Outsider - Book Two

Chapter 2

TWENTY YEARS LATER

'Thanks.' She spoke to the vending machine man. He passed her back the change, the air was a lot thinner today. Making her bones quiver from the cold. She stood outside a tall apartment building in LA.
Eight months she had lived in LA, so different from the New York streets she had been born and raised on. She took a bite from the pretzel, it wasn't half bad but she still preferred the ones in New York.

She gazed up at the building, it's silver windows reflecting off every light that touched it. She crossed the street and threw the rest of the pretzel in the bin.

It was time to begin her mission. For the last few months she had been here, observing but she couldn't hold back any longer. Who cares if Giovanni told her to step back, take notes. She had been doing everything he had asked of her, her entire life.
It was time for action.
Plus he was still busy running his own business back in New York.

She entered the building, putting her long brown hair into a ponytail.

She walked over to the receptions desk.

'Can I help you?' A rude, young looking blonde spoke from behind the counter.
'Hi, I am so sorry. I'm completely lost, it's my first day as a maid here and no one has given me my key-card yet so I can't go through the staff door.'

'Okay, okay!' The girl turned around and opened a cabinet behind her. She turned back to Cece.

'Use this for the day, until you get your key-card. Now go! Before guest's spot you.' She shooed her away.

Cece walked through the lobby and to a door with the words Staff above it.

The card worked.
She slipped in swiftly, walking down the long halls. Finally she found a room filled with staff uniforms.
She walked in and checked around, no one here. She closed the door behind her. Grabbing a maids outfit.
Jesus Christ?! Who the fuck owned this place? Hugh Hefner?
The uniforms were only a inch away from being too slutty.
She put her hair down and walked back out of the room, people were walking up and down the halls. Some talking, some in a hurry to get to their next place.

She grabbed a cleaning cart just lying somewhere in the hall and walked to the elevators. She swiped the key-card.

Pushing the cart inside.

'HOLD UP!' Someone called out. She didn't move, a girl in a tight blue polo shirt and black pants ran in. Almost out of breath.
'Thanks!' The girl smiled. She looked around the same age as Cece, twenty-six.

'I swear it's been such a bad luck day for me.' The girl started talking. 'Do you ever have days like that? Where you're either running late or you keep dropping things?'
'Totally.' Cece exclaimed, pretending to give a shit.

'I swear, I left my head at home.' The girl laughed awkwardly. The doors finally opened. 'This is me! Bye!' Cece gave a fake wave and waited for the doors to close.
The light showing which level the elevator was on kept going up and up. God, how many fucking floors were there?

There was a small mirror in the elevator, she glared back at her reflection. She had straight, long light brown hair. Brown skin and Dark brown eyes. Her face was round but not chubby. Her mother was Chinese and her father was Italian. A strange mix, she remembered her fathers light wavy hair.
Always flopping over his eyes.
She missed him, she missed him every single day.

She looked at her left arm.

A black and silver dragon curled it's way around her arm, a gold patch over one eye. It was the dragon from a story her father had told her many times. Though she had never gotten sick of hearing it.
She remembered the last time he told it to her, the night before he died. If she had known it was the last time she would have dragged it out longer.