Chapter 2 – Aniya’s friends

It was almost two pm when Aniya left the shop. Maddie accompanied her to the exit and helped the driver put all the bags in the trunk. She then waved as Aniya entered her limousine, receiving a blown kiss in return. The cart rolled out, and Maddie kept her smile until she entered the shop again. There, she went straight to the reception counter and sat on the chair. She took a deep breath and leaned her head over the counter.

Amy, the new stylist, got worried and asked, “Maddie, are you alright? Did Miss Aniya annoy you or-“

The shop manager raised one index finger and slowly waved it, without lifting her head. “We don’t talk about our customers on their backs, Amy. I am just exhausted. Miss Aniya is an amazing young woman, but since she came to this store for the first time, I have always felt like this when she leaves.”

She then took a small notebook from the pocket of her trousers and placed it over the counter, pointing at it. “Here, have a look at my notes. As usual, she made pinpoint suggestions about everything she tried, and she even suggested how and where would be the best place to display the new collection and what we could use on the mannequins. There are even some combinations of clothes that she thought about.”

The young stylist flipped the pages and frowned, “What, she thinks she has better taste than both of us? How rude!”

Maddie lifted her head and gave a slight smile. “Every time she suggests something, she is always right. She has millions upon millions of followers on her I.nstagra.m account, where she puts photos of the several articles she buys when a new collection appears. As usual, I took hundreds of photos as she tried the new collection, and she will choose the best photos to put in her account. We need to call headquarters and ask for more articles of the ones she chose because those will be the first to be sold out.”

Amy’s hands trembled, and she looked again at the names that had a circle around them and stuttered, “B-but M-Maddie... Some of these articles are the most expensive in the entire collection! Are you sure…”

“Please, go remodel the mannequins while I call headquarters, and you better get ready to work overtime today. Tomorrow you need to arrive earlier because we will have a line when we open doors. Miss Aniya is tiring, but every time she comes, I get enough commission to have a nice long holiday on a paradise island. I bought my house and my car thanks to her.”

The young stylist slowly nodded, visibly impressed.

As for Aniya, she was looking at her phone, choosing among the photos the ones that she wanted to put on her I.nstagra.m account. It took her mere fifteen minutes to go through the entire list and upload everything.

She then turned off notifications because she was about to go meet her friends for lunch and didn’t want to be bothered by the sound of comments arriving. She put the phone inside her purse again and lowered the shadowed privacy window.

“Davis, did you take care of all that mess properly?”

“Of course, Miss Aniya. Unfortunately, that pervert got up and disappeared into the crowd as soon as you entered the shop. He even winked at me and didn’t seem minimally affected by the blows he got. As for the thief, the police took him into custody, and I gave my testimony, saying that I was the one to knock him out. As you are aware, your name can’t be associated with such an event, Miss Aniya.”

Aniya slowly nodded at the rear-view mirror, reassuring her driver, and she closed the small window again.

In less than thirty minutes, the limousine parked near a high-end restaurant downtown, and Davis rushed to open the door for his young passenger.

Aniya fixed the position of the straps on her shoulders in her brand-new dress. A tight red short dress with sleeves that reached her elbows and a long opening at the front that went all the way until the piercing in her belly button, displaying in full view her sexy cleavage.

As she walked to the front door, the driver disguised a smile at the bare back and the swinging butt of that moody young lady. Aniya was indeed extremely sexy and never worried if she could attract the wrong kind of attention from both men and women.

The hostess greeted her with a forced smile, already mentally prepared to deal with Aniya’s quickly changing mood.

She escorted the young heir to the table in the right corner of the room, where her three friends were already waiting for her, laughing and talking while checking each other’s phones.

Emma Atkinson, the tallest of the group, brunette, with brown eyes and short hair, always annoyed by everything.

Lisa McCarty, with her long, curly red hair, freckled face, and extremely cheerful personality, was the soul of their group.

Violet Green, with her dark long hair and dark blue eyes, was the quietest of them all, always preferring to be left alone than to call attention to herself. Except when she was with her friends, especially if Lisa was around because that crazy redhead had the most amazingly contagious laughter.

Aniya gave a big smile and said, surprising the hostess, who quickly left, “What’s up, my gorgeous dolls?”

Lisa McCarty pointed her phone at her mouth and frowned as she spoke in a low voice, trying her best to sound like a man, but failing.

“As usual, Aniya Rossi caused a gigantic mess in your favourite Dior shop this morning! By this time, this reporter fears for the stylists working there, because they are probably dead from the excess work that the well-known I.nstagra.m influencer caused.”

They all laughed, and Aniya took a sip from the glass that the waiter had quickly filled. She then made a big smile and asked, “That means you already saw it. Thoughts?”

Emma Atkinson made a funny grimace, “Yuck, girl! Those clothes, the hair, your entire makeup! So not you!”

