Dalia’s POV
I opened my eyes slightly, it was morning and the rays of light from the window were harsh enough to jolt me awake. I was about to shut my eyes once more when from the corner of my eyes, I saw a tall figure putting on a shirt. I let out a yelp and struggled to get out of bed. This wasn't my hotel room, and why was Eros West here? Then I realised I was naked. I dragged the sheets over my body and the events of last night came rushing back to me in fuzzy recollections. I had gone and drank more than I could handle again, and this time Emily wasn't here to stop me from making bad decisions. My head throbbed and the room spun around me. Eros kissed me, I raised my fingers to my lips and blushed. We had sex last night! He turned to face me and turned away, tightening his tie, his face was stoic and cold, and I almost detected a tinge of disgust. 'I-i…about last night—''That was last night and it has gone. The driver will be here to take you back to your hotel in 30 minutes.’ How could I have been so stupid, I wondered what was running through his head. This was my business partner, the number two rule I had always been taught was to never mix business with pleasure. This was such a mess. A terrible thought suddenly ran through my head, what if this would affect our partnership? Or worse, what if he taught this was all a plan to cement the deal?
‘Oh, and not a word of this should get out.’ He said while heading for the door, his coat in his hands, ‘Or else, I'll make sure you lose your job and all you've worked for. This is not a threat. Good day.’
The door clicked behind him and I fell back on the bed, my head buzzing. This wasn't my first one-night stand but Eros west had somehow found a way to make me feel bad and disgusting. Those green eyes of his had barely looked at me and when he threatened me before leaving, they seemed to hold disdain. I wiped out a stray tear from my eye, get it together! Who did he think he was anyway?
My phone began ringing, and when it stopped, I checked the screen. I had close to 60 calls and 10 messages! Sigh, this was going to be one hell of a day. I had not told Emily, my dad or my sister when I got to Paris or anything about me having to meet in person with Eros. They were all probably worried, rightfully so. And knowing how obsessed Emily was with West Inc, most of her calls were meant to be inquiries on if I caught a glimpse of the young billionaire. I wasn't sure if I was going to mention to anyone what had transpired between us last night. The rest of the calls were from Jeffrey, he was going to be so pissed.
Boss: where are you? I've been calling you since, call back when you get this! (1:12 am)
Boss: dalia?!(2:00am)
Boss: It's morning and you aren't at the hotel yet. This better not be one of your pranks, I am not amused. (5:17 am)
Emilyyy: daliaaaaaaaaaa(12:13am)
Emilyyy: babes I'm so worried, how did the deal go? Did you meet with…him?!! (12:18 am)
Emilyyy: answer me!!! Don't make me call Jefferey(12:47 am)
Emilyyy: and my cousin is in town, he’s been asking when you’ll be back. What do I tell him? (1:1am)
The first of my problems was Jeffrey, I would have to come up with something plausible enough to cover up for my absence since last night. I couldn't imagine getting lost. I think the best option would be to come clean, more or less. ‘Hello,jeffrey, I'm really sorry—’
‘Where have you been!’ he barked out, cutting me off. ‘I was with Eros…we stayed out waiting for you, and when it got late, he suggested I stay at the hotel till you returned.’
‘Why couldn't you call me?’ I could decipher his reaction over the phone but he sounded convinced.’The alcohol got to me, I'm really sorry.’
After a few minutes of convincing, he hung up, and then I quickly replied to Emily. Mostly short and vague replies, when I got back. We would have more than enough time to catch up. The funny thing is she mentioned Nick, her cousin. She knew how I felt about him but always brought him up whenever he came to visit. I heaved and got out of bed to get ready, I had to get back to my hotel.
The next few weeks ran quickly, all over the news, headlines were speculating on a partnership between MELT and West inc. though it was yet to be formally announced.
‘I can't believe you met with him in person!’ I rolled my eyes and put my head in my palms. I knew telling Emily what happened was not a good decision but she was my best friend. We told each other everything and I needed to get it off my chest. 'And even had sex! Dalia you sneaky bitch, no one knows about Eros' sex life. He's so private but the dream man. That intense look of his would have any girl's panties in a twist.’ Yes, just like mine.
‘It's not that much of a big deal and he's a horrible person anyway. You had to have been there to see how he looked at me.’ I replied quietly. I still felt really bad.
