The ring, p.6
The RIng, page 6
“Her? Who is this woman?”
“A woman I found because you asked me to. That’s what I was doing when you called. I didn’t want to tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise, and don’t worry, you wouldn’t be interested in her. Trust me.”
“I’m not so sure I do, Athena.” I narrowed my eye at her.
“Have I ever done you wrong, Harrison? Am I that sister?”
I sighed as I reached into the pocket of my pants, pulled out the key and handed it to her.
“I’m late for my meeting. Keep me posted.”
“I will.” She grinned.
Chapter 14
Adalyn
We pulled up to the curb of 26 East 73rd Street and climbed out. After opening the scrolled black wrought-iron gate, Athena stuck the key into the lock and opened the door.
“Oh my,” I said as we stepped into the foyer where the colors of baby blue walls and red carpeting surrounded us.
“Right? I told you it was hideous. Follow me and I’ll give you a tour.”
We walked throughout all eight thousand square feet of space. This townhouse was a disastrous mess as far as the decorating went. But I thrived and did my best work on challenges, and this would be the biggest challenge I’d ever tackled.
“If you accept the job, you will receive a check for one hundred thousand dollars for your services. Half now and the other half when you finish.
My jaw dropped.
“What? Did the owner agree to such a fee?”
“Don’t worry about him. He’s desperate and needs to find someone ASAP. He’ll pay any price to make sure the job gets done.” She smiled.
“Who is the owner?”
“You’ll meet him soon enough if you agree to take the job. He can be quite a handful, but I know you can handle him. Think about it, Adalyn, and look around. Wouldn’t you love to add this to your portfolio?”
“I would.” I grinned. “This place will be like a palace once I’m finished with it.”
“So then you’ll take the job?”
“Yes. I’ll take the job.”
“Yay!” She spoke with excitement as she hugged me.
“What is going on here?” I heard that low authoritative voice I’d grown to despise.
“Harrison, I’d like you to meet your new interior designer for this dreadful place.” She grinned.
“What?!” I whipped my head and looked at her.
“What?!” Harrison exclaimed.
“It just so happens that Adalyn is an interior designer. She was top notch at the company she worked for back in Seattle.”
“Didn’t they fire you?” He glared at me.
“Well—”
“Them firing her had nothing to do with her. It was the ring’s fault.” Athena smiled. “Now, I’ll leave the two of you alone to discuss whatever it is you need to discuss.” She kissed both my cheeks and then did the same to Harrison before walking out the door.
He stood there like a brut, glaring at me while his head was spinning with ways to undo what his sister had done.
“I’m a very difficult man to work for. I’ve already had four designers quit on me. You do not understand what you just got yourself into, Miss Banks.”
“I like difficult, Mr. Grant, and I thrive under pressure. Let me ask you this. If you already went through four designers, why does it look like nothing’s done?”
“Because they never worked for me longer than three days.” His brow arched.
“Oh. I see.”
“You can still back out. I’ll tell Athena you changed your mind, and you went back to Seattle.”
He wanted me gone, and he didn’t want me working for him. But he couldn’t fire me, or the wrath of his sister would come down on him. The love those two shared was strong as their twin bond should be. I got the feeling that whatever his sister said or did, he had no choice but to go along with. Harrison Grant was a man used to getting everything he wanted. Unlucky for him I was a woman who never backed down.
“I’m not backing out, Harrison. I’m staying in New York and I’m fixing up this place for you, no matter what the price is that comes with it.” I raised my brow.
“Fine. I expect you at my penthouse tonight at six thirty to go over some plans. I’ll text you the address. What’s your number?” he asked as he pulled his phone from his pocket.
I rattled it off and within seconds a text message came through from him.
“425 West 50th Street, PHB.”
“Since Athena left, and she was your ride, I’ll take you to my office where my assistant, Jeremy, will give you a list with the names and numbers of the contractors you are to use. They’re already on alert for when I need them.”
“Okay,” I spoke with confidence as I walked past him and out the door.
In the car ride to the office, he was on his phone. It was one call after another. Once we arrived at his building, we took the elevator up to his office, and sitting at the desk in front of it, was a young man whom I assumed was the infamous Jeremy.
“Jeremy, this is Adalyn Banks. She’s my new interior designer. I need you to give her the list of contractors I’ll be using for the townhouse.”
“Yes, Mr. Grant, right away. It’s nice to meet you, Adalyn.” He smiled.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Jeremy.”
“I need to get back to work now. I’ll see you tonight at six-thirty sharp. Don’t be late,” he spoke in a smug tone.
“You got it, boss.” I smiled as I saluted him.
He shot me a look and stepped inside his office, shutting the door behind him.
“Here’s the list of contractors,” Jeremy spoke as he handed the white piece of paper to me. “Listen, Adalyn, I feel it’s my duty as a Christian and a good Samaritan to warn you about Mr. Grant.”
