“Hello?” Valentina cautiously answered the phone call that came from an unknown number.

“Is this Miss Valentina?” a deep voice with a British accent answered the phone.

“Yes. Who’s speaking?”

“Hello, Ma’am. My name is Duncan Falconer. I am the bodyguard organized by Mr. Grayson. I am to accompany you today wherever you need to go, and I am currently waiting downstairs with the vehicle. Please let me know when you’re ready to leave, and I’ll come guide you down.”

“Oh, I can just come down myself. There’s no need to do all that.” Valentina immediately declined.

“No, ma’am. As ordered by Mr. Grayson, my job is to ensure your safety, and I take that very seriously. Please pass on the access code to the elevator.” Hearing the polite but firm refusal, Valentina turned to glance at Lina, who had come close to eavesdrop.

“No bodyguard will be entering my space before you knock it over with your giant, unwieldy body. Tell him to stay by the elevator, and I’ll bring you down.” Lia quickly grabbed Valentina’s phone and interrupted before handing it back to her.

“Mr. Falconer. Did you hear that?”

“I did. Please refer to me casually, ma’am. Just Duncan is fine.”

“Okay, I’ll be right out.”

Gathering her things, Valentina followed Lia as she led her to the elevator.

“Come here at around lunch time tomorrow so we can do some fittings. I’ll contact the Fallen Angels stylist to get more details on their vibe, and we can decide on the finishing touches like jewelry and accessories as well.”

“Okay.” Valentina readily agreed and silently stood as the elevator quickly went down.

As the elevator opened up in the garage, she couldn’t help but take a step backward.

Big.

That was her first thought.

It was a man well over 6 feet that stood blocking the entrance of the elevator. His impressive physique was tucked perfectly into a black suit. His jet-black hair was buzzed low while his piercing blue eyes were revealed from behind dark shades. His expression was completely blank, and as he removed his sunglasses, she noticed the small scar on his eyebrow, which gave his ruggedly handsome but strict face some character.

Seeing it, Valentina wondered if he was really a bodyguard or an actor playing one.

As their eyes locked with each other, he bowed his head respectfully before moving to the side and putting his sunglasses back on.

“Miss Valentina.”

“You must be Duncan Falconer,” Valentina responded lightly.

“Yes, ma’am.” As he replied politely, the familiar deep British voice sounding out, Valentina pulled out her photo, snapped a photo of him, and sent it to Kaiser with a question mark.

Ass, the man, stared at her blankly, she smiled apologetically as she explained, “I am just double-checking your identity with your employer.”

“That is no problem, ma’am. Verify away.” Duncan calmly replied before looking away.

“Please call me Valentina. Otherwise, you’ll make me feel like an old lady calling me ma’am all the time. Besides, I’m calling you Duncan, right? Let’s have a good day together.” Valentina gave him a bright smile, causing Duncan’s eyes to widen slightly before his training took over, and he resumed his stoic expression.

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Before he could respond, Valentina answered her ringing phone, her face and tone unconsciously softening as she answered it.

“Kaiser.”

“Sending me photos of other men, Valentina? You want me to act jealous?”

“Stop being silly. I’m checking if this is the bodyguard you sent so I don’t end up kidnapped by some strange person.” Valentina rolled her eyes even if he couldn’t see it.

“It’s him, although I don’t remember him looking that handsome when my assistant showed me his file,” Kaiser grumbled in a low tone while glaring at his assistant, Michael Fraiser, who was placing a folder on his desk.

Michael Fraiser: “…?” Had he done something wrong? It was bad enough that the CEO had everyone scrambling all morning; now, he was being glared at randomly. What the hell?

“Oh. Well, I’m glad it’s him, I guess?” she wasn’t really sure what to say to that.

“Enough about another man. I’m looking forward to seeing you. When are you coming to see me? I’ve been having my people prepare.”

“In a couple of hours. I have to go to my apartment, then get Luca, then drive over. Unless it’s urgent?”

“It’s not. Just hurry over. I miss you.” Hearing his low voice whispering to her, she could feel her face heating up.

“Okay, okay, it’s too early for your nonsense. I’m hanging up. See you soon.”

Quickly hanging up as she heard Kaiser’s low chuckle, she quickly turned to Lia, giving the woman a hug and whispering for her to get some rest before following Duncan to a simple Mercedes car, which already had a familiar driver in the front seat.

As he opened the door for her and she stepped in, he calmly asked her.

“Where are we headed… Miss Valentina?” his voice hesitating when calling her by her name.

“You are so, so close to doing a good job. Just Valentina, please. Not miss. Not ma’am. Let’s keep it casual, okay? I want to head to XXXX-address then back to the Grayson house. Is that okay?”