Emily stirred, took a sip of her coffee and laughed. ‘I wouldn't mind any of that, you don't get that kind of man anywhere.’ Emily's designer West bag sparkled on the table and I thought it was quite ironic how I was the one who encountered Eros west. Emily was a model and most of her shoots were for big fashion houses and industries like MELT and West Inc. The day she caught a glimpse of Eros in person, she was an absolute mess for weeks. She spent all her money on acquiring West designer items. They were even more exclusive than Gucci.
‘Do you remember the time it got out on the news that Eros was having an affair with Sina terozzi?’ she asked.
‘Yeah…who didn't? And her career crashed and no one hears anything about her anymore.’
‘Nothing of that sort will happen to me. I'm not in front of the camera. My work is beside Jeffrey doing the paperwork. And it's just you and I that know.’
A waiter interrupted our conversation, she had with her the cupcakes we had ordered beforehand. Emily and I rarely met anywhere but in this little cafe that was outside where I worked. Our busy schedules always clashed and when I had free time, she was either in Milan or South Africa or some exotic place walking down the runway or at a shoot.
‘These are so good! Even better than last time.’ she exclaimed but I knew she was lying, she'd barely taken a bite. Typical Emily. She was probably on a diet.
‘Oh yeah, Nick's in town. He's been asking for you.’
‘Why do you keep trying to set us up? I'm not interested.’
‘No this has nothing to do with me. I gave up a long time ago, I'm just passing the message. He said you blocked him on all socials….’
I zoned out of what she was saying and looked out the window. ‘Earth to Dalia!’ she snapped her fingers before my face and I broke into a smile. ‘I'm sure you didn't hear a word I said.’
‘Sure I did. You were talking about nick.’ Nick was the literal definition of the sort to never fall for. He was always surrounded by girls, designer items, expensive cars, drinks and the paparazzi. Billionaire Play Boy. he came to New York occasionally for business and would ask to see me at either a restaurant or hotel. The few times I would yield always ended up with him trying to convince me to go out with him, and I always said no. But he was quite fun to talk to and had lots of stories. I missed the times when he was just Emily’s fun cousin that came to visit once in a while. I used to like him a lot but knew if things were to go anywhere with him, I’d end up heartbroken. My life lately was just filled with men and not-so-pleasant situations, I couldn't wait for my break.
Eros’s POV.‘Sir, I brought your coffee.’ I snapped my hand up and nodded at my secretary. When she left, I turned my attention back to the papers before me— the partnership documents between my company and MELT’s. My team and I had been planning to approach them before they made the move, and the terms of the agreement were quite favourable. A memory of what happened that night popped up into my head and I grimaced. The lady from that night was undeniably attractive, and the short red gown she wore hugged her curves so well. It was so unlike me to lewd over a woman in that manner and a business partner. That was quite an unfortunate situation and would never repeat itself. I loosened my grip on the table and took a swig of my coffee. What if it got out to the public? I couldn’t have that. A knock came from the door, ‘May I come in, sir? It's a Mark.’‘Yes, come—’ my PA barely waited for me to complete my sentence when he barged into the room. He had with him his notepad and a bunc
Dalia’s POVI went over to Emily's place to get ready with her. Her stylist, makeup artist, the designers and camera team and the whole team was already there and I went by 9:00 am. Getting ready for these events always took a full day and Emily had to look her very best, she was also going in a West dress. They were also going to dress me too; I was going in a plain white satin gown with a cowl. Elephant and classy. Silver-studded heels, and a diamond choker.‘Hello honeyyy, wow you look amazing!’ Chris said, he ran over to me and kissed me on my cheek. ‘It’s great to see you Chris. And jenna…hi!’I waved excitedly at Jenna. She was my favourite hair stylist, she had a pin in between her lips and nodded at me. ‘Finally, the queen arrives,’ said Emily. She was still in her robe and her nails and feet were being filed and prepped for a manicure by the nail technician. I sat on the chair opposite her and helped myself to the glass of juice on the side table. It was a full house, her cor
DALIA'S POVThe huge double doors slammed shut behind me, as I stumbled into the empty hallway. Various emotions washed over me, my cheeks burning from embarrassment and my eyes glossy with tears. I let out a heavy sigh, and briefly leaned against the wall nearest to me as I pulled off my shoes and gathered the length of my dress. My moment of peace was short-lived, as I heard the doors open again, followed by brisk footsteps. I whipped my head back to see Jeffrey, rushing out the doors behind me.“Dalia!” His voice boomed throughout the hallway, and shook me to my spine. The scowl plastered on his face told me he was probably the only person more mortified by the situation than myself. Either edge of his lips were down-turned, and his brows furrowed at the center of his forehead, causing the stress lines he so desperately tried to hide to appear. As he approached me, I noticed the veins pulsing underneath his sweaty skin, it was almost as though they were trying to pop out of his tem
