“What’s wrong dear?” she asked again. She sounded kind for once in our relationship! That made it so much easier to open up!
“Something strikes me as very bizarre between Ashton and Charlotte. I’ve been deceived many times already, and quite frankly, I can’t deal with any more deception. It hasn’t been small deceptions but huge ones.”
“Like when he lied to you about not being married before when he was going through a divorce?” Janet asked.
“Yes,” I replied. “The way that they stare at each other, the way that Charlotte is so incredibly catty to me and the overall awkwardness is very disturbing to me. I have no idea what’s going on, but my gut is really screaming at me. Now that the media is involved in our relationship, the last thing I want to happen is another scandal to be exposed.” I paused to take a breath and slow my fast speech.
“I don’t blame you, Alexis. I see where you’re coming from.”
“Well, have you picked up on the same bizarre behavior or do you know anything that I don’t? If you do know something that I don’t and it’s terrible, I will clock out now and never return. I don’t want to hurt the company, but that I can’t stand by and let a man use me like that.”
Janet leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “Honestly, Alexis, I’ve noticed the same awkward tension between them and found it to be slightly disturbing, but I don’t know anything. The only thing that I know of is what you already know. He had a fiancée and she ran off. He then met his wife, and they were going through a divorce when you came along. However, I have to agree with you that there’s something fishy between him and Charlotte.” Although she didn’t have any extra information for me, I appreciated her honesty and confirmation about what I already sensed.
“Thank you, Janet. I really appreciate it. Well, I’m returning to my desk should you need me.” I smiled at her and left her office.
I returned to my desk and browsed through the Internet to look at the latest news. It was a daily routine that often helped me to jumpstart my day. I read about the stock market, the latest cure for cancer and the new island that was discovered in the South Pacific. Then my eyes browsed over something that sent absolute terror through me. The entertainment news section read:
LEAKED: NUDE AND ACTION-FILLED PHOTOS OF ASHTON JACKSON AND HIS SEXY YOUNG GIRLFRIEND, ALEXIS KING!
What?! What?! I immediately stood to my feet. “What?!” I yelled out loud for everyone to hear. All of the typing in the room ceased. Silence fell faster than the word could leave my mouth. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Please, please, please don’t be true!”
“Alexis, what’s wrong?” Janet burst from her office faster than I imagined possible. The other ladies stood up from their chairs and peeked over their cubicle walls.
“I-I-I don’t even know how to explain. I’m so embarrassed!! I’ve never been so humiliated in all of my life! He did this. He did this! HE DID THIS! He did this to draw more attention to his fucking Yoga brand!! He threw me under the bus to build his fucking brand!”
“Calm down, Alexis. Calm down. Show me what you’re talking about sweetie,” Janet tried to keep her voice low and calm.
“She’s referring to this,” Martha pointed to her computer screen.
“Oh wow,” I sank back into my chair in utter disbelief. Janet looked at the web page and her jaw hit the floor.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said, shocked. “Only he had access to that material?” she asked me gently.
“Yes,” I nodded miserably. “And naturally, he chose to leave the country today. TODAY! With his precious daughter doing who knows what. That is, if she’s really is his fucking daughter. Who knows? There doesn’t seem to be anything real about him other than utter bullshit! No wonder his ex-wife demanded half of his estate!” I was so angry that even I knew I had to calm down. “What is my family going to say about this?”
The ladies were coming around me to support me and hug me. “Alexis, break up with him and never look back. I will do as much damage control as I can right now. I will call every media source and try to get the photos taken down. I will also call an attorney,” Janet assured me.
“Yeah, I think I need to call an attorney right now. My reputation is ruined! Ashton has destroyed my good name! People will always know me as the sexy girlfriend,” I started to sob.
“Someone get her a tissue, now!” Janet ordered one of the ladies.
“Janet, I told you that something was off.”
Janet rubbed my shoulders in tender care. “Sweetie, I hate to say this, but I think there’s a little more to the story. Brace yourself.” Martha brought me a tissue to wipe my eyes and blow my nose. “We can’t work for this man anymore.” Janet said. “Ladies, I can likely have all of our jobs replaced by next week if you can just trust me. Is anyone up for that?” Everyone looked at one another. They were frozen in place.
