Everything Happens At 2:04 AM

Chapter One: He Could Choke For All I Cared.

"Ms. Okonji." I heard a voice say.

I took another deep breath as I was pulled out of my happy light by the mispronunciation of my last name.

Oh-kun-gee.

That's how it was pronounced.

Not Oh-kon-gee. Not Okay-on-gee. Not insert any other way to mess it up- gee.

Not in that voice she uses, trying to make my name sound as English as possible.

That was a reason why I only went by my first name. It was so people like her could not say my last name. That and my name was iconic.

I put on my fake smile that everyone deemed to be real. The one that the tabloids seemed to love more than anything. "Hi," I said in my perkiest tone. "Please, call me Octavia."

For not just your benefit but for my ears and mind as well.

According to my sister, Naomi, my name suited my image. Consistently put in heels, my over average height was even more stretched out everywhere I went. Match it with my type 4- kinky hair my parents have so graciously blessed me with along with my dark skin and sharp features, my sister considered me to be someone no one would want to go against. That was one of the first things she told me when I was seventeen. She told me you had to make yourself seem bigger to be bigger.

But that's the thing. Especially in this industry, the bigger was always better especially with a name one would always remember.

"Alright," The girl smiled greatly and something in me told me that it was just for show and not genuine at all. There were a lot of people like her. I'm one of the people like her. I just knew how to hide it better. "I'm Kady and we'd like to-"

"O," I heard a voice call out one of my nicknames. A slight smile came to my face at the sound of the deep voice and I looked over Kady's shoulder.

Giulio Bianchi's eyes trailed over my body as I came closer. His dark brown eyes as wicked as the last time we had encountered one another. He was wearing a plain white shirt and blue jeans, designer shoes on his feet. I let my eyes linger on his shoes for a second, trying to recall where I had seen a pair of them before. Jimmy Choo? Versace? No-

My thoughts were cut off when his presence was suddenly in front of me. His thumb and index finger made their way under my chin to tilt my head up. He had a soft smile on his handsome face that matched mine. Then he leaned in, pressing a soft kiss on my lips before pulling away, that smile fading away and his eyes becoming intense.

That was how our encounters usually started and in one of our beds is how it usually ended.

"Hi, bella," He put a hand to the small of my back, his eyes glancing at Kady who was watching us with wide eyes. "I'll take Octavia with me, Kady. Don't worry about it."

He shot her a wink before moving us along and deeper within the studio. Passing a railing, I saw people trying to find the right light to make it seem fitting for an office scene. I was just here for a meeting, but it seems like part of shooting was starting first thing today for others.

Giulio's lips brushed against my ear, putting his hands on my waist from behind "I saw something very interesting this morning."

I turned around to face him fast, my eyes narrowing. "Don't start."

He put his hands up in surrender. "I wasn't going to."

"Hmm," He pushed a door open where a large conference table was in the middle and chairs surrounding. I put my bag on the table, ignored the chairs around it when I sat on the table. I was aware of Giulio's gaze on me, waiting for me to start my mini-explosion while I dug through my bag for my phone.