“No need to warn me, Jeremy. I already know.” I laughed. “Why do you think I took the job? If Mr. Grant thinks he’ll break me, he’s mistaken.”
“Girl, I love you already!” He grinned. “If you need anything, call me. I wrote my number down on the paper.”
“Thanks, Jeremy. I appreciate it.”
Chapter 15
Athena
As soon as I left the townhouse, I headed straight to see my grandmother.
“I’ve been waiting for you, darling.” She smiled as she kissed my cheek. “How did it go? Did Adalyn accept the job?”
“She sure did, and while we were at the townhouse, Harrison dropped by. He was angry when I told him the news.”
“He’ll get over it soon enough.”
“I feel bad, Grandmother.”
“Why, darling?”
“Because Adalyn is too nice of a person to put up with him. He will make her life hell.”
“He may, but she’s a tough girl. She can handle Harrison. You were right. I could tell the moment I saw them together, something was different about him.”
“He acts like he doesn’t like her. He even went over to the hotel this morning and told her that the longer she stays, the more money the hotel loses.”
She shook her head as she sipped her tea.
“He’s fighting it, but he will give in. It’s just going to take some time. Returning my ring wasn’t the only thing that girl was supposed to do. It meant for Harrison and Adalyn to meet one another.” She took her ring off and held it up. “This ring led Adalyn Banks to her destiny and to her soulmate.” She smiled.
Chapter 16
Harrison
I was sitting in my office when I saw Athena walk by.
“Get in here!” I shouted.
She stopped and backed up until she was at my door.
“Yes?” She smiled.
“Come in, shut the door and have a seat.”
She sighed as she did as I asked and took the seat across from my desk.
“What kind of game are you playing, Athena?”
“What on earth of you talking about?”
“Why would you hire Adalyn?”
“You asked me to find you someone. A person who will take your criticism and not act like a child. Adalyn is perfect for the job because I feel she will not put up with your bullshit. She’s so pretty. Don’t you think?”
“Enough, Athena. How much am I paying her?”
“Well, I had to make it worth her while and because she has to put up with the likes of you, I offered her a hundred thousand dollars.”
“WHAT!” I stood up from my chair and slammed my fist on the desk.
“Please. You’re worth billions. You can drop fifteen million on that dump, but you cry over a measly hundred thousand dollars to pay someone to fix it up? Now stop being a crybaby. I have work to do,” she said as she got up and walked out of my office.
* * *
Arriving home at six p.m., the first thing I did was pour myself a drink. Something I needed before Adalyn showed up. After Athena left my office, I got online and looked at some of Adalyn’s work. To my surprise, she impressed me. I went to my bedroom to change out of my suit. Maybe I should have invited her for dinner? No. That would be too risky. I needed to go over things with her and then get her out of my penthouse as quickly as possible. The less dealings I had with her, the better off I’d be.
Damn Athena for this.
It was six-thirty when the doorman alerted me that Adalyn was in the lobby.
“Send her up.”
I waited by the elevator and as soon as the door opened, she stood there holding a brown bag in her hand.
“Hello,” I spoke.
“Hey.” She smiled as she stepped into the foyer.
“What’s in the bag?”
“Burgers and fries. I don’t know if you’ve eaten or not, but I haven’t and I’m starving. It’s from your hotel.” She grinned.
“So basically I paid for it?”
“You sure did.” She smirked.
I sighed as I took the bag from her and went into the kitchen.
“Wow. This is nice,” she spoke as she looked around. “Why do you want to move?”
“I’m just renting this place, and I didn’t want to invest in anything until I found what I wanted.”
Reaching into the bag, I pulled out the Styrofoam containers.
“I would have pegged you for the high-rise penthouse type.” The corners of her mouth curved into a cock rising smile.
I opened the Styrofoam container and stared at the burger and sweet potato fries.
“How did you know this is how I like my burger?”
“I made a call to Athena.”
I took our food over to the table and sat down in the seat across from her. She brought dinner. Now I kind of felt like a jack ass.
“Before we get started discussing the townhouse, tell me a little bit about your yourself.”
“Well, I’m originally from California. My best friend Carly and I went to the University of Washington and then the plan was to move back to California with our college degrees. Then she met Daniel a few months before we graduated, and she couldn’t leave him. K&L Designs offered me a full-time design position, so I took it and stayed in Seattle.”
“Is that where you met your boyfriend?”
“Ex-boyfriend. And yes. We dated for three years before he just ended it out of the clear blue.”
“Do you still have contact with him?”
“No. When he left, I told him we were strangers and he no longer existed in my world.”
“Good for you.”
I finished my burger and we got down to business.
“I’m very particular with what I like, and I’m counting on you to help me out with that. The last designer I hired, didn’t have a clue. And if you don’t have a clue, I will tell you.”
“I know you will.” She smirked. “Is any of this furniture yours?”
“No. It came with the penthouse. I’ll buy all new furniture for the townhouse. Let me ask you something, Adalyn. What color scheme are you thinking about? You were inside the house, you had to have some vision.”
