by Mia Archer
I still couldn't believe I just walked into the building like that and pulled her out. It's not like I had the authority to do that. Not exactly. Especially since the conversation she was having with Christine seemed to indicate that dear old dad was on the warpath.
I didn't know what else to do, though. I’d been flailing about all morning ever since I woke up and realized I was going to be late to work. Ever since I woke up and realized I still didn't have any sort of plan.
"I guess I should get the big thing out of the way first," I said. I looked at the car and then back to her. "Obviously I have a little more money than I let on. I'm not exactly a starving college student."
I watched Nicole for any sort of change. Usually this was the point where if somebody was the money grubbing type they suddenly got a look in their eyes. It was a look that was difficult to explain until you'd seen it, but it was an obvious change.
It was the moment when somebody went from thinking about me as a friend or maybe a lover to thinking about me as an ATM. When they stopped thinking about their relationship with me and started thinking about how they could use that relationship to get at some of my money. It was a moment I'd grown to hate over the years even as I’d grown so very familiar with it.
Only that reaction didn’t happen with Nicole. She just shrugged.
"I wondered why you were always willing to buy the drinks," she said. "Not that I'm complaining. I'm not exactly a secret millionaire or anything."
I barked out a laugh. "I'm not exactly a secret millionaire either."
"Really? You're able to afford a car and driver on a few hundred thousand?"
I took in a deep breath. Let it out in a long sigh. I suppose if I was going to tell her the truth then I might as well tell her the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It was all going to come out eventually. If she was going to let the green eyed monster come out and start dominating our relationship then I might as well find out now.
I'd still do my best to try and save her job even if that did happen. It was my fault all of this had happened, after all. It wasn't her fault she was getting stuck in a power struggle between me and dear old dad. Still, I’d be ridiculously disappointed if she did give into greed.
"Actually… I'm more of a secret billionaire. Or at least I will be a secret billionaire when I get my inheritance. I suppose for now with my trust fund I am just a secret millionaire."
Nicole let out a long and low whistle. She looked seriously impressed. "Damn girl. I'm still buying the next round of drinks though. Don't think the fact that you're loaded means I'm going to shirk on that."
I giggled and leaned in close to her. And found myself enjoying the way she smelled. The way that she felt. In short, I enjoyed just about everything about her. I couldn't get enough of her.
“I’ll hold you to that!”
"That's not exactly the reaction I was expecting," Nicole said. "Aren't you supposed to protest and say you'll be happy to get the drinks? I mean I'm trying to be chivalrous here, but honestly…"
I launched into a fresh set of a giggles. "You don't understand. Your reaction isn't exactly what I was expecting either. I've gotten so used to people thinking I'm just an ATM when they realize how much money I have, and here you are…"
I couldn't help myself. I locked eyes with her. And I suddenly felt a hunger. A need that was so very strong. Here was a girl who liked me for who I was, not for what I was or how much money I had.
Almost involuntarily my hands darted out. Wrapped around her neck. Pulled her against me and then we were making out with just as much intensity as we had the night before when we were both more than a little drunk. I didn't even care if Jake was watching the whole thing. Let him enjoy the show. All I cared about was Nicole.
When I came up for air she cocked an eyebrow. "Damn."
"Sorry," I said.
It had been a while since I'd lost control like that. There was just something about Nicole that inspired me. That caused my baser instincts to rise to the surface.
"So you've got some money," Nicole said. "What does that have to do with Christine and the office and all that? Because if I didn't know any better I'd almost say she was getting ready to fire me, or at the very least she was getting ready to give me one hell of a serious reprimand."
We were coming close to the second big secret. I still wasn't sure how she’d react to this one. Finding out I had money had gone well, better than I would have expected, but finding out I was also set to inherit the company she worked for? I wasn't sure how she'd take that.
"I…"
I didn't have a chance to finish. The car pulled to a stop and Jake looked up in the rearview mirror. "Were home."
Nicole looked out the window, her neck craning up as she stared at my building. She let out another long and low whistle.
"Damn. This is like one of the most expensive buildings in town!"
"How would you know that?" I asked.
"Let's just say I looked at the prices here very briefly when I was looking for an apartment. Just for shits and giggles, really. It was a very brief look though."
I smiled. The apartments in this building did cost a pretty penny. And they got more expensive the higher they went. I had a place near the top.
"Well you're about to see what one of these looks like from the inside," I said.
"Damn," Nicole said.
We got out and I took Nicole's hand. Smiled uncertainly. This was a lot for her to absorb in a short amount of time, and a part of me worried that maybe she would decide this was all too much. That she would suddenly turn around and ask to be taken back to work. Or maybe taken back to her apartment, considering how things had been going back at the office when I arrived and rescued her.
I frowned. I wasn't even sure it was a rescue. Maybe I was just delaying the inevitable. I would fight to make sure I wasn't, but I didn't know how much good that would do if dad had set his mind on causing me trouble via causing Nicole trouble.
