How To Win His Heart

An interview

Allison’s POV

I was curled up on the couch, my head was in Jayme’s lap as she played with my hair.

“Am I reckless?” I asked her and lifted my gaze to her face.

“We all make bad decisions, and I think I might help you if you tell me what exactly happened.” She tugged a strand of my hair behind my ear.

“And don’t forget i-“

I cut her, knowing the exact word she was going to use. "With details, I know."

Isaac and I spent about two hours talking. Man, he seemed like a normal person; he wasn’t a snob or ignorant.

And I think I just met the male version of myself. Bad experience with parents, check. A side character, check. People who only want nothing but your money, double-check.

Yeah, that was exactly me.

He drove me home and parked my car, then took an Uber.

I was exhausted and passed out on the couch when I entered my penthouse.

I spent the next two days working from home; I wasn’t in the mood to go to the office.

With dad’s anniversary coming up, I was falling back into depression.

So, I did what I was best at, drinking away my pain. I wanted to go to my therapist, but then he would send me to the alcoholics’ anonymous group.

As long as I keep convincing myself that I wasn’t one, but deep down I already knew that to my old habits the first year after my dad’s death.

I fluttered my eyes open and clutched my head instantly, shutting my eyes again. I tried to stop myself from drinking, but just couldn’t.

I opened my eyes and sat up in bed. My gaze fell on Isaac’s jacket, and I cursed myself for forgetting to send it over.

My phone rang, making me groan from the high-pitched ringtone. I extended my arm out. Picking the phone up, I answered the call, not knowing who it was.

“Good morning, Ms. Miller. I got worried that you didn’t show up for the past two days,”

“That’s fine Clara, is there anything important that needs my attendance today?” I asked her, massaging my forehead.

“Yeah, there are a couple of interviews with some magazines and the launch party of the agency. I already called Mr. Solano, and he’s on his way.”

How could I forget about this?

I got up from the couch and hurried to the room with the phone in my hand, Clara was still on the line, telling me what I have for the rest of my day.

“What about the dress?” I asked as I took out some black jeans and a sweater.

“It’s in my office along with Mr. Solano’s suit,” she answered back.

“Alright, thank you, Clara, ten minutes and I will be there.” I hung up and wore my outfit quickly, then hurried out of the penthouse, heading to the garage.

A few minutes later I was in my office. Thank god I made it on time to review a few things before the interviews.

I fixed my glasses as they kept sliding off my nose bridge, the headache I was having wasn’t letting me concentrate.

Jordan was stuck in traffic, but he should be here before the interview, I hope.

Those last three days weren’t only about work, I spoke to Isaac regularly, and I had the audacity to forget his jacket. He also asked me for a cup of coffee or lunch, but I passed.

I didn’t want to let him see me drunk, so I told him I was launching an agency, and he was meeting up with some famous designers for a project.

And of course, I had to invite him.

Then there was Jordan. We were connecting back, forgetting our old problems, and starting a new page.

Jayme cut me through narrating. The events were still fresh in my brain, always in the loop like broken records.

“Is this where everything goes downhill?” She asked.

I knitted my eyebrows and shook my head. “No,”

“Things were getting better for me. For the first time in years, I’ve got someone interested in the real me, I fell in love, Jay-Jay.” I moved to my side and stared at the carpet.

I breathed in and continued narrating.

If Jayme was here, she would clear my schedule, so I could go on a date with Isaac. God, I missed her annoying me every minute.

I was already missing Jayme after three days, but couldn’t handle her for one minute; I was also going to miss our weekly girls’ night. She was away for a month for the honeymoon, while I was here having no one to talk to about Isaac.

“Aww, I didn’t know you missed me that much.” Jayme cut me again. I glared at her and she pretended to pull a fake zipper, shutting her mouth off.

“Jayme, talk one more time, and I…” The doorbell cut me.

Jayme was about to go open the door, then we heard a key click followed by Pete’s voice. “I got it,”

The door creaked open and Pete pushed it fully open, revealing Jordan next to him. Both of them had bags of fast food in their hands.

“We got emotional back up right here, all your favorites, Alli.” I smiled at Pete as he approached us with bags in his hands.

