Valhalla

Chapter 2

Asher's POV

Lying in my bed, my head turned towards the bay window of my room, I suddenly take the daylight in my face.

I straighten up and gather all the strength I had left after this restless evening. After leaving the club I went straight home, quite tired. James and the others had continued to hang out outside with the girls they had brought with them. I couldn't afford that luxury, not yesterday at least.

I got out of bed rubbing my face and went to get ready to go to the gym. A daily ritual that I would not and could not miss. In my job it's easy to damage your joints etc. by repeating the same movement all day long and I didn't want to end up hurting myself.

I put on my gym clothes and a simple top before putting on my sneakers and taking my gym bag with my water bottle and going out, locking it behind me.

The gym was next door to my house so I didn't need to bother taking my car.

I entered and quickly greeted the staff before going straight to my usual session.

The advantage was that people here were not paying attention to me so I could clearly get lost in my thoughts with Ghostemane in my ears.

Soon enough my thoughts went back to the party of yesterday and more precisely to this girl who had come to see me. She was beautiful. And I was far from talking about her chest that she had perfectly highlighted even if I had to admit it, she had a very beautiful chest. She didn't even seem to know me, unlike the girls who were in the VIP area with us. They knew that the guys were going to blow money to impress them and it did not fail, every time they did.

I was right to push her away, she was drunk and it was far from my principles to sleep with a drunk woman, I needed to be sure that my partner was lucid before undressing her and spending the night with her.

And I was far from wanting to end up on the front page of all the celebrity magazines.

My session lasts almost 2 hours and I leave the room sweating, finishing the water in my water bottle on the way back. I take the opportunity and go to the supermarket downstairs to do some shopping, hiding my face with a baseball cap I had for years.

My phone rings as I pass through the egg section and I answer it as the name "Michael" came up.

"I hope you didn't party too hard last night, you have a big day ahead of you. You're signing with new sponsors, you're meeting with the new com team and we have to talk about the com plan for the new Valhalla with them. They are planning a lot of events and want to take a muse. You have to give your input since you're going to be working with her." He attacks me directly

I arch an eyebrow at him and let out a laugh.

"A muse? For a video game? What is she going to do?" I reply, genuinely curious to hear his answer.

"She represents the values of the game, the ideas. At least from what I understand. Don't ask questions and do your job man, we're coming up on a crucial moment in your career."

I nod my head while answering a simple ''ok''. He continues talking as I walk past some black dyes, looking at them intently.

I was clearly going to be cliché with this but I liked the way it looked on my hair. It reminded me of when I was a punk teenager as Theo likes to say.

I grabbed one of the boxes and went to the checkout while continuing my discussion with my manager.

The discussion eventually ends and I head home after paying, giving a smile to the cashier who seems to recognize me.

──・ʚɞ・──

"Asher the punk is back ladies and gentlemen!" blurts out Michael as he explodes with laughter.

I throw my jacket at him with a laugh and leave to sit down and meet the new communications team. I greet them politely before sitting down and putting on my glasses.

I was far from needing them but they were part of the image that Michael and I had created.

"Thank you for coming, we know your time is valuable so we'll keep it short" starts one of the guys from the team looking at me, a smile on his face.

I return his smile and listen to them.

They show me what they had planned for the release of the game. A lot of events and partnerships but most of all a muse. Surely a first in the video game world.

Michael turns his head towards me to see my reaction when asked for my opinion but winces when he sees the hesitant look I must surely have plastered on my face.

"Aren't you afraid it will flop? I mean, a video game muse? What is she going to do? Pose for the cameras?"

They look at each other to see who was going to answer and I sigh as I slowly straighten up in my chair.

"At least look at the candidates Asher.." Michael says as he hands me a binder.

I open it and grimace as I see that there were pictures of girls in all shapes and forms. All models for the most part. I felt like I was at the store shopping.

"Michael..."

I stopped in my sentence as I recognized a face.

It was the girl from yesterday.

Had she been applying?

"Who is she?" I ask as I turn the binder towards them.

"Aaaah my favorite. I knew she was going to hit your eye" Michael says smiling proudly.

"You know her?"

He nodded.

"Not personally no, but her friend signed her up. Since it was unusual, I went to see her at her job, a beauty." He replied

I turn the binder towards me and read the name on the picture, a smile on the corners of my lips.

"Nayeli..."

I look up at the communication team, giving them a huge smile.

"We're doing this. Only if the muse is her. Nayeli."

They smile widely as they nod, probably happy that I was finally following their idea.

I didn't give a damn about this muse thing. I was intrigued and drawn to this girl, I had just been given the perfect way to see her again and talk to her.

Nayeli...even her name was beautiful.