Ezra rolled her eyes with practiced exhaustion. “Thanks for finding the time in your busy schedule.”
Where would they be if I didn’t give them these pearls?
4
ANIYAH
After wiping away tears from laughing so hard, we hung up, and I got to work.
First came the office duties, like approving payroll and reviewing maintenance expenses. Some of our specialty rooms required intensive daily cleaning, which cost a fortune in hands-on labor. When I checked the date, I realized I’d need to handle the in-person sweep myself as today was one of Van’s days off.
Van Tempest was my concierge for the Winged Palace. Two years ago, I’d helped his sister out of a sticky situation and given her a job as a costume designer here, where she felt safe. Not long after, Van showed up, insisting he’d take care of her, but she refused to leave. The next thing I knew, he was in my office demanding a job for himself. He said he wanted to oversee the talent to ensure his sister's safety, and I hired him on the spot. I knew firsthand how powerful loyalty could be when it came from a place like protecting your family, and I recognized when to capitalize on that.
Since then, he’d become one of the people I trusted most. I gave him grief now and then, calling him a “fancy butler” just to seethat spark of fire in his eyes, but the truth was, he was so much more. He handled the day-to-day logistics so I could focus on training, development, and the things I actually loved. But on days like today, I had to do it all, and it sucked.
Once I knocked out the financials, I moved on to the new round of membership applications. Being the first line of defense, I always handled these personally, and I was quick to reject anyone who gave off even a whiff of the wrong energy. Over time, I’d learned to spot red flags with just a single misplaced word.
Even if someone who was the wrong fit did make it past me, they still had to undergo rigorous checks—background, financials, and health. You needed a healthy bank account to get through the door, and no one with under a million of self-worth fit the bill. As for health, supes didn’t carry diseases, but some humans did come here looking for a specific kind of play, and I had human talent to protect.
Finally, there was an in-person interview with either Van or myself. If you passed that, then you moved on to the admin and contract processing. All in all, this place wasn’t easy to get into. You had to be the best to experience the best. That was my motto.
It took me a few hours to finish everything, but once I did, I leaned back and stretched my arms overhead. That was when I noticed a bright pink rose sitting on the bookshelf to my left. I stood up, drawn to it. The rose had just bloomed, lush and vibrant, its stem glittering with wickedly long thorns sharp enough to draw blood with a careless touch.
Tucked beneath it was a small note written in elegant, delicate cursive:Your beauty is deadly, only meant for the strongest hands.
I carefully lifted the rose, bringing it to my nose. Its sweet, heady scent filled my lungs, instantly reminding me of the envelope that had been slipped underneath my door a week ago, stuffed with soft pink petals and a card that simply read,“I’m always left wanting more.”
Running the delicate petals across my cheek, questions buzzed like hornets in my head.
Do I have a stalker? How had they gotten past all the security and into my office? What do they want from this strange little gesture? Is it a warning, a tease, or some twisted form of admiration? Malice or curiosity?
My mind raced, spitting out scenario after scenario until I landed on the question that really mattered, the one that could actually give me answers.Should I tell my siblings?
If I did, they’d flood this place with security, comb through every second of surveillance footage, and make the Winged Palace feel more like a fortress than a sanctuary. I didn’t want that. Not over something that felt so... small. So personal. It was probably just a low-level stalker, more of an admirer than threat.
What if I just let it play out? Wait and see if they escalated?
The dark, twisted part of me I kept tucked away liked the attention. The thought that someone might be watching thrilled me. Excited, desire-filled eyes focused solely on me.Are they watching now?
A shiver of pleasure slipped down my spine as I trailed the flower along my chin and down the hollow of my throat, stopping just at the curve of my breasts.Is this what you want? What do you crave from me?
A sudden sting snapped me out of it, and I glanced down to see a bead of blood blooming on my finger. One of the thorns had caught me. The pain was sharp but grounding, pulling me out of my head.
What the hell am I doing? Putting on a private show?
I shook the thoughts away and gently set the rose on my desk before slipping the card into a drawer. For now, I’d keep this to myself. If it went any further—if they dared to cross that line—I’d tell Alic.
But not yet.
A frantic knock sounded at my door.
“Come in!” I called out.
The door cracked open, revealing a peek of neon red hair and wide, anxious brown eyes.
“Madam Glovefox, we have a problem in the lobby.”
It was Natalie, one of our newer hires who worked the main floor, gliding from guest to guest to ensure everyone was comfortable and had what they needed. I motioned her into my office.
