Freedom (Billionaire Secrets 2)

She made her way into the luxury apartment building, announced herself to the concierge, and then when she got to his floor she rang his doorbell.

Simon answered the door.

Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head at the sight of him. He was shirtless, dressed in nothing but swim trunks and a towel draped around his broad shoulders. His toned physique was mouthwatering, the hard muscles of his chest making her inhale sharply. Simon was totally drenched, his dark hair slicked back, and rivulets of water ran down his delicious, muscular body.

“Sorry,” he said when he noticed her staring. “I just got back from the pool. Needed to do some laps.”

“The pool?”

“Yeah. There’s a pool downstairs,” he replied, and then blinked. “I just realized, you’ve never actually been upstairs.”

“No, I haven’t,” she managed to force out. There had been a few times when she had dropped off something in the apartment lobby, but she hadn’t ever gotten further than the front desk.

“Come on in.” He held the door open for her. “How about I give you the grand tour of the place?”

“Sure.” She slipped inside and glanced around. She had a feeling three or four of her houses would fit inside this apartment. She suppressed a giggle. Was she nervous? Why in the world would she be? She glanced at his wet skin and licked her lips without thinking.

The apartment was expansive. Neat. Luxuriously furnished in navy blue with gleaming silver accents. The place was all clean lines and sharp angles. There was tech everywhere. Dover’s cutting-edge technology had been installed into the place and she had caught a glimpse of the Dover-made heat-capturing security camera outside. The place was totally modern. Like Simon.

“I’ll be back out in a sec.” He disappeared into one of the adjoining rooms, leaving her behind in the living room.

The living room was part of an open concept area of the apartment, with the kitchen on the opposite side of the area. The kitchen looked so shiny she doubted her boss regularly used it, but one glance told her that every appliance was made with the best technology that money could buy.

Simon wasn’t the type of man to flaunt his wealth, and his apartment certainly wasn’t as extravagant as some of the homes of her former bosses. But it was evident that he knew how to spend his money well. The apartment couldn’t have cost less than five million dollars.

She set her handbag down on one of the sofas and glanced around at the photos in the living room. There were more photos than she expected, considering how solitary Simon was. One was a photo of his graduation from college. Another was a childhood photo of him with his parents. There were others of him with various Dover employees. It was obvious that Dover meant a lot to him.

She moved his grad picture when she saw another behind it, slightly hidden behind a plant. It was a photo of their prom. Simon had been a senior and she’d been a junior. He was dressed in a tux and as handsome as he was now. She closed her eyes as she glanced at her younger self wearing in a huge, poufy, pink dress. What in the world made her think that dress was stylish? And that hair? At least they were all smiles in the photo. Her heart sped up as she thought about his prom. She’d lost her virginity that night. It had been awkward, but wonderful at the same time. He’d been so attentive. So gentle.

“You’ve been standing this whole time.” Simon’s voice made her step back quickly from the photo. “I’m a crummy host. I should have told you to have a seat and make yourself at home.”

“No, that’s okay,” she said, her voice barely above a breathless whisper. “You don’t have a lot of people over. Do you?” It was a bold question, and clearly none of her business.

“I don’t.” He was now dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt. His hair was still wet and slicked back, giving him an air of danger. Catching him in his natural environment like this was making her light-headed. Desire made her pulse pound. “However, today, I’m glad to have made an exception.”

She tried to convince herself that Simon was just being charitable. Saying nice things to his employee. But that didn’t stop her face from heating. If she didn’t steer the conversation back to something appropriate, she was certain she’d declare her undying lust for him and make a total fool of herself. Especially when he shot her down. He’d made it clear at the office that what had happened had been a mistake. If she hit on him at his apartment? She didn’t want to even think about it.