*****
THE END
BONUS STORY 2 ON NEXT PAGE
2. Sculptor’s Billionaire Husband
Facing the mirror, Alice pulled at the bowtie, which annoyed the hell out of her in the LA heat. The pea green waistcoat she had been given to wear was hideous. The white shirt reminded her of her school days. She sighed as she attempted one more time to make the bowtie sit straight.
The manager Simon had already warned her that her appearance wasn’t meeting his high standards. She knew where she wanted to shove those standards. She sighed again as she realized that there was no point being high and mighty when she had bills to pay.
Alice’s bottom lip quivered as she thought about the mess her life was in. She Inwardly cursed Alex, her ex boyfriend, for seriously messing up her life and leaving her for someone more plastic, more “LA.”
Once the darling of the art world, her career was in ruins. She hadn't gone into her studio for months, devastated at the way in which Alex had screwed her over. And now she was stuck serving drinks at the OUE Skyspace to the LA elite who had previously been her community.
It wasn't that she enjoyed the high life. It was just that her early success had given her a taste of the good life. But Alex had been lying about loving her all along, and managed to screw up the one thing in life she lived for—her sculpting.
She looked down at her long, slim fingers, perfect for the intricate work she did. She missed the weight of the massive diamond engagement ring Alex had bought her. When he’d left, she had thrown the ring into the sea at Long Beach in a fit of pique. Now, looking at the fading ring line on her tanned hand, she wished she had kept the ring and hawked it for some spare cash.
The door to the ladies room opened and Samantha, one of the other servers, popped her head through.
“There you are. Simon’s been looking for you.”
Alice sighed again and willed her mouth to curl upwards into some semblance of a smile at Samantha. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
The door closed again and Alice took one last look at herself before going back into the bustling crowd. She knew Simon would be pissed at her, but she couldn’t bring herself to care much any more.
Mustering all her strength, she walked out of the bathroom and back into the throng. As soon as she stepped back into the room, Simon was on her like a baying hound.
“Where the hell have you been?” He demanded, his voice low and a fake smile on his face.
“I had to use the ladies room.”
“Well, we’re run off our feet here. Get another tray and serve people.”
“Yes boss,” Alice intoned.
As she was about to walk away, Simon grasped her arm and shot her a look designed to kill. “I’m watching you Alice. I want to see you with a tray in your hand, making nice to the esteemed guests of this event. If I catch you slacking off again, you’re out. Do you understand?”
All she could think about was how vile his breath was “Sure thing, Simon.”
Shrugging him off, she traipsed over to the bar and lifted a tray full of drinks.
As she walked through the guests, stopping to offer drinks, her mind drifted to the last argument she had with Alex before he walked out of her life. Alice had been so devastated that she cancelled the show and the art world had been particularly cruel and unforgiving. She still had to cover gallery costs, despite the fact that her show never opened and that left her broke.
She was no more aware of the whispers about her lack of attention, when a woman magically appeared in front of her. As the two collided, Alice’s tray clattered to the ground and several glasses of wine smashed, the liquid contents splashing all down the woman’s white silk dress.
“Ah shit,” Alice mumbled, her eyes glued to the woman’s dress, which now resembled a Jackson Pollock painting.
“My dress! It’s ruined. Watch where you’re going, you stupid girl! Honestly, where did they dig you up? You can barely hold a tray!” The woman shrieked.
Alice glared at the woman, her own temper rising. She knew she recognized her from somewhere, and the memories came flooding back of the scathing column the woman had written in LA Weekly about Alice’s aborted show.
Before she could stop herself, she snapped back at the woman. “That’s rich coming from a talentless hack like you!”
The woman recoiled in horror and the guests surrounding them whispered at Alice’s outburst.
Alice stood up and stepped towards the woman. “I’ve got more talent in my little toe than you’ll ever have in your entire body. I’m an artist. You’re just a pseudo-intellectual who knows absolutely nothing.”
Shock flashed in the woman’s eyes, then a flicker of recognition.
At that point, Simon streaked across the floor and grabbed Alice by the arm, simultaneously snapping his fingers, galvanizing several other servers to appear and clean up the mess.
“I’m so terribly sorry. Please, let my colleague take you to the ladies room to help you clean up.”
One of the servers took the distraught woman away and Simon pulled Alice into the kitchen, where the chefs were preparing the meal for the guests.
“That’s it! You’re done.”
“She had no right to talk to me like that!” Alice snapped.
Alice opened her mouth to speak again, but Simon put his hand up.
“Don’t speak. I don’t want to hear it. Enough. You’re done. Get your bag and get out of my event. I will be calling your agency and letting them know about your behavior!”
Alice hated people shouting at her. No matter what she had done wrong, she couldn’t stand it when someone shouted. As she stood and took the barrage of insults from Simon, she could feel her blood pressure rising. By the time he finished, Alice was so riled up that as soon as she could get a word in, she did.
“Do you know what? Fuck you. Fuck you and your job. I don’t need this. I’m not and will never be just a server. So you can take your job and stick it up your ass.”
“What? How dare you!” Simon stepped back, shocked.
