365 Days with the Celebrity

Chapter 12 - Moving into the Penthouse

Ariel never rode in an expensive car before, much less a Mercedes. The ride was smooth, quiet, and fast, and the fittings in the car were luxurious to the touch. The seats smelled of fine leather and felt super comfortable.

"We've arrived, Ariel," announced Rico Hernandez, the chauffeur in his late 40s who stopped the car right outside the entrance. He had dark hair with many strands of silver and had caramel skin and light brown eyes. Throughout the journey, Ariel realised Rico was a man of few words, but he was kind and answered any question she had regarding the new boss. 

Ariel gasped in awe at the sight of the huge, glitzy, futuristic-looking skyscraper. She could not see its details so clearly in the dark, but judging by the sounds of splashing waves and the faint briny, fishy smell, it was obvious that a beach was nearby. As she entered through the large golden revolving glass door, she was amazed at the sight of the grandeur of the entrance and its marble flooring. Suspended from a very high ceiling was a cascading artistic mesh of wavy wood strips and large glass balls, each containing a knot-shaped light bulb resting in a nest of green plants. She continued to be mesmerized by the striking structure while her bags and luggage were checked by the front desk security guard who was dressed in his finest before she was allowed to proceed through a glassdoor gantry. This building was clearly only for the richest of the rich. It had a 24-hour concierge with room service, top-notch security, a squash court and a tennis court, sauna and spa, a business lounge with a private meeting room, a conference room and other serviced amenities.

"Follow me," said Rico as he led her into the elevator.

Ariel's jaw dropped when she entered through the double doors to the residence of Leon Waltz. It was the most grandest and luxurious home she had ever step foot in her life. The residence occupied the top two storeys of the building loft-style, with white walls and ceiling-to-floor windows that revealed an awestruck, unobstructed panoramic view of the sea and the bright city lights. The living room itself was much larger than her entire flat, and the big open kitchen came with a long, island counter that doubled as a dining table at on one side where vintage bar stools lined at its hem. There was also a separate dining area with a long table and a few chairs, and a private elevator.

Ariel scanned the metallic mass of awards and trophies lining on shelves of a massive bookcase shaped in the form or a tree and fastened to the wall, and glanced at frames of family pictures on another shelf below the trophies. Vintage, retro posters of Elvis and other late iconic celebrities hung on a rustic brick wall. There were pieces of precious contemporary artworks here and there, ranging from huge wall canvases to pricey sculptures, in contrast to the only artworks that decorated her house were Andy's drawings and Rita's floral decoration. All the furniture in the penthouse looked expensive and stylish, a far cry from the second-hand furniture she had at The Grand Tower that even if they broke, she'd rather fix them than replace them with new ones.

"This will be your room, which is the nearest to the kitchen. It's the smallest room in the house. Mr Waltz lives in the biggest room on the top floor," Rico gestured to Ariel to her new room. Her white-walled room came with an en-suite marble bathroom with a shower tub. Despite being the smallest room, Ariel still found it twice bigger than the room she shared with Andy. It was arranged extremely neatly and smelled fresh, without the ghastly peeling walls and that musty smell that she was used to every day. It even came with full-height windows that faced the sea. 

"I'll be taking my leave. Take this and have a good rest, Ariel," Rico passed her a keycard.

"Oh, Rico, before you leave, does anyone apart from me and the boss live in this house too?"

"Uh-uh," Rico shook his head. "Even Vinny doesn't live with him. But she rushes like the wind when he calls for her, whether it's day or night. Mr Waltz is a very private man."

"I see, understood," replied Ariel. "I'll see you tomorrow." She gave him a friendly goodbye wave.

She unpacked her stuff and arranged them neatly in their new places. After she was done, she took the most comfortable shower she ever experienced, enjoying every flow of hot water on her body in the clean, shiny white tub. Stepping out in her baggy t-shirt and night trousers with her long hair twisted and clamped to the top, Ariel texted Rita and the girls in their chat group to let them know that she had reached the penthouse and to give her hugs and kisses to Andy. She lay on her new single bed. The sheets and blanket felt so soft, velvety and comfortable to the touch, and they smelt so fresh and clean.

Feeling refreshed and curious, Ariel got up and ventured out of her room to observe her surroundings. Her eyes caressed the squeaky clean and cool marble floor which felt heavenly to her feet. Sliding into the kitchen, she observed the grand design of steel and dark red cabinets while she ran her fingers along the shimmering, white quartz top. She opened each door and drawer, one after another, to familiarise herself with the placement of the kitchen tools and such. Even touching those expensive tools felt like being in the holy of holies. There was a blender, a 3-tier steamer, a ten-function oven, a cake mixer, an ice-cream maker, a candy floss machine and countless other cool appliances of top-grade quality, many of which she never owned in her life before. The simple second-hand and cheap-grade appliances she had in her kitchen could not compare. She wondered if Leon was a cooking enthusiast like herself.

The sound of loud throat-clearing from a distance startled her. Ariel jumped and turned to see her new boss in ruffled, messy hair that did not affect his ridiculously heaven-sent good looks, donned in night trousers and a translucent cream shirt that partially revealed his toned body and muscle definition. His arms were folded across his chest with an expression that revealed he was not too please with what in the world she was doing.

"H-Hi Mr Waltz. I-I'm sorry, I'm just familiarising with the kitchen and its tools," Ariel stammered, correcting the wrong impression she might have let out.

"Right," Leon's stern look turned into relief.

"So, you like to cook too?" she asked, trying to strike a warm conversation with her new boss.

"Only when I've the time," he replied flatly while helping himself to an apple in the fridge and walked away, expressing no interest in conversing.

"Ok then, good night," said Ariel but he responded not.

I hope he's not the male version of Bloody Mary, she thought.

"By the way," Leon returned back while chewing on his apple, "I love the chicken you made today! That chicken marinade of Fujita's is awful, and I never thought any of you guys could get away with it, but you nailed it!"

Ariel was taken aback by his sudden change of mood and smiled broadly at his compliment.

"I'm still on cloud nine, to be honest. I thought that karate chef next to me would win since his lemon cake looked delicious," she pressed her smiling, blushing cheeks with her palms as if still trying to gather the reality that she was chosen.

"Karate chef?" Leon chuckled, knowing whom she was referring to. "I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks the same about him. He was so quick and loud with the knives that I almost thought he could kill within close range!"

Leon acted out the runner-up's quick chopping with his hands and copied his stern look, finishing the imitation with a Karate-style arm slice. Ariel laughed at his funny acting.

"No doubt, his food was actually pretty tasty. It was almost a tie between you two, to be honest."

"Really?" Ariel was surprised.

"Yup. The reason we chose you was not only because your main course tasted better than his, it was also your personality. Contestants forget that personality counts too since the winner is also my housemate. I don't like someone who's weird or awful or scary to live with, wouldn't you agree?"

"Oh, absolutely," she smiled and blushed at his words.

"Anyway, have some sleep. I expect my breakfast to be ready tomorrow morning at nine."

"Yes, Mr Waltz. Good night."

"Good night," Leon took another bite of his apple and trotted up the stairs back to his room.

He's not too bad after all, she sighed with relief.