AV.
Alessandro Villanova.
It was him.
He’d never told her the name but she knew. It was him.
Zephyr stared at the address, torn about what to do. If she pursued it, she could change the course of their lives. It would be better if she let it go.
She shut the laptop.
Yeah, she’d let it go.
***
She didn’t let it go.
Zephyr worked as one of the prime hairstylists at Leisure Locks, one of the premium salons three blocks down from the city center and Trident Towers.
Trident Towers were a set of three tall towers skyscrapers in the middle of the city, in what Zephyr called the 'bougie' part of the town. At this time of the morning, it was busy. The roads were heavy with traffic, the pavements were full of purposeful pedestrians, the flurry of activities between corporate suits and carefree artists lively. Tower A had offices for multinational corporations, affluent law firms, and powerful investors. It was the money-making tower. Tower B housed apartments for those who could afford the vista view on the top half, and a luxury hotel on the lower. It was the money-taking tower. And Tower C, the shortest of the three, was basically an overpriced mall with everything from bars and restaurants to high-end fashion boutiques and grocery stores. It was the money-raking tower.
For the last two weeks, she had taken a longer route back to her apartment, walking by Tower A before going home, scoping it out. And in two weeks she’d learned two things.
One, AV Security employed a shit ton of hot, muscular men.
Two, Alpha never exited or entered the building from the front entrance.
In fact, in all of two weeks, she’d only seen him thrice and that too when he’d been walking to the back of the tower after getting out of a huge dark SUV she couldn’t see the name of. Two weeks of research, and a lot of conversations with her sister and SLF employees had made one thing clear—he was definitely some underworld baddie, infamous for providing the best security and pissing important people off.
He was dangerous. And she wanted him more for it like the sucker she was.
Zephyr stood outside Tower A, nervous.
She was absolutely mental. But this was the only way forward that she could see.
Taking a deep breath, she walked with purpose toward the entrance, giving the guards a huge smile. "AV Security, please."
The guards nodded and she entered, taken aback by the massive foyer from the gates to the elevators, with a reception desk on one side with two women, a waiting area with plush chairs on the other side, and cameras on every wall. In her black dress, the one with tiny magenta flowers that were only visible in the correct lighting, she stood watching everyone, and still felt out of place. Her hair was now dyed a deep burgundy and cut with bangs that fell on her forehead, her dress was a little too swishy, and no, she didn’t fit in. Just standing in that foyer made her feel like she didn't belong. But she had to do this, for them and the future she knew they deserved. Even though she didn’t know if the boss version of him would give her the same attention the fighter version of him had. She hoped he did.
Clutching the straps of her small pink bag, Zephyr stood at the entrance like an idiot, gathering all her courage.
"Excuse me, miss!"
The voice from the side distracted her, and she looked to see one of the pretty receptionists smiling pleasantly at her, the phone in her hand. She was probably going to ask her to leave.
"Yes?" Zephyr stuck a smile to her face.
"Are you Miss Rainbow?"
Miss Rainbow?Zephyr blinked, confused before realization dawned. She looked up at the camera pointed at the entrance. He had seen her. And damn if she didn’t love that.
"Yes, I am."
"Mr. Villanova is expecting you."
A slight smirk pulled at her lips, and she blew a kiss at the camera.
Mr. Villanova.So proper.