The darkness made it hard to see around her, but there was no mistaking the large skyscrapers that suddenly started replacing the cosy looking homes around them.

Like giants they loomed over everyone and everything and the closer they got, the more claustrophobic she started feeling. The low car didn't allow her to even see the sky anymore, even when she craned her neck in a weird angle.

Everywhere she looked was a mix of concrete and glass and she realized the city wasn't what it had been made out to be. She'd never seen anything like it before and she longed to see the familiar sight of green woodlands.

To their left, a fire truck came flying by. Its lights illuminated everything around it and the sirens replaced the hectic sounds of the city. As soon as it had passed the honking of cars returned and somewhere close she heard two people yelling.

There was so much to hear and see she didn't know what to focus on anymore. Even though it was a little late, the city was still bustling.

"What do you think?" he asked suddenly when they were waiting for a light to turn green. It pulled her from her thoughts as she turned to look at his expectant face.

"It's um, very city-like," she replied. It was the best she could do at the moment without flat-out lying, hoping she wouldn't insult him.

To her surprise, he just laughed. "I hate it too," he threw out. "If everything goes well we'll be gone soon. Or so I hope, at least."

"I thought you said you loved cities because no one would bother you."

"Everything has its pros and cons," he replied while driving off at the green light. "In this case, the con is the environment. We're almost there."

At that, she started looking outside again. She could still see little more than high-rise buildings but at least he'd said they wouldn't be there for too long. And who knows? Maybe it just needed a little getting used to.

The car suddenly made a turn and entered an underground parking garage. It was filled with cars similar to Mr. Chastain's and it occurred to her that these apartments probably cost more to rent each month than she made in a year.

He parked a car in a spot marked with '331' and killed the engine before turning to her. "I need you to keep these on you when you go out," he said while fishing a bunch of keys from his pocket. "Do you have a driver's license?"

"No," she replied, curious of the reason he'd asked.

"Alright, then you won't need these," he said while taking two keys off the ring. While she didn't have much knowledge of cars, she knew that one of the keys was undoubtedly a car key. After looking down at the center console of the car she concluded it was the key to this car in particular.

Was he seriously considering letting her drive in a car that was worth more than she'd ever made in her life?

"This one is for the lobby, this one for the elevator, and this one is for the front door," he explained before handing over the remaining keys. She took them and noted they looked brand new, making her question whether he'd gotten new ones or if he just had never shared them before.

"Thank you," she replied while taking them before following him out of the car. When the car door didn't open like she'd expected she jumped before remembering it opened upwards. Luckily she'd remembered the way he had closed it before so she could copy that before following him to the elevator.

"It's on the eighty-third floor," he explained before pressing inserting the key and pressing the button.

"That's a lot of floors," Ava commented." It's one of the upper floors, so it doesn't go much higher than that," he explained, as if that made her think it wasn't quite as tall.

The elevator was quiet and seemed to take forever to get to the right floor. But when they finally did she could barely believe her eyes. The hallway screamed wealth and the marble floors made her scared she'd scratch it or something and she'd spend her whole life trying to pay for it.

They stopped in front of one of the shiny doors and he used his own key to open it. "Ladies first," he commented while waving his arm in an inviting gesture.

"Thanks," she replied awkwardly. She never quite knew how to reply to things like that so she tried to pass him as fast as she could.

The interior looked just as extravagant as the outside hallway did, yet somehow a lot cozier. Most of the furniture was either black or brown and the living room and kitchen flowed into each other, creating one big open space.

But what truly caught her eyes were the large windows that made up most of the walls opposite of where they stood. Without thinking, she walked towards them to look outside only to be surprised again. Where she expected to stare straight into another skyscraper she found a park instead. It was too dark to make out much but the paths were lined with lamp posts that shone a warm light into the green around them.

The apartment felt astronomically less claustrophobic than she had expected it to be and if she was going to be honest, she actually liked it.

"The park reminded me of home," he explained while coming to stand next to her at the window. "It was either this or the outskirts of town. But that would mean I'd have to commute to work somehow and traffic gets crazy here sometimes."

"Where is your office, then?"

"Not too far from here, you can actually see it over there," he said while pointing at a building in the distance, on the other side of the park. "I can walk through Central Park to get there every morning."

