stunning view at that.
I shook my head in disbelief.
Finally, the doors opened.
"Isabella! Wait!" At that very moment, my neighbor Hayley rushed breathlessly into the building.
"Hayley! How nice to see you." I was genuinely happy. Hayley had become much more than just a neighbor in the meantime. She was my friend.
"Whew, I'm so exhausted from my shift," Hayley groaned. She worked as a waitress in a small but exclusive café. The kind of café I would send my hotel guests to once I had opened the small but exclusive boutique hotel. I shook my head vigorously.
Don't dream so much, Isabella.
I pressed the button for Hayley's and my floor. The elevator doors closed, and we started moving.
"It must be really exhausting to work in a café like that," I said sympathetically. "I have to stand behind the reception desk all day too, but at least I don't walk around as much or carry heavy trays everywhere."
"Usually it's manageable," Hayley explained. "I'm used to it and I actually enjoy it. It's nice to see guests smile when you bring them their long-awaited food or drink. But today a colleague was unexpectedly sick and I had to take over half of her tables. That was truly hell."
"Oh dear, that sounds awful. You've more than earned a relaxing evening." I smiled at Hayley.
"Definitely." Now Hayley nudged me. "But what about you? How was yesterday? You haven't told me anything yet. Did you have fun?"
Had I had fun?
Oh yes, damn right I did.
"Why don't you come in for a moment? Then I can tell you everything. I'll make you some tea and you can put your feet up," I tempted Hayley.
"That sounds too tempting! How could I refuse?" Hayley laughed.
At that moment, the elevator stopped on our floor and the doors opened. Hayley's apartment was to the left of the elevator, mine to the right. So we both turned right. A second later, I stopped dead in my tracks.
I took a step back.
Blinked.
"Hayley," I whispered and pointed at the door to my apartment. It was wide open.
I was certain that I had locked the door as usual today when I left for the meeting with Carter. Yes, I had been excited and yes, I often forgot things. But I wouldn't just leave my apartment door open.
And that could only mean one thing: Someone had broken into my apartment. Burglaries actually happened quite often in this area of New York. Just six months ago, the lady from the floor below us had been hit. But somehow I still hadn't expected to ever become a victim of a burglary myself. It was like with illnesses: You never believed it would happen to you until it did.
Now the shock was deep in my bones.
You've mastered more dangerous situations, Isabella. Remember when that rascal tried to steal all your luggage on your trip to Egypt. This isn't worse.
I took a deep breath and examined the door lock more closely.
Indeed.
The deep scratches on the door itself and on the frame hadn't been there yesterday. Not this morning either.
They were new.
"Burglars," Hayley breathed next to me.
"Do you think they're still in the apartment?" I asked back just as quietly.
"I don't think so. Most burglaries only last a few minutes," Hayley whispered.
I put my right index finger to my lips and listened with bated breath.
I heard nothing.
After about thirty seconds of silence, I whispered: "I think they're long gone." At that moment, a thought occurred to me. "Earlier, I saw two men leaving the building. They seemed odd to me right away. Maybe... maybe it was them."
"Possible." Hayley pulled her phone out of her pocket. "I'm calling the police. They need to record the damage anyway. Otherwise your home insurance won't pay anything." Hayley dialed the police number.
Home insurance!
I didn't have home insurance!
Of course not.
Such things cost money and I pinched every penny. So I didn't get any insurance that wasn't mandatory. Therefore, I had no home insurance.
Whatever was missing or damaged in my apartment, I would have to pay for out of my own pocket. Out of my own empty pocket. Resigned, I stared at the floor in front of me. Hayley had meanwhile reached a police officer on the line and was giving the address.
"No, we're standing right in front of the open door. I don't think the burglars are still here, otherwise they would have heard us long ago." Hayley sounded calm. Of course. It wasn't her apartment.
Isabella! Don't be so unfair. Hayley is really nice and is supporting you right now as much as she can. She could have just retreated to her own apartment. Instead, she's standing here with you.
Hayley ended the phone call and turned to me. "The police say we shouldn't touch the door."
I nodded. At that moment, a loud clatter and a curse sounded from the floor below us. I recognized a neighbor's voice. There was still no movement in my apartment even with this noise.
"I don't think anyone's in there anymore." Hayley looked at me. I nodded again.
"I'll go take a look." Before I could object, Hayley had pushed the door open with her elbow and entered the apartment. I followed her.
Whoever had broken open the door was no longer there.
The apartment was empty.
But thankfully not cleaned out.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Until now, I hadn't been aware of how much tension I had been under. Now the pressure slowly eased from my body.
"The things are still here," I blurted out. My furniture stood unchanged.
"What about the valuables?" Hayley wanted to know. "Where's your jewelry? And the laptop? There's always something that can be stolen. And maybe they took something. Even if they might have been surprised."
"What makes you think they were surprised?" I inquired.
Hayley pointed at the television. "They would have certainly taken that."
I laughed. "That's an ancient model. I bought it used somewhere on the internet for very little money. The new TV that Owen got back then, I sold it shortly after he moved out for quite a lot of money. The profit went to the bank." I raised my hands helplessly. Hayley nodded. She knew my dilemma and she knew the amount I owed the bank.
