Designer of Romance

Deal with the Devil

Angie and Carla danced a little and then went over to the bar. They ordered some fruity drinks and then found the rest of the group. While they were sitting Angie advised against drinking too much since, they would have to get home somehow.

“Don’t worry about getting home tonight. The invite included a night stay at the hotel behind the club. It’s all under the same company.” Angie was then given a keycard and she put it in her bra. The girls went back to the dancefloor to celebrate when a tall man came over and looked at Carla.

“Senorita, you look beautiful. May I dance with your beauty tonight?” Carla was taken back for a moment and didn’t know what to do. She looked at Angie and got her answer when her friend nodded her head. Carla took the man’s hand and looked at him. He was very handsome with his slightly messy black hair, tanned skin, and what appeared to be green eyes. The lighting wasn’t very good, but his smile is what got Carla. It felt so warm and she wanted to see more of it.

Carla and the man walked off into the crowd and that left Angie alone. She found the models and danced with them for a few. She kept getting herself drinks and eventually she got a little too tipsy. She showed her key card to the bartender and he called over someone from the hotel to come and escort her to the room. She stumbled a little as she walked and finally, she felt a soft bed. She passed out after kicking off her shoes and hoped that Carla was having fun wherever she was.

The next morning Angie woke up with a headache and using a warm body as a pillow. She looked up at the body and saw a handsome sleeping face. It took her a minute to realize what was happening and that made her scream. She jumped out of the bed and noticed she was naked, she quickly covered herself with part of the blanket and grabbed one of her heels.

The man woke up when he heard someone scream and he looked around to figure out who it was. When he figured out he wasn’t in his room, he looked confused and then saw Angie.

“Who are you and what am I doing here?” He spoke a little on the angry side since he had no recollection of how he got to where he was.

“I should be asking you the same thing! This is my hotel room not yours. “She was still yelling at him and he started to get annoyed. He stood up from the bed and had no care that he was naked. Angie shielded her eyes, blushing, and turned away. The man picked up his clothes and started to put them on. When he was done, he found his phone and called his bodyguard.

“Leo, what the f**k happened last night! I just woke up with some woman and I have no idea who she is or how I got here. Come up to room 612 and grab surveillance tapes.” He hung up the phone and looked at Angie.

“Get dressed, showered or whatever. Just make sure you are covered; we need to talk.” She obeyed and quickly took a shower. She found her duffel bag that Carla had sent up the previous night and grabbed some clothes. The clothes she picked showed some skin, but that was all she had. She searched for her phone afterwards and couldn’t find it.

“How do you know the room number, who is Leo, and did you take my phone? Also, who are you to just tell people to come up to my room?” She tried to seem intimidating, but it didn’t work because the man towered over her by a lot.

“I am Alexander Sterling, and this is my hotel. I own this and Enclave which is why I know what room we are in. I don’t have your phone and I when I find out who did this I will kill them.” He looked down at her and she lost her composure a little bit. When she looked into his eyes she saw one blue and one brown eye. She hadn’t seen someone like that, and it fascinated her.

Alexander sat on the couch and waited for Leo. He called room service and ordered breakfast. A few minutes later a knock on the door cut the silence in the room. He stood up and opened the door. “Sir, here is your breakfast, I hope you enjoy your meal please call if there is anything else you need.” The old woman bowed and then left. Leo stepped into the room after she left.

Leo was six feet and had shoulder length brown hair, a few grey hairs in his long beard, and had his hair tied back.  “Hello sir, miss, I have a copy of the surveillance and you definitely need to see this.” He looked at Alexander and then at Angie. He pulled out a laptop from his bag and set it on the coffee table in front of Alex.

Alex looked at the footage. He noticed that an employee escorted Angie to her room and then some hours later the same employee led Alex to her room. The man spent about 20 minutes before exiting the room. He pulled out a phone as he walked away. Next the footage of Alex at the bar was showing and when viewing his drinks closer, Leo noticed someone pouring something into one of the last drinks. The man looked suspicious and left after messing with the liquid.

