Designer of Romance

New Life Contract

Angie arrived home and was nervous about seeing her father. She unlocked the front door and hoped that he wasn’t home. He was waiting for her and he wasn’t happy. 

“You ungrateful little b***h! Do you have any idea how much trouble you have caused me? Your ‘hobby’ nearly got me killed last night. I had to make up an excuse as to why you didn’t arrive!” He began yelling at Angie and almost hit her if Xander hadn’t stopped him and pinned him against the wall.

“Angie go pack your things now. Leo will take them out to the car.” Leo walked in and followed her up the stairs. 

“Who the f**k are you?” Angie’s father practically spat at Xander and tried to get away. Xander tightened his grip on the man and waited for Angie to come down. Angie and Leo arrived a couple minutes later.

“I will be coming back for Miss Somer’s book collection, otherwise she had everything ready to go.” Leo carried the bags out the door and Angie went over to Xander. 

“I’m ready to leave now. You can let him go now.”

Xander released him, but put an arm out to protect Angie if need be. 

“Who the f**k is this man? You’re lucky you came, I was about to burn all of your stuff.” He looked directly at Angie with anger.

“My name is Alexander Sterling of Nightmare Industries and your daughter is my girlfriend. Her ‘hobby’ landed her job offers from the major fashion houses including mine. I offered her to live with me because I live closer to the company and she accepted. You will cease contact with her if you choose not to respect her.” He looked down on Angie’s father and spoke with authority. 

Angie left out the door without a goodbye to her father. Xander followed her and kept an eye on her father till she was in the car. Leo went back inside the home and gathered her books to keep them from getting damaged. 

“If you get close to the car I will shoot you.” Leo looked directly at Angie’s father and watched him sit down. He then went back upstairs to her room and brought out boxes of books. Angie and Xander sat in the car, waiting for Leo to drive to her new home. She tried calling Carla again and this time she got an answer.

“Hey girl, what’s up? Sorry I just woke up. Me and Diego really hit it off last night and I’m still at his place.”

“Okay at least you’re safe. I have had a crazy morning. Turn on the fashion news and you will see.”

Angie waited for her friend to check the news and then she heard a scream. Angie knew she had to go with Xander’s lie and felt a little bad that she couldn’t tell her best friend the truth.

“How did you guys meet? Is HE the reason why you didn’t date anyone during art school? How did you guys meet?” Carla was yelling excitedly into the phone so much that Angie had to pull it away from her ear a little bit. 

“I’m moving into his place today and when I’m all settled in I’ll see about inviting you over so we can catch up and have girl time.” Angie looked at Xander as she spoke to make sure it was okay. He nodded, but she knew there would be rules that needed to be discussed. 

Ten minutes later Leo came out with the last box of books. Xander rolled down the window enough to see Angie’s father walking outside. He smirked as Leo got into the front seat and started the car. Before they drove off, Xander kissed Angie. This surprised her and he looked at her father while he did so. Angie’s father looked surprised and then pissed off that his own daughter would go behind his back and then abandon him. 

“What the heck was that for?” After the kiss broke Angie looked at Xander.

“Am I not allowed to kiss my woman?” Xander stared at her and watched her blush. She didn’t reply thus earning him this win.

The ride to Xander’s home was a short one, but they stopped to get some groceries and for Angie to get any supplies. Xander and Angie got out of the car while Leo stayed behind. They grabbed a cart and headed inside. 

“There is some food at my place, but if there is anything you absolutely want then go grab it. I don’t care how much it costs. Also if you need any toiletries then go get them. Don’t feel embarrassed about anything.”

Angie blushed at how considerate Xander was because her father refused to get certain things for her saying how it was gross and he shouldn’t have to hear about it. As they moved about the isles the cart started to fill up. Angie mostly grabbed vegetables and fruit. If there was anything that Xander already had at home he let her know. When they got to the ice cream isle, she reached for a pint of matcha ice cream and he told her to grab 2. Not only was matcha her favorite, it was his as well. 

