Chapter Two

Penny

Talk about a drama-filled weekend. I had gotten all dolled up thinking I could impress my boyfriend and keep him happy, but instead I ended up jacked against the wall in the Expose Club, all because he thought I smiled at another man. Troy had always been rough, but our relationship didn’t start getting really abusive until the last few months. His jealousy knew no limits, and he took it out on me at every turn. I couldn’t believe that someone from the third-floor elite actually came to my rescue. He was like a real-life superhero, with his charming demeanor and strong muscles. I was just happy that I was still there to think about it. I pulled my sweater up high around my neck to hide the handprints Troy had left. I just wanted a cup of coffee from the Avalon Café in the lobby of my building, and then I would go back into hiding.

I stepped up to the line and looked around at all the people shuffling in and out of the building. I loved my dad’s apartment complex, but no matter how hard I tried, I never felt like I truly belonged there. I was on the brink of my own discovery, a software that I had created for artists, but until I could get it sold and marketed, I had to come stay with my father on the sixty-first floor. I had graduated from Yale several years before with a software-engineering degree. I interned at one of the largest software firms in the country, but when I came up with my idea for digital artists, I branched out on my own. I was like a mad scientist in a lab for many months, correcting and perfecting my creation. With a team behind me, all I had to do now was get it in the hands of the right company, and I would have my first million. Sounded easy, but it was definitely not that simple.

I sighed, looking up at the man in front of me. He was tall, dark, and from the look of his muscular physique, pretty handsome. I glanced down at his hand, noticing he had some cuts and bruises on his knuckles. He turned to the side, and I immediately recognized him. It was the guy who had saved me at the club the night before. I hesitated for a minute, but realized I hadn’t had a chance to thank him.

“Excuse me,” I said touching his arm. “Are you the guy from the club last night?”

“I am,” he said, turning around, his face showing he recognized me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, thanks to you,” I said. “I’m sorry I didn’t thank you last night, I just wanted to get out of there and safely back home as fast as I could.”

“It’s all right,” he said. “It had to have been pretty traumatic for you. Tell me you didn’t go back to him.”

“Troy?” I shook my head feverishly. “No, absolutely not. He had been pretty physical for a while, but that was over the edge. I honestly didn’t know what to do. If you hadn’t shown up…”

“You don’t have to worry about that now,” he said, smiling. “So, what are you doing here at the Avalon?”

“Oh, I live here,” I replied with a smile. “Well, my father lives here, and I am staying with him for the time being.”

“Really? I live here too. I’m Gabriel,” he said, reaching out his hand.

“Penny,” I replied, gently shaking his hand. “I’m on the sixty-first floor.”

“Not too far from me,” he said, moving forward in line. “I’m on the sixty-fifth.”

“We’re practically neighbors,” I said smiling.

“I’ll have to stop by for a cup of sugar,” he chuckled.

We stood there talking back and forth, flirting a little, as we made our way through the line. He bought my coffee and smiled as he handed it over. We walked away from the café and into the lobby where there was more room to talk. He was so handsome, even more than I remembered from the night before. His charming smile made my heart flutter in my chest, something I hadn’t felt in a really long time. When he spoke, he stared right into my eyes, something that most people in the building avoided at all cost. The Avalon was built for the superrich, and not those that had just become rich from a lottery win or a lucky stock pick, but the deep-rooted wealthy.

My father was one of those men, an investment banker that had come from a prominent family. When my mother left him several years ago, he moved into the Avalon, not wanting to buy another house since he was all by himself. My father and I had a special kind of relationship, and I was glad that I had him there with me.

I hadn’t told my father about Troy, and how he had a propensity for violence against women. When I was in the situation, my mind was different, but after bolting last night and making a promise to myself not to go back, I was seeing things in a whole new light. My father never liked Troy much anyway because Troy liked to control me, to push and pull me where he wanted.

Troy was in banking as well, but he hadn’t ever been able to pull himself above the lower rankings. My father felt he was dating me for other reasons and was suspicious of his motives. To be honest, over the last few weeks I had started to question his motives as well, and that was when he really started to get violent. Before it was a push here or a minor slap there, but it had gone full force to the point where I was terrified, and he knew it. That was probably why he never let me out of his sight, trying to get me to move into his place and leave my father’s apartment. Good thing I listened to my intuition, because Troy’s house was the last place I ever wanted to go now.

“I’m so glad it’s Saturday,” I sighed. “My father has been working like a dog. We’re going to have a relaxing afternoon. He needs it.”

“I think we all do,” he said, looking around at everyone milling around. “Sometimes I think people in this complex appreciate Saturdays more than anyone else on earth.”

“I think you might be right,” I said, giggling as an older gentleman walked by, a floatie in his hand and flip flops on his feet, obviously heading to the pool.

“I’d love to take you out sometime,” he said, with pure confidence.

“I would lo—,” I stopped as my phone started ringing loudly. “Oh, sorry. Hold that thought. Don’t move.”

“I’m stuck here like glue,” he chuckled with a huge smile.

I laughed, looking down at my best friend’s number on the screen. She had perfect timing and could give me some advice on making plans with his hunk. I walked several feet away and answered the phone.

“Gabby,” I said laughing. “You have like the most perfect timing. I was just being asked out by Mr. Perfect Smile.”

“Penny,” she said, with a serious tone. “Troy is here, outside of my apartment. He looks pretty beat up, and he’s screaming in the hallway. I think he is looking for you and he is more than pissed. What the hell happened?”

“Shit,” I said, looking back at Gabriel through the crowd of people. “Okay, don’t move. I’ll be right there.”

I wanted to run over and tell him really fast, but I didn’t have time. Troy was pissed, and I knew he wouldn’t leave Gabby alone until he saw my face. He figured I would be there because that was where I usually went after we’d had a fight. I knew that, though, and had come straight home last night, knowing that security here wouldn’t even let him into the building without my consent. I looked over at Gabriel, standing there looking around and sighed. I guess my happily ever after with Superman was just going to have to wait.

I turned and walked through the lobby and quickly out the door, hailing one of the cabs always parked out front. I had been living at the Avalon for months and had never seen Gabriel, and part of me was disappointed that I didn’t give him my information. It was a good possibility that I wouldn’t see him again, but I had to get to Gabby. Troy was not her problem but unintentionally, I had gotten her into this whole mess. I called the nonemergency number for the police and gave them Gabby’s address, letting them know what was going on. I would let him see my face, but he was going to know that it would be the last time.