New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

The tension left the penthouse with Alfred, and Alex finally breathed a sigh of relief.

‘That man has a heavy presence. Almost like Kloud.’

In the meantime, Violette was enjoying the view outside, her chin resting on the balcony glass railing, since her head barely poked over it. She would look for a few seconds at one spot, then move around to another side of the building and repeat.

It was cute to watch, but Alex decided to get her back in before a stupid accident happened. Even though the glass panes were also bulletproof, one could never be too safe.

“Violette, wanna come back in? Let’s get you settled and have something to eat. Then we can think about what we do next. What do you think?”

“Okaaayyy!”

She zoomed back in like a mini tornado before running up the stairs in front of Alex. That made him chuckle as he followed behind.

“Careful not to fall.”

*Thump*

“I’m okay!”

As Alex set foot on the second floor and turned the corner to the rooms, he found Violette sprawled on the ground, giggling to herself. It looked like she had slipped on the hardwood floors and tumbled into the wall.

She was fine, but it was a scene to behold. Her bum was against the wall, with her feet in the air, and she was looking at Alex upside down.

“C’mon, goofy. Let’s get you unpacked. That way we can see if you forgot anything.”

“Okay!” she chimed, as she flipped back to a normal posture.

She ran to the doors, trying to find what room would be hers for the next few days. Alex had the master bedroom at the end of the hall, and the room to its left was his office.

The two rooms to the right were the guest rooms. He had them furnished, in case he ever needed them, so she would be fine.

The chauffeur had dropped her thing in the room closest to his, which was also the furthest from the stairs. Most likely a safety option in the improbable case of a break-in.

That room was also the only other room that had access to the panic room connected to the master bedroom. Alexander had found out about it after the purchase, since it wasn’t mentioned on the blueprints.

When he called the contractor about it, he said that was by design. ‘Can’t expect a panic room when it’s not on the blueprints!’ had been his answer.

Alfred had probably noticed it during his rapid inspection, and chose this room accordingly. The man’s perceptiveness really impressed Alexander, since the panic room was currently closed.

Alexander brushed his stray thoughts aside, helping Violette to unpack her back, until she screamed at him to let her finish on her own. He didn’t quite understand her switch in attitude, but he did as she asked.

“I’ll go make us some lunch then. I’ll be in the kitchen.”

“Alright, I’ll come down when I’m done!” she said, almost slamming the door on his ass.

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He shrugged and went back downstairs. He opened up his fridge, looking for something to eat that would be good for two people, and couldn’t find anything.

All his prepared portions were for a single person, and he didn’t want to have her eat something different from him. So he instead ordered food from a nearby pizza joint.

He didn’t know what Violette liked, so he ordered a half-and-half pizza, one side all dressed and the other pepperoni and cheese. He was tempted to order a Hawaiian pizza, but what if Violette was one of those ‘pineapple on pizza’ haters?

‘Better safe than sorry.’

By the time he hung up, he heard footsteps on the stairs. Violette was coming back down from her room.

“I had nothing we could eat together, so I ordered pizza. Is that okay with you?”

“Pizza?! I’ve never had pizza!” Violette squealed.

“Excuse me…? You’ve never had pizza? What kind of nightmare life were you living in that house?”

Alexander looked at the girl with eyes wide and a look of horror. What kind of parents never let their kids eat pizza?

That was blasphemy!

It almost tempted him to call back and have them switch his order up. He would be fine with eating pizza for days, if that meant she could taste all the kinds.

But then again, that wasn’t a very healthy thing to do, so he refrained from doing so.

It took around twenty minutes for the delivery guy to reach the lobby. Violette and he had been talking and planning their next few days.

They didn’t know how long Violette would be here, so they only planned a few days ahead.

Alexander buzzed the pizza guy up, paying him as soon as the elevator doors opened, and sent him back on his way. The delivery guy had eyes like saucers, having never seen a home like this one.

Alex gave him a fat tip, trying to get him to stop looking in his home as fast as possible. He was still a bit paranoid about his home invasion.

He walked to the kitchen counter, pulled out two plates, and served up the pie, with glasses of coca and some fries.

Violette stood next to him, watching him carefully, practically drooling as she looked at the pizza. Her nostrils were taking in the smell voraciously, and her stomach was already starting to rumble.

“Jesus. It’s like no one ever fed you,” Alex said, chuckling.

After serving the plates, he brought them to the dining table, seating Violette next to him. She sat down, looking at her plate like a predator.

“Go ahead, take a bite. But be careful, it’s still very hot.”

Violette nodded her head, never taking her eyes off the prize. She looked at Alex for a second.

“Don’t we need utensils?”

“Oh my god! How sheltered were you? Use your hands. Look at me,” he said, grabbing the pizza with both hands, and taking a bite.

Violette watched him and imitated his technique. After taking her bite, she went completely silent.

A small tear rolled off her cheek before she devoured half the point in her plate.

“Wow! Slow down, before you choke, hahaha!”

“It’s sooooo goooood!” she uttered, her mouth full of pizza.