The building was one of the larger ones looming over the city but it was hard to see what it looked like from here. She'd have to check again tomorrow, when there was light and everything would actually be visible.

"You can take the day off tomorrow," he said while turning to her. "I know I kind of hijacked your day off by asking you to travel here so take the day to explore the area or something."

"No, that's fine. I can start tomorrow," she said.

He smiled at that, like he'd noticed something she hadn't. "I'm sure you can. But you don't have to. Come one, I'll show you your room."

There were stairs she hadn't noticed before, leading up to the rooms upstairs. It wasn't as large as downstairs, but there were still more rooms than a single man would ever need. They walked all the way to the end of the hallway where he stopped.

"This will be your room, there's a bathroom as well. Mine is over there," he said pointing to another door. "Make yourself at home, you can use whatever you want and there is food in the fridge if you want anything.

"Thank you," she replied, not really feeling comfortable eating his food but seeing no other option as there was only one kitchen in this apartment.

"I'll be gone for most of the day tomorrow, so make yourself comfortable alright? Have a good night," he said while stretching his back. The white shirt he was wearing stretched over his chest while he did so and it took everything in her to not stare at it.

"Good night," she squeaked before quickly turning into the room he'd so generously given her. The room was a far cry from the simple servant's quarters she was used to and she could barely believe she was allowed to use it.

The queen-sized bed in the middle called to her, and when she sat down on it she noted it was the softest bed she'd ever sat on. A large TV hung on the other side, surrounded by large glass panels giving her the same view as the living room. To her left was a door and she could only imagine the grandeur of the bathroom that would be waiting for her.

With all the strength left in her body, she dragged herself from the bed. Falling asleep right there and then wouldn't be a problem but she wanted to shower before she did so and brush her teeth as well. She took the small bag with her, not quite having the energy left to unpack it properly.

The bathroom didn't disappoint. The black tiles gave it an aesthetic she'd never encountered in a bathroom before and she felt a little bad for dirtying it up. The shower was completely surrounded by glass but she barely noticed it because of the beautiful bathtub on the other side of it. It was big enough to fit at least three people and she couldn't wait to try it out.

But it would have to wait, though. She was sure to fall asleep if she tried to use it now and there'd be nothing more embarrassing than Mr. Chastain finding her dead naked body after she'd fallen asleep in it.

Or Sébastien, she should say.

He'd never asked her to call him that before, but at the same time, she didn't really know how often she called him Mr. Chastain to his face. It obviously annoyed him now so she'd do well to just call him Sébastien.

It felt oddly personal to call him by his first name, but she'd have to get used to it. If that's what he wanted that's what she'd do. She couldn't deny it rolled off the tongue easily, and it felt good to say it out loud.

She opened the cabinets to check if there were any towels and to her relief, there were. Not only that but the shower appeared to be fully stocked as well, yet nothing seemed used.

Did he do these things himself or were there people who took care in keeping his supplies stocked? And did he decorate his homes himself?

There was so much she didn't know about him and she surprised herself by feeling the urge to ask him about it. He fascinated her. Somehow, she wanted to know more about who he was and why he lived the way he did.

She promised herself she'd find out, she just didn't know how yet. He would be gone for most of the day for work so she'd have to find the time first.

After gathering the right supplies she quickly stripped down and hopped in the shower only to experience the best shower she'd ever had. Closing her eyes, she felt herself completely relax and all thoughts washed away in the firm, but soothing spray of water.

It was only when the tiredness threatened to completely overtake her she found the courage to turn it off. She dried herself off with the soft towel before putting on her pajamas and brushing her teeth.

With the last strength, she had she grabbed the phone and put it in the charger, noting the late hour. It was almost one a.m. and she could barely remember the last time she was even awake at that hour.

The soft bed called to her and she pulled off the covers to settle herself in. Her last thoughts were of the softness under her body before she drifted off to sleep.

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I forgot to add this chapter before omg I'm so dumb I just skipped it.

I have this huge document with a ton of pre-written chapters and every time I update I pick the last chapter and copy it in here but I somehow had two chapter 17's at the same time but only published on in here.

So, my apologies for that!

I hope you can still enjoy the chapter :)

xx May