The Billionaire's Assistant

Chapter 49

"This is exactly how we used to get here when I was a kid," said Jove. "Helicopter, then car, nothing changed. My grandfather always wanted her to put a helipad on the property somewhere, on the roof maybe, just to make it easier to get there, but my grandma always refused." He smiled wistfully. "After she left, my grandfather just didn't have the heart to do it, hardly ever comes back here. Moved to England a few years later. My dad never comes up here either, he thinks it's inconvenient." He frowned. "Plus his wife hates it. And my mom, she doesn't make it up here often, she doesn't like helicopters and it's basically the only way to get here, there's not really a road."

"Why?" asked Kat , feeling akin to Jove's mom as she recovered from the helicopter ride.

"My grandma didn't want anyone coming up here," he replied. "She didn't want any tourists, or photographers, or architecture fans here, she wanted it just for her. For her family."

"So what actually is it?" asked Kat. "A cabin?"

"Kinda," said Jove, ducking his head a bit to look forward out of the windshield. "Look."

Kat looked up, surprised there was something to see so soon. Her jaw dropped.

"Oh my god," she murmured, unable to take her eyes off of the structure in front of her. "It's so. It's beautiful."

"I knew you'd like it," said Jove.

"What is it?" she asked, taking the building in but somehow unable to actually articulate what she was seeing.

It was as if a home had been carved from the side of a waterfall, natural sheets of rock jutting out to form the house's walls and support slats while crystal clear water gushed and cascaded over the side, pooling into a small lake that Kat could see was fed by a thin, winding river.

The house was almost an optical illusion of sorts, and from certain angles it seemed to disappear, to be one with nature, and only by squinting could Kat make out the man-made elements of its structure. Beyond the slabs of natural rock into which the house was perfectly nestled, the entire building was surrounded by a thick waistcoat of trees, some seeming to grow out of the center of the home despite its flush, rock-formed, multi-tiered roofs.

If Kat unfocused her eyes all she saw was a waterfall, but narrowing her gaze revealed decks and enormous picture windows, a luxury treehouse of sorts, one built in and throughout a waterfall instead of a tree.

"It's my grandma's house," Jove answered simply.

"It's like it's camouflaged," Kat said, the home still failing to visually solidify itself any more clearly as they neared it more closely.

"It's a Pret Easton Gimbly," said Jove. "The architect that was big in the 50's and 60's, famous for all those, abstract, avant garde pieces. My grandmother had always wanted a place like this, far removed from 'industrial life' like she called it, and when my grandfather started making real money, he promised he'd have something built for her. She had a little cabin in mind, but my granddad." Jove smiled. "He's like me I guess. He bought the land, hired Pret for an arm and a leg, and had him design and build this," he said, gesturing as the car pulled into the makeshift driveway.

They exited, Kat marveling at the work of art in front of her and Jove stopping to stretch, his long arms reaching skyward.

"Let's go," he said, starting up the incline. The chauffeur had pulled the car away from them and was climbing slowly further up the driveway and Kat followed the procession, first the car, then Jove, then her.

"We get out first," Jove explained. "For this."

As they drew nearer and nearer to the house another rush began to fill Kat's ears as it had on the roof, this one more pleasant, with a light burble.