“What other talents do you have?”
“I got a certificate in massage. Oh, and I took classes on goldsmithing.”
He blinks at me. “Goldsmithing.”
“Yes. You know, jewelry. Setting stones and designing things. It’s really interesting, actually.”
He smirks, and then he laughs. “Julian is going to love that. Anything else I should be aware of?”
“When I’m nervous or scared, I clean. Oh, when I’m mad, I also rage clean. Basically, I hope you have a mop.”
“I don’t want you cleaning this penthouse.”
“I plug in a spicy audiobook and clean. It’s not a big deal, Rome.”
He looks uncomfortable. “You don’t work here.”
I let out a laugh. “Actually, I do. And I think I’m going to be late.”
“Luckily, sassy woman, I’m the boss, so it doesn’t matter. Okay, we can figure out the rest later.”
“Those are the only rules?”
“The only ones off the top of my head. Not fucking other men is a given, but if you need me to lay it out for you, that’s fine. Let’s move it up to rule number one.”
I shake my head as I walk with him to the door.
“I don’t think I planned to do that.” I glance up at him. “Does that mean that you won’t?—”
I clear my throat, and he corners me against the still-closed door. “No, firefly. The only woman I’m even remotely interested in is you. The rule applies to both of us.”
I lick my lips. “Okay.”
“Okay.” He kisses my forehead, and then we’re in the hall, where two men are standing.
“This is Luke, my second. You probably don’t remember him from earlier.”
I shake my head and don’t reach out to shake hands.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Luke says with a wink.
Rome turns to the other man. “And this is Sebastian. He’s one of our men, and you’ll see him from time to time. Tonight, his duty is outside of our door.”
“Do you always have someone guarding the door?” I ask as he leads me to the elevator.
“Yes. When I’m in residence, there are two guards outside. There are also always men outside the elevators on each floor. You’ll eventually learn their names.”
I frown up at him as we walk into the elevator, and he presses a button, making it stay where it is.
“This is a palm print. You’ll need to use it to get to this floor. Go ahead and lay your hand on the glass.”
I do as I’m told, and a few seconds later, a green light blips.
“Now you have access to the penthouse. If you want to come up here on your break or for any reason, you have full access. Always. This is your home, Eloise. Understand?”
I nod, feeling overwhelmed. Jesus, he wasn’t lying earlier.
Rome is an important man.
