After I Fall (Immortal Billionaires #1) - Melissa Sercia
To Christopher
For always catching me when I fall…
A pretty blonde greeted me with a warm smile. She pulled me into an unexpected embrace. “You must be Raven! Welcome.” Her rose scented hair brushed my cheek. It smelled expensive.
“Piper, nice to finally meet you in person. Thanks again for renting me a room.” With just one glance into her luxury apartment, I already felt out of place. I was a long way from Maplewood. I had to keep reminding myself that it was a good thing. That small towns and first loves who break your heart were things better left behind.
New beginnings were like elevators, lifting you up and down. The doors slide open to give you a peek of each floor and close before you can linger too long. And when you did arrive at your destination, when you finally stepped out, the elevator would disappear behind the doors, becoming your past, and leaving you alone on the floor of new beginnings. Change wasn’t always bad, but new didn’t mean good either.
Piper ushered me in, helping me with my bags. “Where’s the rest of your stuff?”
“It’s…all I have. You said the room was furnished right?” Piper was from my hometown but everything about her screamed New York City. By the looks of the leather couch and fancy art on the walls, it was obvious she was doing well for herself.
“Of course. No worries. I’m such a hoarder, I just assume everyone is. Come, let me give you a tour of the place.” Her recovery was flawless. She didn’t even bat an eyelash at my hesitancy.
The kitchen was small but exquisite with its gas range stove and marble counter tops. I was already picturing all of the meals I could create here. The living room was huge with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city, a leather couch, a glass coffee table covered in travel magazines, and a baby grand piano sat in the corner.
“Do you play?” I asked.
Piper shrugged as she chewed on the end of one of her pointy red acrylic nails. “I used to. I don’t really have time for it anymore. How about you? You’re welcome to play anytime you like.”
I choked back a nervous laugh. “Oh, no. I don’t have a musical bone in my body. My talents are in the kitchen.”
“Well, when I’m actually home for more than twenty-four hours, you’ll have to make something for me. I don’t even know how to turn on the stove,” she joked.
Piper led me down a short hall, stopping midway to show me the bathroom, a small but lavish room with thick white towels, colorful soaps, and one of those fancy rain shower heads that I’ve only ever seen in hotels. I couldn’t believe I was going to get to live here.
At the end of the hall were three bedrooms—Piper’s master suite with its own bathroom, a small office, and finally, what was to be my room. I gasped at the sight of it. It was bigger than my entire apartment in Maplewood. The furnishings were sleek and modern—minimalistic with muted gray tones and sharp lines. The king size bed was fitted with gray sheets and black throw pillows. The mattress sat upon a flat black bed frame with a short headboard that poked out from behind.
There was a small desk against the wall, a sitting area with what she called a fainting couch, and a vanity table framed by an enormous mirror. More of that fancy abstract art hung on the walls in between the two floor to ceiling windows. The room was so spacious, I could do cartwheels across the hardwood floor.
“Well, what do you think?” Piper asked.
“I’m speechless. Are you sure you’re charging me enough? Not that I’m complaining.” I couldn’t really afford to pay more, but I didn’t want her to feel like she was getting cheated either.
She tossed her silky blond hair over her shoulder, showcasing a tiny black heart tattooed on her collarbone. “Nonsense. Money is not a concern. I’d much rather help out a fellow Maplewood and know my apartment is in trusting hands when I’m gone. I still can’t believe we are only now just meeting for the first time.”
Maplewood was a small town. Everyone knew everybody. Except for a few of the elite rich girls who chose to pretend the rest of us didn’t exist. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that we had met before, she was just too popular to remember a nobody like me.