Victoria left the door open for him and walked away. After a brief pause, Tony followed her inside.
She went and occupied a black leather couch and pointed one beside her to Tony. He hesitated a bit and took his seat.
The interior was something that he only watched in movies and tv shows. There were original artworks by famous contemporary painters hanging from the walls. Each and every furniture belonged to quality brands. A giant fish tank was kept near the entrance which hosted five different types of fishes, one of each. The walls were painted with designer paints. A chandelier hung from the high ceiling which was not being used at the moment. The room was rather dark in appearance as red lights filled the air.
He looked around and got marveled at what he saw. Everything in that room told him that her father was filthy rich.
"Tony," said Victoria. "Italian, right?"
"Yes," he replied politely. Although she looked the same age as him, the class difference was too apparent between them which automatically made him show her respect. He understood his place and would like to stay inside his boundaries.
"Good. That's one race I haven't checked off my bucket list yet," she said absent-mindedly.
"Excuse me?"
Victoria looked at him and said, "Nothing."
Tony tried to understand what she could have possibly implied by that statement.
"Do you see those fishes?" she asked
Tony glanced at the fish tank.
"Yes, I do."
"They are very rare and cost a lot. It also costs a lot to maintain them in an aquarium. Probably more than your entire family spends in a month."
Tony shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It was probably a truth, Tony realized, but by pointing that out to him, Victoria was trying to establish a clear hierarchy in the room. She was the superior one which gave her the license to dominate her economically inferior guest.
"Do you know who I am?" she asked.
"Yes. You are a model."
"A top class model, one of the very bests." She corrected.
"A social media model," Tony said. He had no intention of saying that out loud, but it slipped his tongue. Maybe deep inside he was upset because she tried to diminish him earlier.
Victoria laughed hearing it.
"Yes, you are right." She said. "I am a social media model. Do you know what controls this society? Social media, of course. Do you know how much I get paid? As much as those real-world models, if not more. They are old fashioned. Social media is the future. If you haven't already realized how powerful social media is, then I can only pity you."
Tony remained quiet. He wished he could finish what he came for as soon as possible and leave.
The apartment was beautiful, the girl sitting in front of him was beautiful, and yet he could sense an ugly monster hiding in plain sight. The only question was that would the monster attack him or not.
"You know why I am here right?" said Tony being impatient and uncomfortable.
"Yes, the photo. I know. That's what you are here for, right? Right." She spoke more to herself than Tony. "You must be the luckiest person in the world. Being matched with me, the new sensation in the modeling world, it's like getting a golden ticket to the next stage. Too lucky. You have no idea what guys would give away just to meet me in real life."
The more she spoke the more Tony hated her. He didn't like her attitude at all. She might be rich and famous, but he was not there so she could brag about it. In a way, Victoria should be grateful to him as much as he was to her. Both of them were needed for the photo. If one of them refused, the other person would have automatically gotten disqualified. So Tony should have been given half the credit for agreeing to meet her and coming so far away from his home.
She suddenly got up and brought a bottle of wine with two wine glasses. She poured into both the glasses and offered Tony one.
"I am going to pass."
"An Italian saying no to wine," she chuckled. "I guess there's the first time for everything."
She sipped some from her glass and said, "Don't worry, my dad buys only the top quality wines. The executive manager of 'Icarus' wouldn't drink piss."
Tony knew what 'Icarus' was. From mobile networks to airlines - the multi-billion dollar company had excelled in every field possible. Being an Executive manager of that company meant his father had to be a millionaire himself. No wonder he could afford such a decorated apartment at the costliest place in the world.
"Come on, have a drink," she insisted so Tony took the glass from her hand and took a sip from it.
"That's my boy!" said Victoria and leaned back on her couch.
Her head was facing the ceiling while her eyes were closed. She asked, "Be honest to me Tony, are you straight or Gay?"
He didn't know how that was relevant but still answered, "Straight."
"Ok, great. Are you a virgin then?"
"How does that matter to you?"
"Oh, it matters a lot. Virgins are too much to handle. Some guys want their first time to be special and only with the person he loves. Bunch of retards!"
Then she looked at him and said, "If you are a virgin, you can leave. I have no interest in being your first time. I cannot do all the work in the bed."
Tony stared at him as if he was seeing a ghost. Victoria saw his expression and burst into laughter. After she was done with laughing, she said, "I should have taken a picture of you. You got so scared! What are you so scared of? Me? Well, you should be. I am a nympho, you see. Sex is like smoking cigarettes to me. It's fucking addictive, no pun intended. Whenever I see a cute guy like you, my groin grumbles like a hungry stomach and wouldn't calm down till I have sex with that person. That's exactly what I am feeling right now. My pussy is hungry!"
Tony froze at his spot holding the glass like a statue made of marble. He even forgot to blink.
Victoria pointed to his glass and said, "You haven't finished your glass yet. I am going to have seconds."
She got up and poured herself some more wine. She returned to her couch and said, "I bet you are overwhelmed with joy right now. After all, Victoria Lockhart thinks that you are cute and fuckable. That must be the greatest honor you have received so far!"
He felt like he was stuck in a bizarre dream. Suddenly, the fog cleared; he woke up. It was clear to him what he had to do. So he put the glass down and got up from his seat.
"I should be leaving for today. It was nice meeting you. Let me know if you want to take the picture for the contest or not. We will meet accordingly, and at a public place next time. Bye."
He said and almost ran towards the door. He pulled the doorknob but the door didn't budge. He tried again and failed.
It's not an ordinary door. It has an electric lock. Only Victoria can unlock the door for me.
The realization struck him like lightning. He slowly turned around and found Victoria approaching her in small steps.
"What's the rush, honey?" she smirked. "The night has just begun!"