Chapter 19 - Nothing is Next to Normal #2
“Yes, that would be great, thanks,” Callum replied eagerly. Whilst the prospect of even more penthouse to consider, filled him with dread, he was interested in what else Julian had designed.
“We might as well go this way,” Martha said, leading Callum past the bathroom he’d just used, into an inner lobby with a ceiling window, three doors and steps down.
“This is utility, wine cellar and general storage,” she said before heading down the steps, with Callum following behind.
Okay, weird, thought Callum, so it’s not all on one floor?
At the bottom of the stairs the area opened out, a table in the centre with a slightly smaller arrangement of the same beautiful white lilies.
“You know these are my favourite flower Martha? I love the scent,” Callum told her.
“Funny coincidence that Callum, they are Julian’s favourite too,” Her eyes twinkled.
She indicated the corridor to their left and they headed that way.
“The rooms on the left are guest bedrooms, each with its own en-suite.” She opened the first door to show him.
The rooms were large and beautifully furnished.
“There are five on this floor and more on the floor below.” My god thought Callum, how many people are they expecting?
It’s like a small hotel? Also, the floor below, so it’s not even just the top two floors?
As they walked the length of the corridor, the walls to the right changed to panelled glass, so Callum was able to see into various offices with glass partitions, meeting rooms and at the end, a big boardroom with a long table.
At the end of the corridor there were two doors and another lift. Martha indicated the rooms behind the glass walls. “This is the business centre with a small boardroom and functional offices.” Ah, thought Callum, so Julian must work from home at times.
She headed back along the corridor. “This is administration; then we have security and transportation,” she indicated each area as they passed. Callum saw several people at desks, and Callum recognised the driver, Coco, who waved at him. Nice to see a face I know, thought Callum to himself.
After security, there was a room set back, with a small anteroom in front of it and an ‘ON AIR’ sign outside, not illuminated.
Callum peered in and it was clearly a small TV studio with two cameras, draped with clear plastic covers, pointing at a desk with a green screen backdrop behind it.
“This is the broadcast suite for press interviews,” Martha explained.
“He tends to do most of that from the office now, but it’s here just in case. ”
Okay, Callum sighed to himself. A TV studio, just in case. Why wouldn’t you?
They were now back at the lilies on the table, the only doors not explained, the grand double ones past the stairs.
“And this,” Martha said, pushing both doors open with a whoosh, “is the Ballroom.” It opened into a huge space with an enormous table that ran practically the width of the room, large enough to sit probably fifty people, with white cloths and modern silver candelabra spaced at regular intervals along its length.
Callum’s jaw dropped: the room was huge.
“This is a multi-functional room used for dining, parties, conferences, or events,” she indicated folding dividers currently pushed back on either side of a small stage opposite them, “you see the dividers, they can be used to change the size and layout of the room. It’s very clever, all designed by Julian.
” Martha was clearly devoted. “There’s storage for chairs and more tables, and also a kitchen for external caterers,” she indicated other doors.
“Wow, it’s amazing,” said Callum, adding, “maybe we should eat here tonight. I can sit at one end, Julian at the other, and I’ll WhatsApp him when I need him to pass the salt!” Martha let out a giggle, laughing away to herself as they retreated through the double doors.
They walked back up the stairs, and at the lift lobby, Martha now walked towards the other door, which Callum noticed had a thumb reader next to it. She indicated for him to use his thumb, which he did. The door clicked softly and they walked through.
“This is Julian’s private area, which is normally off limits for all of the staff, except me, but no one is permitted to enter here when Julian is in residence, with the exception of security in the event of a crisis.” She seemed very keen for Callum to understand that fact.
He was taking it all in but needed time to process.
Julian’s private area included his huge bedroom, which was almost the same size as the living area.
Again, it featured two whole walls of glass looking at the bridge.
There was a massive dark grey sunken bath with fancy taps that faced the view.
What an experience that would be, Callum thought to himself, a faint stirring in his underwear.
There was a bathroom with a huge double rainfall shower at one end, with an unusual set of different heads and what looked like steam settings.
