A House Is Not A Home

Chapter 3

April's POV

I took a shuddering breath as the elevator doors closed. "You okay?" Justin asked laughing at me. I chuckled despite myself. "Yes, you're friend is quite um..." 

    "Full of himself, over bearing, arrogant?"

    Delicious, Intimidating, mouthwatering... "I'm not talking about you, dear. Mr. Rose. He's very... intense." I finished lamely. His presence demanded attention. He was tall, though not so tall as Justin, and broad shouldered...

    Justin whimpered, distracting the direction of my thoughts, "Why are you so mean to me?" I laughed and the elevator chimed. He motioned for me to get off first so I obliged. Mr. Rose was certainly not half so silly either.

    "This your floor?"

    "I'm not special enough to have my own floor."

    "Obviously."

    "Why do you insist on wounding me?" he cried as he made his way ahead of me towards his office. I giggled. I had almost forgotten why I liked Justin so much. He was incredibly goofy and always made me laugh. He made it quite clear he wanted more than I was giving him. As much as I enjoyed his company, I couldn't give more. I wasn't ready. 

    I followed him into his office and his view was the same as the enigmatic Mr. Rose', just not as expansive. I watched Justin power down his computer and grab his keys. "You didn't book a hotel, right?" There was definitely threat in his tone. I smirked. His hands smacked his sides. "You didn't! I told you I had a room for you!"

    "I didn't."

    He let out a heavy breath and gave me a playful scowl, "You are bad for my heart, woman." I chuckled and felt selfish thinking he was good for mine.

    "I'm famished, are you ready to go?"

    "Of course, my lady. Wouldn't want you to waste away. God knows a slight breeze could blow you away." He walked up to me and placed his cool fingers under my chin and lifted my face up to him, "I can tell you've gained weight. Thank you for taking care of yourself."

    I felt my face heat. I had no idea how to reply to that. And that hungry look in his eye made me nervous. It was him who had brought it to my attention that I was sickly. When he had come to visit me, he wouldn't eat unless I ate. It made me realize I really wasn't taking care of myself and there were people who needed me. 

    He let go of my face and brushed my stray hair behind my ear, "Come on. We can get to the restaurant and reserve a table whist we wait for Emeric." Justin continued to chatter to me as we made our way down, I waved to Lindsay and bid her a great day as we passed. She gave a bright smile and waved back but didn't even break her stride with her conversation on the phone.

    "You know her?" Justin asked.

    "I met her as I walked in." 

    He hummed and continued on with his eager chatter, I shook my head at him. He talked so much. He was still chattering as we walked to my truck and I shouted.

    "WHAT THE f**k!?" Justin jumped slightly at my outburst. 

    "Jesus, what's wrong?" I pointed over to the car that was parked right up against my truck. I stormed over and glared at the Beemer. "Oh. What sort of jack ass does that?"

    "f*****g city people? Absolutely no god damn consideration for anybody else. Think they're so damn funny!" The lights flashed and Justin opened the drivers door grinning at me. I scowled, folding my arms over my chest as he sat and closed the door gently. I stepped out of his way as he pulled out. He stuck his tongue out at me and I successfully fought my smile. "Mother fucker." I hopped into my truck and followed Justin out. Whether he was being considerate because of my tirade or he actually thought about it, he drove making sure I'd always be behind him. No speeding through lights, or changing lanes unless I could make space for both of us. I had thought that he was heading towards the restaurant but we pulled up to another private underground garage. He texted me a code and I punched it in as he instructed and I was allowed through. I followed him and he parked in a numbered spot. He got out quickly and pointed to another spot near by for myself. Luckily these spots were a lot bigger. I shut my truck off and he opened my door. I grabbed my VS tote, tucking my tablet and binder inside and hopped out.

    "Is that all you brought?" He asked sweetly, aiming to take it from hands, but I shouldered it.

    I shook my head, "I have another bag in the back." He closed my door and opened the back and grabbed my old, faded Tommy Hilfiger duffle.

    "This is a cute bag," he shouldered that one and took my hand as he led me towards his apartment. I smiled at his compliment, I usually felt rough and shabby, especially around Justin. Everything seemed tailored to him. Which very well could have been the case. The fact that he liked something of mine made me feel better about myself. It was hard to not feel so conscientious around people like Justin but he always put me at ease.

    "You don't live in the penthouse, do you?" I asked as we boarded the elevator.

    He wheezed, "Hell no. I don't make that much." I chuckled at him. 

    "How much is the penthouse here, do you know?"

    "I do know, forty-two-million."

    "A MONTH?!" 

    He laughed a full belly laugh, "No, you buy penthouses, you don't rent them!" He continued to laugh at me as we made our way up. 

    "I thought this was an apartment." I mewled, mock offended that he kept laughing.

    "There are some that are rented, but nice apartments like these are for sale."

    "So you own the apartment you live in?"

    "Yes, I have mortgage." he explained patiently.

    "Is the penthouse for sale? Could we get a tour?"

