5. Aeri

I stand on the sidewalk, looking up at the all-glass building that has to be at least fifty stories high. The entire neighborhood looks nice. People are out walking their dogs, sitting at tables down the street, eating dinner and drinking coffee. Everything about this part of town screams how expensive it is. Actually, it reminds me a lot of the little city walk my mom used to love to go with her friends for afternoon drinks.

I'm in the wrong place.

That's got to be it, but even looking down at my phone to check the address, I see I'm not. No, I'm at the address the guy on the phone gave me, but this can't be right. Maybe he mixed up a number, or I wrote it down wrong.

That would make more sense, actually, considering how well things have been going. Usually, I have the worst luck. My past and car are a perfect example of that. But the last few days have been almost… Easy?

Ruin, the guy at the auto shop, wasn't a murderer and even helped me find a job and maybe a place to stay that won't drain my funds before I get my first check. I got hired at the first interview I went to and found a place in my budget after just a few calls. Overall, not bad for me.

So fucking it up would be something I should have been expecting.

The Uber I took to get here is already long gone, and this part of town is really busy. Calling a cab in this heat sounds miserable, but since I'm already here, I guess going in to ensure I'm wrong won't hurt. Not to mention, I'm sure with a place like this, they probably have killer air conditioning.

The idea of getting out of this sticky-ass heat is too good to pass up, and without any more debate, I head inside. At least nobody can say I didn't try.

"Hello, Miss. How can I help you?" a man behind the counter calls out the second I pass through the revolving doors, startling me.

Damn, this place must be even nicer than I thought it was if they have someone greeting you that quickly. Usually, that means money and status—a way to keep people like me from just wandering in from off the streets.

"Oh, um," I fumble to pull my phone from my pocket and almost drop it in my haste.

"I'm looking for…" Shit, what was his name again? I should have looked before I walked in here. Now, I've made myself look even more like an idiot than I already will when they tell me I'm in the wrong place.

"Asta!" I blurt, finally pulling up his contact. "I'm not sure I'm in the right place, but this is the address he gave me," I tell him in a rush, feeling my cheeks heat.

Damn it, I should have just taken my chances with the heat and called for another Uber. Too late for that now, though. No, I started this, so I'll just have to see it through. With a deep breath, I pull my gaze off the floor and chance a glance at him.

His eyes are wide as he looks me over, and I'm not sure why, but it makes me uncomfortable. I resist the urge to squirm under his calculating gaze, but fuck if I don't want to.

"I'm assuming I'm in the wrong place?" I say, stepping back toward the door with a forced chuckle that sounds fake even to me. He remains silent, instead watching me for another minute before looking back down at the computer before him. I really hope he's not going to call the cops or something.

"No, this is the right place," he tells me as he types away on his computer without looking up. "Mr. Raboin will be down in a moment, ma'am," he says with a dip of his head, his earlier annoyance with my presence completely gone.

Strange.

Shit. I need to leave.

I make it two steps back before the ding of the elevator rings out through the lobby, loud enough to stop me in my tracks. I could still run, but at this point, it feels kind of childish. I've faced worse than a man who is going to look down on me, and I survived. There's no way, whoever this man is, that he can be worse than him. The second my mind strays to him, I begin to panic. No, I can't go there, won't go there. It's not an option.

With a sigh, I push the thought of him away, locking it up to deal with later. Standing up straight, I lift my chin, pushing my shoulders back to better my posture the way I'd been taught.

Holy fuck…

I feel my eyes go wide, but I can't help it. Who the fuck is this guy?

He's huge. I might be on the more petite side, but I'm five-five, not exactly tall, but not super short, either. This man has to be at least six-three, and as he makes his way toward me, all I can do is attempt to keep my jaw from dropping to the floor. Okay, so maybe taller than six-three.

When he stops a few steps in front of me, I have to crane my neck back to look at him. He's wearing a dark suit that looks as if it was painted on him. His hair is dark, almost black, but not quite. It's pulled back in a bun, and I wonder how long it is when it's down. Despite his otherwise clean appearance, he has just a hint of a five o'clock shadow on his face that somehow makes him look both professional and rugged. Maybe it's because the rest of him looks as though he was sculpted by the gods. From his muscles to his cheekbones and strong chin, this guy looks like he could have just come from a fucking fashion show.

His face is serious, with no hint of emotion, but as I meet his dark eyes, I get the feeling he's almost entertained by my reaction. Weird, you would think he would be used to it, considering he looks like that.

"Aeri, I presume?" he asks with a slight dip of his head and a raised brow. All I can manage is a stiff nod. "Come, let's head up so you can take a look around."

Without waiting for my response, he turns and heads back toward the elevators he just came from, leaving me no choice but to follow him or continue to stand watching him like an idiot.

