“Change of plans,” I say to my chauffeur. I hand him the sheet of paper with Talent’s address written across it in red ballpoint pen. “Please, take me here.”
Yael’s dark brown eyes bore down on me like he doesn’t know the answer to the test and is afraid to guess the wrong answer.
“I always appreciate your discretion,” I say, climbing into the back of the Suburban. I don’t close the partition between us, even when his dark irises reflect back at me from the rearview mirror.
Talent lives in a skyrise luxury apartment building that sits at the very top of the city like a castle before its people. The eminent structure stretches for the sky, offers panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, and comes with a full staff.
“Welcome to Grand Opal, ma’am.” A valet attendant opens my door and offers me a hand.
It’s uncomfortable to break my own rules, but I meet the attendant’s eyes and thank him for his help out of the vehicle. He smiles kindly and steps away, allowing me space to stand on the pavement without crowding my personal space.
“Do you have any bags?” he asks. He stands with his feet shoulder-width apart and his hands crossed behind his back.
“No,” I answer solemnly. “I’m here to visit a friend.”
He closes the car door and pats it twice, signaling to Yael that he’s free to go. The valet attendant chaperones me toward the building entrance and points to the reception area where I need to check-in. Unless you’re a resident in the building, no one is allowed past the lobby.
Dog Mom would love this shit.
“Name, please,” the receptionist asks. Her eyes sweep over me to take in my hair and the lipstick that doesn’t follow my lip line exactly, and she looks away. I appreciate the monotony of our encounter.
“Cara Smith,” I say out of habit.
She underlines every single name on the guest list with the tip of her finger. A creeping sensation tiptoes up my spine, and I start to second-guess my reasons for being here.
“I don’t see your name on the list,” she says politely.
I rub the back of my neck and search for the exit door in case I decide to make a run for it. “Can you check for Lydia Montgomery?”
She smiles and rechecks her list, starting at the top. Her finger suddenly stops and draws an imaginary circle around my name written beside Talent’s. She stands, suddenly treating me like an especially important guest and not a stray who accidentally found her way in her lobby.
“I’m sorry for the initial confusion, Miss Montgomery. Mr. Ridge is waiting for you.” She gestures toward the wall of elevators. “You’re going to the penthouse on the fourteenth floor. One of our attendants will take you up.”
All elevator music sounds the same: classical with slow strings and rhythm that never picks up. Its purpose is to distract passengers from dwelling on the fact that they’re trapped in a pulley-controlled box. Calm your nerves, don’t think about motion sickness, snapping cables, or imminent death—focus on the soothing sounds of the waltz.
Elevator music doesn’t help calm the blooming anxiety that escalates as I ascend closer to the penthouse. If the pulley cable broke and I plummeted fourteen stories to my death, would it be worse than knocking on Talent’s door? I’m starting to wonder.
We come to a stop on the ninth floor. A professional-looking man who happened to accompany me this far on my journey to the top of the sky steps closer to the double doors before they part. Close to home, he loosens his tie and exhales a lungful of air. It’s as good as watching his burden drop from his shoulders, and I can imagine the way he’ll drop his briefcase and kick off his shoes once he’s inside his apartment. Maybe he has a partner waiting for him. Or an animal.
I think about following him out, but I sink farther inside until the sunlight in the hallway can’t touch me. As terrified as I am—not of a plunging elevator car, but of how quickly my life has changed and how it circles back to Talent Ridge—I can’t help but feel like the fourteenth-floor penthouse is where I’ll uncover the next part of my life.
Closing my eyes once the double doors seal me in again, I inhale slowly through my nose and out through my parted lips. The elevator jolts to life