He knocks me with his shoulder just as the elevator dings, announcing our arrival on the sixty-eighth floor.
“My friends don’t play well with others. You know that.” He winks. “Come on in. Make yourself at home while I go change.”
I walk in behind him. He mindlessly tosses keys in a dish on a giant round table with a flower arrangement blooming in the middle as if the president just died. Everything is darker than you’d expect for a bachelor in his twenties. Reclaimed wood on the ceilings, dark walls, big inviting gray couches. A wall of shelves lined with books.
I walk to the edge of the open living room and look out at the expansive view. Because they built at the edge of the city, there are no other buildings obstructing the view. Lights twinkle far below in the dark, indicating other neighborhoods. I bet that during the day, the mountain range can been seen far off in the distance as it can most places.
“Can I offer you a drink?”
Ford steps back into the room wearing a pair of black athletic pants and dark gray T-shirt.
“Maybe just some water if you don’t mind.” I step away from the window and move farther into the room, wishing I felt comfortable enough to lie down on the couch with a blanket and fall asleep.
“Coming right up.”
He returns a moment later with a bottle of water in one hand, an open beer in the other. “Here you go.” He passes the water to me.
“Thanks. Where do you want to set up?”
He shrugs. “We can work in here if you want rather than my office. It might be more comfortable.”
“That works.” I attempt to keep the giddiness out of my tone. I take my bag over to the oversized couch and take a seat, placing the bag beside me and the water on the coffee table. “I have some ideas I’ve been brainstorming that might be helpful in upping your appeal to lower-income voters.”
“I’m all ears.” Ford sits a comfortable distance away from me, his legs sprawled out in front of him, his bare feet crossed as he sips his beer like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
I pull the files from my bag and place them on the table in front of us so that we can talk over voter registration and what areas we should concentrate on.
“All right, here’s what I’m thinking…”
Two hours later, I’m squeezing the bridge of my nose with my eyes closed.
“Why don’t we take a break? I can’t look at any more stats and figures and voter registrations,” Ford says, placing his current beer on the table.
“Me either.” I lean back into the cushion behind me. Yep, it really is the most comfortable sofa I’ve ever sat on. Money really can buy happiness.
“You sure you don’t want a glass of wine? You deserve one.”
I turn to him. “That sounds like heaven right now.”
“I don’t keep any at my place, but there’s lots down in the lounge. Come on, I’ll give you the tour.” He stands from the couch and it’s then that I notice he’s wearing a black leather bracelet. Ford doesn’t seem like the type to wear leather. Gold, platinum, but not leather.
“What’s the lounge?” I follow him toward the door.
“It’s a communal level in the building where we meet up to hang out or throw parties or whatever.” He turns the doorknob and steps out into the hall.
“Oh.” I stop abruptly at the entrance to his apartment. The last thing I want is to run into Garrin again. The guy is as welcoming as a mosquito. He likes to buzz around me, and just as I think he won’t bite me, he gives me the biggest welt that doesn’t go away for weeks.
“Don’t worry. There’s no plans. Everyone is probably working late or some shit.”
“Okay.” I follow him down the hall to the elevator, where he presses the button.
“You sure you don’t want to put some shoes on?” I tease.
A smile grander than this building creases his lips. “It’s my building.”
Other than that moment right there, he seems like the old Ford, dressed so casually and being so laid-back. Since I’ve returned, I’ve only seen him dressed in suits and wearing stress lines on his forehead when we’re at the campaign office.
The elevator arrives and we step inside, Ford hitting the button for the sixtieth floor.
Ford lives on the sixty-eighth, communal on sixtieth? What floor does Garrin live on? Wait—no, I don’t care. Why would I?
I glance down to find Ford playing with the dark leather bracelet on his wrist. I inspect it further because there has to be some meaning behind it. Faded letters or a word is stamped into the leather, but I can’t make out what it says.
“That’s an interesting bracelet,” I say.
He stares down for a moment and shrugs. “Yeah, thanks.”
He doesn’t offer any further information, so I don’t pry, though I am curious about the story behind it.
The elevator dings and the doors open to reveal an enormous open-concept room filled with everything you could want to entertain yourself. There’s a bar at the far end as well as a kitchenette, and a lounge area with a massive TV hanging on the wall across from the seating. A pool table and shuffleboard table dot the middle of the floor plan, and a series of retro video games are lined up against the wall. There is also a gaming area that’s been set up that includes four separate screens, chairs and every gaming system on the market. The stripper pole doesn’t go unnoticed by me, but I don’t let my thoughts linger on what that might be used for. On the end closest to us, there’s a long hallway with a bunch of closed doors.
It’s basically one giant man cave.
“Wow. This is…” I’m not even sure what word to use, but Ford seems to catch my drift.
“Yeah,” he says with a chuckle.
“Come on.” He leads me to a full-size wine fridge in the kitchen area. “Pick your poison,” he says.
I look inside and recognize the names of very expensive brands of wine and champagne. It’s not surprising, knowing how much money these men must have between them, but sometimes I’m still taken aback by their level of wealth.
I bend over to see what’s on the lower shelf, but the sound of voices behind us causes me to stiffen.
Asher and Lincoln saunter into the room and stop when they spot me standing with Ford. I haven’t seen Lincoln since I returned, but his hair is still dark near the roots and changes to something closer to a copper brown on the ends. His hazel eyes are as intense as always—as though he knows your deepest and darkest secrets. Asher has his perpetual half grin on his face, the same as he did the other night.
“Wasn’t expecting to see you guys,” Ford says from beside me and closes the door to the wine fridge.
“We came in at the same time. Thought we’d grab a drink. Hey, Isla, I heard you were back in town.” Lincoln gives me a chaste hug, much to my surprise. He was never a friendly guy.
We were acquaintances in high school at best, but we were never particularly close. Not like I was with Ford, or with Garrin.
“Hey, how are you? I heard you’ve done well since high school.”
He gives me an arrogant smile. I don’t think these men can help themselves. I’m amazed their egos can fit in this high-rise. “Things have worked out well.”