The Boy Who Has No Faith (Soulless 5)

When the locksmith got there, he wheeled in the filing cabinet and the safe, and we placed them in the office. I stood by and watched him bolt everything to the floor so they couldn’t be carted away…even though that was overkill. I remained there so if Derek asked if I kept my eyes on him the entire time, I could say yes. The locksmith also put a lock in the door and gave me a key to get it open.

That was a good start.

When he left, a delivery man pushed a cart to the door. “Emerson Lane?”

“Yes.” I looked at the cart of flowers, various vases that would match the tones of his penthouse. They weren’t overly feminine. Otherwise, I was certain he would complain. I took the vases and placed them throughout the living area, already improving the place by giving it some color along with a good scent.

Then the alarm guys arrived and started to work on installing that system. His windows were unlikely to be compromised, unless this was a Mission: Impossible scenario, so his double front doors were the only entrance that was programmed. They showed me how to link it to a cell phone so he could arm the alarm from work if he forgot to do it on his way out. They gave me a code to use, and for his code, they put it in a sealed envelope for him to see when he arrived. Once that was done, I went to the grocery store.

I didn’t have a car, so I got a small cart that I could push up the sidewalk and take to his penthouse. He didn’t need a lot of items, but if I had to carry all of that several times a week, it would just be too much, especially in heels. When I went to the store on my day off, I rocked sneakers and jeans, so it was much easier to haul everything home.

I stocked his fridge then returned downstairs to retrieve the mail.

The mail lady clearly remembered me, and she wasn’t happy to see my face.

Since I would have to deal with her every day, I tried to smooth things over. “Hey, how are you?”

She gave me a scowl.

Okay…maybe it would never be smooth. “Not sure if Mr. Hamilton told you—”

She abruptly turned around and grabbed the mail sitting in his cubby before placing it on the surface in front of me.

“Thanks so much.” I gathered it in my arms, gave her a smile despite the scowl she gave me, and headed back into the elevator.

Once the house was clean, it looked really bare.

Cleo had suggested I pick out some décor items and have them delivered to make the place feel cozier. If he didn’t like it, I could just return it. I didn’t know him very well and he didn’t have much style, so I’d picked items that weren’t provocative, that sort of just blended into his apartment. I’d also ordered some paintings because his walls were so bare that it looked odd. The delivery guys helped me hang everything in the living room now that it was clean, and if he didn’t like it, I could either plaster the holes or pick something different.

It was four o’clock by the time Diane was done—because it really took that long. She examined all the items I’d added, the flowers, sculptures, and random accessories on the tables and gave a nod. “Wow, this place looks much better already.”

“I just hope he likes it.”

“Probably not,” she said. “You know how men are…” She rolled her eyes and left, taking her supplies and the phone I returned with her.

Once she was gone, the chef arrived.

“What’s on the menu?” I asked as I walked with him into the kitchen.

“Lemon zest chicken thighs with fennel and a side of broccolini and rice.”

“Wow, that sounds pretty good.”

“If he doesn’t like it, he’s a weirdo.” He chuckled, put the dishes in the fridge, then walked out of the penthouse.

I wanted to be here when Derek came home, to see his reaction when he walked into his penthouse, which looked practically brand-new, but I knew he wanted to come home and be alone, to unwind after his long day.

I set his mail on the table along with his key to the office, his key to the filing cabinet, and his code information. I left a letter explaining everything, hoping he would take the time to read it instead of flying past it like he did with everything else.

For my first day, I was proud of myself. I’d really turned this place into a picture in a Pottery Barn catalogue. Cleo had given me the recommendation for the flowers, the chef, and the home accessories site, but I’d still picked out everything, told the chef the kinds of things Derek liked, and picked out the flowers and the vases to complement his penthouse.