All he knew about me were the few questions I had answered. Everything else about us I had fabricated off the top of my head.
I stepped away from the balcony and brushed my tears way. I needed to go pack. I stepped inside, but I left the door open. I wanted the smells and sounds of Vienna to coat the penthouse and wrap me up while I went to sleep. I went to pack my things, changing into my nightgown in the process. I wrapped my silken robe around me and let my hair down, looking over the bedroom one last time. I had my phone charger, my toiletries, my wallet, and my purse. I picked up all my jewelry and folded my clothes as neatly as I could. I ducked underneath the bed in case anything had rolled under there, my arm feeling around as deep as it would go.
I was doing anything to cling to the dream I had lived in for a week.
After packing up and being satisfied that I had everything, I made my way back out to the balcony. Phillip had been gone a while, but I shrugged it off. It wasn’t really my job to worry over him; it was only my job to seem as if I did. My bare feet fell against the concrete balcony floor, and I leaned my hip against the railing so I could watch the world pass underneath me.
And if he doesn’t, call me.
I snickered and shook my head at Cristoff’s words. The whole of our conversation from the other day came flooding back quicker than I could ward it off. His words about how I deserved love and attention resonated with me, struck me in a place I hadn’t allowed myself to access in quite some time. I couldn’t. Not in my line of work. But that didn’t stop me from wishing. I wished I had the ability to get the love I wanted. I wished I had the capability of staving off the loneliness I felt at night and in my chosen career. But there was too much riding on me. I had to keep my mother taken care of and safe. Which meant putting her in the best, most secure mental facility in the city.
And that came at a hefty price.
I also had to keep my anonymity. I had to keep myself safe. Which meant working in a job that didn’t give a damn about my anonymity. I didn’t know how to do all of those things and still survive. I didn’t know how to provide for my mother, keep my name off the radar, and keep my head down in case someone cropped up and wanted to hurt me or my mother for what my father had done in his life.
I was doomed to lead the lonely life I had. At least until the people my father screwed over found someone else to hate. Only then could go back to being a normal person.
Maybe I could even go back to being Madison.
“Enjoying the view?”
I whipped my head around and took Phillip in as he stood in the doorway of the balcony. He looked positively radiant. The lights of the city danced off his strong features, and his eyes connected easily with mine. The tailored suit he donned fit him in every place on his body I had felt underneath my palms. His broad shoulders. His trim waist. His slim hips that fell into long, strong legs. There was a glimmer in his green eyes. That boyish grin was back.
“I take it the meeting went well with Cristoff?” I asked.
“So well, in fact, that it’s been brought to my attention that you deserve a thank-you.”
“A what?”
“Cristoff did sign the contract, and I have you to thank for that. He said it was due to whatever conversation you had with him when you went into town yesterday.”
“I saw him at the stables, yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you saw him?”
Phillip stepped up beside me, and I smelled the faint yet powerful muskiness of his cologne. It matched the way his eyes drilled into my face. His cologne was unassuming, but his topic of conversation wasn’t.
“I figured what Cristoff and I had was a more personal conversation than anything. I didn’t feel the need to voice it because not much of it pertained to you,” I said.
“Well, whatever you said to him, thank you for it. He was adamant that it was what changed his mind on signing the contract.”
“That’s what a good fiancée does,” I said, grinning.
“Elizabeth, I really do appreciate all you’ve done.”
“You hired me for a job. I was only doing what I know I do best.”
“But still, the way you mingled? The way you easily fell into the role? It really surprised me.”