“And food for the pregnant lady. Hopefully, you don’t eat us too.” Jordan chuckled, then stopped as Jayme was glaring at him.

Jordan shut the door, and we all sat in a circle, exactly how we did when we were teenagers.

Whenever one of us had a breakup or was upset, we would meet up in someone’s house and order some food as we talked about what happened.

Pete and Jordan set the food and waited for me to continue telling them what happened.

“Right before I go back to narrating, please no one cut me.” I narrowed my eyes at them and they nodded.

It was two in the afternoon, and the meeting was in an hour and a half. I kept checking the security cameras every once in a while, but Jordan didn’t show up.

I already wore my dress, it was a silk red maxi dress, with a huge slit ending above my waist, leaving my tanned back bare. It hugged my body curves perfectly, showing much skin. I matched it with black heels and some jewelry.

I glanced at the mirror and untied my hair, letting it flow in my naked back.

As I dialed Clara’s office number, I saw Jordan entering the elevator. I put the call on speaker when Clara picked up.

“Yes, Ms. Miller.” Her voice was very low.

“Why are you whispering? Anyway, Jordan is here, could you please bring me the suit I ordered earlier,” I said as I saw Jordan enter the elevator on the security camera.

“Okay, Ms. Miller.” I hung up and looked at the big TV screen.

The cameras were now viewing the entrance of the company. A lot of paparazzi stood there, circling the door, asking everyone who passed by them, and capturing every moment happening outside the company.

“I’ll make sure they publish every word I say,” I muttered under my breath.

A few minutes later, Clara came with the suit. She set it on the couch and left for her office.

A minute passed, and Jordan busted into the office. He asked with a little anger in his voice. “Why would you do an interview? No, and a launch party too.”

“Have you heard of knocking?.” He narrowed his eyes on me.

He was already angry or upset, and I was being sarcastic.

I sighed and tried to clear things out. “Jordan, we are having a partnership in front of the media, but between us, we’re helping each other to defeat Holland.” I got up from my chair and walked towards him as I continued talking, “the modeling agency is like two floors of the entire building. It’s like your first studio.” I smiled softly.

It was nothing compared to his agency, but I did my best.

Jordan sighed and nodded.

“Here, I want you to wear this.” I pushed the suit to his chest.

“I’ll still ask you about what happened at the wedding,” He said as I pushed him out of the office.

“Jordan, just go wear the damn suit.” I hissed with anger and he chuckled.

We were running out of time already.

Well, I didn’t tell anyone about what happened after the wedding. The things Isaac told me were personal, and if they go to the public eye, it will destroy him.

So, I needed to avoid that. I was winning the guy’s trust, not breaking it.

To kill time while Jordan was getting ready, I went through my social media. I sat on the couch, picked up my phone, and checked i********: first.

A message notification popped up, I frowned as it was from an unknown number.

Unknown: This is my other number :)

My lips quivered in a smile as I felt the butterflies erupting in my stomach. Three dots appeared as he was typing.

Isaac: Thanks for the invite, see you in a few hours ;)

A winking emoji, I was staring at the phone like an i***t, smiling at the text.

“Why are you smiling?” Jordan said as he entered the office. I shut the phone and put it on the couch.

“Dude, I just lectured you about knocking minutes ago.” He rolled his eyes, ignoring what I said.

Classic Jordan, despite what happened to him, he still kept his goofy side.

I checked him out, and the suit was perfect. He gave me a little twirl, causing me to laugh.

He fixed his jacket and smirked. “I’m glad that I could make the west witch laugh.” I glared at him and he smiled innocently.

“Wait, are we matching?” His eyes traveled to my red dress.

He was wearing a black suit with a red tie, and a red handkerchief in his pocket

I stood up and did a little pose. “We look like a powerful duo, right?”

“Won’t your new boyfriend be jealous.” he quoted with his fingers on ‘boyfriend’.

“He’s not my b-” he pressed his finger on my lips, shutting me up.

I glared at him as he shook his head in disbelief. “Alli, Alli, I know you better than anyone not Jayme though. But the way you looked at that guy.” He removed his finger and sat beside me on the couch.

Then he smirked. “You are interested in him and not for business purposes.” I gulped down my saliva, feeling worried.