“I have a family to feed and a mortgage to pay,” one stated anxiously.
“My husband isn’t able to work. He relies on me to put the bread on the table,” another added.
“I trust you, Janet,” Martha said bravely. “I don’t want to work for a man who’s cheating the rest of the world for his billions.” The support I felt was overwhelming. I always expected these women to hate my guts. I had it completely backwards. They knew who the true Ashton was to begin with. Why didn’t I trust them? Why did I not trust my instincts? It had been a long and wild ride.
“Thank you, Martha. Who wants to walk out of here with me, Martha and Alexis today? I think that we should all abandon ship. Keep in mind that if you’re here, you’re accountable for his business. Do you really want that type of pressure?”
The women looked at each other in complete shock, unsure of what to do.
I spoke up. “Janet, perhaps we shouldn’t do this. Perhaps we should wait until he is back state side.”
“Alexis, do you want the media to follow you in and out of this building twice a day, every day? It will increase publicity for his brand. You should know that with this coming out the media will stalk your every move.” Janet was right. This was going to be a nightmare for a while.
“Let’s go home.” I said boldly. I stood up and straightened my shirt. “Let’s give the cameras time to be outside and let’s all walk off the job together and QUIT! That way, it’ll make the news and counteract the headlines. It will direct the attention away from me and more to him. It will show the world that I did not approve of this betrayal. It will show who he really is as a person. Even more, it will cause him to fly home and discover his empty office. Now I understand why he wanted me to watch his office while he was gone!”
“Perfect! We are here for you, Alexis,” Martha patted me on the back. Eventually, all of the ladies agreed to walk off the job with us. We waited until there was a group of paparazzi outside of the building and walked off the job at the same time. I would wait for Ashton’s return and prepare for any lawsuits that would emerge from the mayhem.
Chapter 6
My family was irate. My friends were irate. Seth was irate. I was irate. The embarrassment that stemmed from Ashton’s latest scheme was incredibly bad. He sent me a text message stating that he was returning home right away after seeing pictures of us walking off of the job. He tried to explain that he had nothing to do with the leaked photos. I didn’t believe him. I couldn’t believe him. Janet knew that he was the only one that had access to them.
“What are you doing to do when the jerk gets back to his mansion?” Jessica asked angrily. I had already contacted my family attorney with the help of my dad. It was merely twenty-four hours since I discovered the explosion and Ashton was nearly home. I patiently waited for his return.
“I have to close the door, Jessica. I have to close the door.”
“You shouldn’t go by yourself, Alexis. Why don’t you ask your dad or Seth to go with you?”
She had a point. “They would likely get too angry too quickly. Would you ride with me? Yo
u could stay in the car if you wanted to.”
She thought for a moment. “I will do that And after you do whatever it is that you need to do or say with Ashton, I think that you owe Seth a few words.”
“Believe me, I’ve already thought of that,” I smiled. “He’s really been here for me and has been patient through it all. I wouldn’t expect him to be anything other than friendly though.”
“You don’t expect romance?” she seemed surprised.
“How could I? Look at everything I’ve been through and have put him through. I’ve dared not ask him about the girl he was having coffee with that one day.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Jessica reassured me.
“I’m not. I’ve let it go, honestly. What’s meant to be will be.”
“What do you think Ashton will say to you?”
I reclined in the sofa and stretched my legs. “I think that he will try to calm my nerves about the scandal. Jess, I’ve never been so humiliated in my entire life. I mean, come on, I’m sitting here scared to turn on the TV.”
She peeked outside the window. “And there are still stupid camera dudes that are stalking the outside of the apartment. Don’t they have anything better to do than stalk people? That should be against the law!”
“For whatever reason, they’ve found loopholes as with anything else in life.”
“Ooo, maybe I should give them a photo or two of yours and get rich quick!” she teased me.
“Don’t you dare!!” I scolded her teasingly. I knew she didn’t mean it. We were mildly laughing at a difficult situation when my phone buzzed on the coffee table and made us both jump. “It’s Ashton,” I spoke wearily.
“Ugh. Open it.”
“Okay.”
I’m home if you want to talk.
“That’s all that he said?” she reacted.
“Yeah.” I reached for my purse and keys. “I’m ready to get some answers now.”
