Joel tried reaching Rina a million times throughout the night, but she placed her phone on silent when it kept ringing for too long, tossing it on the floor before turning her head the other way to return to sleep. She wasn’t interested in his half-baked apology, because she knew that there was no way he’d had a change of heart in a few hours. Although Rina had no idea why he wanted to speak with her again, she wasn’t going to grant him an audience. She had done that once, and it hadn’t ended well.
A few minutes past six am, her phone started vibrating again from the floor and Rina grumbled in frustration, wishing Joel would just stop. She tried to drown out the loud scrapping sound but it was practically impossible, keeping her far from the arms of sleep. Grunting in frustration, she got off her bed, and walked briskly to the door, picking up the phone and receiving the call.
“Didn’t you get the message last night?” she snapped, not bothering to check the caller ID for confirmation. “I really do not have time for this, so get on with your life and just leave me with mine.”
“Someone seems to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed,” George murmured from the other end of the call. Rina could hear the shuffling of feet clashing with the whistling of a kettle in the distance. She could make out Isaiah’s voice, mumbling something about his daily dose of caffeine.
“More like I haven’t even woken up,” Rina responded, walking back to the bed with the phone pressed against her ear. “Remind me why I have a manager who wakes up as early as 4 am and actually starts his day then.”
“Because I am the best there is in the country, and there is also Isaiah who has to get out of the house on time. But that’s not why I’m calling.”
“Has Scottsdale put up another memo negating Regina’s apology?” Rina asked at once. That was the only sensational topic that was currently trending that could make George call her that early.
“Wrong,” he replied, obviously trying hard to hold the excitement in his voice. “Try again.”
“What is it, George?” Rina knew it had to be something mind-blowing from the sound of his voice, something worth her sleepless night and being woken up rudely. “Has Pages by Claire reached out?”
“I don’t know if this exactly qualifies as reaching out since…”
“George!”
“Okay! Okay!” He laughed. “Have you always been this feisty?”
“I’ve never been one with a lot of patience. So, what is it?”
“You need to go online right now. The internet has gone crazy with their recent post on Instagram. Claire has officially announced you as their main model for one contractual year, telling the world that they can’t wait to have you on board.”
“What?” Rina felt the drowsiness disappear. “You have to be kidding.”
“Go check it out. For some reason, I feel like she’s doing this on purpose; like she’s daring the world to take a go at you, and see if she wouldn’t strike right back.”
“This has to be a dream,” Rina whispered. It was exactly what she needed for her name and career, but she hadn’t expected it to come that early.
“I would have taken the liberty to tell you what the comments are like, but I don’t want to take that chance away from you.”
“Congratulations, Rina!” Isaiah shouted in the background. “You have been the talk of the country consecutively for two days now. That’s a great feat.”
Rina didn’t know what she said next or how the line clicked dead. Her next moment of consciousness was her standing in front of Zayn’s room, her toes digging the rug excitedly and her hair sticking all over the place. She hadn’t even taken a minute to wash her face or brush her hair before rushing down there, but before she could make the split decision to return to her room, Zayn’s door pushed open suddenly and he came face to face with her.
“You are dressed already,” she said before she could stop herself. He stood before her in a navy green two-piece suit, with shiny leather shoes. Rina had to hold her breath so she wouldn’t sniff in his scent.
A smile tugged at Zayn’s lips as he murmured, “I was just about to come to you. Have you seen it?”
“George just called,” Rina responded, her excitement back in place. She danced on her feet in glee and it made Zayn chuckle.
“Come in.” He stepped aside to let her walk through before closing the door softly. It was Rina’s first time in his room inside the villa, and she allowed her eyes to roam through every inch. The room was exactly like him, with the same fierce nature and broody outlook. The curtains were down, shrouding the room in darkness, with the blue lights giving it an alluring yet eerie feel. He had his humidifier on, the vapor floating to the ceilings. The dark furniture reminded her of a cave, but a very jaw-dropping one.
“Your room…It looks enchanting.”
Zayn chuckled again, sitting at the edge of his huge bed. “Enchanting isn’t a word I ever thought anyone would use to describe this space, but that would have to work, I guess. Enchanting. Interesting.”
“What other word would you have used then?”
He angled his head and seemed to think about it for a minute. Unintentionally, his eyes raked her bare face, his gaze going low to her sheer nightwear, doing a terrible job of concealing her sensual frame. Rina’s nipple pierced through the gown, and her lace panties were almost visible. Her hair completed the look, and Zayn wondered if it would be the same if she had just rolled out of bed after sex.
“You came here to show me something,” he muttered abruptly, changing the topic. “There was an announcement on the TV a few minutes before you got here. These things spread like wildfire.”
“What did the commentator say?”
Zayn shrugged. “Nothing extra willing. She just threw a question to the public. They wonder if perhaps, they had been wrong for believing the stories about you. And if you are innocent, they want to know the person responsible for framing you.”