I didn’t want to seem like a terrible friend, I wouldn’t leave Jordan’s side until I made sure he got his agency back. I owed him that.

A knock on the door saved me from any further questions.

“We have plenty of time to discuss this,” he muttered, loud enough for me to hear.

“Come in, Clara,” I said.

She opened the door and struggled with a black bag. Jordan got up and went to help her with the bag.

“What is in these bags? Rocks?” He said sarcastically.

“No,” I rolled my eyes.

I got up, closed the door, and faced them. “They are former partnerships with Holland. That asshole was dad’s best friend. They knew each other from college and grew their businesses together until they fought over something the same week my dad died,”

I picked my lips and continued, “so, I thought they didn’t have much time to break their partnerships, and maybe one of these could help us. Dad must’ve figured out something.” I glanced at the bag with fear, like it had a bomb in it.

“Jordan, you open it,” I mumbled, and he nodded.

He leaned over and pulled the zipper of the bag, opening it. He brought out the first file on top and checked its belongings quickly.

He lifted his eye level to my face and smiled. “You were right about your father, we could expose him with these.” He stretched his arm out.

I looked at it hesitantly. I gave in and took the file from his hand. I flipped through each paper, getting a peck at each one.

I stopped at this one paper and checked the date; it was close to my father’s death date. I read the lines slowly and stopped at that one line.

I was right about Dad. Holland will regret messing up with me.

This was bigger than the partnership with Isaac.

Way too big.

“Ms. Miller, they’re here,” Clara said while her eyes were on her phone.

I gave the file back to Jordan, and he stuffed it back in the bag, then he carried it and placed it behind my desk.

“Lock the office after we leave Clara.” She nodded. I opened the door and headed to the elevator with Jordan behind me.

He stood close to me and cleared his throat. “What?” I raised my eyebrow.

“Well, you look amazing today,” he said shyly.

Didn’t he see the dress earlier? I questioned myself.

I faced him and said with a fake scowl. “Cut the crap, Jordan. What do you want?”

His face turned slightly pink, and I knew what he exactly wanted. The elevator door opened, and we stepped in. I pressed the tenth-floor button, and the door closed.

“Maybe you could give me Clara’s number.”

“Don’t you have it?” I asked him and he rolled his eyes.

He squinted his eyes at me and shrugged his shoulders. “If I had it, why would I ask you?”

The sarcasm he had, but he had a point.

“Fine, I will give it to you but quit the attitude.” I pointed at him and his lips quivered in a smile.

The elevator door opened, and we stepped out. I turned to face Jordan and waited for his reaction.

Yeah, Jordan had been coming here lately since we spoke about the agency. He was interviewing models, photographers, and had some paperwork.

So, this was his first time seeing the place. I tried my best to make it similar to his, and it could pass. I didn’t have enough time, all of it was on brief notice.

“Don’t you like it? Is it too much?” I asked when he said nothing.

“It looks exactly the same as mine,” he mumbled as he cleaned the place with his eyes.

“I guess this means you liked it,” I trailed, and he nodded. His eyes were twinkling with happiness.

His eyes fell on me, and he smiled. “Thank you.” He pulled me in a hug, I smiled and patted his shoulder.

He pulled away with a smile on his lips. I was proud of myself for making him happy.

I motioned with my head to the closed office at the end of the hallway and said, “let’s go now, they’re waiting for us,”

We walked towards the closed door and passed a few opened rooms. There was a lounge room with an open buffet, so no will leave the floor.

“Is that a media room?” He asked as we passed another room, it was filled with multiple computer screens and a projector.

“Yeah, you could upload your photoshoots, news, and auditions. Anyway, we are here.” I stopped in front of a semi-transparent glass door.

I turned to Jordan and asked him, “Are you ready?”

“If I said no, could I leave?” He asked.

I sighed, ignored what he said, and pushed the glass door open, letting us in.

Jordan stood close to me as he didn’t know anyone in the room.

A man in his late twenties stood in the middle of the room, gesturing for his crew to set things around the room.

He turned his back and faced us with a smile. “Allison Miller and Jordan Solano.” He extended his arm for Jordan and he shook it.

“Ryan, nice to have you here,” I said as I shook his hand, and his smile widened.

