Page 32 of Crush

The front of the house was extremely grand with symmetrical elevations relieved by deep sash windows and a classical portico entrance. Large windows provided a light and airy feel when inside and I spent many days gazing out of them at the beautiful parkland beyond.

At the rear of the property, bi-folding doors from the kitchen led out onto a huge patio with steps. This then trailed downwards to an orchard at one side and an infinity-heated, marble swimming pool with a pool house.

Ilovedthe pool; my mother had been a water baby and we had spent so much time together swimming come rain or shine.

Towards the end of the gardens, there was a private area with a natural pond with island shrubbery near the boundary wall. I used to play hide and seek with my Nanny there when I was young.

The décor throughout the house was chic and luxurious, each room painted in pastel colours with marble flooring. In the hallway, there was a sweeping staircase. It ran up the middle of the room, branching off at both sides like the letter T. A mezzanine landing with a polished balustrade led off to several corridors.

My father’s rooms were on one side of the house and mine were on the other. We both had big bedrooms with walk-in wardrobes and a private bathroom. An added luxury was that the two main bedrooms had balconies. I loved sitting outon my balcony, reading a book whilst our horses grazed in the paddock outside the stables.

The other guest rooms were also slotted towards the back of the house; four were in my wing and four in Daddy’s. Two of those rooms on my father’s side belonged to staff; Teresa, my old nanny turned housekeeper and Marcel, my father’s chef. Dexter, my driver, and our security lived in the apartment above the pool house. He operated a CCTV control system from there.

On the ground floor, there were two large living rooms, a gym and sauna and a cinema room. As I said, our kitchen was open plan with those large bi-folding doors leading to the gardens.

As well as a kitchen table we also had a separate dining room with an ornate diner which seated twelve people. My father’s study was also located on the ground floor, a place he spent most of his time when he was home from the office. Daddy was an entrepreneur and had investments with all sorts of companies. Hunter Construction was now one of those.

Dad’s study was unique from the rest of the house as my mother had allowed him to choose the décor. It was masculine with half oak panelled walls painted sage green on the top. There was also a large open fireplace which he used in the winter. Shelving took over most walls and was stocked with various leather-bound books. That was also the place where Daddy kept his safe. Only he and I knew the combination as it carried emergency money should anythingeverhappen to either of us (again).

Out of the five bathrooms, two of those were on the ground floor. We also had a wine cellar and a larder under the house. That was the one place that used toterrifyme as a child, and I remember how my father would check it for monsters before I ever went down there.

No expense had been spared and everything had been done to my mother’s high requirements. She had been an interior designer, styling the homes of the uber-rich and had such good taste. Some soft furnishings such as the sofas in theHearth Room still carried her scent. Madelyn Swift’s walk-in wardrobe remained untouched and some days I would take myself up there and read a book on her old and tattered chaise longue. It was the one item that didn’t match the house as it was considered an antique. It had belonged to my grandmother, (my mother’s mum) and for that reason alone it was priceless. My grandmother had passed away when I was four and I sadly, didn’t remember her.

As I cast my eyes over the guestlist my lips tightened as I spiedhisname. Maxim Hunter plus one.Plus one? Who thehellwas he bringing to my house? No doubt some slut fuck-buddy of his. And to think I’d allowed him to put his hands on me. My blood started to boil at the thought of him appearing at my father’s precious party with his arm around some skank.

Shit. Why did I care so much?

Pushing the unwanted feelings away, I checked the rest of the list and threw myself into some much-appreciated party planning.

Ithadto be perfect. My dad deserved to feel special.

Once I had tied up all the loose ends with Hannah, she left and I decided to log into my PC and finish the essay I had promised Max. Maybe I’d get some acknowledgement then. It was the fact that he was ghosting me that niggled. Although saying that, I hadn’t exactly reached out to him either.

To make a point, I put more effort than was necessary into the report. It was only one question to answer but I embellished my response and churned out well over one thousand words.

Once I had reread it, I submitted it via emailwitha read receipt, sat back and waited.

Six

Max

I met the enigmatic Leonie at Gabriel’s house party on Friday night and now knew what all the fuss was about.

Asher, Gabriel’s brother had introduced us when she’d arrived late due to having to work that night.

She was small and had blond hair and blue eyes and wasstunninglypretty. The girl would make most men weak at the knees. Next to my build, she was terrifyingly delicate, the type you’d probably fuckthroughthe wall rather than against it.

I’d brushed my mouth over hers in greeting, not being able to resist a peck but had feltnothing. No spark, not that I’d expected to, I’d kissed her to piss Gabriel off if anything. I still flirted with her though, a must when speaking with a pretty female. I mentioned Gabriel a few times to gauge her reaction and as expected, she wasn’t indifferent to him. No doubt he was being a dick to her to keep his distance. The dude was more of a commitment-phobe than me.

Leonie was also incredibly young and irrespective of winding Gabriel up about making a play for her, I didn’t find her sexually attractive, more like a little sister or niece. I preferred women with more fire and Leonie Smith was much too vanilla for the stuff I liked in the bedroom. I pushed thoughts of a particular redhead from my mind, I wouldnotgo there.

Before Leonie had appeared at the party, Gabe had kept eyeballing the lift doors in his apartment. Almost like he was looking for her. He and his brother lived on the penthouse floor which was accessed by a privately coded lift. I had never seen him so agitated and the daggers he gave Luca who pounced on Leoniesecondsinto her arrival were priceless. If Luca had seenthatlook, hewould probably haveshithimself; it wasn’tcommonknowledge, buteveryonein ourtightfriendship group knew Gabriel owned a gun.

Yep, Leonie had my friend’s balls in her hand and she didn’t even know it. Their situation would be one to watch, I just hoped he didn’t continue to be a dick about her presence. Gabriel Knight could be a nasty bastard when he sets his mind to something.

I wondered if he’d invited Lisa that night to try and make Leonie jealous. As I’d stood talking to Luca about the football, I saw how sad Leonie had appeared when she’d seen Gabriel and Lisa going to his room. So, theremusthave been something there on both sides.

Batting off the thoughts, I pulled back the covers and slid my feet to the floor, having laid in for a change. It was almost lunchtime and I needed a shower before work. The previous night I’d received an email from Amber with her thousand words attached and to be fair, she’d done a good job. Each of her arguments had been backed up by evidence. If I hadn’t still been pissed off that she was ignoring me, I’d have felt proud of her.

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