"So I can more than understand why the burglars left the TV behind." At that moment, I could even find something funny about the tricky situation.
"And where's the laptop?" Hayley brought me back to reality. I went over to the small desk that stood in a corner of the living room and pulled open the bottom drawer. My laptop was inside. I let out a relieved sigh.
"It's still here. You're probably right and they really were surprised. The question is, by whom."
"As soon as they hear the elevator, they're gone. That's what the police explained to me back then." Hayley now headed towards my bedroom. There was a bit less chaos there than yesterday. I had started tidying up before I left for the meeting with Carter. I had just sorted my jewelry and put it in a green box on the bed.
The green box was gone.
"They took the jewelry," I said, tiredly rubbing my forehead.
"I'm sorry about that." Hayley put her hand comfortingly on my shoulder.
"There wasn't anything really valuable in it. Except for the necklace Joanna gave me, I only own costume jewelry."
"Still, you associate memories with your jewelry. And you like it. It's something personal. Costume jewelry or not, in the end it's the emotional value that counts. You don't care about the pieces because they're expensive."
"That's true." I looked at Hayley gratefully. She was taking my loss seriously. "Actually, of all the things, only Joanna's necklace meant something to me. That was already gone before the break-in."
"That means it wasn't stolen." Hayley smiled encouragingly.
"I can't even say that for sure," I replied sadly. "I have no idea where the thing is. Maybe I lost it through my own carelessness. Maybe the burglars found it and took it." I shrugged helplessly.
"I don't think so. As short as they must have been in here? They didn't even find the laptop."
I nodded. Tired, I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall.
"We're going to the kitchen now," Hayley announced. "We won't destroy any traces there. The guys probably didn't even enter the kitchen."
I nodded again.
"And then I'll make us a nice cup of tea. Something soothing." Hayley sounded very determined.
Relieved, I followed her into the kitchen. Relieved that I didn't have to do anything. Relieved that there was someone who took charge in this situation and told me what was right and what was wrong.
Hayley knew her way around my kitchen almost as well as her own. She opened the cupboard and critically examined the available tea varieties.
"Lavender, there we go," she murmured contentedly and took the package from the cupboard. I dropped onto the corner bench and watched my friend as she filled the kettle and fetched two colorful cups from another cupboard. When the kettle beeped after a few seconds, she poured the bubbling liquid over the tea bags and placed the cups on the table in front of us.
"I'll wait here with you until the police arrive." Hayley looked at me.
Gratefully, I nodded. I wouldn't feel safe again until the police had inspected everything and the door could be closed again. It was good not to be alone now.
"You're a darling." I took a big sip from the cup. The lavender tea was supposed to have a calming effect, but at first, the hot drink was invigorating.
"You need to think about something else," Hayley stated. "How about you tell me about yesterday now? When I asked you about the bachelorette party earlier, down in the elevator, you suddenly started to beam. So it must have been pretty good." She smiled at me encouragingly.
I took another sip of tea.
"Pretty good," I mused. The memory of last night brought a smile to my face. "That's it. And it hits the mark pretty pretty pretty well." My smile widened. Then I told Hayley everything. About the accident. About the attractive Carter, whom I found so hot. About our chance reunion in the hotel bar. About the "punishment" where I had to give him a kiss. About the "engagement". About the hot night that followed.
When I reached this part of the story, I was quite glad that the tea had already reddened my cheeks. This way, Hayley couldn't tell how much the mere memory of the night with Carter aroused me. That should remain my secret.
"That's incredible." Hayley looked at me with wide-open eyes. "Do you think you'll see him again?"
"I've already seen him again." Once more, I took a big sip of tea. I took a deep breath and told Hayley about Carter's offer.
"50,000 for playing his fiancée? That's incredible," Hayley repeated her sentence from earlier. Her eyes were even bigger than before. "What an offer! You accepted, right?"
"Not yet," I admitted.
"Why not?" Hayley now wanted to know and took a big sip of tea herself.
"I don't know. It sounds so... businesslike?" I looked at Hayley questioningly.
"Well, it is a business. Sort of. You're offering your time. And after everything you just told me about this family, it won't be all fun and games. You'll have to earn that money."
I nodded thoughtfully.
"And as for that guy: Come on, Isabella!" Hayley set her cup down on the wooden kitchen table with a loud thunk . "You've been moping around long enough after getting rid of that idiot Owen. He didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve YOU. It's time you had some fun again and distracted yourself."
"Yeah... but this is a business deal, right? That's what you just said."
"Who says you can't have fun at work?" Hayley grinned at me. "You should just be careful not to lose your heart to Carter. He doesn't seem suitable for that. For fun, on the other hand, he does. Plus, you'll be rid of all those money worries you've been carrying around since you kicked Owen out."
I nodded. Hayley was right on all counts.
"Don't fall in love, have fun, and take the money," Hayley summarized her advice.
I straightened my shoulders. "That's what I'll do."
Don't fall in love, Isabella, don't fall in love.
My body began to tingle.
And my heart beat faster.