015 The Frist Apartment

This time they took Mr. Green's car, giving Ben a break from all the driving he had to endure all morning. The chauffeur waved happily to Eden and Rose as he watched them climb into the navy blue convertible that belonged to Mr. Green.

"Good luck Miss Eden!" Ben called with a wave of his hand.

The sun was still bright in the sky when they stepped outside, it was still early in the afternoon and Eden wondered if her father had noticed Ben or the car missing since she had left early that morning.

"Downtown Meadowlark right?" He asked, "What's your budget, a place like that can be a little pricey,"

"1800-2500, it should be a studio or a one bedroom," Eden repeated again for what she felt was the umpteenth time, it didn't show in her voice how tired she was of giving the specifications but Rose somehow knew she was tired.

Life was full of moments like this, somehow saying it more made it feel like she was speaking it into existence.

"First time I've seen someone with a reasonable budget for the type of property they're looking for. Just right for downtown," Mr. Green said.

Eden nodded as the wind caressed her face during the drive. The view of downtown was a bustling city away from the secluded areas of the Marshall Estate. She looked around, eyes nearly popping at the sight of billboards and high rise buildings.

"Wow," Eden gasped. Downtown was a good place to start, within the vicinity she could see posters for family themed events and shops where she could do her market research. Everything was in the palm of her hand.

"I know, this must be your first time in this part of the city," Mr. Green said.

"That's right," Eden said. She turned to face Rose who was already smiling at her.

"I can't believe I'm coming with you to see your first apartment," Rose said in excitement. The older woman ran a hand through her gray strands in relief. "You know I was just about to buy another house but I'm so glad I ran into you instead,"

"I'm glad too, something tells me I wouldn't be on my way to another house viewing if we hadn't made so much noise," Eden laughed.

"Very true, you ladies were so loud I could hear it from my office, I simply had to go down and find out what all the shouting was about," Mr. Green said still steering smoothly through traffic.

Eventually, the car stopped at the tall white block of flats that looked like something straight out of a catalog. Eden gasped as she noticed the door man holding open doors for people going and coming through.

The building was clean, with a sleek build that gave it a modern twist on an old design. The flat roof was adorned with solar panels connected to an inverter that would activate should the power go out.

Eden had once suggested such to her father, but the man had brushed her aside like he always did. Maybe she could borrow that idea and put it to use in her own company.

The apartment was a welcome sight after all the nonsense Anna had put her through. She had high hopes for the unit Mr. Green was about to show her.

"This is called the Portes building, just about every cab in this city knows this building. It's at the tail end of your budget for 2500 KRV but it comes with plenty of amenities as you can see from the outside," Mr. Green said putting on his professional voice.

Eden almost didn't hear what he said as she walked through the door. The door man, who reminded her a lot of William, greeted her cheerfully.

"Good afternoon miss," He said, holding the door open for her.

"Good afternoon!" Eden said just as cheerfully.

"The apartment we're viewing is located on the third floor, but no worries there's an elevator just nearby," Mr. Green said.

Eden nodded walking into the apartment lobby in search of the elevator. In the midst of looking around she collided with someone, making something clatter to the ground.

Eden gasped.

"I'm so sorry!" she said spinning around to face the person she had bumped into.

Eden stared up at the tall man who looked about her age with black hair and an intensely handsome but brooding face. He was pale, so pale one could mistake him for a vampire. He wore all black with a rose pinned to the lapel of his jacket.

The man lifted a hand promoting Eden to stop apologizing, then he squatted to pick up a mini teddy bear from the ground.

The toy looked like it had been through the ringer, it was falling apart at the seams with stuffing coming of of every crevice and one eye being held together by a single thread.

"Your bear," Eden said. The man only looked at her once with a blank expression before walking past her and out the door.

Eden was left stunned but the disappearance of the handsome stranger she was sure never to meet again.

Her face grew hot, what was she doing calling another man handsome where she was about to be a married woman.

Speaking of Daniel.

Eden pulled out her phone to check for any notifications from her fiancee but found her phone devoid of any calls or messages.

"That's odd," Eden said.

By now Daniel would have shot her a text or called or let her know how his day was going. Even if it was just to goof off on calls together.

Eden hoped nothing bad had happened after her father's retirement party. She knew his mother could be a hard woman to handle and was why he probably hadn't reached out to her all day.

"I'll call after I'm done finding an apartment," Eden said, she didn't have time to worry about Daniel now when her future was at stake.

He was two years older than her and could take care of himself.

At least she hoped he could.