“You want to go over there now?” Her eyes grew wide. She wasn’t expecting me to head out the door that quickly.
“Yes, do you still want to go with me?”
She stuttered. “I-I guess we better get on the road!”
The drive to Ashton’s house seemed shorter than all of the other times I had driven out there. Jessica seemed nervous.
“Just stay in the car. Don’t worry. He’s not going to do anything stupid.” My words eased the concern in her eyes.
“Okay, girl. I will be here. Take your time.” She winked at me and off I went. Ashton’s butler answered the front door like usual. I knew the routine in that house like clockwork. I walked straight upstairs after his butler informed me that he was in his bedroom. The door was cracked open so I wondered inside and softly called his name.
“Ashton? Are you here?” I asked as I tiptoed around his bedroom. As I looked outside the bay window, I heard movement from his bathroom suite. Turning to look for his face, I was stunned to see Charlotte coming out with nothing but a towel wrapped around her waist and a towel on top of her head. Behind her stood Ashton and he was also dressed in nothing but a towel and a huge grin. I knew what had just happened. I was utterly disgusted. “What’s going on here?” I asked in a sharp tone.
“Alexis!” he said shocked. Charlotte stared at him with awkward eyes.
“You might as well be honest with her,” she snapped.
“Yes, some honesty would be nice,” I added.
. He sighed, frustrated. “Have a seat, Alexis,” he advised.
“No, I don’t need to sit anywhere in order to hear the truth.”
Charlotte stood by his side. He took a deep breath. “I didn’t want things to come down to this.”
Charlotte stared at him, clearly confused eyes. “Excuse me?”
“That’s not what I meant, dear,” he told her. I crossed my arms in attempt to control my anger. I wasn’t expecting this on top of what had already happened.
“I want an answer right now, Ashton.” I demanded.
He looked down and back up at me. “Charlotte isn’t really my daughter. She’s my lover. She’s the woman that I left my wife for.” Charlotte had an evil smirk on her face.
“Excuse me? Then what was all of this with me?”
Charlotte spoke up. “You are such a pretty woman and were so innocent that we thought you would be the perfect tool to shed a new light on the company.”
“You used me! That’s fraud!” I yelled at them. “You’ll be hearing from my attorney! Ashton, I almost thought that you loved me! I gave up so much for you!”
“When you cheated on me with Seth, I realized that if there was anything between us, you had ruined it,” he yelled back. Charlotte didn’t like the words that he chose.
“I’m out of here. I never want to hear from you again,” I said as I stormed out of the room. “Let Charlotte be your new ad campaign. She probably deserves your crappy sex anyway.” I left them both speechless. Jessica was still sitting in the car where I had left her.
“How’d it go?” she asked with curiosity. It was obvious that I was very upset.
“Charlotte isn’t his daughter. Charlotte is his lover. He’s been sleeping with her since before I came into the picture. I was picked out and groomed to be the new face of the company.”
“What?! You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!!” she yelled at the top of her voice. I put the car in reverse and skidded out of there.
“I’m driving straight to Seth and then to my parents.” I said flatly.
“I don’t blame you! Please tell me that you’re done with that man.”
“So over it, Jessica. So over it.”
Seth was hanging out on his patio when we pulled up. He stood when he noticed who we were.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, clearly concerned.
“It is now,” I said. “I love you, Seth. Never let me go.” I hugged him with everything I had within me. Tears flowed down my cheeks as he I felt him squeeze me back tightly.
“I love you too, Alexis. Oh, how I’ve waited for this day.”
“You were right,” I added. “Ashton is out of the picture.”
Jessica couldn’t help herself. “Unless we see him in court!”
We sat down and discussed everything. For once, I felt free to hold his hand and not feel guilty. I had nothing but love surrounding me. Ashton Jackson, the billionaire, couldn’t screw with me anymore. I was never looking back.
Dirty Bad Boy Eye Candy
Who doesn’t love a bit of eye candy after a hot read? Like the dessert after a great meal. Enjoy!
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Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
©Copyright 2016 by Bella Rayne - All rights reserved.
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Dedication:
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WARNING: This eBook contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language. It may be considered offensive to some readers. This eBook is for sale to adults ONLY
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Hang Em' Up: A Bad Boy Sports Pregnancy Romance Page 153