    "So many questions!" he laughed, "No, it's not for sale. But if you want a tour, I will get you one."

    "If someone lives there, a tour would be invasive." I couldn't believe he'd say that as if it was totally normal to just check out someones home.

    "I doubt Emeric would mind. He'll probably invite us over anyways." My heart stuttered at the idea of being in Emeric's home. His office building was bad enough. But a home felt like a place of power. I definitely didn't want to be on his personal turf. He'd have even greater home field advantage. I needed to keep my wits about me with that man. He was dangerous. And I couldn't decide if it was in a good or bad way. It was probably both and that was even worse. He had the most beautiful eyes, like pools of honey. His dark hair was short, neat, but just long enough to grip. I just hummed a reply, my thoughts distracted by the enigmatic Mr. Rose, that seemed to appease him. The elevator finally dinged and I felt relieved. I felt like my anxiety was going to make the small space explode. But I started to feel a little uneasy as we walked to Justin's apartment door. He unlocked his door and placed his hand on the small of my back, letting me walk ahead. One peek into his apartment, I didn't need much encouragement. Of course this view was as lovely as the one in his office. The whole outside wall was glass and I walked all the way up to it. My eyes went straight to looking at the sound. Today was actually a very beautiful day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. I eyed the boats that were coming and going before I forced myself to turn my attention to Justin across the living room. There seemed to be some apprehension in his eyes, he tried to hide it, but I could see it.

    "What do you think?" My heart warmed at his question, he cared what I thought about him, and his home. He had a very chic, new age, minimalistic look in cool tones. It suited him, and I was certain it was professionally designed. A sleek and elegant home for a sleek and elegant man.

    "It's very beautiful." His face relaxed and so did his smile. The man had considerably more money than I did, and he had seen the house I lived in. I was living in a house that had been abandoned and lost a lot of value. I did enough work in it where I could live in it safely before I moved in. It wasn't my home, it was just another project. This one was a complete and total rehab. Everything needed replaced or fixing. Everything but the foundation and the frame. If I wanted money out of it, I was going to have to live in it a little while longer. When he had shown up, my bathroom was only partially working, the other one didn't exist any more, and there had been no floor in the living room. Who was I to judge?

    "I have a room set up for you over here." He said, motioning further into the apartment. I followed him and he turned on the light and stepped out of the way. I walked in and blushed. I had a feeling that he had actually set the room up for me. The room was spacious with a window wall, but the bed drew my attention. The duvet was white with lavenders detailed on the end. The underside was silver and the pillows matched. Lavender, white, and silver. A bouquet of fresh flowers stood on the nightstand. Lavender and grey were my favorite colors. I had told him that at one point. He placed my bag carefully on the foot of the bed.

    "This is beautiful, Justin. Thank you."

    For the first time I saw his face slightly color, "There's a bathroom there if you'd like to shower. I'm going to call the restaurant and change. Emeric called, he said he was finished and on his way home. So we will wait and carpool. So you've got some time."

    "Okay, thank you."

     He left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. I was very grateful at this point I had decided to bring nice clothes. I had an idea of what Justin liked to do, and I figured it would require better clothing than Carhartt work clothes. I walked into the bathroom and found lavender and grey towels and more fresh flowers. This bathroom was bigger than my bedroom. The counter was glass and the cabinets were a lovely grey, with fountain like faucets I was in love with. I walked to the shower and oohed. The shower rained from the ceiling. The walls were unhewn grey stone, it was so very lovely. I wanted a shower like this in my own home. I had a dream of how I would design my house. I had a Pinterest board for each room for ideas. I had seen some bathrooms where some showers were designed with living plants in mind. I definitely liked the idea of that. 

    After fully appreciating Justin's bathroom for me, I finally decided to freshen up. I went through my whole routine. Fully taking care of myself. I was tired, and this shower was to die for. I dried my hair, and took the time to paint my face. When I walked out of the room, I felt much better. I heard male voices speaking in the living room and I walked out there to see Emeric and Justin sitting in the living room. Emeric chuckled and looked at me as I walked in and stood. Both of them had dressed down. One more considerably than the other. Emeric was still in black slacks, but he wore a light blue dress shirt that was rolled to the sleeves and the top button had been left undone. Justin was in dark designer jeans and a brown leather jacket

    "You look absolutely lovely, April."

    "Thank you, Mr. Rose."

    "Emeric, please." 

    Justin stood and turned smiling, "Please, she looks ravishing. Was everything to your taste?" 

    "Yes, thank you for letting me stay with you. Sorry to keep you waiting."

    "You didn't" Both men chorused and they made a face at each other, Emeric continued, "I only just arrived. Not that we would have minded anyhow, you really do look the treat."

    I felt my face turn the brightest shade of red, "Okay, well let me grab my shoes, and we can go?"

    Both men nodded and murmured their agreement. I started having palpitations, I felt like tonight was going to be interesting with the looks those two had given me. I felt like a sheep between two tigers.