Love at First Bet

Chapter 4 - When she set me up

Alexander

I was completely enchanted by Evelyn! I couldn't believe I had found such a beautiful, intelligent woman with such a unique aura. She didn't seem a woman who was swayed by trivialities. Sure, she seemed to navigate through high society, given her clothes and accessories, but she didn't seem like someone who needed them to shine! She was authentic and, from what she talked about her university course, very dedicated.

We were in the mood, when one of my security guards, Carlo, came up to me to tell me that Thales was outside the club, wanting to talk to me. I asked Eve to wait for me — yes, in my mind, I already thought of her as "Eve," because I thought we would become close in no time.

Just by going through that crowd again, I felt the urge to forget, for a few minutes, how much Thales and I were friends (and how competent he was as a lawyer) and punch him in the face. But, also, if he had come for our meeting just to have whiskey and talk trivialities, I wouldn't have met Eve. Yeah, he deserved a chance.

As I left the building, I soon saw him waving to me, a few meters away.

"What's the excuse this time?" I asked as soon as he saw me.

"I risked my neck coming here, Alex. Sophia's furious!" He commented, lighting a cigarette.

"You're not her husband! You're a robot she controls! Why come here when you could just send a message?" I asked, in a mocking tone.

"Doug has a viral infection, Alex. I had to leave them at the hospital and, to make matters worse, we left home in such a hurry that Sophia forgot the vaccination card. I'm here just because I needed to go back home and it was on the way."

Yeah. No one could say that Thales was a bad father. For those problems, I didn't plan on being one anytime soon.

"I see, but a message would suffice. Because, besides bailing on me, you ruined my romantic moment with a beautiful woman!" I commented, to boast about the achievement.

"Romantic?" He laughed, "We all know Mr. Alexander doesn't care about that!"

I laughed along, but for some reason, deep down, I knew that meeting had been different from the others I had with other women.

"Now, let me go back, and I hope that beautiful woman is still waiting for me. Otherwise, I'll deduct it from your salary!"

"Very funny!" His tone was threatening, and he pointed his finger at me, "Don't you dare touch my salary, or I'll tell your grandma!"

"You're always such a bootlicker!" I complained, but in a playful tone.

"I am, after all, your grandma who paid for my education! And you should go to the nursing home and visit her!" Was he going to annoy me with that subject too?

"Of course not! She should come back home! But I don't want to discuss it now, I'm going back to Eve."

"Eve? You already call the girl Eve? I bet you'll be married next week!"

"I bet I'll never get married!" I said as I turned my back on him because I didn't want to waste any more time with him."

On my way to the nightclub, I was in the hope that no one would bother me. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Before joining Evelyn, I stopped at the bar to order two glasses of champagne. While waiting, I heard a familiar rough voice from my left corner.

"Oh, well, look who's in my territory!" the voice exclaimed, rough and unmistakable.

“Frank! If I had known this club was yours, I wouldn't even step foot on the sidewalk!” I was quite irritated to see him there.

Frank was a former partner of my father. He got involved in illegal activities, and my father kicked him out of our company. They were childhood friends. However, my father didn't even want anyone to mention Frank's name in our house. He said it would bring bad luck.

“You can lower your crest and tell your father that all my clubs and casinos are legalized!”

“Do you think I would waste my time defending you?” I grabbed the champagne glasses and said, “Excuse me, I'm going to get the person I'm with, and we're leaving here!”

Then, I headed back to Eve, who was standing next to the table where we were. I approached her, putting on my best smile.

She had also ordered two glasses of champagne for us to toast. We seemed perfect for each other. Her slight hesitation when I invited her to go to a more private place was perfect. It showed that she wasn't there for a night of wildness and nothing more. I liked her even more for her refusal.

After toasting and sipping the champagne, everything became confusing. I remember feeling a heat from within and longing for her, but my vision was blurred and I felt intoxicated. However, I had only consumed a shot of whiskey and a glass of champagne, which was not enough to make me so drunk.

"What is this?" was the first thing I shouted as I felt my eyes heavy and could barely open them. "What did you do to me?"

Of course, of course, there couldn't be such a perfect woman. She was just with a sheet over her body, lying next to me. Even though still dizzy, I soon understood what it was: a setup!

That woman put something in the champagne glass before handing it to me, drugged me, and soon it became clear what she intended...

"You took my virginity, you jerk!"

Yeah, she wanted a scandal! Or money! Or worse, did she manage to do something?

"Of course not! You fabricated all this for..."

Knocks on the door interrupted me. People from neighboring rooms had reported noises, and a hotel employee came to check, saying he would call the security. She kept accusing me of things I would never do while searching for her clothes on the floor. I also started to look for mine and to dress, which was good because, with the security, several paparazzi arrived.

To have so many photographers there, it was clear that she had already orchestrated everything. Even more so for locking herself in the bathroom, pretending to be the victim of the story. I called Thales who, luckily, was nearby and arrived very quickly.

I left the room without covering my face. There was no reason to be ashamed if I wasn't guilty. I wasn't ashamed to fall for a scam. I would be ashamed if I had done the things she accused me of. Besides, my grandma would kill me.

"What the hell happened in that room?" Thales asked me, as we went to a small room near the hotel reception, where we waited for someone from management.

"I don't know!"

"How do you mean, you don't know?"

"I don't know, damn it! One moment I was at the nightclub where we met. The next, I woke up in this hotel, half-naked, next to that girl! She set everything up!"

"You'll have to find a better way to explain that!" He continues, his voice altered.

"Are you doubting me? Do you think I would harm an unconscious woman?" I ask, annoyed. My best friend soon thinks that of me.

"Of course, I trust you! But I'm also your lawyer, and I have to say that no one will buy the story that a girl carried a big man like you to a room!"

"Let's go to the police station as soon as possible! I want a forensic examination of the room! Surely she didn't act alone!"

The hotel manager finally arrived at the room, saying that the girl's father had arrived at the scene, and we would all go to the police station, either by choice, or the hotel would call the police. Of course, we chose the first option since we were not guilty of anything. And there was no reason for us to hide from the police.

As we were in the lobby, preparing to go to Thales's car and head to the police station, I see Mr. Brown. He owns a millionaire company that exports and imports products. In the past few months, Mr. Brown showed us a proposal to invest in our company, which I thought was opportune, but my father refused.

Now everything makes sense. He and his daughter are here to blackmail me.

"You worm!" he shouts at me. "What do you want with this? Impregnate my only daughter and become my heir too?"

If he weren't twice my age, he would take a punch. So, I just say:

"I didn't do anything to your daughter! You sent her to seduce me and profit from my company! This won't go unpunished!"

"Alexander, control yourself! Don't say anything until we get to the police station. Better, let me speak for you. That's what you pay me for!"