Chapter 5 - The Glass PenthouseThe penthouse atop the Reed Global Tower didn't feel like a home; it felt like a modern art museum suspended in the clouds. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls offered a panoramic, 360-degree view of the glittering Manhattan skyline, stretching out like a sea of diamonds against the velvet black of the night sky.
Yet, standing in the middle of the minimalist marble kitchen while Cameron poured two glasses of red wine, the sheer scale of his wealth felt irrelevant.
"You've been quiet for twenty minutes," Cameron said, walking over and handing me a crystal glass. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing the lean, muscular line of his forearms. "Are you regretting letting me drag you up here?"
I took the glass, swirling the dark crimson liquid while looking out at the Chrysler Building glowing in the distance. "I'm not regretting it. I'm just trying to figure out when my normal life imploded and got replaced by a corporate soap opera."
Cameron chuckled, a rich, genuine sound that reached all the way to his eyes. He leaned against the marble counter beside me, his shoulder brushing mine. "Your normal life was built on three jobs, bad sleep schedules, and living off instant ramen while keeping my multi-billion-dollar corporation from collapsing. You deserve a promotion to soap opera protagonist."
I looked over at him, unable to suppress a small smile. "You know, before last night, I thought you were a robot. I honestly believed you didn't have feelings, or that your heart was made of cold-rolled steel."
"Most days, it was," Cameron admitted softly, his gaze dropping to his glass. The playful lightness in his voice evaporated, replaced by a quiet shadow. "When you grow up in a family where love is measured by stock ownership and marriage is a corporate merger, you learn to turn off the noise. Victoria wasn't a partner; she was the final box I had to check to satisfy the board that I was a stable, traditional patriarch."
"And when she left?"
"It felt like a glass ceiling shattering," he murmured, turning his head to look at me. "For the first time, I realized I was free. But freedom is terrifying when you don't have anyone to share it with."
His hand reached out, his fingers sliding over mine on the cool marble surface. The warmth of his skin sent a shiver straight down my spine.
"Emma," he whispered, his voice dropping into that low, magnetic register that made my knees weak. "I know this is moving too fast. I know the timing is an absolute disaster with the board and the press. But I have never been more certain of anything in my life than the moment I walked into your apartment and saw you standing there in those ridiculous kitten pajamas."
"They are not ridiculous," I protested automatically, though a hot blush crept up my neck. "They are extremely comfortable."
Cameron smiled, a slow, breathtaking expression that made him look ten years younger. "They are the best thing that ever happened to me."
He stepped closer, closing the distance between us until I could feel the heat radiating from his chest. When his arms wrapped around my waist, lifting me effortlessly to sit on the edge of the marble island, I didn't pull away. I dropped my wine glass safely onto the counter and slid my hands up, resting them against the broad expanse of his shoulders.
"Cameron," I breathed out as his lips brushed against my jawline, sending a tremor through my entire body.
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"I've wanted this for two years," he murmured against my skin, his hands sliding up to cup my face. "Every single day you walked into my office with your hair pulled back in that severe ponytail, looking at me like I was a shark... I wanted nothing more than to tear down the walls and make you look at me the way you're looking at me right now."
His lips found mine, and the world outside the glass penthouse—the board members, the media sharks, the crumbling engagement—vanished completely into the dark.