She then made a big smile and laughed, “Hahaha! You nailed it, Aniya, as usual! Did you look at your account? We checked Dior’s I.nstagra.m page, and the comments were flooding in! People from everywhere were asking why you only chose five articles from their entire collection, and if they were going to take the others from the market! So funny!”

Aniya shrugged with a smile. “I didn’t lie. Those are indeed the best ones. The others can be used in a different set, but not in those combinations they put on their website, or in the last fashion show. It’s not my fault if they don’t have the faintest idea of what young women like!”

Lisa McCarty looked at her phone and nodded. “Yup, your account is blowing up, as always. Do you think Dior will ask you to make some comments on their new collection like Calvin Klein did last month? Because you earned a tonne of money from that sponsorship, right? Not to mention the advertisements!”

“I am not sure, actually. I am not worried, though. If their offer is good, I will definitely take it. You know how much I like to spread my name.”

Lisa McCarty gave a slight smile and said, “Still aiming to be recognised for your valour instead of your family name, I see. Well, I don’t mind getting all the goodies that my family name grants me. I prefer to live a carefree life. I never understood why you work so much when you don’t need it!”

Aniya answered while poking the nose of her redheaded friend, “Because unlike you, you crazy ginger, I get easily bored! You always manage to have fun with everything. I don’t. That’s why I love you so much! You always brighten my day.”

Lisa wide opened her eyes and pretended to be shocked, “No way! Did you hear this bitch? She’s gone totally lesbian on me right now!”

They all exploded in laughter, and as they toasted Aniya’s success, she suddenly sensed the same alluring sensation that she felt early that morning. She slowly turned her head right, and outside, in front of the big window, there he was again, the green-eyed man staring at her, completely mesmerized.

To her friends’ surprise, Aniya slowly got up and went to the door. Her three friends saw her approaching that unknown man through the window, and their hands touching while they stared in silence at each other.

Violet Green was the first to break the frozen state they were in, saying, “Who is that man? He is gorgeous! Did any of you know she had a boyfriend?”

Emma Atkinson slowly shook her head, unable to stop looking at the image outside. Her childhood friend looked like something out of a fantasy tale because she and that handsome man seemed to be surrounded by a faint yellow light. “He… looks dangerous... She never said anything… Am I going crazy or are they glowing? “

Lisa McCarty gulped, “Fuck, I think I am in love... with them both… and I was never a lesbian...”

Outside, Aniya spoke, and her voice didn’t seem like hers, “I… am Aniya Rossi… Who are you…”

“I… am Nick Kerrisk…”

“You… we never met… except this morning… right?”

“I searched for you for so long… I know you can also feel the connection, the power of the moon rushing through us…”

Aniya quickly retrieved her hand from his and frowned. “What the heck are you talking about? Connection? Power of the moon?”

“You don’t know? You have never changed? Not even once? How is that even possible?”

Aniya jolted and placed her hand over her chest, slowly tapping it, taking slow and deep breaths. That was something that she did ever since she could remember, to calm herself when under stress, and it normally worked. Except for that time. She felt like losing herself in those hypnotising dark green eyes, and she couldn’t calm her heart.

“I don’t know what you mean. What is that change?”

He made a sad smile and gently caressed her chin. “I will explain to you another time, because there will be the first full moon of the month tonight, and I must prepare myself. Don’t tell anyone this, because you have no idea of the risk I took to find you over the last few years. If you love me, and I know that deep inside you do, you will do as I ask. My life is in your hands, Aniya, as it was always meant to be. Goodbye, my love.”

Nick Kerrisk turned away and looked back at her for a second before disappearing among the pedestrians.

Aniya stood there for a while, trying to stop her heart from coming out of her mouth. When she felt calmer, she went inside again, preparing herself for the flow of questions that her friends would ask her, considering the sudden way she left. Without even knowing what to answer, she sat at the table again and gulped down the contents of her glass.

Aniya leaned her head over her arms that were resting over the table and sighed, “I… don’t know what happened, but I think I just met the love of my life…”

Lisa McCarty gulped, “Yeah… we saw that... Who was that man, Aniya? He was gorgeous!”

“No idea. I saw him twice this morning while I was going to that shop, and I felt attracted to him in a way that I never did to a guy. Outside, I felt as if I had been waiting for him all my life. We barely talked, but I already miss him… I just know his name… Nick Kerrisk...”

Violet Green glanced at the others, and they all nodded at her with a smile. She then spoke while gently grabbing Aniya’s hands, “We are happy for you, Aniya, but please be careful. He was handsome, but he also looked dangerous. But no matter what happens, we are here for you, as we always have been.”

Aniya raised her head with a tear trying to come from her left eye that she quickly caught with her napkin to prevent her makeup from being ruined. “Thanks, girls, but you know me. Even as handsome as he is, if he tries something fishy, I will break his neck.”

Lisa McCarty clapped her hands with a big smile and said, “That’s our Aniya, everyone!”