“Of course… Valentina.”

“Good job.”

Giving him a bright smile as she stuck her thumbs up, she entered the car and relaxed as he carefully shut the door.

The drive back to her apartment was quick, and as the car stopped in the parking lot, Duncan quickly opened the door for her.

“Which way, Valentina?”

“I live on the fourth floor, but you need my fob to get into the building. And it’s quicker to use the stairs to get to my apartment.” Plus, she didn’t want to run into anybody. Especially toting around a big figure like Duncan.

As she walked to the stairwell door to the side and opened it, Duncan took the lead and walked up the stairs in front of her, basically sprinting. As she forced herself to keep up with his speed, she began regretting her decision to take the stairs. Why was he so fast?? Why were his legs so long? Couldn’t he pause like a normal person?

By the time she reached the final level of stairs, she was completely out of breath and felt her chest begin to feel stuffy.

Taking a moment to recover, she leaned against the wall, panting. She truly felt as if she would pass out at any moment. Like magic, something cold pressed against her head, immediately cooling her down, and she gratefully wrapped her fingers around it.

Opening her eyes, she saw that Duncan was holding a cold bottle of soda to her head that he had pulled out from who knows where. Seeing that her eyes were open, he calmly spoke.

“Your stamina is sorely lacking; you need to work on that in case there are situations where you have to run from fans, criminals, or warzones. For now, drink this to get some sugar in your body.”

Valentina: “……” the first two seemed reasonable, but what business did she have in a warzone? Still hearing his patronizing tone, she narrowed her eyes at him.

“You think I don’t know that. Also, I’m wearing heels. Let’s see you take four flights of stairs in heels.” Valentina grumbled while sulking. She knew this body of hers was weak, but any attempt at strenuous exercise left her breathless or on the verge of coughing up blood.

“Excuses.” Duncan bluntly replied.

Somewhat angry, she snatched the soda from his hands and tried to open it. Yet no matter how she twisted the cap, it refused to come loose, and instead, she hurt her hand.

“Give it.”

“No, I got it.” She grumbled as she continued twisting it.

“It’s going explode if you keep shaking it like that. Don’t refuse help just because you’re angry. Here.”

Sighing, she turned to look at the bodyguard, staring at her with a slightly amused expression.

“I’m not angry.” She pouted for a moment before sighing again, “I’m sorry for snatching it from your hands and being rude. You meant well.” She honestly apologized while bowing her head. His eyes widened slightly before his lips twitched upward before resuming their neutral position.

“It’s fine. I apologize for my comments. I shouldn’t have been nosy and shouldn’t have made you feel bad. I’m sure you have your own troubles. Let me open it for you.”

Taking the bottle, he easily snapped it open before handing it to her. Quickly taking a sip, she quietly walked to her apartment and had to stop when she reached the door.

It was completely covered in yellow police tape, and on the door, written in ugly graffiti, were the words ‘Go back to where you belong, commoner scum!’

Blinking twice, she calmly put her keys in and opened the door, taking in the entire space.

The usually neat place was completely destroyed. The walls had holes. The sofa looked as if someone had taken a knife to it. The dishes had been smashed all over the floor, her clothes were shredded and strewed everywhere, and the fridge was toppled over, leaking water all over the floor. It looked as if someone had thrown eggs, food, toilet paper. Basically, everything they could at the walls, and a foul smell emanated from the place.

Honestly, she couldn’t even enter the place because of evreything strewn on the ground.

“You think I’ll get my safety deposit back if I tell them it wasn’t me?” Valentina turned to Duncan with a wry smile.

“Maybe you can tell them a pack of wild dogs did it? Or cats?” he calmly replied as his eyes scanned the space for lingering threats.

“Some very smart dogs.” She murmured, staring at the hateful things spray-painted on the walls. Calculating how much it would cost to get cleaners, a disposal crew, and pay to fix the space, Valentina could feel a headache forming.

Money. Money. Money.

She needed more money.

Tired of seeing the mess, she quickly took a couple of photos, then reached out to lock the door. As she turned around, Duncan suddenly moved his entire body in front of her with his arms at the ready, and completely blocking her vision.

Curious at what had him riled up, she poked her head around his large back. Blinking at the person standing across from her, Valentina curved her eyes as she smiled as if she were excited to see the person.

She guessed the saying was true. Enemies really do meet on a narrow road.

Calmly setting her phone to record, she slid it into Duncan’s back pocket before tapping his back so he would put his hands down. As she stepped out from behind him, she gave her most charming smile.

“Hi, Aaliyah. Fancy meeting you here.”