Hidden Desire book 1 (Un)Control(led)

Chapter 32. Upgrades and cherry cheesecake.

Briel was thankful Benny let him be when they got home and after a dream-filled night woke up in a chilly room. Peering at his alarm clock he sighed and got out of bed. He could already smell the breakfast Mrs. Chen was preparing when a knock on his bedroom door surprised him.

"Good morning, Briel", Mr. Chen smiled at him. "I want to show you something before you shower and get dressed."

'Shower? He was allowed to take a shower instead of washing up?' Taken aback Briel followed the man to halt in front of the small storeroom halfway between their two apartments.

"Here's the key", he said handing it over to a heavily blinking Briel.

"Oh good, Briel. You're already here", he heard behind him.

"That Kincade Russell is something else", Mrs. Chen beamed at him. "Not only did he cover all your expenses for the next three months, he even send you a complete new wardrobe."

Taking the key from his shaking hand she opened the storeroom.

"Sorry for this set-up but we don't have space anywhere else."

Five shelves, each with a day of the workweek on them, held five complete outfits. Shoes in boxes at the bottem also with days on them. Same for the jackets hanging on the opposite wall.

"This used to be your pantry", he exclaimed a little distressed in fear of inconveniencing the wonderful couple who took so good care of him. "Where did it all go?" he asked looking from side to side.

"Don't worry about that, Briel." Mr. Chen held up both hands. "Most of it was cans anyway."

"Not good enough", he said shaking his head.

"I'll show you. Follow me", Mrs. Chen softly smiled and took his hand. "A carpenter came by on Saturday to build you a new closet. Since he was told not to disturb your room we had to be creative and decided on this."

Entering the kitchen his eyes lit up in surprise.

"In return he build us a new pantry", again she beamed at him. "It's wonderful to have everything within reach." Patting him on the hand she waved at the set table. "Wash up and get dressed. Breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes."

Briel froze letting his eyes shift uneasily from Mr. Chen to Mrs. Chen.

"Mr. Chen said I could take a shower. Did I misunderstand?"

"No, you didn't. It was I who misspoke", Mrs. Chen assured him. "Shower if you want, just try not to be late."

Walking back to the storeroom he collected his Monday outfit and placed it as a whole on his bed. Setting his timer on ten minutes he got into the shower. The pressure was nowhere near as good as...over there...but he loved it regardless.

Now for the clothes. He sighingly separated the neatly folded pile and discovered underwear, socks, a t-shirt, hoodie, a sweat jacket and black jeans. The shoebox contained black sneakers with sole of course. So different from the more upscale clothes...over there...and beside the shoes it could have come from any regular clothes store. On his way to the Chen apartment he quickly glanced at the other outfits humming in delight to find a similar style. He would totally blend in.

"What else happened during the weekend?" he asked his landlady eying her with suspicion when she started to laugh.

"Mr. Russell called Friday during the blizzard to inform us of your unexpected stay and promised to take good care of you. He also asked if the fuses were alright and if he in anyway could contribute to a more stable electrical network."

Mr. Chen took over from his wife.

"If all goes as planned you won't be waking up in a chilly bedroom anymore."