The last several weeks living with Jazmine had turned from fun to stressful. She loved her best friend but the saying about not living with your best friend was a saying for a reason. She always felt underfoot in their one bedroom apartment, she shared the couch with their dog and Ethan’s crazy on call schedule as a resident at Rush University Medical Center was really screwing with her sleep patterns. Not to mention they were a couple that had recently moved in with one another so she felt she was really cutting into any alone time they had if she was home. She had been spending extra hours at the office, going in early, staying late and hanging out at Starbucks just to avoid hearing her friends have sex.

Thankfully Maddie’s apartment wasn’t damaged by the fire but because the building was a hazard site she couldn’t return to living in it until it was cleared by the fire department and there was little to no hope of getting an answer on when that would be. She closed her eyes and rubbed her neck, she’d kill for a massage right now.

"You have been staying here late quit often. Seems kind of sad for a Friday night. Still staying with your friend?" Bennet leaned against Madeline’s cubicle wall.

"Oh hi, yeah what gave it a way?" She said with a broken smile. "Is it a problem that I’m staying late? I don’t want to be interfering with alarms or anything."

Bennet laughed as he motioned toward the elevators with his head, “Let's go grab some dinner. I have a proposition for you."

Maddie nervously gathered her things and followed Bennet to the elevator.

"Hey how do you feel about pizza? I could honestly just go for pizza and beer." He said as he loosened his tie.

"Yeah, yeah that’s fine with me. Do you have any special toppings that you prefer?" She realized how lame that sounded once it came out of her mouth.

"Actually, funny you should ask because this has been a point of contention in the past when it comes to sharing pizza. I’m a mushroom and pineapple guy. I know it so-"

Before he could finish Maddie interrupted "Those are my favorite toppings!" She said way too excitedly.

He laughed loudly, grabbing his stomach. "Well that is the first time I’ve seen you act excited about something Miss Strickland! I’m glad we agree on pizza toppings, I knew I saw something in you." He said with a wink.

Bennet was driving himself tonight, he slowly pulled the car into an underground parking structure off of Lake Shore Drive.

“We’re here," he said as he put the car in park.

"Never been to this pizza place before," she said nervously as she grabbed her bag.

“I'll explain inside, come on." He said as they entered the elevator. When the elevator opened it was clear they were in the penthouse…Bennet’s penthouse!

"Pizza will be here shortly, I ordered it before I left the office. You want something to drink?" Bennet threw his keys on the massive kitchen island and walked to the fridge as he removed his coat.

"Why am I here again? Where am I actually?" Madeline looked around the massive penthouse in confusion.

"This is my house, beer?" Bennet opened his beer and took a long drag. He opened a second beer and walked over to Maddie.

"Relax Madeline, I’m not a serial killer." He handed her the beer and walked over to the living room. Windows stretched from floor to ceiling along the entire length of the wall. The view was spectacular…a view of Lake Michigan in front and the twinkling lights of the city on either side.

Madeline took a sip of the beer as she timidly followed Bennet. "Please put your stuff down, here let me." He took her bag from her and helped her out of her coat.

"So why am I here?" She tried to ask casually.

“Let's sit down." He pointed to the couch in the middle of the room. The room was large and open concept but still felt warm and inviting. Bennet reached over to a remote and pressed a button; the fireplace behind them suddenly danced alive with flames. He had removed his tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons on his white oxford, exposing his tanned skin a bit. Maddie took a sip of the cold beer, pretending not to notice as Bennet reclined on the couch and rolled up his sleeves in such a casual manner.

"Ok so before you shut me down just hear me out. I know the situation of living with your friend is not ideal and you don’t know when you’ll be back to your place so my offer is…you could stay here." He took a long drag of his beer and ran his hand through his hair…something she noticed he did when stressed or agitated.

"Is this because you feel my work has suffered since the fire? I don’t feel li-"

"What?! No! Your work has been outstanding! I feel terrible for what you’re going through and I can’t help but notice that you spend every spare second at work. So actually this is me just being selfish and not wanting one of my best employees to burnout or have a breakdown.” He broke the tension with one of his dead sexy smiles.

He could sense her apprehension and the stiffness in her posture certainly made it clear she was uncomfortable.

“Listen, I have four bedrooms and live alone so I have more than enough room. You wouldn’t have to worry about being in my way. Plus we work in the same office so the commute wouldn’t be an issue. Or we can even drive separate it’s up to you. I understand if you’re uncomfortable but I feel like it would be ideal for you."

Madeline’s head was spinning, she did not expect the conversation to take this turn. This is just weird! She thought to herself. Just then Bennet’s phone rang.

"This is Bennet. Hey Terry yeah send him up. Thanks, have a great night." “Pizza's here! He said excitedly as he jumped up to get the door.

Bennet thanked the delivery kid and placed the pizza on the counter. He grabbed some plates from the cabinet and handed one to Madeline. She didn’t know what to think…on the one hand it made sense, on the other hand it was completely bat shit crazy.

She smiled when she looked down at the mushrooms and pineapple on the pizza, she wasn’t sure why she got such joy out of sharing a silly thing like pizza toppings with Bennet. She wasn’t sure what to say to his proposition so she commented on the deliciousness of the pizza instead and how awesome his living room view was.

It would be amazing to stay in a penthouse for a while, she doubted she would ever get the chance again, plus the commute did make sense. On the other hand she’d be living with her boss, a man she barely knew and that was weird as fuck! Oh god what if he brought a woman home?! Her thoughts were interrupted,

"Anything you care to share? You look really lost in thought over there. Grab some pizza instead of just staring at it and come back to the couch." He said as he took a large bit.

They continued to discuss Bennet’s proposition. Madeline voiced her concerns in the most tactful way, all of which were assured by Bennet to not be problems. She didn’t bring up the topic of him bringing women home…she felt it was way too personal and she wasn’t exactly the most forward person when it came to such intimate topics.

“So how long have you lived here?” She wasn’t sure what else to talk about at this point. She actually really enjoyed Bennet’s company. She had found him to be a great conversationalist with a knack for telling stories and he made her laugh more times than she could count, even in just a work setting.

“Well I was born and raised in Chicago, suburbs actually. My parent still live in Geneva and my little sister lives just over the border in Milwaukee. I went to school here and set down roots when I was about your age. I’ve always loved Chicago, it’s home. I get to travel so much for work I enjoy having my home be my childhood home with my family close by.”

He continued to share about all the suburbs and neighborhoods he lived in throughout the city, he had a funny story for almost every location. Crazy neighbors, insane roommates, rat and roach problems. He had bought his current place about three years ago and had it gutted and completely redone. She had to admit it was not only a great location but it was very welcoming and tastefully decorated.

The conversation lulled a bit and she placed her plate on the coffee table and turned to Bennet. "I should really get back to Jazmine’s, it’s getting pretty late and the train stops running pretty soon”. Can I think about it? The offer I mean." She said as she stood up.

"Absolutely Madeline, take your time and I won’t be offended if you turn me down." He smiled as he jumped up to grab his coat and keys, "All right let’s get you out of here. And for the record I would NOT make you take the train home young lady, I am a gentleman.” He said with a wink as they stepped into the elevator.