She picked up new body wash picking the coffee and coconut scent because it paired well with her cocoa butter lotion she used everyday. The body wash was on the top shelf and she started to climb to grab it when he grabbed it for her. Their fingers touched as he handed the bottle to her and for a moment they both blushed. 

When they finished getting everything, they headed to self checkout. Angie scanned items while Xander bagged and put things into the cart. She could hear other girls whisper about how handsome he was and for some reason it bothered her a little. She had not been interested in anyone in a long time so this feeling was new to her. He paid and they walked out to the car where Leo was waiting. Xander and Leo put the bags in the car and Angie put the cart away. 

After another few minutes on the road, they got to an apartment that had a gate out front. Leo showed his badge to the security and it opened. Leo drove into an underground garage and once parked they got out of the car. Everyone grabbed a bag and then headed to the elevator. Leo scanned his badge and up they went. Soon they reached the top and at the end of a short hall there was a brown door. Xander opened the door and let Angie step inside first. 

The first thing Angie noticed was how clean the place was and the beautiful view of the ocean. She could see other buildings but the Pacific caught her eye. 

“Put your bags down, I’ll give you a tour, then after we’ve moved things into your space we’ll negotiate a contract.” Angie put her bags down and followed him as he gave her a tour. 

“Going into the home, to your right is a coat closet and where you can put outside shoes. Next to there is the kitchen. The fridge is all yours you don’t have to worry about your food being taken. I don’t touch what I know isn’t mine. The pantry is here.” He opened a door between the counter and the fridge that seemed to wrap behind the kitchen. It was full of snacks and other ingredients to make meals. On a shelf was a variety of appliances.

“I put in an order weekly for food to be delivered so if there is anything we are running out of let me know. Under the sink is cleaning products, if there is anything you are allergic to I will replace it with something that doesn’t bother you. My home is your home and I want you to feel welcomed.” 

He showed her the kitchen having a bar and the dinning table where she could eat. Joining the dining area was the living room and the couch was massive with space to lay down. The tv was on the wall above a fireplace and some game systems were on a shelf below the tv. She followed outside the glass windows to the wrap around deck. At the side the living area was on was a small spiral staircase. 

At the top of the stairs was a beautiful pool area. Part of it was covered and the other part was outside. There were some places to sit, places to lay down and she could see some exercise equipment on the other side of the indoor pool. He explained the gym was fully his and so was the pool so it was completely private.

“I have a friend who is a personal trainer that works out with me every morning. You are free to join us or if you’d like I can hire one for you. If you decide you want your own you can be part of the hiring process to make sure they are a good fit.”

They went back down the stairs and kept going with the tour. They went into an empty room that just had a bed in it. The room was a vacant room that Angie could take as her own. She could go outside from there and while the outside walls were all glass she could control the shading if she didn’t want anyone to see inside. The same went for all the windows. This room had a walk-in closet, it’s own bathroom, and was right across from his. 

Xander showed her his room and told her if she needed anything she could come into his room no matter what time or day. His room was minimalist until you got to the closet. It had suits hung up and they were all dark colors. All different brands were present and that was how he arranged his closet. He had a small couch that faced a tv and so did his bed. His bathroom was spacious with a large bath tub that could fit 2 people and the shower as well. 

They exited his room and went up to a loft area. The stairs were on the bedroom side of the living room and anyone up there could look down into the living area and the kitchen. 

“I don’t use this loft area, but it’s nice to have. You can stay up here or use it as an office. That is your choice. It has its own closet, though it is not as big as the bedroom’s, there is also a small bathroom here. I don’t have much furniture except for my room, but we’ll have whatever you want delivered tomorrow morning. Let me know what you want.” 

As they headed back down stairs, Angie’s stomach growled a little. She looked at her phone and saw that it was already past lunchtime.  Xander called Leo and asked her if she wanted Chinese. She nodded and had Leo pick up one of each popular dish at Elite Restaurant. It would take 45 minutes for the food to arrive so that gave plenty of time for Angie to choose where she wanted to sleep. She chose the loft to be her work area, because she wanted the big closet and bathroom for her own use. They began moving boxes and bags to the different rooms, when Leo called and told that he was going up the elevator. 

