Chapter 58: Velvet Shadows 2
Micah’s POV
"Shall we?" Raven asked, turning off the ignition and turning her head to look at me.
I gave a silent, rapid nod. I didn’t even have a printed resume or a cover letter with me—just my university student ID card slipped into the inner pocket of my suit jacket, because I literally had no professional qualifications to my name.
We stepped out of the car, and Raven led the way toward a heavy steel side entrance marked with a glowing red security keypad. She was wearing her usual dramatic goth outfit—a shredded black lace top, a dark leather harness wrapped around her waist, combat boots, and heavy, dark eyeliner that made her look like a creature of the night. She had probably worn the exact same outfit to the funeral service at church earlier today.
Father would lose his mind if he saw her, I thought with a grim smirk. She is the exact definition of what he calls a unrepentant sinner bound for hellfire.
Raven swiped her black card against the keypad, and the heavy steel door clicked open. We stepped inside a private, high-speed elevator lined with dark velvet wallpaper. She pressed the illuminated button for the third floor.
The elevator shot upward smoothly. The low, muffled thud of heavy subwoofers from the main dance floors below vibrated through the soles of my dress shoes, making my heart beat in sync with the bass.
DING.
The elevator doors slid open on the executive third floor.
The moment we stepped out onto the plush, dark carpet, I froze dead in my tracks. Standing guard along the quiet, dimly lit hallway were four tall men dressed in tailored suits. But these weren’t regular security guards—they were wearing tactical ear-pieces, and holstered explicitly under their dark suit jackets were silver handguns.
Real weapons. Armed guards standing outside an office.
My stomach dropped into my shoes. Was this really just a nightclub, or had I just walked straight into the headquarters of an organized crime syndicate?
Raven didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. She offered a lazy wave toward the heavy-set men as we walked past them. The guards instantly cleared the way, bowing their heads as she passed.
"Where is my brother?" Raven asked casually, stopping in front of a pair of massive mahogany double doors.
One of the armed guards pointed a gloved finger toward the doors. "He is inside his private office, Miss Raven."
"Thanks, big boy," Raven cooed, waving her hand dismissively as she pushed the heavy mahogany doors wide open and strutted right inside.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and crept in behind her, peeking nervously at the armed men standing in the hallway. They didn’t even spare me a single glance, treating me like a ghost.
I stepped into the office, and my eyes widened at the sheer, suffocating luxury of the room.
The entire far wall of the penthouse suite was made of floor-to-ceiling glass, offering a breath-taking, panoramic view of the glowing city skyline below. Standing in the center of the room was a massive, dark obsidian desk. Sitting behind the desk, his back turned completely away from us as he stared out at the city lights, was a high-backed leather executive chair.
Raven walked right up to the desk, crossing her arms and leaning her hip casually against the expensive obsidian surface.
"Are you even listening to me?" Raven snapped, her voice filled with annoyance. "I brought someone else for you like I promised!"
The high-backed leather chair didn’t turn around immediately. A deep, smooth, effortlessly dangerous voice echoed from the chair, sounding cool and completely unimpressed.
"Just take him and leave, Raven," her brother replied smoothly, waving a lazy hand in the air. "The last pathetic boy you brought in here turned out to be a complete disaster. He lasted two days, complained about the clientele, and wasn’t even remotely suitable for the high-profile VIP lounges. I gave him a fair trial, and he failed miserably."
As he waved his hand in the air, my eyes caught a glimpse of something strange under the soft glow of the city lights outside.
His hand... he had long, impossibly sharp, perfectly manicured acrylic nails painted in a deep, metallic crimson shade.
I blinked rapidly, rubbing my eyes. Was I hallucinating? Was that really a guy’s hand, or was my tired mind playing tricks on me?
"Trust me on this one!" Raven insisted, stomping her combat boot against the floor. "This one is completely different! He actually wants the job, he needs the cash badly, and he is perfect for the floor! Right, Micah?"
Raven suddenly turned her head to look at me, throwing the spotlight straight onto my pale, terrified face.
"Uh... yeah," I stammered out, my voice breaking slightly as I took a hesitant step forward. "I... I really need the job, sir."
The high-backed leather chair suddenly went dead still.
"Micah?" her brother murmured softly, repeating my name as if testing the taste of it on his tongue.
Slowly, deliberately, the heavy leather chair swiveled around to face us.
The moment the man sitting in the chair came into full view, my jaw dropped completely open in absolute, unadulterated shock.
I stood there, paralyzed, my eyes bulging out of my head. Raven had explicitly told me that her older brother owned this place. So why in the absolute hell was a breathtakingly beautiful, hyper-feminine person sitting in that executive seat?
The person sitting behind the desk possessed flawless, pale porcelain skin, razor-sharp cheekbones, and long, silky dark hair that cascaded over a tailored, high-fashion silk suit. Gorgeous, dramatic makeup highlighted a pair of piercing dark eyes and plush, crimson-painted lips that matched the sharp nails resting on the desk.
I couldn’t stop staring. My brain completely short-circuited as I tried to process what my eyes were seeing.
The beautiful man lifted one dark eyebrow, catching me staring at him like an idiot. With a lazy, dangerous smirk touching his painted lips, he lifted his hand and violently snapped his long, stiletto-nailed fingers directly in my face.
CRACK!
The sharp sound echoed through the quiet penthouse office like a whip.
"Don’t stare too much at the merchandise, honey," he drawled out in a deep, surprisingly rich masculine voice that sent a chill down my spine. "I’m a man."
A man. A stunning, hyper-glamorous, cross-dressing club kingpin who looked like he could order a hit on someone with a single flick of his wrist.
My mind spun out of control. First, Raven—the dark, brooding goth girl who treated holy churches like fashion runways. Then her sister, Sunny—her hyper-girly, Barbie-obsessed sister. And now their older brother—a terrifying, cross-dressing nightlife magnate surrounded by armed guards.
Dear God, my mind screamed in pure, helpless panic as I stared into his piercing eyes. What kind of insane, dangerous mess have I just gotten myself into?