“You heard me. I really don’t need this crap from you. I’m an artist. I’m so much better than this. I don’t need to stand here and listen to you shouting at me.”
Alice pulled off her waistcoat and bowtie and shoved them at Simon in a rush of adrenaline. Then she stomped past him and into the small changing room and grabbed her bag.
As soon as she got out of the Skyspace building and into the fresh air, she took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down. She didn’t need this stupid job, she thought, as she made her way to the parking lot. She caught sight of her reflection in the rearview mirror of her car.
Suddenly the realization hit her. What had she been thinking? She had mountains of bills to pay. She had the upkeep of her apartment, the car, and all the trappings of her former life. If she didn’t get her act together soon she would lose everything.
As she put the car into drive, shame burned through her and tears started to form in her eyes.
***
When Alice arrived home her loft apartment seemed empty and uninviting. She had once considered the decor to be chic and minimal, but now that it was only her living there, it felt barren and unwelcoming.
She immediately went to the fridge and found it empty except for an opened bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Grabbing a long stemmed glass from a cabinet, she took the bottle to the open plan lounge and slumped on the soft white leather couch. After finishing the wine, she fell into a fitful sleep.
Around midday Alice awoke on the couch with drool pooling around her chin. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and squinted at the clock to see the time.
There were three missed calls from her agency. Swearing under her breath, she conjured up the nerve to call the agency back. Carey was her old friend from school, and had been good enough to put Alice on the agency’s books after everything went wrong with her art career.
“Hi Carey,” Alice said quietly.
&nbs
p; “Oh Alice, What have you done? Simon called and he was furious.”
“I know. I’m really sorry. I just couldn’t take serving those toffee-nosed idiots.”
“I know Alice, but you’ve really caused me a headache now. My boss is not happy that there was a complaint about you. She’s talking about taking you off the books.”
“Shit Carey. I really need the money.”
“I know you do babe. Look, there’s another event tomorrow night at The Landing. It’s a new installation, but it’s much more relaxed. It will be a younger crowd. Do you think you can handle it?”
“Yeah. I’m so sorry.”
“Look, I know you’re still cut up about Alex, but you really need to start getting your act together. There’s no reason why you can’t relaunch.”
When Alice didn’t respond, Carey sighed and gave her the details of the job for the next evening.
After thanking Carey profusely, she put her cell phone on the coffee table and the headline on the front of the newspaper caught her attention.
Ram’s Rocked as Star Quarterback, Kade Brannigan, Caught with Pants Down with Two Hookers at Ritz Carlton!
Alice read through the story in disbelief. She had been a Ram’s fan since childhood, when her father had introduced her to the wonders of the NFL. The player, Kade Brannigan, had been one of their best players for years, but lately he had been in the press for all the wrong reasons.
Shaking her head, she tried to imagine what was going through his head to make him behave like that. One thing comforted Alice that at least one person in the world had had a worse night than her.
***
Meanwhile, across town in the LA Ram’s stadium, Kade Brannigan was being given the dress down of his life. He sat in his manager’s office as they both took turns shouting at him. He was tired and hung over but the world had awakened to his latest antics and it would take some expert level maneuvering to get himself out of trouble.
“Listen guys, I know. I know okay? You don’t have to tell me. I’ll figure it out, all right? Let me just take the day off, get some sleep and I’ll figure something out.”
Jimmy, his manager, looked ready to have a heart attack. “Are you kidding me Kade? This is a goddamned clusterfuck. I’ve got the directors breathing down my neck telling me that you need to shape up or ship out.”
“Ah come on Jimmy...”
“What? You don’t think they’ll do it?”
Don, his agent, shook his head in frustration. “You don’t seem to understand Kade. Your sponsors have been on to me. If I hadn’t promised to smooth things over, most of them were threatening to pull your sponsorship. And you know what that means. No more ads, no more residuals, no more money.”
“Nah Don. I don’t see it somehow. The directors need me. I am the LA Ram’s.”
“Seriously son. If you were my kid I would smack you upside the head until you were black and blue,” Jimmy seethed through his teeth. “What the hell were you thinking? Hookers?”
“They weren’t hookers, Jimmy. They were escorts.” Kade shrugged nonchalantly and winked at his manager.
Jimmy slumped into his plush leather office chair. He looked worn out. Kade felt the first sensation of guilt rising inside him. He always danced close to the edge. That was his thing. People loved him for the whole bad boy act. He could get away with pretty much anything, but perhaps he had gone too far this time.
“You know Kade, you’re a role model. Kids look up to you. When they see you they think they can be like you. Or they did. Now they’re asking their moms and dads what a hooker is and why you, the LA Ram’s quarterback, are spending time in a hotel with people like that.”
Jimmy stared at Kade, until he was forced to answer begrudgingly. “I know, I’m sorry...”
Jimmy cut him off. “Sorry’s not gonna cut it Kade.”
Kade looked from Jimmy to Don. “So what do you want me to do?”
Kade eyed them suspiciously, knowing that whatever it was they had planned, it wasn’t going to be something he would like.
“Okay,” Don began. “So here’s how it’s gonna go down. You’re gonna find yourself a nice lady and have a whirlwind romance and marry her and settle down.”
