Love's Inferno

Chapter 6- The Email

Lou 

I was at a complete loss for words or a way forward. I couldn't move - literally. My leg was still caged behind Dante's and the warmth which had previously been oddly comforting now felt stifling as his eyes rifled through the features of my face. And I couldn't be awake to it the vulnerability I felt as he looked at me, peeling away the layers of my normally well-fortified privacy; so I closed my eyes needing to take a breath. I hung my head in my hands and breathed, trying to isolate myself, trying to hide, if only for a moment. For a beat there was silence and I found myself wondering how to wade through the wake of the hurricane that had just upended my life sitting across from me. 

"Shiloh..." I opened my eyes not because he had called my name but because of the way he'd done it. Gone was the professionalism and curt, thinly veiled hostility so prevalent only moments earlier and in its place a soft pleading. He looked at me now, studiously and I felt invigorated, like a plant blooming during a time-lapse in the golden hue of a lazy afternoon sunset. 

"I just... need a minute. I need to think." So he gave me a minute, maybe a few more and we sat in silence. 

I looked at him again and it was painful...how beautiful he looked after destroying my life. His hair fell over his now still brows and his lips remained relaxed not sneering,  scowling, or moving at all. 

"Shiloh." a pause. "Did you read the email?"

The email. 

I had read it. 

Tony's email where he stated that his good friend Mr. Sanseverino would be his personal security/plus-one. I liked to mind my business because I didn't often like the questions that tended to follow me when people dug in mine, but even I had an idea of who the guy was. Mr.Sanseverino was a cyber-security tycoon who opened a personal security branch in the last decade. A lot of A-listers used the company for security and refused to do any press without it but I distinctly got the impression that a lot of their attachment to the company was because of the man who owned it. The mystery seemed to intrigue everyone and everyone; celebrities, politicians, socialites, influencers, actors, high fashion designers, models, photographers, ambassadors, directors, tech mavens...they all seemed to clamour for the opportunity to hold court in his highly sought-after company. Jesters and loyal subjects alike for the ultimate behind-the-scenes taste-maker. 

I could never really seem to understand why the man had amassed the degree of power he had but I figured it was just way above my pay grade. It wasn't my business and I was fine with that.  The guy was a notorious recluse but that never stopped the flurry of gossip which followed whenever his name was mentioned in the office. Most of it was idle and sensationalized; mention of what he'd worn, what club he had frequented and which supermodel he had recently been spotted with but none of it ever held any substance and all of seemed like a headline suitable for TMZ or People magazine. It was all desperate, acutely vague and devoid of any real substance. 

What was also absent was any mention of him in any publication which could be even remotely likened to a blog. There were no recent pictures and the ones which did exist all obscured his face. No soundbites. No Tiktoks. No Interviews that weren't carefully worded in a high-brow publication like Entrepreneur, Bloomberg Businessweek and Forbes.  The man was a digital phantom and it was obvious to anyone in the industry that that was purposeful. It was an air-tight vacuum with no leaks. Even the Wikipedia page was scant. Any formal mention made of the man was neatly curated through the lens of a business and business alone and it was this impassive online presence that incidentally contributed to the insatiable allure around him.