The bartender used the business phone after Alex started wavering and then the escort came. He looked at the man who messed with his drink and didn’t remember hiring him so, it was not one of his employees, but the escort would be fired for sure.

“Leo get the name of the escort so I can talk to and fire him.”

“Yes sir, on it.”

“So, it looks like someone set me up. Come take a look at this, girl. Also have something to eat.”

“My name is Angie and I have no idea who the escort is. All I know was that I drank more than I should have and I asked the bartender to call someone.” She sat down next to him on the couch and grabbed a small bowl of fruit. She looked at the footage and the only person she knew was Carla, but she had left. Angie hoped her friend was okay.

After Leo and Alex were done talking about what action would be taken, he looked at Angie.

“If this gets out, a lot pf trouble will come your way. I hope that you can explain to your parents if this does get to the media.” Angie looked a little nervous as she spoke.

“My father would honestly be happy. He’s been trying to get me with someone with money. I went to fashion school and even won the contest earning a job from both Mills Fashion and Nightmare instead. He’s probably throwing my stuff out as we speak because I didn’t go and meet this one guy he tried to set me up with. I have no intention of getting married to someone right now.” Angie was nervous about telling him that her father would be proud of her getting into bed with some one who was as rich as Sterling. She dreaded going home, but she first had to get a new phone since hers was missing.

“I will drive you home and we will get you a new phone along the way. We will exchange numbers, just in case things go downhill, plus then you will have protection until this blows over. Finish your food, we’ll leave in 30 minutes.”

Angie hurried up eating and then made sure that she didn’t lose anymore of her things. Leo, Alex, and Angie walked down to the parking garage and to a black car with tinted windows. Leo was aware to erase footage of Alex and Angie together and made sure it was done.

They got Angie a new phone and then headed towards her home. Along the way while Angie was setting up her phone a breaking news pop up kept blinking. She checked it and gasped.

“Mr. Sterling, you need to see this!” She gave her phone to Alex and the headline made him see red.

“Alexander Sterling of Nightmare Fashion has a secret lover”

“Leo, someone leaked the video and pictures, find out who did this and tell my assistant that I am going to hold a press conference now! I’m sorry, Miss, we need to make a stop by the company. Be quiet and everything will be alright.”

He handed Angie back her phone and she avoided his angry gaze. She could see a vein form in his forehead and his fists were tight, like he was about to fit someone hard. They drove to Nightmare Industries and him, Angie, and Leo walked in the doors. There were reporters everywhere and when they spotted him, they flocked over. He shoved and pushed people aside while Leo protected Angie, shielding her face until they got to a small stage.

Alex cleared his throat.

“First of all, whoever leaked these videos and photos should turn themselves in or face the consequences, and second I kept my relationship secret to protect her.” Angie wanted to speak, but Leo held her back and whispered. “Don’t or else things will go bad for us all.” He squeezed her arm and she understood that she needed to let things happen.

“I wanted to protect her because she just graduated from art school and I did not want anything to disrupt her studies. She has received high marks in class and will take a position that was given to her, by my second in command. She will become a fashion designer here at Nightmare. I had no influence over her becoming a designer here and my second in command was not aware of our relationship as well. If anyone has further questions, they can f**k off and go through my assistant. That is all.”

He walked off the stage and grabbed Angie around the waist.

“Let’s go, dear.” Leo followed as cameras flashed pictures of Alex and Angie. They finally got into the car and he spoke.

“We will go to your home and you need to gather your things. You will be moving in with me. This is not up for debate and you will tell your father the reason why you rejected suitors was because of me. You will tell him that I wanted this kept secret.” He was stern and left no room for negotiation.

“We are doing this to protect reputations and that means that you will become my girlfriend. When we get to my home, you will sign a contract and we will go over the details then. Also, you can call me Xander, since you are now mine.”

Angie nodded and wondered how her father would react to this and even feared it a little. He wanted her to marry the son of someone he owed money to so that he could be out of that debt and probably still angry that she didn’t show up to the party. Although it was a short ways home, it felt like forever.