“Charles.” I nodded at the doorman.
“Mr. Tavarez,” he greeted. “You got a package delivered earlier today, sir.” He went behind the desk and picked up the brown box.
Going into my pocket, I grabbed my wallet and pulled out a fifty-dollar bill. “Thank you, Charles.” I handed him the money and grabbed the package. “Also, I would like to introduce you to my fiancée Cashlynn and her brother Carson. Familiarize yourself with them. You’ll be seeing them a lot.”
I could tell he was caught off guard but he quickly fixed his face and nodded. “Yes, sir. Nice to meet you two.”
Charles was an older black man and had been working here as a doorman longer than I’d been living here, which was three years now. I purchased the penthouse for the privacy it offered, not to mention the twenty-four hour attendants at the door and security was never an issue I had to deal with. The luxury building housed a lot of elite people throughout, and it was a pretty penny, but worth the buy.
“Anything else?” I asked Charles.
He shook his head. “No, sir.”
Nodding, I started for the elevator that led to the penthouse. I had my own private entrance, which was another bonus. Using my key fob, I scanned the tag that opened the elevator door. Once inside, I typed in my access code on the keypad by the PH button for the doors to close and the car to move.
“I’ll have key fobs made for you and get your code set up so you can get inside.” I said, looking down at Cashlynn.
The fob was needed to get inside and the doors wouldn’t open without the code. If entered wrong too many times, it would send a security alert to my phone. The only other way to get up here was if I buzzed the person in from the top. The doormen had fobs to get visitors up here as well.
“Where are we?” she asked again with hardened eyes.
“My house. Well…ourhouse, I guess now.” I chuckled bitterly. I still couldn’t believe I had been forced into this situation.
“I thought we were at your house already?” Carson asked.
Once we had everything settled, I had them collect their things and Devin brought us to my actual house. Carson wasn’t that bad of a kid. He was quiet, to himself, almost like he was used to making himself small and invisible. While I had Cashlynn in my basement, he stayed in the room I’d placed him in for the most part, only coming out to eat, then going right back.
“That was my other house. I only use it when I need to get away. This is my main residence.”
I also had cameras set up in the elevator so I always knew who was trying to access my place. Emmet made sure the security was foolproof. Only a couple of people outside of my staff had a code, but every code was different so I always knew who was entering and when. The elevator opened into a hallway that housed a single door. We walked to the door and I used my key to unlock it.
It was a four-bedroom, four-and-half bath, three-story apartment with a chef’s kitchen, breakfast bar, and top of the line stainless steel appliances used daily by my chef. Off from the kitchen was a fully-stocked wine cellar. The floors were black and gray marble.
The first level also housed the living room, den, laundry room, my office, dining room, and a bedroom, and one and a half baths. It was an open floor plan on this level. A large gas fireplace was set on the wall in the living room and den. My favorite feature was the four large, tall windows that showed the city from the living room. Often I drew the automatic blinds to bring in natural light and the city’s skyline.
To the left between the kitchen and living room held the door that led to the private balcony. On it was a private pool and jacuzzi, deck, changing area, as well as a terrace with a grill and seating.
The second floor had the second and third bedrooms and two bathrooms, a gym with a built in sauna, another office, and the media room.
The final floor was where the master bedroom and bath were. It came with two walk-in closets, a sitting area, more large, tall windows, another fireplace, and a skylight.
“Shit,” Cashlynn gasped. Both her and Carson’s eyes widened as they took in the high ceilings. The second floor could be seen from the first, but I made sure the third was closed off. Even if I lived alone, I still valued my privacy when I was entertaining. When I did bring women home, I rarely took them to the third floor, usually using the bedroom on the first floor.
“Wow, look at the fish, Cash!” Carson gushed, rushing over to the built in fish tank full of exotic, imported fish.
“Neither of you are to touch it either. Those fish cost more than your lives combined.”
Cashlynn turned and glared at me. “No one wants to touch your damn fish.” She grabbed Carson, pulling him away.
Pulling my phone out, I tapped the screen a couple times, assuring my brother was on his way, then slid my phone into my pocket.
“I’ll give you two a tour later, for now we’ll get you set up in your rooms. You two stay down here,” I told Jackson and Luke who were with us. I nodded for Cashlynn and Carson to follow me, heading to the second elevator.
“Are they always gonna be around?” Cashlynn asked.
My gaze narrowed on her. I wasn’t sure if she was asking because she wanted to try some slick shit or because she was genuinely curious. “For now, they are.”
She rolled her eyes as I hit the button for the elevator.
