Elijah:The Boss's Gift(9)

“We’re here, sir,” John said. He looked up to see they were in a rundown part of the city. Climbing out of the car, he buttoned up his jacket as some of the men waiting around on the apartment steps looked him over. John climbed out of the car putting on some shades.

“I wouldn’t think about it,” Elijah said, showing them his piece. They were all carrying weapons, but for some reason a man in a suit always made them keep their distance.

They held their hands up, backing away. Clearly neither of them wanted to get into shit with him.

Stepping up the apartment doors, he opened the door without needing permission to do so. There was no security. Anyone could come and go as they pleased. He saw Cherry’s name was on the fourth floor.

Climbing up the steps, the scent of decay and damp hit him.

“Damn, boss, there’s fucking shit in the corner,” John said.

He ignored John as he walked up the steps. There was arguing on every floor, yells, screams, babies crying. All of it depressed him as he stood outside of Cherry’s door.

Kicking out, the door opened with ease, and he didn’t like it. When he entered, he closed the door once John was inside and saw that she had ten different locks on the inside. She would only be able to lock it once from the outside. Cherry was more interested in her safety than her stuff. Turning around, he smelled the damp, but she’d tried to cover it up with cleaning. Every side was spotless. There was no a hint of damp, but the building was in need of care. The space was small, and once he stood in the sitting room he saw the tiny kitchen. Turning in full circle he saw the bathroom and her bedroom. It was so small. The bedroom Mindy had showed Cherry was bigger than the whole apartment.

On the floor beside him was a pile of books. Opening them up, he saw the library sticker inside.

“Pack this up. I’m taking it with me.”

He left the sitting room, going through to her bedroom. She had a suitcase open on the floor. There was another maid’s uniform, neatly folded. Beside it were three shirts of the same color along with two pairs of jeans. There was no sign of other clothing. On the bed lay two bras and some panties. She didn’t have anything to her name. The bed was a mattress on the floor. The sight was pitiful.

A survivor.

Cherry was a survivor. She did what she had to do in order to live. He didn’t like what he saw. In fact, he hated the sight of her constantly struggling.

Elijah packed away her meager belongings, going back to the kitchen. He found a cookbook, and when he opened the fridge inside lay a chicken breast, cheese, milk, and butter. Not anything else. The smells let him know everything was off.

Packing away the few books on the counter, he left her apartment. This was her old life, and he wasn’t going to let her come back. Fifteen hundred a week was riches to her. Elijah was willing to go up to three thousand, but she’d settled at his first offer.

Heading downstairs, he packed her stuff in the back of the car.

“Take me home.”

John didn’t argue as Elijah picked up Cherry’s folder.

She was studying to be a nurse. All of her money was going into her studies. He saw some of her grades had fallen. She didn’t have a lot of time to study, he imagined. He thought about Bethan. Her sweetness had been a complete contrast to him. She had needed him in everything. She had been a virgin when he took her to bed. The love he had for her would never die.

Cherry was nothing like his late wife. She was independent and had fought for everything she now had. He didn’t know what to make of her.

Rubbing at his temples, he wondered what to do.

She made him ache to fuck. He’d not been to any of the women he usually called. None of them were even remotely close to Cherry in looks.

Blowing out a breath, he slammed the file he had on her closed. He didn’t like the feelings stirring inside him. Elijah wanted her. He wanted to fuck her, slam his dick so hard inside her tight pussy that she begged him to not stop.

When his house came into view, he saw the car he’d given to Cherry to take his daughter to school. Mindy was looking for a mother, and she was trying to get Cherry to play the role. It didn’t seem to matter to Mindy that Cherry was only five years older or that she was not dating him.

Climbing out of the car, he carried her belongings inside his home. Closing the door, he dismissed John once he put the pile of books inside the door.

Cherry appeared at the top of the stairs. She wore a pair of jeans and a red shirt. Her blonde hair was curled and hung around her body.

“I thought I heard someone,” she said, moving downstairs.

The jeans put every single one of her curves on display. She turned him on, and that for Elijah was dangerous.