Life Begins at Midnight

Decision

Richard West called for Julia. "So, Julia. Are we going to have a high-school model or not?" he asked, getting a feeling that the photoshoot was not to be.

"Probably not. There is just one girl who has checked only you. But she has no previous modelling experience, and she isn't like any of your previous models either." Julia sounded disappointed. She had had to reject some really good ones because of Ricky's condition. Nobody could be so confident of themselves that they'd just fill in for the best and no one else.

"There is a girl? Sign her up." He said, deciding quickly. She had chosen him. Him alone. She had not spared a thought for the others. So he would choose her. She had no experience, and that was all the better. She would not be like the rest. He knew it.

"But you haven't even seen her preliminaries!" Julia protested, knowing that Ricky West couldn't care less. Once he had made up his mind about something, there was no looking back.

"I probably won't see her preliminaries till our shoot is over. I don't want to see them and bias myself. This time, I'll see through the entire shoot myself. So tell the crew we shoot tomorrow. At my place."

Julia Hawthorne blanched. At Ricky West's place? Who was this girl, and what was she doing with Ricky? The Zephyr complex was Ricky West's sanctuary. It had been diligently guarded against any media exposure, and it was said that not a moth could enter the complex without Richard West's permission. It was named after the West Wind Zephyrus, and was one of Ricky's most preciously guarded safe places. He had no family to come and visit him. Only a minimal staff was believed to be maintaining the safe-haven, and he never invited anyone to the Zephyr. He did throw parties at many other places which belonged to him equally, but the Zephyr complex was his private space.

"Sir?" she asked, timidly, when she finally found her voice. She rarely called him 'Sir' when it was just the two of them. She knew he preferred Ricky, but this was too much to bear.

He smiled. He was in a good mood. He finally thought he'd have the model he'd waited for so long. "It's Ricky to you, Julia. And yes, you heard me right. The girl will do a shoot with me at Zephyr."