in the garage out back. The keys are on a hook in the kitchen.” She pulled out her phone. “The code for the door.” She held up her phone as they stopped in front of the two iron doors.
He punched in the code and motioned her inside a small foyer.
“Let’s explore.” She set her bag down at the base of the stairs and motioned towards the hallway.
He followed her through a narrow parlor filled with leather sofas, fine art, modern furniture, and absolutely no personal items at all.
“This is set up like a rental,” she said as they walked towards the back of the building into a small office. “I think…” She frowned. “Let’s find the kitchen.” She headed down the stairs.
When they walked into the massive space she laughed. “Isaac’s.” She motioned to the only personal picture. “This is Isaac’s place. I recognized his style.” She laughed at the picture of Isaac and his wife. “No wonder we can have it as long as we want. They only come back to the city during the holidays.”
“He mentioned something about keeping his place in the city and renting it out,” Aiden remembered with a sigh. He chuckled. “So, the mystery is solved.”
“Hannah must have arranged this part for us. She’s known him for years.” She turned around and walked through the kitchen into the dining area. “This place is great. Let’s see what else there is to find.” She headed down a set of stairs again.
Here, in the basement, there was the laundry room, a small storage room, a bathroom, and a little home gym. They headed back up the stairs, and he grabbed their bags as they climbed up to the top two floors.
The main bedroom was on the top floor. The walls were covered in white and black wallpaper with a massive king-sized bed complete with a very modern canopy bedframe.
“Guess they like black and white?” he said as he set their bags on the bed and then motioned towards a small staircase.
“Want to see what’s up there?” he asked.
She smiled as she nodded. They climbed the stairs and stepped out onto a private rooftop garden. Even though they were surrounded by tall buildings, there was enough privacy here to enjoy the outdoors.
“Nice.” He did a full circle. “Surrounded by the urban jungle,” he joked.
“I miss the country already.” Aubrey sighed and wrapped her arms around herself.
Walking over, he pulled her close and her eyes softened.
“We’ll only be here for a short time,” he promised her.
“You don’t know my father.” She closed her eyes, and he felt her shiver. “Why put off the inevitable. I’ll shower and change.”
He frowned down at her. “What’s wrong with what you’re wearing?”
She laughed. “Like I said, you don’t know my father. You know that suit I asked you to pack?”
He nodded. “Yeah,”
“You’ll want to wear it for the first act.” She leaned up on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “For what is about to transpire, I’m sorry. And, I’ll remind you, you volunteered for this.”
He chuckled and leaned in to slowly kiss her back. “So far I have no regrets.”
“You will,” she added as they made their way back down the stairs. She took her bag and started towards the back room, which he assumed was a bathroom. “So, are you planning on sleeping in here with me?”
He chuckled and picked up his bag. “I’ll head down to the next floor and pick a room there. For now,” he added as he left.
He knew he was messing with her, but he couldn’t chance losing the little control he had over her. If this new plan didn’t work, he doubted his heart would recover from the damage she’d done to it.
“Fine,” she said before slamming the bathroom door.
He chuckled loudly enough that he knew she’d be even more pissed at him.
Good. If she was mad at him, she wouldn’t be thinking of what was to come. The conflict with her father would probably be one of the hardest things she’d ever had to deal with. At least from what she’d told him about the man and from what he’d read about Harold Smith.
He thought about all the possibilities as he showered and changed in the guest bedroom’s bathroom.
Harold Smith had been born into wealth, his grandfather having owned one of the more successful iron works companies in New York during the industrial age. Young Harold had attended the finest schools and shortly after graduating Harvard had built several