The man stood up so fast the chair scraped loudly across the floor.
“Please!”
I looked away from him before he even finished speaking. Because once I was done with somebody, I was done. I didn’t need to see the rest. By the time I got back to the house, it was almost dark outside, and my phone was still burning a hole through my purse.
Luciana was in the kitchen when I walked in, standing barefoot near the island with a glass of wine in one hand while she talked to one of the cooks. She looked up the second she saw me. “You look pretty.”
I stopped for a second. “What?”
“You heard me.”
I looked down at myself automatically even though I already knew what I looked like. I had changed after the warehouse wearing tight black pants, a cream silk blouse, and gold hoops. With my hair curled instead of straight for once.
“I always look pretty.”
Luciana smiled a little. “Not like this.”
I rolled my eyes and walked past her toward the fridge. “You’re annoying.”
“And you’re up to something.”
I pulled a bottle of water out and twisted the top off. “I’m tired.”
“You’ve been tired for weeks.”
“I run an empire now give me a break.” I insisted.
“No,” she refused, watching me too close. “You’ve been different.”
I kept my back to her while I drank the water because I didn’t want her looking at my face too long. “You keep dressing like you have somewhere to go.”
“I do have somewhere to go, meetings and work.”
She continued to study me. “You changed your hair three times this week.”
I looked over my shoulder at her then. “Why are you watching me like this?”
She shrugged and took another sip of her wine. “Because you’re acting weird.”
I shook my head and walked out of the kitchen before she could keep going. That night I barely slept. I laid in bed staring at the ceiling while my mind ran through everything over and over again. What I was going to wear. What I was going to say. What he was going to look like when I saw him. I ended up getting out of bed a little after two in the morning and walking barefoot through the house in one of my silk robes. The whole compound was quiet except for the guards outside and the sounds of the air conditioning.
I went to the smaller property the next day before lunch. Nobody thought anything of it because I owned so many houses now that it wasn’t unusual for me to move around. Since the property sat farther out, closer to the hills and coffee fields, tucked away enough that nobody would come out there unless they were invited, I knew everything would be fine. It was beautiful to me with white stones, and long driveway lined with palm trees. The back terrace overlooked rolling green hills and water which was a distance away. There was a fountain in the courtyard and soft lights all around the property that made everything glow once the sun went down.
I spent the entire afternoon getting it ready myself. I told the staff they could leave after dinner. I told security I wanted only two guards at the front gate and nobody else near the house unless I called for them. I went into the kitchen and made sure there was food there he would like. I had steak, fruit, empanadas, pastries, and tequila. I had one of the women bring fresh flowers into the bedroom, but I moved them myself because I didn’t want it to look too obvious.
By the time the sun started setting, I had changed clothes three different times. I indeed ended up in the wine-colored one. It hugged my body perfectly, low in the front and the fabric was smooth against my skin. I left my hair down in soft curls and put on the perfume I knew lasted the longest. Then I waited and that was the worst part. Every sound outside made me look up and every phone vibration made my stomach drop. By the time my phone finally lit up, it was almost midnight.
Of course, it was from his encrypted phone telling me he had just landed. I stood up so fast I nearly knocked the wine glass over beside me. For a second I just stared at the message. Then I grabbed my purse and keys and walked out toward the back entrance where the car was already waiting. The drive to the private landing strip only took about twenty minutes, but it felt longer because my nerves were so bad. The roads were dark and empty, winding through hills and trees with only the headlights cutting through the night. My driver didn’t ask questions because he knew better. By the time we pulled up to the small private runway, my heart was beating so hard I could feel it in my throat. There were no lights except for the few along the edge of the landing strip and the glow from the small building nearby and it was no security and no extras just how I liked it.
I stepped out the car , wrapping my arms around myself against the night air while I looked out toward the runway. A few seconds later, I saw the lights in the distance. Then the jet camedown smooth and quiet, and it was smaller than I expected, but that was probably him being discreet in the dark against the night sky as it rolled and came to a stop farther down the strip. For a second I just stood there staring at it. Everything around me felt like it was paused, including the wind. Then the jet door opened and the second I saw him step out, looking tall and broad in dark clothes with a hat that was sitting low over his face and his hands in his pockets, I forgot how to breathe.
DOMINIC ROYAL
When the jet door opened and the night air hit my face, I saw her standing there at the edge of that little private runway like she had been holding her breath the whole time the plane was coming down. Victoria had dressed for me too and that was obvious before my shoes even touched the steps. The wine-colored dress hugged her body, and her hair was down in soft curls and pinned up in some places. Even from where I stood I could see her earrings shining under the lights. She had both of her arms folded around herself like she was cold, but I knew better. She wasn’t cold, she was nervous and excited while trying too hard to look calm.
That was the problem with women who wanted too much. Their hope always showed somewhere even when they tried to play it off… especially the thirsty muhfuckas. I came down the steps slow, with my dark hoodie on, and shoulders relaxed. Behind me, Tone and Rell stayed exactly where they were supposed to stay, halfway in shadow mode inside the jet, yet close enough if something went wrong, they’d be invisible enough that nobody on the ground would know I hadn’t come alone. Victoria’s eyes never lifted past me anyway. She was too locked into what she wanted this to be.
By the time my feet hit the runway, I had already counted the cameras near the strip, the angle of the small building off to the side, how far the car was from the jet, how many guards I could see, and where the blind spots were. The strip itself was clean. She really had done what she said she would do and kept this quiet. No extra men were standing around, and it was no convoy. She thought she was giving me orders, but I had my own shadows in Colombia, and the driver was one of mine little did she know. It was easy to flip people when money talked.