"Why the frown?" Nicole asked.
"I'll explain when we get up to my place. Promise."
And so I pulled Cinderella into the ball. Though that might be a little too much hyperbole. I was really just pulling my supervisor into a building that was way more expensive than any other building in town, after all, and about to tell her I was the heir to the single biggest company in the state.
Minus the glass slippers it was close enough, I suppose.
12: Princess Charming
We rode up the elevator in an awkward silence. I looked at the numbers going up on the fancy digital display. I couldn't believe I was actually in this building. I'd looked at some of the prices for fun when I first moved to the city for my new job, and I'd quickly decided there was no way I could afford the place. Even apartments on the lower levels were easily four times what I paid for rent in my current apartment.
There was no way I could afford that on what I made.
"Are you sure you didn't rob somebody to be able to afford this?" I asked. “You’re not secretly an international jewel thief or something, are you?”
Erica fixed me with a smile that almost looked nervous. It was a surprising look for her. I'd grown so used to the cool and confident Erica who seemed ready to take on the world.
"Not exactly," she said.
She let it drop at that. I still felt a burning curiosity. Okay, so she was loaded. Big deal. It didn't change how I felt about her. Money or no money, it wasn't like I was in any need of any more. All of my needs were being met, after all, and that was good enough for me.
Sure it might be nice to have a job where I didn't have to live to work rather than working to live, but I suppose beggars couldn't be choosers. And it's not like Erica was going to pull something out of her magical bag of secrets that would suddenly make my job situation better.
We finally stepped off the elevator and into a short hallway where there was only a single door.
"Damn. They take security seriously here, don't they?" I a
sked.
She'd already swiped a special card just to get the elevator to come up to this floor. It seemed like another door here with an actual physical lock was a little superfluous, but whatever. I wasn't a rich person. I’d never lived the rich person life, obviously, so who was I to judge?
Even the door and the lock weren’t simple. Erica held up a remote. A light on the door turned green and I heard an audible clicking as what sounded like several deadbolts snapped open and the door moved open on its own.
"The doors don’t actually open on their own,” she said with a grimace. “That’s just a piss poor door that swings open when it isn’t locked. A couple of them have that problem. Fucking cheap ass builders and maintenance is dragging their feet on fixing it."
“Why not complain to your dad or something?” I asked. “Seems like he might be able to get stuff done.”
She fixed me with a level stare that made it clear just how stupid that idea was. I held my hands up and she grinned. The point was taken.
We stepped in and she kicked the door shut. Hit another button on the remote and the deadbolt slid shut, but it shut outside the door. Erica grimaced. “I really do need to yell at someone about this. It’s ridiculous.”
"Yeah, looks real inconvenient," I said. Doors that locked and unlocked using a remote control? It was crazy. What was wrong with a good old-fashioned doorknob? Though I suppose that was all part and parcel of the lavish lifestyle Erica led.
And she was about to lead me even further down the rabbit hole. She took my hand, closed the door, and held it shut as she locked it. Then she pulled me into one of the single most lavish and expensive apartments I'd ever seen.
"This place is like three times as big as my apartment!" I said.
Floor-to-ceiling windows ran all around a massive living area. A door leading into what I assumed was an equally massive bedroom was off to the left, though even with the door open it was dark enough that I couldn’t see anything. There was a kitchen off to one side as well, though it was open to the rest of the apartment. The whole thing was very open concept without much in the way of walls. It seemed like a hell of a lot for one person.
Erica seemed to be embarrassed by the extravagance of it all. Or maybe she was embarrassed by my reaction to the extravagance of it all.
"When I moved to the city I wanted to get a hole in the wall apartment. I wanted to have the whole starving intern experience, but my dad refused. He made me get this place."
She looked around. Particularly at the view. It was one hell of a view! It made me feel just a touch of acrophobia looking out, but I could get used to this.
"I’ll admit I didn't fight him very much when he put his foot down on this issue," Erica said. Though there was a hint of something in her voice. Was that anger? I got the feeling she didn't like it when her dad put his foot down. Even if he was putting his foot down to get her in a lavish apartment.
"So who is this mysterious dad?"
Erica sighed. "Do you really want to know?"
"At this point the curiosity is killing me.”
"You actually already know who he is, though I'm not sure if you've ever met him before."
I felt a tingle on the back of my neck. As though she was about to tell me something that I either wasn't going to like or, at the very least, it was going to be one hell of a surprise. I thought about the way Christine had been treating her. I thought about seeing her hop onto an elevator and heading up that first day. How far up had she gone on her elevator ride?
All the way to the top?
"Is your dad some high-powered manager in the company or something?"
Only even as I asked that question I knew it was silly. If she had this kind of money then her dad definitely wasn't any sort of manager, middle or higher up. No, this was the kind of money that you only threw around if you were, say, the owner of a privately held multinational company that did billions of dollars in business around the world.
And so I almost knew what Erica was going to say before she said it. The words weren't a surprise, but at the same time they were a shock.
