***This is A Preview***

Karina Hagen was a genius.

She was old Norwegian money with a degree from Caltech and a vision for innovation.

With so many "fake it, till you make it" tech entrepreneurs out there, Karina was the real deal. She'd funded her first app with her trust money before selling it for fifty million dollars, two years later.

Her latest project was a metaverse startup that had all of Silicon Valley's attention. Her crypto token's value had already doubled in the last six months even though the platform wasn't even accessible to the public yet.

And I... was her Personal Assistant.

Not the most glamorous job for sure but I was always at the frontline of all the action. I was there for the TedTalk, the interview with Forbes, and even the exclusive investor event on Sir John Pasley's private island.

Then one day, I was given a task that took me far away from the force of nature that was Karina Hagen and all the glamour surrounding her.

Her brother; Emil had just graduated from the Royal School of Art in London with a degree in photography. Karina had called in a favor and got him an internship with Todd Lowe; the internationally acclaimed celeb photographer.

I was asked to help Emil acclimatize and settle into an apartment that Karina maintained in The City. Did I mention that I was still expected to coordinate all of her obligations from a distance?

***

I was waiting at international arrivals with a fucking sign when I realized that I didn't even know what this kid looked like.

Luckily, social media investigation was my specialty and it didn't take long to find Emil's Insta. He was twenty-one years old and a bona fide attention whore... yet I had to admit that the camera liked him a lot!

It was kind of ironic, considering that he was planning on making a career behind a lens. But maybe for someone like him, that was nothing more than a hobby.

Emil's styled white-blond hair was a perfect match for his steely grey eyes. Rosy cheeks stained his faultless alabaster skin and his mouth was so red that it almost looked like he was wearing subtle lipstick. He was young, he was pretty and he was rich, The City was going to adore him.

What came walking through the gate, however, was someone very different. Emil wore dark shadows under his eyes as he walked oddly behind an airport luggage cart filled with Louis Vuitton suitcases.

I quickly introduced myself but didn't take his cart, thinking that it was the only thing that was keeping him upright.

"Nice to f... meet you," Emil said with a slur, his breath heavy with the smell of gin.

For fucks sake, Emil was completely wasted!

***

The moment we arrived at the gorgeous Park view apartment, Emil waddled over to the master bedroom and passed out. Fortunately, the doorman took care of the suitcases.

I called Karina to give her a status report and to my shock, she asked me to cancel my hotel and stay in the apartment's guestroom for the time being.

"Do you seriously expect me to supervise him all the time?" I asked dumbfounded.

"If you could just make sure that he starts his internship properly, I would really appreciate it."

I grudgingly agreed and settled at the kitchen table with my laptop. I took my time updating Karina's schedule. Considering that I wasn't physically there, I could hardly afford to make mistakes.

***

Hours later, Emil walked into the kitchen with towel-dried hair, whilst he was still pulling on a black shirt on top of ripped jeans. The rock-hard abs that disappeared under the fabric captured my attention for longer than would be considered appropriate but luckily he didn't notice.

"I owe you an apology," he said, putting a cup under the fully automated espresso machine.

"Don't worry about it," I said, my focus back on my work.

"I couldn't sleep on the plane, so I ended up having a drink too many. That was not how I normally behave," he insisted. Why did he care what I thought?

"It's fine," I said, my eyes still glued to the screen. I didn't want him to notice how attractive I found him right now. All he'd needed was some sleep and a shower to look like his social media posts again.

"I insist on taking you out for dinner," he said, chugging his coffee in one go before pressing the button again. "I've made a reservation at Le Mirage for eight."

Three hours ago, he couldn't even call himself an Uber and now he was taking charge?

What the fuck?!

***

Emil was clearly used to money but unlike Karina, he didn't hold back. I knew how much that bottle of Bordeaux cost because I had selected something similar for last year's VIP Christmas hampers.

"So what is it exactly that you do for my sister?" Emil asked, drinking his wine like it was water.

"I'm her Executive Assistant," I replied haughtily. "I organize everything around her, so she can focus on being a genius."

Emil started laughing and said, "My sister is many things but genius is not one of them."

I blinked at him in incredulity.

Here he was, a twenty-something with a drinking problem and nothing to his name except for family money, whilst Karina was taking the Silicon Valley boy's club by storm.

"How can you say that?" I asked, after taking a moment for my flare of anger to dissipate.

"The idea for her app; HomeGrown was one hundred percent Jason Byrd's and Karina used Pappa's money for the first build," Emil said calmly. "They only bought it for the patents."

What the fuck? Was he right? But what did that mean for the new project? Jason Byrd wasn't even involved this time.

Emil started laughing again before saying, "I'm just messing with you. Of course, my sister is a genius! And I'm super proud of her."

Holy shit! What an eerily precise joke. He'd almost managed to unravel my world with a single statement.

"Skål," he said, hitting my glass a bit too forcefully. "Thanks again for picking me up this morning."

"Did your sister mention that I'll be staying with you in the apartment for a couple of days?" I asked.

His face registered surprise for a second but he quickly recovered. "Yes," he said. "As long as you are Ok with that, of course."

When the bill arrived, he didn't even look at the amount before slapping down his Amex Black card.

Even after years of working for people with money, I still found it incredible how they could so easily spend thousands of dollars on a single meal.

"So, where do we go next?" Emil asked as we stepped out into the cold.

"Home!" I said strictly.

"But the night is still young and we need to dance! Do you know any decent clubs?" he insisted.

"Sorry, can't help you," I replied. "In this city, I only know the gay clubs."

"Oh, I love gay clubs," he said without a moment's hesitation. He didn't even give me the usual shocked look accompanied by "You're gay?!" What exactly had his sister told him?

Emil grabbed my arm and boasted, "Gay clubs are the one place where I NEVER have to pay for drinks!"

I was trying to figure out just how offended I should be when he suddenly jumped into a cab!

What the fuck?! Had he ever been in one before? It didn't matter, I'd promised Karina that I would keep an eye on him.

When I sat down next to him, he slapped his CuffPhone around his wrist and told the taxi driver that he wanted to go to The Arsenal. Had he just looked that up or...?

"Why do you always look so tightly wound?" he said, squeezing my leg. "Is Karina working you too hard?"

Why was he so handsy? Was it a European thing? I couldn't remember his sister ever invading my personal space like this.

"We'll go for one drink and then I insist we go home!" I said, holding up a finger.

"Yes, Pappa," he replied with a sly smile. Why did I have the feeling that this was going to get completely out of hand?