EROS’S POV.I stood motionless, shocked, and covered in a layer of vomit from the chest down. A hush fell on the room for a brief moment, before the silence was broken by several gasps, followed shortly by the sound of clicking cameras, and flashes. The situation had not yet fully registered in my brain, until I turned to meet Jeffrey's terrified eyes. He seemed frozen to one spot, with his mouth hanging open, as the very person responsible for the mess ran off of the stage, and out of the room."Damn, who's that?" A high pitched voice from the audience said. The voice was laced in malicious intent, whoever had spoken those words intended only to cause a stir. Aside that, it sounded pretty generic, like it could belong to just anyone. I rolled my eyes at the thought straightened my back and turned back to the crowd, and smiled in a way that felt vaguely out of character."That, is somebody who may have already had a bit too much to drink." I retorted, and chuckled lightly. The joke e
DALIA'S POVJeffrey had sent a waitress to make sure I got home safe. She arrived with some aspirin, a big bottle of water, a change of brand new clothes, and a bag to carry my soiled dress in."You're a life saver." I whispered, before popping two pills in my mouth. I threw my head back, and chugged down more than half of the bottle of water in a single go, leaving just a little in case I got thirsty on the ride home.I peeled my dress off, took off the tags, and slipped on the pair of grey, baggy sweatpants and black T-shirt she had brought for me. Once I was fully dressed, I turned to pick up my shoes. I couldn't possibly wear six inch stilettos with the clothes I had on right now, even if it was just to the front door. I considered going caveman style, and walking barefoot, but something told me Jeffrey would not like that very much."You wouldn't happen to have a pair of size seven sneakers here, would you?" I asked, my voice drenched in sarcasm."Uhm, no." The waitress chuckled
DALIA'S POVI woke up on the cold floor in my kitchen, to the sound of my phone buzzing violently where it lay on the counter top. I struggled to stand to my feet, and dragged myself over to my kitchen island, picking up my phone just as it stopped ringing. The previous night had been such a terrible disaster, I wanted so bad to believe it was nothing more than an extremely detailed nightmare. The broken test stick laying not too far from me, the missed calls from my boss and a million texts from Emily told me it was not."Ugh, my head." I winced, clutching the side of my head with my hand, as I called Jeffrey right back. He picked up on the first ring."Dalia? Are you okay?" His voiced pierced through my ears, making my head hurt even more."I don't feel too good, Boss.""Yeah, you don't sound too good either. I've been calling you all morning, last night wasn't a total disaster. You're lucky, Eros West is a forgiving, understanding man." From the sound of it, it seemed like the part
EROS' POVI sat alone in my office when I heard a gentle knock on the door."Enter." I said, from behind the screen of my laptop, my eyes fixed on the figures in bold, black font. I knew exactly who it was that had come in. Not merely because he was the only person scheduled to meet with me at this time, but because I had heard his footsteps as he approached my office. "Mr. Starr, top of the morning to you." I greeted. Over the years of our friendship, I had gained the ability of knowing when Jeffrey was coming from quite a remarkable distance away, simply from the way he walked. That prosthetic left leg of his made it incredibly easy, as every second step he took was always louder than the first."Pleasant morning, Eros." He replied, shutting the door behind him. I finally looked up from my computer to see him walking over to my desk. He was dressed in a white, yellow, and blue plaid dress shirt, with rolled up sleeves. His pants were made from a fine, navy blue khaki like fabric, an
DALIA'S POVFor some reason, the pizza tasted so good this afternoon. I munched down all six slices, and had a big size Coke to wash it down. After I was done eating, I got up, finally ready to clean the apartment. I started by wiping down the kitchen surfaces with a damp cloth, and offloading the dishwasher. I stacked the plates, and pans in their respective shelves, and stored the cutlery and cups back in the drawers. Soon, I moved into the living room. I stared at just how untidy it was. The floor was littered with all sorts of things, from empty Doritos packaging, to plastic hair rollers, shoes, and of course, the dress from last night, which now reeked of vomit.I braced myself, holding my breath before walking over to where the dress lay. It wasn’t until I picked it up from the ground that I saw the bottle of wine that had tipped over and emptied on the floor, soaking the dress as well."Just fucking great." I hissed. Emily would not be happy about this. She had refused to even