“I do.” She grinned. “I’m thinking you’re more transitional style. I know you’re not the full-on modern type. You’re just a little bit traditional with a touch of contemporary, but not all in.”
“What is transitional?”
“It’s a bridge between contemporary and traditional. It pulls from both styles. Rich woods, clean lines, neutral colors and a touch of luxury elements such as marble. It’s a style that flows from room to room and I think with the architecture of the townhouse, it’ll open up the space. Listen, Harrison, I need you to trust me. If there’s no trust, this won’t work. I’m very good at my job.”
“You were also fired. Explain to me how that happened.”
“We have a client, Vivian Hart. She owns a bunch of properties and she has them decorated and then she rents them out. She’s our top and best client. I designed the cottage she purchased as a personal investment. She took a trip to the Cayman Islands and left the decorating in my hands. I emailed her color swatches, furniture, everything. She loved what I’d done, and she approved it all. When she returned from her vacation, she went to my boss and told him she hated everything, and that I never once consulted her when she was away.”
“Did you have the emails to prove it?”
“I kept records of everything. And when I told my boss that, he said he understood but Vivian Hart told him either I go, or she does. Being the dick he is, he got rid of his top designer over a client.”
“I think I would have sued the company for wrongful termination.”
“I thought about it, but then I came home that same day and my boyfriend broke up with me and a week later my apartment building burned down. So, I had a lot of other stuff on my mind.”
“Then you came to New York,” I said.
“Yes. Then I came to New York.” She smiled.
Fuck. I needed her to leave before I crossed the line.
“Okay. Well, I think we’re done here.” I got up from my chair.
Chapter 17
Adalyn
As soon as the elevator doors shut, I let out a deep breath. As much as I hated to admit it, I was so attracted to him. I felt it from the moment I laid eyes on him at the restaurant, and then again when he saved me. Even though he was rude and insensitive, I felt this incredible pull towards him. Working for him would be difficult, and it wouldn’t be because of his attitude or demeanor. I could handle that.
The next morning, as I was getting ready to leave to go to the townhouse, Carly Face timed me.
“Hey you.” I smiled.
“How’s it going over there in the big bad land of New York City?”
“It’s going good. I’m on my way out now to go to the townhouse.
“I can’t believe you’re staying there. I miss you.” A pout crossed her lips.
“I miss you too, but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity. I only ever dreamed of making that much from one job.”
“I know and I’m happy for you. I’m just selfish and I want my best friend home.”
“As soon as I’m finished with the job, I’ll be back in Seattle. I have to run. I’ll call you later.” I blew her a kiss.
When I arrived at the townhouse, I inserted the key Harrison gave me last night and opened the door. My eyes hurt every time I looked at the colors that were staring back at me. I took my sketch pad and started with the kitchen first. Standing there shaking my head, I stared at the yellow cabinets and the beige countertops. I always worked better to music, so I hit a playlist on my phone and set it on the island. Taking a seat on the floor, I bobbed my head back and forth to the beat as I drew out a new layout.
“Hello?” I heard a voice shout from behind, causing me to jump out of my skin.
I turned around and looked up only to find Harrison standing there. Getting up from the floor, I stopped the music and placed my hand over my pounding heart.
“You scared the shit out of me!” I tapped his chest with my sketch pad.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have your music so loud and you’d hear when someone walks in.”
“I work better with music. What are you doing here?”
“Well, it is my house.” His brow arched. “I forgot to give you this last night.” He handed me a file folder. “It’s the designs the other designers did before they quit.”
I set the folder on the island, opened it and looked through each sketch of the kitchen one by one, crumbling them up and throwing them on the floor as I moved to the next one.
“Okay then,” Harrison spoke.
“They’re crap.”
“I liked one of them and I think that’s what you need to go off of.”
“No.” I stared into his mesmerizing eyes.
“What do you mean? Listen, Adalyn, have you forgotten that you work for me?”
“No, I haven’t forgotten. Those designs are crap. You’ll like what I’ve done better.”
“Let me see.” He held out his hand.
“I’m not finished yet.” I held the sketch pad against my chest.
He let out a sigh as he lowered his hand and took a step closer, so our faces were mere inches from each other.
“Let me see what you have so far,” he spoke in an authoritative voice.
“No.”
Our eyes fixated on each other as his mouth was close to mine. He brought his finger up and ran it softly across my lips, sending a fluttering sensation throughout my entire body.
He must have snapped back to reality because he quickly took a few steps back.
“Okay. I’ll let you get back to work. Do what you think is best. I’ll talk to you later.” He turned around and walked out of the kitchen, and I heard the front door shut.
I stood there, the vibration feeling still reeling in my body and the weakness I felt from his touch.
Damn it.
I spent the day going from room to room, visualizing, sketching, and calling the contractors to meet with me first thing tomorrow morning. After I left, I headed to the paint shop where I picked up an array of paint color samples and an entire book.
