Gio
I had to give Punk his props as I drove up to the valets in front of the CosmoCo hotel, which was hosting the party, although physically it was being held on the rooftop of the Apex Founders Technology building next door.
It was a stunning building with a modernistic framework that had tons of windows for natural light, and atypical shapes and angles that were good for work and inspiration.
Some might not expect such an open and vulnerable-looking building to house a security company, it looked so fragile it could be shattered with a rock, but in reality, Punk was an expert at designing deceptive buildings.
More likely than not, those things visible from the outside were intentionally designed to guard what was more central to the building.
He designed my estate much in the same way.
“Good evening sir,” the valet greeted me as I climbed out of my car. “Preferred lot for ten dollars?”
I reached into my wallet and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and handed it over to him. “Will this ensure my car is protected to the best of your personal ability?”
The valet’s eyes widened, and he gave a slight nod. “Yes sir.”
“Wonderful.” I handed him the key, tapped his shoulder, and then walked towards the front of the hotel where a different staff member was waiting with the door open. “Thank you,” I said as I passed.
So as not to give too many people access to the actual Apex Founders building, they were hosting the party by way of the skyway that connected the building to the hotel.
Party guests were flooding through the skyway towards the elevator that would bypass any floor of importance and take guests directly to the top where the party was.
It was a highly classy and formal event, and people were dressed in their finest. Given that I wasn’t planning on attending the event, I didn’t have anything with me to wear.
I ended up leaving work a little bit early to buy a suit and have it tailored.
It was two grand I wasn’t hoping to spend today, but from the looks I was getting as I approached the elevator, I assumed it was money well spent.
A few women batted their eyes in my direction in the elevator ride up, and because I lost one of the women, I was planning to spend a little more time with just that morning, I eyed them back.
I’d grown accustomed to telling how far someone was willing to go from the look in their eyes.
In both my work and my sex life, usually, I could see from the expressions on their face how adventurous they were, and though the women on the elevator all looked reasonably fun and were good-looking, none of them excited me.
None of them struck me like the perfect sub.
I’d been on the hunt for a match to my maker.
Someone who would truly trust me from the top of their heads down to the tips of their toes and let me show them the benefit of my world.
Though I never planned on getting married or being in any kind of committed, romantic relationship, if there were one woman out there that would make my toes curl instead of the other way around, I’d certainly do what it would take to keep her around.
The elevator pinged as it reached the top, and I and the rest of the guests on the elevator stepped off and out onto the rooftop.
It was immaculately decorated in navy blue, silver, and emerald-green decorations, Apex’s company colors.
Though there was staff floating around the party with hors d'oeuvres and drinks on platters, there were two curved bars on either end of the party, with bartenders serving different, expensive-looking cocktails.
“You made it.” I looked over my shoulder and Milli was walking over with a drink in one hand, and some sort of tartlet in the other. “Took you long enough.”
As my right-hand man, I’d asked Milli to meet me at the party, and given that he didn’t get out much, he was happy to oblige.
He looked rather dapper himself, in a fitted suit, with his dreadlocks pulled back into a ponytail showing his striking jawline and hazel eyes that I’d seen lure many women to their demise.
“Have you seen him yet?” I asked.
“Yeah. He and the brothers arrived about an hour ago.” He pointed towards the stage. “They did their tour of speeches and are now all in different parts of the party mingling and schmoozing.”
“That’s what they do best, isn’t it?” I looked around to see if there was anyone at the party that I recognized or thought was going to cause me trouble, but everyone appeared to be strangers and was too busy soaking in the opulence to pay much attention to Milli and me.
“I need you to get Curtis alone for a private conversation. Because he and AFT’s founder are pretty buddy-buddy, he’ll have his eyes on him all night. I can’t just waltz right up to him.”
“I’ll figure it out,” Milli said. “Go, mingle, drink. I’ll let you know when the meeting is ready.”
I nodded, smiling. “Thanks.”
Milli walked away from me and I started to make my way around the room, keeping my eyes out again for any woman I thought I could have a nice conversation with while I waited for Milli.
My mind was geared towards work, so I wouldn’t bring anyone home with me tonight, but a phone number or two for a later connection wouldn’t be too bad.
It was the perfect spot to find someone too, given the clientele.
Haughty women were my favorite because it was extra satisfying to break them and make them scream out for more.
Hell, if I was lucky, I’d find two or three worth looking into.
I walked around the party, scanning the party goers for someone who piqued my interest. Many women went out of their way to greet me, ask me if I wanted to get a drink or dance, but I didn’t want to land on anyone in particular until I’d chosen a specific target.
Several women were dancing, but I thought I was better off scanning the bar for someone hanging out alone or only with other friends.
I spied a few interesting parties and started making my way over when I saw something that froze me in my tracks.
She was easily the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen in my life, including the foray of celebrities I’d met in my life.
She had long red-orange hair flowing down her back, and her cheeks were sprinkled with freckles.
She had plump lips, the bottom slightly thicker than the upper, giving her a permanent pout.
Her eyes were green and sparkled in the overhead twinkling lights.
She was wearing a floor-length black dress that covered her chest up to her neck but had two slits up the legs and her slim arms totally exposed.
She was slender but had delicious curves and sat at the bar with uncaring confidence, like she knew she was beautiful, but still didn’t want to be bothered.
She actually set my heart to racing, something I rarely experienced in my life.
She was perfect.
Slipping to the side where she couldn’t just look over and see me, I kept my eyes on her for a moment.
As a businessman and a mobster, I knew no one should ever approach someone without notes.
She had a wine glass balanced in her hands, holding it by the stem and not the basin, so she was dignified, but she was swirling it more than she was drinking it, so she was likely pretty stressed out.
A time or two, she ran her hand through her hair, resetting the part from one side to the other, but her hair would always eventually flow back to where it was.
She was like a perfectly drawn design. I couldn’t find a flaw in her.
Watching her, I saw many men approach her, but she was turning them down left and right.
They tried every trick in the book—just looking to talk, just wanted to ask her a question, pretending to network, bumped into her by accident—but for every excuse they tried, she had a quick response.
She was obviously used to turning men down,and with an atmosphere around her like that, it didn’t surprise me.
She was very cordial and polite, but it was hard to get a read for her type with her turning every guy that talked to her away.
It was clear she wasn’t swayed by money or power, as men with copious amounts of both sought her out.
Was I stupid for assuming she didn’t have a boyfriend?
I noticed when she set her wine glass down on the bar, she quickly slipped her hand over the top. While she flipped through her phone, she’d look up briefly glancing around every few seconds. Smart—she was a careful person, just like me.
Unfortunately, it was becoming increasingly clearer that I wasn’t going to be able to just walk up and ask for her number.
Any of my typical tries weren’t going to work either, and I bet she’d even had guys pretend to ignore her and wait for her to say something first. I imagined if I sat next to her and never said anything for an hour, that we wouldn’t speak for an hour.
The challenge brought a smile to my face.
Finally, knowing I wasn’t going to get anywhere just standing and watching, I decided to approach.
She was at a seat near the end of the bar, so I sat at one a few down from her and totally disregarded her for the time being.
The bartender finished up dealing with the guest he was serving, then he came down to where I was and smiled.
“Good evening, sir. What can I get for you?” he asked.
“Do you have a Chablis?” I asked. “Imported not faked.”
The bartender nodded. “Of course, sir.”