I frowned a bit at his statement. “I can cook just fine, Oscar. You of all people know that since you’re constantly begging me to bake things for you.”
He laughed and winked at me. “Just teasing, Sophie,” he announced before pulling the door closed.
I made my way to the oversized glass doors that led to the lobby of my building and waited for Anthony, who placed his hand on the gold handle to pull it open for me.
“You know he has a crush on you, Sophie,” Anthony said after he watched me go in.
“Who, Oscar? No way, he’s just being nice.”
“Okay, if you say so.” Anthony chuckled before closing the door behind me.
I made my way to the private elevator that led to my penthouse apartment. I held my access card to the electronic pad and waited for the doors to open before I stepped inside.
I had a few hours before I was scheduled to meet my client and planned to get a yoga session in then spend an hour in the sauna before heading back out. Or at least that was what I thought. The second I slipped out of my clothes and wiggled into my yoga wear, my intercom buzzed. I chewed the corner of my lip while I ran through my day, making sure I hadn’t missed an appointment or visit I should have been expecting. When I came up empty, I pressed the button that turned on the camera and glanced at Anthony.
“Sophie, there’s a guy here to see you. A Mr. Carter. He says you’re not expecting him, but it’s important.”
I looked past Anthony at the tall frame behind him. Whoever this Mr. Carter was, he faced the street, so his back was to the camera. Either I was crazy or he looked like the guy from the restaurant. At least what he had been wearing. The dark denim jeans and Timbs that covered his lower half were a perfect match from what I remembered. There was no way I could mistake the cranberry Henley covering his broad shoulders. The only thing different was that baseball cap on his head, the same color as the shirt that covered those sexy shoulders.
“Umm, I don’t know a Mr. Carter. Will you ask him to step toward the camera for me, please?”
“Sir, can you step this way for a moment, please?” Anthony asked.
The second the guy took a step toward him, my heart stopped.
How the hell did he know I lived here, and even bigger than that, why the hell was he here?
“Can she see me?” he asked, leaning forward just a bit with the most hateful look on his face. Now I really wasn’t feeling him being here.
“Yes, Mr. Carter, I can see you, but how do you know where I live and why are you here?”
“You have my truck and you can relax that uptight attitude, baby girl. That’s the only reason I’m here. So if you’ll come downstairs and bring my key, we can trade and you can go back to your life. I’m already late as fuck and got shit to do, and judging by this fancy ass shit you live in, I’m sure you do too.”
“First of all, I’m not sure why you think I have your truck, but that’s impossible. Second of all, how did you even know how to find me?”
“I found you because I have your gotdamn truck.”
I watched as he reached into his back pocket and removed a vehicle registration.
“Where the fuck is the camera, homie?”
“Uh, right there,” Jonathan stated nervously before this Mr. Carter moved closer and held up the card in his hand. Sure enough, it was my vehicle registration. Now I was extremely confused. It just didn’t make sense.
“Now, if you’re finished wasting my very valuable time, please bring your pretty ass down here with my key and we can both go back to our lives.”
He looked right into the camera and I was close enough to see his beautiful dark eyes. That, combined with how he had just rudely called me pretty, had me blushing a little. I still had no idea how he’d ended up with my vehicle registration, but decided I would entertain his insanity. Apparently, it was the only way I would get him to leave so I could get to my planned yoga session.
“I’ll be right down. Give me a minute,” I said, then stepped away from the monitor on my wall.
I moved through my apartment until I reached my bedroom. Looking around, not really for anything in particular, because I was well aware of where my keys were. I glanced at my image in the mirror attached to my dresser. My hair was curly, pulled in a loose ponytail centered in the back of my head. I quickly snatched it out before I ran my fingers through it and grabbed my keys from the dresser.
I was about to exit my room, but I doubled back, grabbed my MAC lip gloss, and did a quick onceover before I hit my neck and wrist with a few sprays of perfume.
“What is wrong with you, Sophie? This man is not your type and you know it,” I mumbled to myself after I realized what I was doing. Shaking the thought, I rolled my eyes and headed to the elevator.
The second I stepped off, I was met with a hard stare from Mr. Carter. He was clearly irritated, but not so much that his eyes didn’t dance all over my body. The crazy thing was I saw his approval in his eyes but his expression never changed.
“Do you have my key?” he said bluntly as I moved closer to him.
