Free Irrational (Underneath it All Series: Book Two) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) by Ava Claire

natural light that flowed from the world outside reminded me of the sun peeking between the leaves. Even the air smelled like pine and rain.
    It was nothing like my apartment building after all, but it wasn't cold and off putting like some of the apartment buildings I'd seen online, browsing for kicks because anything that wasn't on Craigslist was definitely out of my price range. It was somewhere in between the two extremes.
    It was just right.
    There was a slender white table that ran down the middle of the lobby, surrounded by wooden stools with metallic legs. There was a receptionist behind a desk, perched below the name of the building, etched out in mosaic-like pieces of tile. I was just planning on grabbing one of those hipster stools and texting Jackson that we were here. Rose didn't have a patient bone in her body, so she practically skipped to the desk. I eyed them warily and smirked as I watched my sister charm the brunette who I was pretty sure had been moments away from asking us if we were lost.
    Rose beckoned me to come join her and I gripped my purse and projected a confidence that I didn't feel. The closer I got to seeing Jackson again, the more I wondered if I truly got the gravity of what we were doing.
    My phone hummed in my purse and I paused to look at it, half wishing he was texting to cancel.
    It was my mother.
    I almost answered it, but Rose's giggle reminded me that my priority was with me. If my mother had a problem, she could ask her gross boyfriend for help.
    Rose performed the introductions. “Laura, this is my sister, Sadie. Sadie, Laura.”
    “Sadie...” Laura stroked her glossy brown locks out of her dark eyes and they narrowed, like something was on the tip of her tongue, but she was struggling to get it out. She snapped her fingers. "The Beatles!"
    Most people thought there was an interesting story behind my name, and I'd even asked my mother a couple of times. Her answer was that she just thought it was a cool name.
    I held my smile a few more beats. "Yep."
    Rose crinkled her nose at me, picking up on my annoyance. She didn’t stay annoyed, because it wasn’t in her nature. She turned the sun back on, smiling at Laura like they were old friends. "We're here to see Jackson Colt. Maybe you know him? Tall, dark hair-"
    "And sexy?" Laura finished, licking her lips like he was a dish she was dying to try. The pang of jealousy that washed through me kept on trucking. He was tall, dark, and sexy...and for some reason, he invited us to dinner—not Laura. That was more than enough reason for me to not be petty.
    "That's the one," I answered brightly, looping an arm through Rose’s. I’d fake it until I made it. "Could you let him know we're here?"
    "Actually, he already called down and told me to be expecting you two." Laura opened a drawer and pulled out a keycard. From the lobby, her control center looked pretty modest, but she had a screen filled with multiple monitors, a laptop, a desktop, and a separate computing system that she gave her full attention to. She typed a few numbers on a key pad and when the indicator light flashed green, she swiped the card through the reader.
    She swiveled back to face us and held out the card to me.
    "Just head down the corridor directly to the right of my desk and you'll see the elevator. Swipe this key when you're inside and press P."
    "For parking?" Rose asked with a tiny frown.
    "Penthouse," Laura answered with a wink. She gave me a quick once over and picked her iPad back up. "Have a good night!"
    Rose was tugging me down the corridor and suddenly all the things that I found endearing and quirky were museum like and sterile. The walls reminded me of a hospital. The wood reminded me of a coffin. Who wears a black tank top and jeans to dinner with a billionaire? Who lives in a apartment complex where you don't even use keys to get to your house?
    I followed Rose into the elevator, sweat exploding at my temple as the doors slid closed behind us. Great.