Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Merritt~

My head was still spinning with the fact that I was at Cutter Moore’s penthouse and was supposed to be staying with him until I found a place to rent. The entire situation felt ridiculous, but also very dangerous. I knew what a rebound was, and I knew why they happened, and I also knew that making Cutter Moore my rebound from Steven was the worst idea in the history of ideas.

Granted, I was getting ahead of myself again. Cutter hadn’t ever shown one ounce of interest in me before, so it could just be me and my hormones making a big deal out of nothing. There was also the fact that he’d been right about gossips and their nasty tongues. I doubt that there was a CEO on the planet that hadn’t been whispered about, people speculating about his ‘real’ relationship with his secretaries or assistants. Because the truth was often boring as hell, people liked to make things up just to spice up their mundane routines. It wasn’t right, but it still happened all the time.

Glancing around the room, all my stuff was put away, but there really hadn’t been that much to put away. Most of my boxes were stacked neatly in the corner of the huge guest room, and Cutter had even moved my bookshelf and rocker into the room. The bedroom had to be almost a thousand square feet, but since it was a two-story freakin penthouse, all the rooms were huge. I also had my own bathroom just down the hallway, which was going to make this a lot easier.

Satisfied that everything was where it belonged, I made my way back into the penthouse’s living space, Cutter having given me a tour as soon as we’d arrived earlier. While he hadn’t given me a tour of the entire place, he’d shown me the important rooms, which had consisted of the kitchen, living room, washroom, my bedroom, and my bathroom. Cutter had promised to give me a full tour after I’d gotten settled, but I wasn’t sure if I needed one. If he had a gym, then I’d gladly use that for some cardio, but apart from that, the rest of his living space was none of my business.

Especially, his bedroom.

When I finally made it to the kitchen, it was to see Cutter pulling pots and pans out of the cupboards, and my ovaries were on instant alert. Nothing was sexier than a man that knew his way around domestic chores.

“I thought all billionaires had cooks and housekeepers,” I teased as I sat down on one of the barstools.

Cutter turned to look at me. “I have a cleaning service that comes to dust, do the floors, and stuff like that every two weeks. Apart from that, I do the rest.”

“What’s the point of having billions if you still have to cook, clean, and do laundry?”

The gorgeous man-your boss-turned fully around, giving me his undivided attention, something that I didn’t need right now. Or ever, really. “I grew up rich, Merritt,” he reminded me. “With a house full of housekeeping employees, I learned many domestic trades.”

“Get him!” my ovaries screamed.

I stared at him, surprised by how he’d worded that piece of personal information. He hadn’t referred to the people that had worked in his household as the staff, help, or servants. He also hadn’t dismissed their work as simple jobs. He’d called them trades, and what billionaire on earth did that? Suddenly, I was seeing a different side to Cutter Moore, and that wasn’t a good or safe thing for me.

“We had chores,” I said for a lack of something better to say. “That’s how I learned to fend for myself.”

Cutter smirked before turning back towards the stove. “Cotter and I moved in with our older brother, Phineas, at fourteen, and his wife, Sheridan, hadn’t had much patience for our ‘wealthy ways’, as she liked to call them. She treated us like your average teenage kids, and we’re definitely better for it.”

Feeling uncomfortable about getting so personal with Cutter, I asked, “So, what domestic skill are you going to impress me with for dinner?”

He chuckled, and I had to clench my thighs. “Well, since hamburgers are your most favorite food in the world, that’s what I’m going with.”

My heart actually skipped a beat, a little stunned that he would know that. “How do you know that hamburgers are my favorite?”

Without turning to look at me, he said, “The same way that I know that your favorite color is dark green, you prefer tea to water, you hate eating after six, you’re not a morning person, you like those ridiculous bath bombs, you’re allergic to coconut, which is okay since you think it’s disgusting anyway, you’d love to have a dog one day, you-”

“Okay, okay,” I said, stopping him. “You pay attention to detail, I get it.”

“Like Cotter pointed out once, I didn’t become one of the youngest billionaires on the planet because I’m stupid,” he retorted.

“Touché,” I chuckled softly. “Is there anything that I can do to help?

“Nah,” he replied easily. “You’ll just get in my way.”

“Hey, you don’t have to convince me to let you cook dinner,” I replied, finding myself smiling.

After Cutter started making the patties, he asked, “So, have you heard from Steven?”

“I sent him a text to let him know that I’d been able to get everything out today,” I answered. “I also told him where I’d left all my extra keys.”

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

“I should be more upset than I am, and I’m not proud of that,” I sighed, though I was still feeling uncomfortable about getting so personal with him. Still, it was like I couldn’t help it. “It’s starting to make me feel like…I don’t know, like we should have ended things ages ago, and like these past few months had been nothing but a waste of time.”

“Why do you feel bad about that?”

“Because I really cared about Steven,” I answered. “I still do. He’s a good guy, and…he’s a good guy, and I had no idea how things ended up so…stale, I guess.”

“It’s hard to keep the fires burning when both people work so much,” he remarked, making me wonder if he had a girlfriend that I didn’t know about.

“Well, whose fault is it that I work so much,” I joked.

“You got me there,” he replied teasingly.

“So…uhm…” I had to clear my throat, knowing that it was me crossing the line this time. “Do you have…have a girlfriend?”

He scoffed.

Well, okay.

“Do you honestly think that I’d be comfortable with you staying here if I had a girlfriend?” Before I could say anything, he added, “Even if it is just platonic, I’d never put any woman in an uncomfortable position like that. Though my reasons for you staying here are still valid, I would have found another solution to your predicament.” He shrugged. “Or I would just stay with my girlfriend while you stayed here, if that were the case.”

The more we spoke, the more layers to Cutter Moore I got to see. It was rumored that his brother had a steady friends-with-benefits, but I’d never heard anything about Cutter and his love life. Whenever he attended any work functions or had any social engagements, he went alone, and I’d never been brave enough to question him about that.

“So, no girlfriend,” I said, just trying to fill the silence.

“Nope,” he remarked. “No girlfriend.”

Thirty minutes later, Cutter was serving me the most unhealthiest hamburger that I’d ever seen, and I didn’t say anything as I noticed how he’d only put my favorite condiments on it. He’d also made some fries, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think that he used to work in a restaurant or something. Dinner looked like one of those huge meals that you saw at Chili’s or Applebee’s.

“I’m not going to be able to eat all of this, Cutter,” I warned him.

“That’s fine,” he said as he began making his plate. “We can reheat whatever’s left over tomorrow for lunch.”

My blue eyes slid his way, surprised once again. “You eat leftovers?”

“Sheridan hadn’t fucked around when she’d taken it upon herself to try to turn us into decent human beings,” he chuckled. “So, yeah, I eat leftovers.”

Not knowing what to say to that, I said, “You know, I’m going to do the dishes, right?”

“Over my dead body.”

“Cutter-”

“You’ve got a lot on your plate right now, no pun intended,” he said, interrupting me as he walked around with his plate to sit next to me. “Just enjoy it, Merritt. Life will get hard again soon enough.”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

Cutter laughed, and then we ate our dinner in silence, and it was scary how comfortable I felt with this version of Cutter Moore. A girl could get used to this, but then again, if he was so damn great, why was he still single when he shouldn’t be?