The instant the private jet touched down, Rina was soaked into a world that she was fairly used to, but at the same time, was totally new to her. Hong Kong was a beautiful country to be in, but she barely had the time to go sightseeing as members of staff from Pages of Claire were at the private airport to welcome her. There were five of them, dressed so stylishly that Rina felt she had stepped into a fashion show. The grins on their faces were pleasant and genuine, and at once, she felt at ease, attempting a smile of her own despite her jitters.
Her suitcase was taken off her hands and they ushered her into a limousine that smelt of brand-new leather. There was a bottle of white wine in a bucket of ice along with a wine glass and a note from Claire. She wanted Rina to know that she was out of Hong Kong for a quick interview that day but would be back late at night. Giddy with excitement, she helped herself to the wine, pouring half a glass and bringing the rim to her lips.
Spontaneously, she halted and retrieved her phone from the pocket of her leather pants, taking a picture of the glass in her hand, with the ice and the bottle in the background. She sent it to Zayn before she could chicken out of it, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw he was typing. Her heart almost literally fell to the floor when he stopped typing, but he resumed in a second. The ding she’d been waiting for resounded and Rina smiled at the message on her screen.
“White wine. Claire seems to be trying to steal you away from me. I think I need to do better. Perhaps, the private jet wasn’t statement enough.”
“There were even members of her staff at the airport to welcome me into the country. Cool, right?”
“I would have invited a choir and even brought government officials down. I mean, it is the great Rina Power. They could have done more.”
“Now you are overdoing it.”
“The word overdoing has no power when it comes to Rina Power.”
Rina laughed, slicing through the silence in the limousine. Realizing with a start, she brought her hands to her mouth as if to muffle the sound. Her phone dinged again with another message.
“Will it be too much to ask you to send me random pictures throughout your day? Of course, it would totally be on a platonic level. It isn’t a weird thing for business partners to send correspondence to each other, right?”
“Business partners? Is that what you are calling us now?”
“Is there a better title?”
She mulled over it as she brought the glass to her lips again, taking a sip. Business partners. It didn’t sound as half as bad as she thought it did at first glance. More importantly, it made her mind focused on what they really were business partners and nothing else. Business partners didn’t want to kiss each other when they were in the same room, and they definitely didn’t walk around each other in flimsy night dresses that left practically nothing hidden.
Business partners it is.
“Okay, business partner. Get ready for a wealth of correspondence. We will be making a collation at the end of every month.”
“Aiye, Aiye captain.”
The car came to a halt and Rina had to put her phone back in her pocket, already getting out of the car before the driver came along to her side. They were in front of a luxurious hotel that Rina had heard about. It was the best Hotel in Hong Kong and housed only the most worthy guests. Every single surface inside was coated with real gold and it dazzled underneath the light.
Rina walked in the middle of a team of bodyguards to the entrance. Her name must have gotten all the way there, as suddenly, mics got shoved in her face, with questions getting hurled through the air. They wanted to know what she was looking forward most in working with pages of Claire and some of them also asked what she was going to do about the rumors back home.
The bodyguards walked in front of her to protect her from all the noise but Rina sneaked in a picture for Zayn, already anticipating his response. She held her phone in her hand as they stepped into the grand lobby with people from all walks of life. In there, everyone held up to their own business, with actresses, musicians, known lawyers, and other professionals lining the floor. They headed straight for the elevator and kept Rina in the middle until they reached the last floor. The men walked her to a door at the end of the hallway and swiped the key card before stepping aside to let her through.
A gasp escaped her lips as Rina’s eyes roamed through every surface inside the room. It was like a penthouse, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a beautiful view of the entire city. Her mouth fell wide open as she took in all the space than she knew what to do with. It was made up of a living area and a bedroom, with an adjoining bathroom.
“We will get going now ma’am,” one of the guards said to her. “If you need anything, you can either get in touch with the employee allocated to your needs or call the first floor. They will be here the moment you ring.”
“Thank you,” Rina murmured, still surprised. “This is amazing.”
“We will leave you to it then.”
Her phone dinged in her hands, and it almost fell off in her hurry to see if Zayn had responded to her message. But it was just George, asking if she had checked in. Silently berating herself for the disappointment that had lurched at her, she quickly responded to his message before wheeling her suitcase into the room where she was to spend the next seven days.