Mmm, thought Callum, that I want to try with Julian.
Again, a swelling in his shorts at the thought.
There was also a mammoth dressing room with Julian’s clothes.
How many suits did he have? There must have been fifty, all beautifully hung, grouped by colour.
There was specialist storage for ties, cufflinks, watches, shoes, belts and jackets.
Everything was immaculately hung, nothing out of place.
It was all spotless and tidy. There were drawer units under each hanging rail that must contain other clothes, Callum assumed.
“Martha, this is so tidy. Is that you, or him?”
“Oh, a bit of both,” she replied. “We’ve worked together almost ten years now, so I know how he likes things to be orderly, and if ever there’s a problem, I’m only downstairs.”
“Downstairs? I thought he just owned the penthouse?" Callum queried as they walked back into the bedroom.
“No,” Martha corrected, “he owns the whole building. The only people who live and work in this building are Julian and his team. I live here with all my family, as do Markus, Dimitri, Coco, Paula, Ben and the rest of the staff.”
Callum stopped. He immediately felt very hot. He was having another panic attack. He thought he was getting this, but he clearly was not…
“So…” Callum said, trying to understand. “If there are no other residents here, whose are all the cars in the garage?” But as the words left his mouth, his stomach did a somersault, and they both said at exactly the same time.
“Julian’s.”
For a long beat, she looked at him, and he looked at her.
She knew how hard it was to comprehend Julian's life. She reached his hand and squeezed it again. “Take a moment, Callum. I need to attend to dinner. I’ll leave you here to gather your thoughts.”
Callum sat on one of the low chairs by the huge picture window, a million thoughts racing through his mind.
He knew Julian was rich. He knew this. But just seeing it laid out in front of him made it hard to believe.
The cars alone in the basement must be worth millions.
OK, reality check: he’s worth over $300 billion, the wiki page said; that’s a lot of billions.
That this guy wants me - how can this be remotely real?
He was still having palpitations, his hands felt clammy and for a moment he was scared for his health.
He was overheating. He remembered his principles of health and well-being training and took his jumper and socks off.
Bare-chested, he instantly felt himself cooling down.
He spied the vast bed and thought he would lie down for a few minutes to calm his beating heart.
The bed was firm, the silky sheets were beautifully cool, and he could faintly smell Julian’s scent on them. He nestled into the covers with his shoulders. It felt good and instantly cooled him down. Leaving his feet dangling over the end, he closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind completely.
He gradually relaxed, making his mind just a blue box of nothingness. He lay like that for a while, no idea how long, just focused on the blue box. He was almost dozing off when he heard a faint brushing noise and felt a weight on the bed, as a pair of heavy, hot legs straddled him.
A deep voice said, “Well, I’ve found you exactly where I wanted.”
Julian was home.
He opened his eyes and there he was, right in front of him.
Suit trousers, shirt and waistcoat, no jacket, no tie, looking as manly as ever.
He peered down at Callum with those green eyes, and suddenly everything felt okay again.
“Okay, handsome?” He bent down and planted a kiss squarely on Callum’s lips. A kiss that tasted of champagne.
“Yep, all good, thanks.” Should he tell him about the tour and freaking out? “I met Martha; she’s lovely. She’s been really kind to me while I was waiting.”
Julian rolled his eyes. “Oh my God, I think she’s in love with you,” he said, “can’t speak highly enough of you; thinks you’re very handsome. How about that then?”
Callum decided to say it, but how without ruining the moment and possibly the evening ahead? “I took the tour; I got a bit…” He struggled for the words.
“Ssshhhhh, I know. It’s a lot.” He brushed Callum’s forehead gently with his hand.
“Don’t worry about it. Life is good, we’re good.
” Another kiss on the lips. “But you know what will also be good?” Eyes bright with excitement.
“If you relax here whilst I get a quick shower, and then we can have the lovely dinner your number one fan, Martha, has prepared for us before we spend the whole night together.”
Julian had pure glee written across his face.
Callum smiled back.
Seeing Julian always made him happy.
Seeing Julian so happy made him feel something more than happy.