I stared at the man, then stared at the alcohol, then stared back at the man.
A second later, he took back the glass and walked away without another word.
My instructions from Frank had been to go to the top floor, so I pressed the button for ‘penthouse’ and stood in the back, growing increasingly nervous the more the elevator emptied out. There were finally just two people left—me and man in a suit. I watched him carefully out of the corner of my eye, hoping beyond hope that he’d been summoned to the penthouse as well, but sure enough, he got off on the last possible floor, leaving me to deal with Michael alone.
I had never been inside a penthouse before and didn’t really know what I’d be walking into. Any expectations I might have had were based off something I’d seen on television. But they were all blown out of the water when the doors opened, and I stepped inside.
It was like walking into a painting. A shrine to leisure living with an extra billion or so dollars thrown on top.
The walls had been painted a light gold, just faint enough so as not to be blinding, while still giving the room a celestial glow. Pieces of furniture—all in shades of either ivory or black—were scattered strategically around the room to give it a ‘lived in’ feel while simultaneously looking both extremely untouchable and making the most of the space. There was a fully-stocked bar in the corner, just in front of the floor to ceiling windows beyond, and a large winding staircase led to what was presumably an even more exclusive second story.
My eyes were still fixed on the staircase when a naked woman began walking down.
I whirled around in shock, clapping my hands over my mouth and averting my gaze all in the same motion. She had been completely unfazed by my presence, trailing her hand along the banister as she walked her rail thin figure to the kitchen.
“Hello,” she said comfortably.
I stayed turned deliberately the other way, wondering what sort of male fantasy I’d accidently wandered into. “Um, hi. I’m sorry—I didn’t know anyone else was home.”
She shrugged in my periphery and poured herself a glass of orange juice. “It’s no problem. Michael is upstairs waiting for you. I think he’s just finishing up a shower.”
My breath caught in my chest, and for a split second, I panicked. What were the two of them expecting?! Why had I been brought here?!
Then a male voice called something unintelligible from upstairs. She yelled back something in Russian and flashed me a quick smile before slipping into a dress she picked up off the floor.
“Well, it was nice meeting you.” She took my hand before I realized what was happening and shook it firmly in her own. “Best of luck with the merger.”
I blushed furiously, trying to collect myself. “Oh, uh, thank you. It was nice meeting you as well.”
She snatched a purse off a mirrored credenza and flashed me another rather mischievous smile as she stepped into the elevator. “You can go upstairs, you know. He doesn’t bite...hard.”
Thankfully, the doors closed before she could see my expression.
“Jenna? Is that you?” the same voice called down the stairs. I could hear the sound of water splashing about, and his voice carried a little echo.
Determined to ignore him, I set my briefcase firmly on a coffee table and began spreading out my papers, settling onto the accompanying sofa with a sigh.
“You take a shower yet?”
I gritted my teeth and ignored him yet again, organizing the market reports by year.
“...open invitation...”
It was incredible how seductive he could make his voice while still shouting down the stairs. I continued to ignore him, until eventually, the water turned off. A few minutes later, he headed down the stairs, still wrapped in a towel.
“Oh, hello.” He pretended to be surprised to see me. “You find the place okay?”
I reined in my temper, refusing to look at his glistening chest. “Michael, I really need to you pull it together today. There’s a lot riding on this, and not just for me. Okay?”
“Absolutely.”
“No shenanigans?”
He saluted. “No shenanigans.”
There was a pause.
“Who was the naked woman on your stairs?”