Page 49 of Ravaged For You

“Sorry to bother,” he replies, waving me inside.

I can tell he’s not sorry at all. He doesn’t give a fuck.

I’m not done with him yet.

“You say he’s here? Are you guys here to take photos of him?”

He lifts up his professional camera to display it. “I’m freelance. Photographer and journalist. Bringing people the stories they need to hear.”

“Taking photos of celebrities leaving hotels?”

“Okay,” the man smiles as I burst his bubble. “Bringing people the stories they want to hear. People love celebrities, and they especially love Axel Stoll.”

“I heard about that sex video thing. Not good for his band.”

“No, it most certainly is not.”

“And he’s staying here, you say?”

The man strokes his untidy stubble. “Well, it’s true,” the man continues. “Axel Stoll is staying here, and he’s been coming and going a lot. More than should be expected. Disappearing, you might say, and he’s very good at it too. I currently work for an entertainment news channel and, trust me, I’ve been in this game for a long time. I can sense there’s a good story brewing somewhere about Axel, and it’s not just to do with a pathetic sex tape.”

“Didn’t he get set up?” I ask him. “He didn’t know he was getting filmed, right? Sounds a bit dodgy to me.”

“I was the one who helped do that,” he replies in a conspiratorial whisper. “But to be honest, Axel did most of the hard work. I simply hired the girl, and he was the one who invited her into his bed. Good little paycheck for me, that.”

Wow, this guy.

“Oh. Well. Good luck.”

I step into the lobby before the man has a chance to continue the conversation. I better keep an eye on that guy; I have a feeling he’s more clued up than the rest of them and is going to snoop around me before too long.

I check my phone as I enter, searching for the message Axel sent me on how to reach his suite. Okay, so I have to go into a private elevator, using Axel’s hotel key card to work the thing up to the top floor of the building.

The elevator doors open…

And, holy crap, is the suite beyond any of my wildest dreams.

Now this is being a rockstar.

There is a larger floor space dedicated to this hotel room than there was for the entire condo building I lived in until I was kicked out. The suite is probably bigger than a lot of hotels in LA. I am completely gob-smacked by the size and scale of it all. Fit for a king.

There’s a massive chandelier just hanging in the middle of the room. I bet it’s worth the GDP of a small nation. Massive flatscreen TV on one wall. A balcony that has just the most amazing view of Los Angeles’ skyline. Everything is so clean and spotless and exquisite. I’m in awe, and a little bit terrified, just looking at it all.

I enter Axel’s room. Of course, true to his form, there’s a whole pile of clothes laying scattered on the ground. He’s such a boy. Typical rockstar behavior. He clearly doesn’t give a shit he’s staying in one of the most amazing rooms in the hotel industry.

I give him a helping hand by tidying it up. See, I’m fitting into the girlfriend role like an old glove. And this might also be an easy excuse to have a quick peruse of his things. Not that I don’t want to overstep any bounds, but he has left everything out in the open like a bombsite. Surely if I spot something that’s on him, right?

It’s so weird that I’m actually here, in the room of the musician I just saw performing to a crowd of thousands the other night. Alone. I still can’t shake the feeling that we both inhabit different worlds that should never collide.

But the money. I’m here for the money. This is what I’m doing everything for. The money that can change my life, and that of my mom’s. That’s all I should focus on, and not this annoying man who’s somehow taking full residency of my mind…

I find nothing incriminating in the clothes lying around. All I notice is how expensive everything is that Axel owns. All are from the best labels, and he treats them like trash. There would be thousands of dollars’ worth of stuff here. I neatly organize the clothes into stacked columns and put them by his massive bed. At least I can see the floor now.

Wow. This bedroom is simply insane.

“What are you doing?”

I’m shocked by Axel from behind. I spin around to face the man. He’s leaning on the doorframe that enters the bedroom, staring at me. His perfect jaw clenched. I try to avoid staring back into his deep green eyes.