Mr. King and I

Chapter Five: The Adress Says It All

All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2013

When we arrived at Sebastian's townhouse, the late autumn New York sky was a somber overcast of dismal clouds, fat and fluffy like an over indulged house cat. I stepped out of the car, mindful of the expensive Italian leather. I straightened, fixing my eyes on my home for the next year. Park avenue was where the creme de la creme of New York's biggest blue bloods came to flaunt their millions. The Kings were one of those families.

Seeing as my family worked for the family, I had kept an eye out for any stories involving the multibillion dollar family. They kept their noses clean of any type of scandal, posing at charity events, breaking grounds for a hospital in Haiti and all that like. From what I understood, the Kings were Old Money, their ties could be traced back all the way to the War of the Roses. Hoping the pound over to America was the best thing they could do, seeing as Atticus King had launched his architectural empire in the 1800s tripling their already substantial fortune.

For the next century it was all up hill from there, even when the stock markets crashed in the 1920s, the King family faired better than others, and they used their wealth to help those in need. To more recent years, after the death of Thaddeus King, his son, fresh from Yale, took over the business and was following in his fathers' and forefathers' footsteps. Okay, I may have Googled Sebastian and his family-but can you blame me? Being married off to a stranger can do some crazy things to you.

A hand touched my shoulder, a warm pressure on my coat. I blinked, turning to meet the teasing light in Sebastian's eyes. "You didn't look half as impressed the last time you were here."

"I didn't know I would be living here, though," I reminded him. "It puts it all in a new prospective."

He said nothing, just pursed his pouty mouth as he reached into the trunk of the car to retrieve my backpack. Instead of offering it to me, like the blue blooded gentleman he was, he shouldered the bag, leading the way to the luxurious building. The doorman, a sweet looking man of fifty dressed all in black, greeted Sebastian with a tip of his hat and a bright smile.

"Thank you, Henry," Sebastian said as he motioned to me. "Henry, this is Ellery Van Aller, she will be staying with me for now on."

I offered Henry a tentative smile. "Hello."

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Van Aller," he said as he held the door open for us.

"You too!" I called over my shoulder as Sebastian clasped hold of my hand and urged me on.

There was an almost childlike exuberance in his step as he led me to the elevator, introducing me to the members of the staff as we went as well as a few neighbors. A young couple, who Sebastian introduced as Logan and Emily Andrews, who lived on the seventh floor, were expecting their first baby. Logan was all male pried and protectiveness toward his wife, while Emily simply glowed with the knowledge of new life inside

"You are going to love it here," Emily said as she offered me a warm smile.

"Thank you, I think you may be right," and the weird part was I was sure.

** ** **

Once we left Emily and Logan, it was a elevator ride to the top floor. Like the Park Avenue complex, Sebastian's penthouse suit was new and different now that I would be living here for the foreseeable future. It had a classical feel, with its dark wood, hand carved furnishings and the never ending supply of books, it was like the setting of one of my Avon or Harlequin Regency romances. I loved it.

Sebastian's home was not without its high tech gadgets. A 60" Sony flat screen hung on the wall compete with the most intimidating and complicated looking sound and entertainment system I had ever seen. There was an Xbox, a Wii, as well as a Blue ray player. Game controllers were set up neatly in a row. Sebastian came up beside me, startling me out of my thoughts.

"The living room," he said, as if he needed to fill the void of silence. "Kitchen's down the hall, if you need anything just call for Mrs. Barton and-"

"Who's Mrs. Barton?"

"My housekeeper and cook." He said, sounding more than a little bit ashamed. "After my dad died and I became president of the company, things like cleaning and shopping just sort of slipped my mind. My mom put her foot down and hired Mrs. B for me."

"Hmm," I said as I wandered around the room. "That was . . . nice of her."

Sebastian's expression turned stormy. "Trust me, that was not her intention."

I was bewildered by his answer. The look of surprise on my face snapped him out of his dark room, returning him to his breezy, considerate and charming self.

"C'mon, your room is this way," he said leading me down a long hallway.

The cream painted wall was alined with pictures, though none like what my family had had. There were nothing personal in the polished Tiffany frames; no candid shots of Sebastian with his family and friends. No, instead there were placid scenes of sunsets on mountain tops, crystalline Caribbean waters washing across white sandy beaches. Others were strategic black and whites that I figured were done by some fancy shmancy photographer.

Though, when I thought about, there really wasn't anything personal about the place. It looked as though a personal home designer had fixed the place up, filling it with things that were pricy and to Sebastian's tastes, but there were no momentos, not even an old ashtray he may have made when in elementary school. For whatever this little fact bothered me as I followed after him. We came to the third door along the hall on the left side of the hall. Sebastian seized the brass nob, pausing before turning it.

"This," he said with a smile that transformed his face into the boy he might have been had not his life taken the turn it had. "Is your room."

He turned the nob, pushing the door open. He held it wide open, pressing his tall frame aside so that I could see everything. I peaked in my worries melting away.

"Shit," I breathed as I stumbled the rest of the way.

The room was beyond spacious. The California King bed was set in between two tall, slim windows that were shrouded by soft white gauze curtains. The comforter was a deep blue, designed with golden threads to look like stars. A fully equipped vanity was on the right, beside a doorway that looked to be the entrance to a closet. To the left was a desk, a brand new MacBook resting on the dark mahogany surface. Another part of the wall held an entertainment center that was just as decked out as the one in the livings room's.

I ran my hand over the surface of the bed, savoring the silky softness of the covers.

"Do you like it?"

I turned staring at Sebastian who had edged further into the room. He sounded more than a bit nervous.

"Like it? It's amazing! You didn't have to do all this," I said as I plopped down on the bed.

"This your home now, and I wanted you to feel comfortable."

"But still . . . you didn't have to go this far . . . ."

"I wanted to," Sebastian said quietly, those unearthly eyes meeting mine.

A strange fluttering started in my stomach, so powerful that I caved and looked away. "This . . . this is amazing. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said as he moved towards the door. "Take nap, maybe read a book. Get settled in, I want you to feel at home."

I gave him no answer except a warm smile as he closed the door behind. I waited a few moments to be sure that no one else came. Once I was sure, I plopped face down on my new bed breathing in the lavender scent of the soap they washed it with. The scent was like an old friend, enveloping me in their arms, and lulling me to sleep.

____________________________________________________________ Author's Note____________________________________________________

*Sigh*An update at last. I hope you all enjoyed it. Yes, it was short, and rather uneventful but I hope to have some action in chapter six-Ellery is tricked into a shopping spree and starts school. I hope school is going well for those of you who still have to go . . . Unlike me ;3

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