Kade jumped out of his seat. “What?”
“Hear him out Kade,” Jimmy stated.
Kade turned to Don, who cleared his throat. “It’s the best way to get the press on your side. Think Tom Brady and Giselle. Get yourself a nice supermodel or something. It won’t be hard. You’re a handsome guy, famous, everyone loves you.”
“Don, I can’t just conjure some woman out of thin air and marry her. Plus, I don’t want to get married.”
“But that’s the thing. It can be temporary. Just until we can fix the optics. You know it’s all about the optics Kade. Get this right and everyone will soon forget that you were caught on camera doing the nasty with those women.”
Kade stood rooted to the floor. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Get married? Settle down? Marriage of convenience?
When he spoke, his voice was almost a whisper. “You really want me to find some chick to marry and settle down with? Are you guys shitting me?”
“Do we look like we’re shitting you Kade?”
“It’s your only hope son,” Jimmy breathed. “You’re ruining the reputation of the team. You either find a way to make it work or I swear, your NFL career will end in a heartbeat!”
***
The Landing was really starting to fill up with guests, and Alice was carefully working the room with her tray of drinks. She felt more comfortable in her uniform this time, a simple black tank top with the gallery logo and a pair of skinny black jeans, which clung to her long slim legs and framed her pert ass. She wore spike heels and had tied her long blonde hair up into a loose topknot.
The crowd was much more relaxed, a mixture of hipsters and the LA glitterati. Pushing the random thought that she should be showing her work in a gallery and not serving drinks at one, she tried her best to focus and not mess things up.
So when an excitable young man walked straight into her and her tray upended, spilling drinks over a guy sitting on a sofa, at least she could say it wasn’t because she hadn’t been focusing.
Alice took her towel and knelt down to help clean the poor guy up. When she looked up, her eyes widened as she realized that the man was Kade Brannigan.
Their eyes connected and Kade raised one eyebrow. Alice’s hand flew to her mouth in embarrassment.
“I’m so sorry,” she gasped, feeling the heat of her cheeks flushing bright red.
“That’s okay,” Kade responded, his amber eyes flashing brightly and his voice sounding like melted chocolate to Alice’s ears. She stared at his face, the wide set of his All-American jaw, his strong nose, and his dark hair, cut close to his head.
Kade cleared his throat in amusement, as he watched the tall, slim blonde kneeling in front of him, clearly caught in a daze.
“If you could just let me up, I’ll go to the men’s room and clean myself up.”
Alice scooted back and watched as Kade sauntered off to the men’s room. His broad shoulders rippled beneath his white tee and his ass sure looked fine in his jeans.
Holy moley, Alice thought, as she continued to clean up the mess. That was the Kade Brannigan. Hookergate man! She sniggered inwardly as she remembered the article from the newspaper. Wow, though. He looked so hot up close.
Ten minutes later, Alice took advantage of a short break to look at the art installation and felt a hand on her elbow. Turning around, she found herself looking up into those amber eyes again.
“Hey there.”
“Hi.”
Kade admired the painting Alice was looking at. “The installation’s really something isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I think this one is my favorites.”
Kade nodded his head. “Really? Well then, it’s my favorite too.”
Alice watched in shock as Kade turned to the gallery owner and no
dded his head. The owner promptly came and put a small red sticker next to the painting to denote that it had been sold.
Kade laughed, a huge hearty bear laugh, at Alice’s open mouth. He held out his hand.
“Kade Brannigan.”
Not connecting her mouth to her brain, Alice blurted out, “I know who you are.”
“Oh you do, do you?”
“Yeah. You like hookers,” Alice said, a faux smile on her face.
Kade took this in stride and grinned. “The problem is that I don’t know who you are.”
“Oh. I’m just Alice.”
“Okay, Just Alice. Do you have a surname?”
“Does it matter?”
Kade stared down at the beautiful young blonde woman and his grin widened. Alice felt the electricity as Kade’s arm brushed against hers. The dormant butterflies in the pit of her stomach suddenly came to life, making her squirm and turn beetroot red.
He seemed to notice the effect he was having on her and leaned in towards her. They stood, lost in the moment, eyes connected to eyes, hearts pounding in ears, and flesh bumps rising.
“I guess it doesn’t matter really.” Kade shrugged.
Unable to pull her eyes away, Alice found that her breathing shallowed. “So, do you do this all the time?” she asked.
He shook his head in confusion. Alice nodded to the painting Kade had just purchased.
“Do you buy artwork on the basis that it’s someone else’s favorite piece?”
Kade tilted his head back, his sparkling white teeth flashing and making Alice feel flushed again. “Well, I can’t say it’s happened before, but if you want it so badly you can have it.”
Alice’s eyebrows shot up. “ That’s not what I meant. I meant, do you buy things just to impress girls?”
“Well I don’t make a habit of impressing girls. Women, on the other hand…” He trailed off, his voice deep and full of innuendo. Alice blushed again.
“Are you flirting with me?”
Kade made a great show of looking around him. “Who me?”
Romance: Bad Boy Romance: The Billionaire Revenge (A Contemporary Multicultural Office Romance) Page 7