will have to give up the condo. It’s not something I admit to myself easily, and it makes me mad. But I’m enough of a man to know when to call it quits. The second Miss Karina’s new payment terms rolled out, I knew it was a losing game. The only way I can afford to meet the payment this month is because of the money I made before Executive Privilege changed hands.
Next month it should be way better, but another month maybe I won’t be so lucky. The condo is a serious financial commitment and my credit score could take a major hit if I got behind with the payments. I can’t see my future income clearly enough and I won’t just coast.
It’s a bitter loss to say goodbye. The condo wasn’t my home for long, but it means a lot to me.
When I sign it over, I feel like there’s a risk I’m signing away my future with Alexa.
We were to live here together. I was supposed to make her the happiest woman on earth behind these walls.
Now they won’t belong to me anymore.
Personally, I can take the loss in my stride. I still have some wealth, after all. The point of signing away the condo is so that I don’t take the risk and wind up broke. There’s money to go around. Not as liquid as it was before, but money nonetheless.
I have the condo until the end of the month. That’s more than enough time to figure out what my next steps will be. Staying in hotel rooms isn’t sustainable. An apartment isn’t right for Alexa, she needs more.
That leaves the old Brooklyn house. It’s in my name. The tenant has left already and the house is empty. I need to see how much work the house needs before I make any decision.
I will make it work. That old house is going to be perfect for her.
I didn’t know it had gotten this bad.
The Brooklyn house squats on the corner, bleak and depressing compared to the modern buildings and the renovations around it. It’s big. Three stories tall, done in smooth stone, it looks like a castle ripped out of a fairytale… if that castle had been neglected for about a hundred years and left to nature.
The lawn is overgrown and weeds run rampant. In the back yard I can see thick brambles and nothing else. Who needs a fence when your weeds will keep neighbors out?
Inside, the doors and the floors are old. They need to be rebuffed at least. The furniture, my father’s old furniture, is filthy. Until it’s all steam cleaned, it will be hard to know if it’s even salvageable.
The stairs creak, and when I look out over the back yard, I don’t see the koi pond or the gardens. All I see is a dark mass of thick brambles.
Only one bedroom in the house is even habitable. I assume this is where the tenant slept. The floor is dusted and the windows are actually clean. The sheets are perfumed with floral laundry detergent. Even the closet is tidy.
I don’t find another room that looks like it’s been lived in.
The kitchen is empty. There are some old plates and glasses in the cabinet, and a few rusted pots and pans, but nothing I can salvage. I’ll have to buy new. The stove and the fridge have to be from the last century. They’ll need to go as well.
As I’m adding up the costs in my head, I realize it’s still cheaper than trying to find another place in the city. I refuse to contemplate leaving New York.
Before I leave the house, I step out through the back door and onto the deck. Wild shrubs have grown tall and thick, and the brambles use them like lattices to block off the backyard. The thorns are wicked looking.
But beyond the chaos, a flash of color catches my eye.
There’s a garden not all that far from the deck stairs, and in it red roses bloom. I can’t see them in detail, but from afar they are stunning. It gives me hope that with a little hard work, this house might shape up to be something worthwhile.
It could be so lovely. If it had Alexa in it, it would be.
On my way out the door, I call her. Alexa answers on the third ring. She knows I won’t let her dodge my call.
“Hi Jagger.” I love it when she says my name, but right now, I want to hear her moan it. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her since spotting the rose garden.
“I want you to see me,” I tell her point blank. “Come to my condo.”
“Right now?”
“Come, Alexa,” I command.
She listens.
We meet outside my condo, approaching from different directions. She’s got on her work uniform, a sleeveless black dress with a scoop neck beneath which she wears a white blouse. She’s left her apron elsewhere.
When I see her, I take her hand. She smiles at me. It lights in her eyes and sinks all the way to her soul, and it makes me want to do everything in my power to keep her this happy all the time.
“Are you on your lunch break?” I ask.
“I am,” she replies. “They’re, um, giving out longer lunch breaks now, so I figured that I could take advantage.”
“We’ll be quick,” I promise. We head across the lobby hand in hand, destined for the elevators. The polished silver doors slide open, and we’re the only ones inside when they close. The inside is fitted with mirrors, gleaming and spotless. I see Alexa from every angle and I marvel in the dip of her waist and the elegant length of her neck.
Does she know how beautiful she is even when she’s not trying? The pink high in her cheeks from walking brings her face to life like no makeup ever could. There’s a sparkle in her eyes when she looks at me, thinking I’m not watching her, like I’m her whole world. I tug her against me and breathe in her perfume. She gasps under her breath as though she think I won’t hear.
But I hear. I hear every little sound she makes.
She has no idea how much I want her.
“Tell me,” I whisper as my hands trace around her hips to settle on the small of her back. “Why did you agree to come?”
“Because you told me to,” her voice was quiet.
“This has nothing to do with me,” I correct her. “You came today because you wanted to. You gave up your lunch in a heartbeat because you can’t stay away.”
“You make me sound like I’m desperate,” she whispers into my ear. The sound plunges from my eardrum and goes straight to my groin. The sound of her voice alone turns me into a beast. “Don’t forget that you were the one who called me, telling me to come meet you.”
“But you were the one who went out of her way to meet my demand.” My fingers trace up the zipper of her dress until I find the pull. The breath hitches in Alexa’s throat as I tug the zipper downward. “You can play innocent all you want, Alexa, but I know the truth.”
She says nothing, but the way she gasps is answer enough.
The elevator climbs and climbs. Her zipper sinks and sinks. By the time we arrive at the top floor, I have my hands beneath her blouse and under her bra, teasing her pert nipples. By the time we arrive at the penthouse, she’s rubbing her thighs together as if she thinks I won’t notice.
I do. I notice everything.
The door is barely closed. I put her on the floor. On her hands and knees. Her thighs spread wide for me and the way her ass cocks upward makes me so hard I ache.
I slap her ass. There’s a mix of shock and delight in her squeals. I yank her panties down. The hot quiver in her plump lips as her wetness yields to my thumb is almost enough to make me come.