"They sort of fudged my details on the work stuff. He wanted me to go incognito when I was working the internship. Didn't want anyone to think I was getting special treatment or anything. My real name is Erica Zeidner."
"Zeidner…" I whispered. "As in Zeidner Corp.? The name on the side of the building?"
Erica smiled uncertainly. "None other than."
Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. Not only was I dating the boss’s daughter, but I'd gone out on a date with the woman who was set to inherit the whole damn company. The heiress to a multinational and multibillion-dollar empire.
No wonder she could afford a place like this. No wonder she could afford a fancy car and a driver who could come and pick her up at all hours of the day. No wonder Christine was so eager to please.
I'd gone on a date with the CEO’s daughter. I'd made out with the CEO’s daughter. I was alone in an apartment with the CEO's daughter, and I felt panic rising inside me.
Was that panic a little irrational? Maybe. But at the same time Christine's actions just a half hour ago were starting to make a hell of a lot more sense. This wasn't just Christine who was gunning for me anymore. No, if she had pictures like that then it had to come from somebody who could afford to send somebody out to track their daughter. Somebody like the guy who ran our company.
I wasn't just looking at Christine sabotaging my career in this city. A man like that could follow me around the country. Hell, I could move across the world he could still make life difficult for me if he wanted to. And the way Christine had smiled this morning, the way she'd pulled out that picture with a triumphant grin on her face, made me think he might be in the mood to do just that.
"I… I just…"
I took a step back and nearly stumbled. I was having trouble breathing. I felt hot. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to get the hell out of here, and fast.
I turned and started for the door. My feet had a mind of their own. I was powerless. I couldn't control myself. Fear and panic had a hold on me and they were doing the thinking and the walking even though I felt horrible.
"Nicole, wait!"
I knew I was acting crazy. That this was ridiculous. Erica couldn't help what her father had done, but at the same time I could keep myself from getting directly involved. Damn it. I’d just gotten myself involved in a family spat with one of the most powerful men in the country. Definitely the most powerful man in the city. I couldn't believe it.
And all because I thought my intern was pretty and smart and intelligent and…
That made me stop. What was I doing? Walking away from Erica because I was afraid? Because I had a moment of panic? No, I wasn't going to do that. I wasn't going to let fear push me around. I'd been doing that for far too long with Christine, and I'd felt that fear finally lifting this morning after I came to my decision the night before.
Nothing had changed, really. I mean sure the scale of what I was shrugging off and deciding not to worry about had just grown exponentially, but at the same time I still felt the way I felt about Erica. Could I really walk out on her now? What kind of person would that make me?
The same spineless woman who was afraid to stick up for herself that I’d been before I met Erica. I didn’t want to go back to that. That version of me seemed like the distant past even though that had been my life just a few weeks ago.
It didn’t have to be my life anymore, though.
I took a deep breath. Turned to face her as she moved closer. As she looked at me, suddenly uncertain. And I suddenly felt my heart going out for her. I tried to imagine what it must feel like having a father who was that powerful. Who felt like he could meddle in your life to that degree.
It must have been very lonely for her over the years. More than anything I felt anger at what Erica had to put up with. It was so much worse than the bullshit I’d dealt with over the past couple of years with Christine. I couldn't imagi
ne having to deal with that in your life every day.
"I'm sorry Erica," I said.
Her face fell. Obviously she was expecting me to make a speech telling her I couldn't do this, but that was the last thing on my mind. No, I needed to be strong. And I’d just realized I needed to be strong for her as much as for me.
"I understand," she said. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Not the first time he's chased someone away."
I moved forward. Put my arms around her. Fixed her with my best smile. At least I hoped it was my best smile, though I was feeling a little uncertain still.
"No, I really don't think you understand Erica, but I want to change that."
13: One Night
I felt hope rising inside me even though I didn't dare to hope that she would actually decide to stay with me. There had been so many that dad had run off over the years. Not because he had a problem with my lifestyle choices, that definitely didn't seem to be a problem for him in any way, but mostly because he disapproved of my professional choices.
Did it really matter what his reasons were as long as the results were the same? It was something I thought about a lot.
Everything with that man was about how the public would perceive it. It was about how we always needed to put on the perfect face for the world to see. It was exhausting constantly trying to live up to that man’s standards. It was enough to make me want to scream.
I knew one thing for certain. If I ever had kids of my own, something that was seriously doubtful considering the zap he’d put on my head, I was going to do my best to avoid putting the same zap on their heads. Then again, I suppose every generation probably made that promise to themselves when they were young, and yet every generation continued fucking up their kids like clockwork. Maybe there was no escaping the cycle.
I shouldn't be focusing on that right now, though. Thinking about him was letting him win. No, what I needed to be thinking about was Nicole. Was the way she was looking at me. And her words. Words that made me think this might not be the end of our relationship even though that's what I'd been expecting at any moment ever since I revealed to her how much I was actually worth.