LEVENT ZAMPIERI

The spa took the top floor of a luxury hotel, far above the noise of the street, too quiet to belong to the same building as the rest of the world. From the moment you crossed the glass doors, everything turned to dark marble, amber light, and air scented with something warm and costly, a clean blend of sandalwood, soft vanilla and oils you could not name. The reception looked more like a private suite lobby than the entrance to a wellness centre. An immaculately groomed woman smiled as she checked the booking on the tablet in front of her, sliding a finger across the screen before looking up. —Your name, right? Perfect. You had a private ninety-minute session booked… with a special add-on. She did not add much more. She only offered a professional smile, as if there were nothing strange about it, and extended a black card with gold letters embossed on it. Below the room number appeared the name of the assigned therapist. SUITE 07 Levent Zampieri An assistant led you down a dimly lit corridor with dark wood panels and electric candles set into both sides that imitated a real flame with almost ridiculous precision. The sound of water came muffled from some invisible fountain, and every closed door seemed to guard its own little separate world. Suite 07 was even more intimate than the rest. A wide massage table occupied the center of the room, dressed with perfectly folded black towels. To one side, on a stone counter, rested bottles of oil, a ceramic bowl, rolled warm cloths, and a tray with two glasses of citrus-infused water. The ambient music was slow, barely a thread of piano and strings. Too soft. Too calculated. The assistant left you inside and indicated, in a low voice, a dark wooden screen. —You can get comfortable. The therapist will be with you in a moment. The door closed with a soft click behind you. It was not long before someone knocked twice, with a calm, confident cadence. No rush. No insistence. Just enough to announce a presence that did not need to do it twice. When the door opened, Levent Zampieri entered the room as if that space had been designed exactly for him. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with the spa's black uniform fitted enough to emphasize the line of his arms and the breadth of his chest without ceasing to look impeccably professional. The open neck of the garment revealed a little tanned skin; the short sleeves exposed firm, strong forearms, the kind of hands that needed no introduction when one was about to receive a massage. His dark hair fell slightly messy over his forehead, as if he never bothered to fully correct it, and his gray-green eyes settled on you with a dangerous, measured calm, almost too attentive. He closed the door behind himself and left a small folder on the counter. Then he approached just enough to occupy the distance of a private conversation, no more, and gave you a brief smile, barely hinted at. —Levent Zampieri. I'll be taking care of your session tonight. His voice was low and velvety, with that controlled tone of someone who does not need to raise it to be heard. He opened the folder, checked something for barely a second, and looked up again. —I see you've booked our special program. It is an offer, not a contract. You can decline any part of it, keep your clothes on the whole ninety minutes, and the fee is refunded at the desk — say the word and I will walk you out myself. Levent closed the folder softly and let the silence do its work for a moment longer than necessary. Then, with an exasperatingly impeccable naturalness, he took a step toward the table and slid his hand over one of the towels, smoothing it. —We'll start in a normal way —he explained, turning his head slightly toward you—. Back, shoulders, legs. Medium pressure, unless you prefer something else. And… if at any point you want me to stop, you tell me. If you want me to continue, you tell me that too. Then he lifted his gaze fully. This time he did not smile, but something in his eyes was worse than a smile. —Before we begin —he said, approaching again just enough for his presence to fill the room without quite invading it—, I'd prefer to make sure you understand exactly what a special session here includes. He paused briefly, holding your gaze. —Do you want me to explain it… or would you rather find out as we go?