________

BRYAN

 

I sat in the small conference room staring at my laptop but seeing nothing on the screen.  I felt like I was literally in shock and I also was kicking myself for missing all of the obvious signs.  Why did I believe Sebastian after he lied to me the first time?  Of course he was engaged.  Whatever made me think that a man like him would actually be single?  I felt like such a fool.

 

I was tucked away in one of the smaller conference rooms on a lower floor because I didn’t want Sebastian to find me.  I had no desire to speak to him and I knew that I would eventually have to because he was my boss, but I needed time.  Thankfully I had a meeting that was going to start in a few minutes at 9:30 and then I was booked in several meetings until 2:00.  I was dreading meeting Eva at 2:00 to go see the penthouse and I was praying that Sebastian and that man would not be there.

 

My sadness turned to anger as I relived the moments in the penthouse and I relived the way I first met Sebastian.  He knew he wasn’t available and he came after me anyway.  He was definitely a man who was used to getting whatever he wanted, but he was never going to have me again.  I decided I was going to put on my professional face while I was at work and I was not going to let him crack me or cause me to lose my job.  I was going to have to act like I had never had any intimate moments with Sebastian and that was not going to be easy, but it was the only way I was going to be able to function around him.  I had dropped my guard and let him get too close but that was never going to happen again.  As far as I was concerned, Sebastian Blocke was my boss and nothing more.

 

My meetings were a great distraction for me and for a little while I didn’t have time to think about the mess with Sebastian. I was thrust back into reality at about 1:50 p.m. when I realized I had to make my way to Eva’s office so that we could go up to the penthouse. I thought about canceling but could not think of a good reason to justify it without raising red flags with Eva, and that was the last thing that I wanted to do. I didn’t want her to have any idea that something happened with Sebastian so I decided to just put on a happy face. 

 

Just as I was about to walk into her office I remembered that I did not have the key and I hoped that she had a key because I did not know how I would explain how I lost the key.  In trying to get out of the penthouse quickly, I dropped it on the floor and did not pick it up, so I was pretty sure Sebastian had my copy of the key.

 

My heart was literally crashing against my chest as I knocked on Eva’s door, and I took a deep breath slowly letting it out as I heard her tell me to come in.  Her smile was infectious and immediately put me at ease. It was so easy to be around her.

 

“Hello, gorgeous. Are you ready to check out your fabulous new project?” she asked.

 

I smiled, or at least I hoped I was smiling, and casually nodded my head trying to give the impression that I was calm about the whole thing.

 

“Absolutely, let’s go check it out.”

 

“If you have any questions, just let me know, but I was told that I should just let you take a look around, take it all in and come up with your own vision. I’m actually kind of excited to see what you come up with.”

 

“Oh goodness, no pressure there! Hey, Eva, do you have a key because I seem to have misplaced mine.”

 

“Sure, let me get it,” she said as she grabbed it from her desk drawer.

 

I secretly breathed a deep sigh of relief as she grabbed her key and we made our way to the elevator. My nerves felt like they had literally liquefied as the elevator climbed to the penthouse, and I seriously thought I was going to faint as the elevator door opened. I don’t know how I did it, but I managed to keep it together in front of Eva as she slipped the key into the lock and opened the door. Here we go.

 

  When we walked in my eyes darted around the place quickly trying to figure out if anyone was there, but it was dead silent. I casually glanced down at the floor near the door where I dropped the key just to see if it was there, but, no surprise, it wasn’t. When I realized there was no one in the penthouse I was able to relax and for the first time get a good look at the space, because when I was there earlier I was in such shock I couldn’t even remember what color the walls were. 

 

The penthouse was stunning.   The floor-to-ceiling windows let in so much light and I was able to see how large and beautiful the space was.  It was already decorated but I instantly had a completely different vision for the place.

 

Eva waived her arms around the room.  “Well, what do you think?”

 

“I think we should walk around and check out the entire space, but this main area…it is breathtaking.”

 

“Come on, let’s go take a tour.”

 

The penthouse had four bedrooms and 3 ½ bathrooms and was about 5500 square feet.  Eva showed me each room and left the master bedroom and master bath for last. As we were taking the tour it occurred to me that I was probably going to see that man’s clothes in the closet who was there earlier with Sebastian, and I wondered if Eva was going to say anything about that. I decided not to make any comments about it.  I was just going to wait to see if she said anything.

 

When we walked into the bedroom my eyes went straight to the bed and I felt a few pangs of sorrow as I remembered the incredible night we had together on the couch in Sebastian’s office, but I had to quickly shove those thoughts out of my mind because he was a liar and a cheater.  I averted my eyes away from the bed as Eva lightly tapped me on the shoulder.

 

“Sweetie, prepare to enter a little piece of heaven and, remember, you can do anything you want to with this space.”

 

She opened the door to the master closet and it was as if angels and a choir were singing at the same time that a halo appeared in the middle of the closet.  It was the most stunning closet I have ever seen in my life. The closet was easily the size of the master bedroom but I noticed something strange. There was not one piece of men’s clothing in that closet. I know I didn’t imagine that man in the penthouse earlier that morning, and I know I heard him say he was Sebastian’s fiancée, so the only conclusion I could come to was the penthouse really was a place where Sebastian just crashed and they lived together somewhere else.

 

I must have been standing there with my mouth open because Eva nudged me and had a concerned look on her face.

 

“Bryan, is something wrong?”

 

I really wanted to tell her that I was confused as to why there weren’t any men’s clothes in the closet because I knew about the fiancé, but I couldn’t say that.

 

“No, I’ve just never seen a closet this gorgeous in my life and I can’t believe that I’m going to have the opportunity to design it the way I want.”

 

“Well, you can definitely do whatever you want and don’t forget that I am here to help.”

 

“So when can I start? And how much time do I have?”

 

“Sebastian told me that you can start today and you will have two weeks to complete everything.  My one suggestion for you is to really take some time today and tomorrow to get your ideas down on paper and then we can get people in to do everything that you want.  Even though we have people ready and waiting to work on this project for you, if you don’t put orders in within the next couple of days you will not meet your two-week deadline.”

 

“I can understand that but the only thing I am concerned about is the closet because the closet is going to be completely renovated. I need to add shelving, drawers and an island. Do we have people that can do something like that in such a short amount of time?  They probably will have to work around the clock and I’m not sure that’s an option that will be afforded to me.”

 

“That will not be a problem at all.  Like I said, just get your ideas down by tomorrow evening at the latest, submit them to me, and then I will get people in to bring your vision to life. For the next two weeks this is going to be the only thing you are working on and you will be the hands on supervisor so that you can be sure that everything you want is completed to your liking. Did Sebastian happen to tell you what’s happening in two weeks?”

 

“He mentioned something about going to Paris to work on one of the stores in a mall he is building.”

 

“Oh good, you know about Paris. Have you ever been?”

 

“No, I haven’t and I swear to you, Eva, I am living in a dream world right now.  The fact that I might have an opportunity to go to Paris and design a store is beyond anything I’ve ever dreamed.”

 

“Bryan, if you do a good job on this penthouse, you will definitely be going to Paris, and just from the questions you’ve asked me about this project, I know that I’m going to see you in Paris.”

 

I got really excited.  ”Wait, you’re going to Paris too?”

 

She winked at me and smiled.  “Oh yes, sweetie, I wouldn’t miss Paris for anything.  We are going to have a fabulous time!”

 

I jumped up and down like a little kid; I couldn’t help myself.   “Eva, Paris is going to be so much fun!”

 

“Yes it is, but first we need to focus on this penthouse.”

 

I looked at her and smiled.  “Right! Time to get to work!”