With a nod, Maxi confirmed, “It would.”
“Okay.” The teen’s smile was back in full force as he moved around her to open the door for another resident. “Thanks again, Miss Rizzo.”
“It’s Maxi,” she corrected him for probably the hundredth time as she made her way to the elevators. “And, it’s my pleasure. I’ll grab the tickets at work today and leave them for you.”
After stepping inside she reached out and pressed the number seven just as her phone buzzed. Looking down, she saw that it was a text from her boss, Jessie, letting her know that she’d gotten to the event early. She said that everything looked amazing and she would be working there until Maxi arrived to go over a few things. Maxi responded that she’d be there in an hour.
Maxi loved her boss, but the woman had a very difficult time relinquishing any control and could sometimes display OCD behavior. That bothered some people, but not Maxi. She took pride in her and her team’s work and never worried about Jessie checking up on her. In fact, the few times that she and her team had missed something, Jessie had caught it and Maxi was grateful. She welcomed the scrutiny, especially this week. The next ten days had to be perfect.
Two months ago she’d signed her most high-profile client to date. Ricco Kingsley, who was born and raised in Chicago. His fans, the Ricco-Nation, made Justin Bieber’s Beliebers and Beyoncé’s Beyhive look tame. His sophomore album was the most anticipated release of the year and it was dropping next week. Today was his first listening party and she crossed her fingers and toes that everything would run smoothly.
This was the opportunity she’d worked towards for years. This was it. The big leagues. It was do or die. Sink or swim. A smile of anticipation tilted her lips as nerves, disguised as butterflies, flitted in her stomach as the elevator doors slid open. But the moment she entered the hallway, her smile fell. The air was heavy and a prickling feeling crept up her arm. Six weeks ago, she probably would’ve ignored the sensation. But now, now she knew better than to dismiss her instincts.
She walked down the hallway and noticed that her door was slightly ajar. Reaching into the side pocket of her hoodie, she pulled out her key ring, which held pepper spray, and detached it. Her hand shook as she pushed the door open, lifting the pepper spray in front of her as it swung. The scene that it revealed caused her feet to cement in place and her entire body to go numb. Her chest rose and fell in labored breaths as her adrenaline spiked.
“Max, is everything okay?”
Maxi jumped and spun around to see her neighbor Jana behind her. Her friend’s long blonde hair fell over her shoulders as she tilted her head to see past Maxi.
“Oh my God!” Jana exclaimed. “Have you called the police?”
Maxi shook her head and lifted her phone as she turned to enter her apartment. “I need to call work—”
Before she’d even made it one step, she was jerked backwards. “You are not going in there.” Jana whisper-yelled as she pulled Maxi into her apartment, which was across the hall, and shut and locked the door. “You don’t know if whoever did that is still there.”
Good point.
“You call your work, I’m calling the cops.”
She and Jana had become fast friends when Maxi moved into the building three years ago, right after college. Over the time they’d lived across the hall from each other they’d shared movie nights, borrowed milk, let the other in when they’d been locked out, and drank more wine together than all the Real Housewives combined. She’d always appreciated the convenience of living so close, but she’d never been so happy to have a friend near as she was right now.
Jana’s voice faded as she walked into her kitchen on the phone with the nine-one-one operator.
Maxi was happy for the semi-privacy. Before she called work she needed to make another call to Statesville Correctional and she didn’t want an audience when she did it. This nightmare just kept getting worse and she had to know if he was the one orchestrating it.
She felt so alone. So scared. So exposed.
Her hand was still shaking as she ran her finger over the screen of her phone and fought the urge to call the one person that she knew would make this better. Her prince. Billy. Since his retirement from boxing, the former heavyweight champion fighter had transitioned to a badass bodyguard. She knew that he would come to her rescue and save the day, but then what?
Nothing. That’s what.
It was all she could do lately to hold it together. Involving her greatest weakness when she was at her most vulnerable could have catastrophic results.
This was real life. Not a fairytale. Or, if it was, it was the Brothers Grimm version. Just as she always had, she reminded herself that Billy “The Big Bad Wolf” Marshall was not her knight in shining armor. He’d had enough drama in his life without her adding to it. He was not her happily-ever-after. He was her never-gonna-happen…