If I thought he was big when he was standing in front of me, he somehow feels even larger in the elevator, and it's not just because of his size. Something about his presence is almost suffocating; the smell of his no doubt expensive cologne, mixed with his size, and suddenly, I wish he would have suggested the stairs. A quick glance at the buttons on the wall has me abandoning that thought, though. The numbers go all the way to forty-seven, and of course, that just so happens to be the one that's lit.

I should tell him this is all a mistake and stop wasting his time. There's no way any place here is in my price range, not even the janitor's closet. But something stops me. I'm not sure if it's fear or awe, but either way, I remain silent, waiting for us to stop.

He's moving the second the doors open, and I struggle to keep pace with his much longer strides. The hallway is short, and with the swipe of a card, the door beeps, allowing him to push it open. I've never seen a keycard on a door other than hotels, and I never really even considered it an option.

He pushes the door open, and whatever I'd been expecting goes right out the window because this…

This can't be an apartment. There's no way.

I don't even need to walk in to know this place is huge. I can see right through to the far wall, which isn't a wall at all but floor-to-ceiling glass windows with just enough tint to keep the sun from blinding you.

Everything is shades of gray, black, and white, from the floors to the walls and even the furniture in what I assume is the living room near the windows.

There's no one thing that stands out to tell me this place is expensive, but more like all of it added together. I grew up in a wealthy home, but I bet anyone would know just with one look around.

He clears his throat, and with a start, I notice he's holding the door open, his arm outstretched to usher me in. Shit, how long have I been standing here staring?

"Thanks," I mumble as I walk past him into the little foyer area. I'm not sure if that's what it's called in an apartment, but it's a small area with a bench, shoes, and coats.

I wait for him, unsure which way to go or if I need to take my shoes off. He, on the other hand, doesn't pause, instead moving right past me down the main hall toward the living room with the floor to ceiling windows. The space opens up, and even before we reach it fully, I can see the bottom of what must be a chandelier; clearly, the ceilings must be lofted, which I didn't even know was possible.

"Oh my god," I say in awe. This place is beautiful, so much more than I thought possible from an apartment.

"You'll find it's quite the opposite." A deep voice says from my right, and I whip around toward it. Asta had said there were others living here when we spoke on the phone, but I hadn't heard or seen anyone else when we entered.

Turning around, I find not one person, but two.

I'm unsure who it was that even spoke at first...

They're both very different. One of them sits on a stool at the counter opposite the kitchen. The second I look at him, he looks away, turning back toward the kitchen, his head dipped down toward the counter, but I still get a glimpse of him. He's wearing dark skinny jeans and a tee shirt with tattoos that cover his arms all the way to his hands. His hair is shaved short and dark on the sides but so blonde it's almost white and a bit shaggy on top. I'm not sure if it's styled to look messy or just naturally is. I didn't catch much more because he looked away so fast. Maybe he's shy.

"This is Bast," Asta tells me, gesturing toward the blonde haired man. He doesn't look up at me but lifts his hand in a half-hearted wave, his eyes remaining fixed on the counter.

"And that's Kai." Unlike Bast, Kai stares right at me, as if trying to look through me. His eyes are dark green and cold, and I fight the urge to look away. I get the feeling he doesn't like me already, and can only assume he's the one who made the comment. Bast doesn't seem to be keen on speaking.

Kai is dressed in all black, from his sweater to his ripped jeans and even his sneakers. He has his sleeves pushed up to his elbows, and like Bast, his arms are covered in tattoos. He even has them snaking up his neck and one on the side of his face. His haircut is similar to Bast's, but instead of blonde on top, it's dark green and actually styled.

He'd be attractive if not for the fact that his body language is telling me to fuck off. Maybe attractiveness is one of the requirements for living here.

"Talian is out on business at the moment, but I'm sure he'll be back sometime soon," Asta tells me, as if that's normal. People just leave on business for who knows how long. I'd like to assume he's joking, but turning to him, I see he's not. Clearly, it's normal for them.

"Okay," I tell him with a nod, unsure what else to say. It's not like I have another choice right now, especially not one like this. So long as I have my own room, I don't really care who else is here.

"Fantastic," he says, though his face doesn't say that at all. His face says he's bored, and I get the feeling he would rather be just about anywhere else right now.

Without another word, Asta turns and heads down the hall, leaving me to either stand with Kai and Bast or follow him. It's a tough choice, but in the end, I decide following him is probably my best bet. He's the one who set our meeting up, after all.

"This will be your room." He swings open a door but doesn't move into the room. "The main bathroom is back down the hall off the kitchen the way we came. This room has a toilet and sink, but no shower."

