that, do you?"
" A s long as you wash it out. I have a stick blender you can use if you want, I find it easier for that sort of stuff. Here we are." The elevator doors dinged, and I stepped out into a small hallway, with only two doors, one on each side. "This floor only has two units, I have the one on the west side of the building. Which is great for me, it lets me sleep a bit later in the morning. The east side units get the sunrise right in your eyes."
S he opened the door , and I was at first struck at just how middle class the apartment looked. Then I noticed that besides the kitchen equipment, the furnishings were downright Spartan. I didn't even see a television. On the other hand, the kitchen stuff looked strong enough to liquefy a brick, and cut through the steel beams of the high rise itself.
K rystal looked over at me and smiled. "Welcome to my humble abode, Julian. Make yourself comfortable."
Chapter 8
Krystal
A t first , having Julian stay with me was about as weird as when we'd stayed in side by side bedrooms at Castelbon Manor. My apartment has three bedrooms and two baths, so I had Julian stay in the larger of my two guest bedrooms, on the opposite side of the apartment from me. After he set his bag on the simple bed that came with the place, he came into the living room and sat down on my sofa, stretching out. "So are you working today?"
I shook my head and headed into the kitchen. "If I was, you'd have gotten nothing but a voice message. I did have competition practice today, but I have the evening off."
I pulled together the ingredients for a quick berry smoothie and made myself my mid-afternoon snack, pouring a second glass for Julian. Coming over to the sofa, I handed him a glass, then sat down on my only other chair in the living room. When Kimberly or another friend comes over, we tend to relax at the kitchen island to eat, or just hang out on the floor. "So level with me Julian," I said, taking a drink from my smoothie and setting the glass down on my coffee table. "What brings you to Chicago?"
" I don't suppose you'd believe that I had a business deal that I'm negotiating with the guys at Forrester Hotels, do you?" he said, grinning.
I rolled my eyes . "Considering they relocated to Miami a year ago, no. Besides, I doubt you've ever done a regular business negotiation in your life."
" W hat do you mean ?"
I decided it was time to put Julian on full blast mode. "Well, since graduating from high school, you dropped out of two universities, both times by your own choice. The first, Boston College, you said you didn't fit in at. The second, the University of Southern California, asked you to leave after what the newspapers called 'repeated violations of the student conduct policy.' I'll not go further on it. Since then, you've settled into the Los Angeles socialite scene, fueled by the fact John gives you enough money to basically allow you to do whatever you want. So I'll say it again Julian, what are you doing in Chicago?"
J ulian looked down at his glass for a moment, then drained half of it in one long gulp. He looked down at his glass again, then at me. "You want the truth?"
" Y eah , the truth. Not saying I'm going to judge you, but I won't tolerate a liar. So make that rule four. You lie, and I'll be happy to find you a hotel room."
J ulian nodded . "Okay. Truth is, I'm not sure why I'm here. A buddy of mine in Los Angeles said I needed to get my head straight, and I couldn't do that in LA. There was just this little voice in my head that said come to Chicago, you could help. So I went with it."
I thought about it for a moment, touched. "Why?"
J ulian looked at me , and I swore it was the first time I'd ever seen the real him, other than glimpses as he had been lifting weights one time before our parents' wedding. "Because of all the people I know, you seem to have your head screwed on best. Your trust fund, it pays for this apartment, right?"
" Y eah ," I admitted.
" A s long as you wash it out. I have a stick blender you can use if you want, I find it easier for that sort of stuff. Here we are." The elevator doors dinged, and I stepped out into a small hallway, with only two doors, one on each side. "This floor only has two units, I have the one on the west side of the building. Which is great for me, it lets me sleep a bit later in the morning. The east side units get the sunrise right in your eyes."
S he opened the door , and I was at first struck at just how middle class the apartment looked. Then I noticed that besides the kitchen equipment, the furnishings were downright Spartan. I didn't even see a television. On the other hand, the kitchen stuff looked strong enough to liquefy a brick, and cut through the steel beams of the high rise itself.
K rystal looked over at me and smiled. "Welcome to my humble abode, Julian. Make yourself comfortable."
Chapter 8
Krystal
A t first , having Julian stay with me was about as weird as when we'd stayed in side by side bedrooms at Castelbon Manor. My apartment has three bedrooms and two baths, so I had Julian stay in the larger of my two guest bedrooms, on the opposite side of the apartment from me. After he set his bag on the simple bed that came with the place, he came into the living room and sat down on my sofa, stretching out. "So are you working today?"
I shook my head and headed into the kitchen. "If I was, you'd have gotten nothing but a voice message. I did have competition practice today, but I have the evening off."
I pulled together the ingredients for a quick berry smoothie and made myself my mid-afternoon snack, pouring a second glass for Julian. Coming over to the sofa, I handed him a glass, then sat down on my only other chair in the living room. When Kimberly or another friend comes over, we tend to relax at the kitchen island to eat, or just hang out on the floor. "So level with me Julian," I said, taking a drink from my smoothie and setting the glass down on my coffee table. "What brings you to Chicago?"
" I don't suppose you'd believe that I had a business deal that I'm negotiating with the guys at Forrester Hotels, do you?" he said, grinning.
I rolled my eyes . "Considering they relocated to Miami a year ago, no. Besides, I doubt you've ever done a regular business negotiation in your life."
" W hat do you mean ?"
I decided it was time to put Julian on full blast mode. "Well, since graduating from high school, you dropped out of two universities, both times by your own choice. The first, Boston College, you said you didn't fit in at. The second, the University of Southern California, asked you to leave after what the newspapers called 'repeated violations of the student conduct policy.' I'll not go further on it. Since then, you've settled into the Los Angeles socialite scene, fueled by the fact John gives you enough money to basically allow you to do whatever you want. So I'll say it again Julian, what are you doing in Chicago?"
J ulian looked down at his glass for a moment, then drained half of it in one long gulp. He looked down at his glass again, then at me. "You want the truth?"
" Y eah , the truth. Not saying I'm going to judge you, but I won't tolerate a liar. So make that rule four. You lie, and I'll be happy to find you a hotel room."
J ulian nodded . "Okay. Truth is, I'm not sure why I'm here. A buddy of mine in Los Angeles said I needed to get my head straight, and I couldn't do that in LA. There was just this little voice in my head that said come to Chicago, you could help. So I went with it."
I thought about it for a moment, touched. "Why?"
J ulian looked at me , and I swore it was the first time I'd ever seen the real him, other than glimpses as he had been lifting weights one time before our parents' wedding. "Because of all the people I know, you seem to have your head screwed on best. Your trust fund, it pays for this apartment, right?"
" Y eah ," I admitted.
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