She had already started on her way out of the house but returned a few minutes later to check if the doors were locked, even though she knew she’d locked them before leaving. Call it paranoid, but Rina knew Finn had all the resources he could employ to ensure she lost the house.
But one thing was sure. Rina Powers wasn’t giving up without a fight.
Even though Kayla had hinted a week ago about a relationship between her and Finn, Rina hadn’t exactly believed it because she didn’t know Finn to be that low a person. But when he threatened her with the powers of Kayla’s family, it finally dawned on Rina that Kayla had had no reason to lie to her about that.
Rina laughed at the absurdity of the situation, coupled with the fact that even after everything Finn had said and done to her, she’d still believed in the personality he’d shown to her all those years before it got bad.
Or could that all have been a lie?
Hugging herself from her stylish black trench coat, Rina walked down to the bus stop after her house, as she’d been doing since she got kicked out of her own home. Traffic was slow today, so she sat on the bench, waiting for a cab to come along.
The wind played with her hair, carrying it in its arms, as it created a rhythm and steps for the luxurious shine to make. Rina pushed a stray strand behind her ears, but it was only a matter of time before the wind picked it up again.
It made Rina frustrated.
But it had nothing to do with the wind. It was the fact that she’d become so irritable after that call that every little thing that happened managed to get her riled up. Rin even played with the idea of returning home and just laying under her covers all day.
As the stray thought hit, Rina got off the bench and sauntered into the road, holding her out hand for the next taxi. She needed to prove a point to Kayla, Finn, and everyone else who didn’t think much of her anymore, and there was no way she was going to do that if she was in the safety of her home a home being contended for now.
Rina had gone back to thinking about it, gone back to her blood boiling, and curling in disgust and fury. How on earth could a person wake up one morning, decidedly bored, and realize that the only thing that could get him excited was to inflict pain on another and take away the one thing she had left? Didn’t it matter that they’d once shared a life together?
A taxi slowed down in front of Rina and she got into the backseat, not giving the driver enough time to recover from seeing her face so abruptly. Handing him the address of the fashion house, Rina closed her eyes and leaned on the backrest, forcing all her trepidation to go away.
Today already started on such a great note, and although, the happiness had been threatened by her ex-husband’s call, Rina didn’t want the whole of the day to be dictated by that. So, before she got out of the taxi, she wiggled free from all of those dampening thoughts, putting a huge smile on her face, even when the driver had nothing but scowls and eye-rolls to send her way.
The building was still under construction, so Rina had to maneuver her way in, careful not to fall into anything dangerous to her outfit. It had taken her about an hour to put it together, so it would have been a shame to watch it get smeared so early.
“Rina Powers!” Joel beamed from where he watched her on the second floor, holding his arms wide open like he was about to take a leap. “What do you think? Great right? Can you see the vision?”
“This is definitely something, Joel Osteen,” Rina replied looking above, her voice echoing around the empty building. “The shopping section out front is going to be magnificent. I can already see the idea of having the workstation out back. I can smell the fabrics going into the outfit.”
“I knew there was a reason I picked you.” Joel was so pleased with himself. “Hurry! Come on up!”
Rina took the stairway at the back, the only part of the building that was completed. It led her upstairs, where Joel stood at the landing, with his arms still wide open. Her face broke into a grin as she walked into his arms, taking in the scent of his aftershave and the underlying wood fragrance. She closed her eyes to absorb it, and Joel tightened the hold he had on her.
“Redhead, hun?” he muttered, his hand going up to touch her hair slightly. “I have never seen red look this great on a person.”
“Well, Kayla used to think it was such an unnecessary thing to do.” Rina wiggled out of his embrace slowly. “She thought my fans wouldn’t care if my hair was black today or silver tomorrow, as long as I offered them the premium content they signed up for.”
“I don’t need to say she was wrong, do I?” Joel chuckled, leading Rina into the office at the end of that floor. It was just a temporary space until the whole building was complete, but Joel was thinking of giving it to Rina if she agreed to the additional term he had to offer.
“You never liked Kayla.” Rina still found it surprising how certain people had been able to see her for who she really was, but not Rina, even though she was a great reader of people. Did that mean she must have seen it at some point and unconsciously decided to push it away?
“That isn’t even a point for contention these days.”
Rina made herself comfortable while Joel pulled up a chair beside her rather than going behind the desk. Then he turned to face her and angled his head.
“I want to hear how your week went,” he said in a low tone and an intrigued gaze. “Do you mind telling me?”