I move past him into the room and find a huge bed, two dressers, a desk, and a bedside table, all made of the same dark wood.

Yeah, there's no fucking way I can afford this.

"I'm sorry. How much was the rent here again?" I ask, turning back to face him.

He looks me over momentarily before continuing as if I hadn't spoken. Rude.

"Food is stocked once a week. You're welcome to anything, though meals are to be handled on your own. If there is something you want that is not provided, there is a list on the counter you can add to."

Cool, another thing that sounds too good to be true. I'm not sure what to say, so instead, I remain quiet, hoping he'll answer me eventually.

"You can move in whenever you're ready. The front desk clerk can help you bring your things up should you need it." He finally looks away, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a card that he holds out to me. "This is your key. Don't lose it. It takes them a while to make replacements, and with us in and out, you'll find yourself locked out often."

I take a step toward him but don't reach for the key just yet.

"And the cost…"

I swear his brow twitches, and his eyes almost look as if they narrow in annoyance. "Five hundred dollars the first of every month." He bites out as if the words annoy him to say. It's strange, but honestly, I'm still almost worried I heard him wrong.

Five hundred a month, for all of this?

How?

Why?

I want to ask him, but I quickly think better of it. If that's all they charge, so be it. I'm not going to draw attention to the low rate and possibly have them rethink it.

I reach into my pocket, pulling out a stack of hundreds. Walking around with this much on me was risky, but I wanted to be prepared, and now I'm glad I am.

Taking the card from his hand, I stuff the wad of money in it in exchange.

"That's the first two months. I'm not sure how long I'll need to be here yet past that." I'd prepared a bit of a vague back story on the way here in case he asked questions, but he doesn't, and I don't offer. The less I tell people, the better, and as strange as this whole thing seems, I can't afford to look at it too deeply and talk myself out of doing this.

Is it smart to move in with a bunch of guys I don't know, in a city where nobody knows me?

No, not at all. In fact, I'm pretty sure women are regularly warned against doing this exact thing, for good reason.

Without so much as counting the bills, he stuffs them in his pocket before wiping his hands on his pants as if to clean them off.

"I'll be back tomorrow with my stuff," I tell him and almost chuckle when he arches a brow at me. I've never been able to do that, but I've always wished I could. It's so cool. "I already paid for the night in the motel, so it will give me time to get my stuff together and ensure I'm not wasting the money."

He looks as if he might argue with me for a moment before he finally nods. "See you tomorrow then."

With that, he stalks away, leaving me alone, in what will be my room. I pull up my Uber app and order a pick up. If I'd known the meeting would be so quick, I would have just had the other one wait, but it's too late now. Thankfully, they seem rather plentiful in this part of the city despite the late hour and traffic, so it's only a fifteen minute wait.

With my time limit in mind, I take a few minutes to better look around the room without Asta's eyes on me. Something about the way he was watching me made me feel as if he was waiting for me to misstep. Everything about him was poised and proper looking, very put together, and overall, the opposite of me. He had a strange air about him that felt powerful and intimidating, and although I don't want people snooping into my background, I can't help but wonder how he knows Bast and Kai. Nothing about those two seems to mesh with Asta, aside from the fact that they're big and intimidating. Whereas Asta seems like a Wall Street businessman, the other two look like they'd more likely belong to a gang or a band.

Though again, all three of them are good looking, if you overlook their attitude.

Pushing my curiosity aside, I check the door and almost do a happy dance when I find it has a lock. Seriously, between the cost, the fact that it's furnished, and the food thrown in, asking for a lock on my door seemed like I was stretching, but it's here, and fuck if I can't get over how perfect this lined up to be.

I take a second to walk into the half bathroom and almost blind myself with how bright the light is on the white tile. Having my own bathroom is something I didn't dare dream of hoping for, but I can't help but be confused why there isn't a tub or even a stand up shower in here. There is definitely more than enough room for both, let alone one.

The closet is huge, and between it and the two dressers, I know I'll never fill them with what I brought with me, not that it matters. I don't plan to be here long.

Walking back down the hall toward the door, I don't see anyone. I'm not sure if they've left or went to hide away in their rooms, but either is fine by me. We have more than enough time for awkward interactions now that I'll be living here, and with how my day is going, I'm going to bank on the fact that there will be a lot of them.

Tucking my keycard deep in my pocket so as not to lose it, I take the elevator back down to the main floor. The smile on my face is making my cheeks cramp, but I can't force it away. The guy at the desk gives me a nod, which I return before hitting the revolving door, and even the heat outside can't dampen my mood.

My ride pulls up a second later, and I hop in, hoping and praying to any god that will listen that this luck keeps up, even for just a little while.

Just let me get away, please.