In a matter of minutes the bar and kitchen counter was full of food. Angie went straight for the shu-mai and sesame balls. She grabbed a couple pork buns and couldn’t resist a little fried rice. Leo took some food and then went to his place asking if there was anything else needed of him to call. 

Xander and Angie sat at the dinner table and ate. He sat down with some paper and a pen. He handed her some of the papers and asked her to read over it. It was the contract for their relationship.

“Read this over and circle anything you would like to talk about. Once you sign it you cannot change anything so think things over carefully. While you are with me you cannot tell anyone the truth until I get this sorted. You will not date anyone and if tabloids come up to you, you will not talk to them. Be careful of who you are around and who you talk to. You will not bring males into my house. If they are models for work, you will have a studio space at the company, but they have to go through HR first. We will seem intimate in public which means we will act like a couple. You will not go off with anyone at events you will only stay with me. If you are done for the night tell me and Leo will escort you home. We do not have to be intimate here at home. Leo is the only person that knows the truth. No one can know, including your friend.” He looked at her with a serious face while he said the last line. 

“Can I at least invite my friend over to keep me company? I know we’ll have to act like a couple, but she is my best and only friend. Also what should I tell her when she asks how we met?” Angie hoped that her friend would be able to stay over for sleepovers and so they could just hang out in general. 

“That is fine and as for how we met, tell her I accidentally bumped into you at a restaurant. I invited you to dinner to make up for myself and we hit it off. The lie is that I didn’t tell you of my real identity because of my social status. If you need to make up anything else tell me or I can make it up for you.” He was slightly hesitant about letting someone he didn’t know come over, but he also knew how lonely it was being at home so he allowed it as long as Angie only had one person over and it was not a male. 

“I still hate lying to Carla, she’s my friend, but I understand the position you are in. Thank you for letting me have her over.” She slightly bowed her head and then grabbed the pen. He asked one more time if there was anything else and she said no. After she signed he put the contract away and let her know she would get a copy in the morning. 

After they finished eating Xander got out his laptop and let Angie look for furniture while he took a shower. After he got out she had already picked out a bunch of Ikea things for her work space and bedroom. She picked out plain, basic things that she could customize later. She loved letting her creativity fly and it showed. 

They spent the next few hours putting away things that they could since the furniture needed would be there in the morning. That didn’t take long and soon it was dinner. There was still leftover Chinese, but he wanted something different. Italian was chosen for the food and he got to work on making shrimp carbonara with some bacon added to it. He made the main dish, while Angie made up a salad. They sat down and had a little wine while they got to know each other. 

She learned that he was on a little stay at home vacation for the next 2 weeks and so during that time they would spend time and get to know one another so their lie would be more believable. He learned about her family situation and after hearing more about her dad, Xander decided he hated him more. He understood how tragic it was to lose a loved one, but trying to sell off your child was something that crossed the line for him. 

They cleaned up the dishes and by then it was 9 at night and Angie decided to go to bed. It had been a very event filled day and she needed sleep. Xander bid her goodnight and repeated that if she needed anything she could go into his room at all times. She changed into some booty shorts and a crop top, both black with little sunflowers on them. She cleaned her face and applied a moisturizer then got into bed. The pillows were soft and so were the blankets. As she thought about the tiring day she dozed off.

Xander checked up on her and found her asleep. He smiled and answered the call that was buzzing in his pocket.

“Sir, I have informed your PIs of the situation and they have been checking records. Also I have located the escort; What would you like done with him?” Leo had done his job.

“Get him and question him. I want to know everything. Do whatever you deem necessary and when you are done, get rid of him. No one messes with me and gets away with it. When you have more information let me know. I’m retiring for the evening now. Thank you, Leo.” 

Xander hung up the phone and went to his bedroom. He changed into a pair of navy blue pajama pants and he slept with no shirt on. His body was perfectly sculpted and the moonlight made it look even better. He climbed into bed and he too fell asleep within minutes.