Dirty Obsession (Dirty 1)

“You should eat, too. You’ll need your strength for our date this weekend.”

She huffs. “I’ll have days to gather my strength to deal with you on our date.”

“You should eat anyway.”

She starts eating her salad while I finish off my pizza. And then I chuckle to myself.

“Now what?”

I shake my head. “I just can’t believe you said yes.”

I enter the lobby of the fancy condo building that Sloane lives in. I stare up at the large ceiling that goes up in the center to what must be the top floor with all the other entrances to the rooms surrounding the center. The whole building seems extravagant. Everything is wrapped in gold or silver. Flowers decorate the main floor lobby, but there isn’t a dead flower in sight, making it clear that the flowers are pruned and replaced on a regular basis. There is a lot of wealth in this place.

Too much wealth if you ask me.

I walk to the elevator and am stopped by a nicely dressed man in a suit.

“Who are you here to see, sir?” the man asks politely, blocking me from entering the elevator without telling him first.

I look down at my khaki shorts and button-down shirt that

is open at the collar. I thought I would dress up a bit for our date tonight, but looking at myself now and where I am, I should have dressed up more because Sloane is a princess who no doubt lives on the top floor of her castle. Despite working for a nonprofit she inherited, she makes plenty of money and expects to live with the finer things in life.

“I’m here to see Sloane Hart,” I answer.

“And your name is?”

“Asher Calder.”

I expect him to request to see my ID before he will let me up. But, to my surprise, he pushes the button for the elevator, and he steps aside to let me in as the doors open. He steps inside and presses the button for floor number ten.

“Ms. Hart’s place is the first door on your left when you exit the elevator. Have a good day, Mr. Calder,” he says before leaving the elevator.

I run my hand through my hair as the elevator makes its way up. I can’t believe people live like this. I know he is here mostly for security purposes, but it still seems ridiculous that she lives in a place where somebody stands at the elevator and pushes a button for her whenever she wants to go up. As if she is incapable of pressing a button. It’s a good thing I don’t want her forever because we don’t belong together. She wants a fancy life, full of finer things, while I want to live with as few things as possible.

I shake my head at the thought of ever imagining myself with anyone for more than a couple of months. That’s not my style. I don’t do the boyfriend or girlfriend thing, and I don’t imagine ever getting married.

The doors open, and I step off and knock on her door. I wait longer than I expected. She doesn’t answer right away even though, if anything, I’m a few minutes late. I pull out my phone, ready to text her with the number that Wes gave me, to see if she is still coming or if she changed her mind, when she opens the door.

She’s wearing a beautiful pale blue sundress that, to my surprise, has more cleavage than I would have thought she would wear for a date that isn’t really a date. Her blonde hair is curled, but it’s her eyes that have my complete attention.

It’s clear that she has been crying. Despite trying to dry her eyes, her eyeliner and mascara are smudged, and her eyes are still a bit swollen and red.

“So, where are we going?” Sloane asks, plastering a fake smile on her face.

I frown. “What’s wrong?”

Her smile falters. “Oh, nothing. Just allergies.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“You’re one to talk. You lie all the time.”

“No, I don’t. I have made my intentions very clear to you. I want you. In my bed. As soon as possible. Now, what is wrong?”

“My grandmother died.”

I feel her pain immediately. It’s clear that she was close to her grandmother.