“When I heard the rumors, you were opening a modeling agency with Jordan. I instantly knew you two would be a dynamic duo since you two knew each other from middle school,” Jordan glanced at me with a bored face, he hated blabbering.

Ryan put his hands on his waist and grinned. “I’m just glad that Jordan is back to business after selling his agency.”

He was tensed up; I pinched his hand, and he nodded at Ryan’s words with a smile.

“So, should we start?” I asked.

After Jordan heard these words, he tensed up. I leaned on him and whispered. “Hey, it’ll be fine, just be yourself, alright?” He nodded.

Ryan clapped his hand, grabbing our attention. “Alright, let’s do it.” He gestured to the camera boy to take a position, then gestured to a woman.

She came closer to me and attached the small mic to my dress. After she was done, she did the same with Jordan.

Then Jordan and I sat on the black couch. Behind us was the logo of the agency S&M. Ryan sat on the chair across from us and faced us with a smile. Behind Ryan there was a camera, facing the couch, and right next to the couch another camera facing Ryan.

“And we’re on air,” The cameraman next to us said.

Ryan put a wide smile on his face and waved at the camera. “Hey everyone to your favorite 5 p.m show,”

He leaned on his knees and the camera came closer to him, so he could be the only one on the frame. “Today we have a special announcement. Y’all have been asking where Jordan Solano was, how he was doing, and most importantly is he still single.”

He winked at the camera and continued, “don’t worry ladies, I don’t see a ring on his finger, so maybe single. Anyway, back to the good news.” The cameraman behind Ryan strolled to the corner of the room, still facing him.

“Well, he was right here with Allison, working on a new project after his long break.” That was the signal for the camera behind him to start.

So, that was what everybody knew. A long break. Poor Jordan suffered alone, and people thought he took a break.

“Can we call it off?” Jordan whispered in my ear.

I pretended not to hear what he just said, and Ryan caught me off guard with his question, “so, Allison, why the sudden collaboration?”

“I wanted to reopen the agency for a while, and Jordan was the best candidate for me. We knew each other and I trust him. I talked to him and he was on board.” I ended my talk with a smile.

“But didn’t Holland offer the same thing to you, Jordan?” He questioned him. I turned my head and looked at Jordan, praying silently he wouldn't snap at him. He was nervous from the start, and he was shaking his legs to ease his nerves.

He breathed in and stopped shaking his legs. “Allison’s offer gave me more shares unlike Holland’s and I wanted to support my friend. She always had my back in the past and now it was my turn to have hers.”

I looked at him in awe, and he smiled. “Friendship matters to everyone and these two are friendship goals. Watch out everyone, this dynamic duo will take over with their collaboration.” Ryan pointed at us with a proud smile.

I only had one question. How the heck did he keep that smile on his face for a long time?

My face hurts when I smile for just five minutes.

“Back to our subject. So, who’s invited to the launch party.”

I glanced at Jordan then back at Ryan. “I guess you’ll have to see for yourself. We’ll live stream the party on our social pages, so keep a close eye.”

Jordan added, “And in case you don’t have Wi-Fi, we will cover the party, so stay tuned.” He smiled.

The cameraman moved close to Ryan from the side. He waved again. “See you at 7 p.m.”

“And we are done. Great job, everyone,” the cameraman said.

“The feed is also coming out positive,” Ryan’s assistant said as she clasped her hands.

Ryan turned his head to the cameraman as he leaned close to him, whispering something.

Then Ryan faced us with a wide smile. I still didn’t know how he could do it. “Great job, guys. This will be a blast.”

His crew packed the cameras and microphones they had put on us earlier. “I hope it’ll be a trending story,” I mumbled.

Ryan chuckled. “Alli, sweetie, it’s already trending.”

He checked his crew and saw that they were done. “We’ll go now and set the cameras in the main hall.” He got up and walked to the door. Jordan and I followed him.

“See you in a few hours.” He left and his crew followed him.

I feel like I accomplished something huge.

“Can I get out of this suit?” He whined, and I chuckled at him.

Poor Jordan. He was sweating through the whole interview.

“There’s another one in my office.” He sighed in comfort and left the room.

The party was going to be the talk of the week.