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 earned a buzz of laughter from the crowd. "If you'll excuse me, it appears I need a change of clothes. MELT and West, everybody." The screen behind us lit up as a short introductory film began to play , and the room erupted with applause, while Jeffery and I descended steps which led off the stage.As my eyes rummaged through the endless faces in the crowd, I finally caught sight of my stylist, Juan. He stood upright, stricken with terror. His eyes wide, and his fingers latched unto both sides of his face, like he was attempting to peel his own skin off. A small woman with red hair seemed to pull him out of his trave with the touch of his elbow. Juan bent lower, and whispered in her ear, before pointing towards one of the emergency doors. I nodded and began making my way towards the exit, when I Jeffrey blew passed me."Well, someone's getting fired tonight." I said, to no one in particular, before the woman Juan had been whispering to approached me."Mr, West, right this way please." She struggled to keep her gaze above my chest, her eyes darting frequently to the beige stains Dalia had been so kind to leave on my clothes. The woman brought a hand to her face, covering her mouth and nose, as if to hide her obvious repulsion, and led me away from the auditorium.We walked down the hallway towards the elevator, passing the restrooms on the way. Standing in the doorway of the women's restroom was Jeffery. His back was turned to us, and he seemed to be speaking to someone inside. I assumed he must be completely lashing out at that assistant of his, and decided not to interrupt.When we reached the top floor, the lady let me to a suite, inside was a team of designers and stylists waiting for me. Each of them staring eagerly at me, rehearsed smiles that contrasted too greatly with the burning desire in their eyes. They had laid out multiple outfits for me to choose from. Outfits which matched my taste and style in a way that made me feel like this improtu wardrobe change was on fact anticipated."Everyone here is at your service, sir." The small lady beamed, as a strode over to the mirror that covered one of the walls."Thank you. Your name?" I began to undress myself. A tall, slender man with platinum blonde hair rushed to my side, assisting me as I took the soiled clothes off one by one."Isaiah, You modelled one of my designs back in twenty-fifteen, Mr. West. It's an honour to meet you again." He chimed, folding my shirt into a neat square, and dropping it into a big plastic bag."Hm." Is all I could say. Some part of me wanted to tell Isaiah the question was not directed at him, that I had no interest in getting acquainted with the people in tbis room. However, the better part of me admired how quick he was to jump at an opportunity. If younger me had met me now, I would've done the same. I looked up in the mirror and gave him a tight smile, to which he returned one much bigger.The red head woman had been called back downstairs, and so she left me in Isaiah's care, only after confirming that I did not mind. I assured her I could manage well enough, and began looking through the outfits as soon as she left."You say, I modelled something you designed once?" I said to Isaiah, who trailed behind me closely, picking the items I selected off their racks as we went through everything presented in the room."Indeed, sir. During the New York fashion week in twenty-fifteen.""Ah, I see. That was a great one." It was just then it hit me. I spun around in a single motion, and looked him up and down. "Isaiah Crawford! You're brilliant." I say, a little too excitedly. He let out a chuckle and nods."Well, not too many believe the genius part.""Don't be modest now. Your pieces got me in the highlights." We moved back to the mirror and Isaiah began handing me the clothes. I settled on a black, silk blouse with buttons and long sleeves, and paired it with a black, pleated, cotton skirt that stopped around my ankles. The skirt was adorned with golden chains that varied in size, around the waist, and a golden zipper at the side. For shoes, Isaiah picked out a pair of short, suade boots with laces, a choice I very much agreed with. Fashion had changed immensely since I last worked with Isaiah. I imagined how well he would do in this new, progressive era with the right platform."You look great, Mr. West." Isaiah said, watching me straighten out my clothes. "Just, one thing." He moved in, and undid the first three buttons of my blouse, exposing my chest. "There." He said, stepping back to take in the finished look."How would you like a job, Isaiah?"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
EROS' POVThe issue which had taken me out of my office this afternoon, was a supply problem in the transportation department. Isaiah had filled me in on the details during the ride here, but something didn't quite seem right. Preston, the head of department, had sent me an email of complaint two weeks ago. Apparently, he believed someone was sucking out the gas from the larger trucks, and selling it in the black market.Usually, I would not even consider leaving the comfort of my office to attend to such matters, but now that West Incorporated had a new partnership, word of untrustworthy and dishonest staff could not get out."Good day, Mr. West.""I don't believe there's anything good about the situation at hand, Preston." I replied as I walked into the conference room, Preston treading quickly behind me, and Isaiah following him.I took my seat at the top of the long, rectangular table, while Preston and Isaiah sat on the first two seats on my left."So, Preston, you believe someon
DALIA'S POVThe next morning came faster than I had expected. My alarm woke me up at thirty minutes passed six, but I had snuck in an extra hour, getting up just around seven-thirty. Emily was not one to keep to time, but something told me today would be very different. Maybe things were different for me today. For one, I was on my way to the doctor's, to check out the human being growing inside of me. It still seemed very much unreal to me that I was pregnant. I couldn't imagine myself being someone's mother, I could barely take care of myself. I didn't eat homemade meals, unless someone else cooked them, I had the memory of a ninety year old, and I left my laundry in the dryer for way too long. I was not mother material.I rolled off of the mattress, stood to my feet, and made my bed, before going to brush my teeth. As I scrubbed the back of my tongue, I felt something rising in my throat. I pulled out the toothbrush from my mouth, and quickly dipped my head in the sink. I remained
DALIA'S POVI yanked the door of Emily's car open, and slumped into the passenger’s seat, before closing it shut again. I thought back, to the lady and her baby from the elevator."What's wrong with you?" Emily asked, after noticing the look on my face. I took a deep breath, and pulled the seatbelt across my body."Nothing." I said, as the buckle clasped. I felt as tears began to gather in my eyes. I didn't want to start crying all over again, I didn't want to worry Emily, but I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. "What if I don't want to keep it?" I breathed."That's fine." Emily replied. She reached over to me, placed her hand over mine, and rubbed it softly, then raised my chin so that my glossy eyes met hers."It's going to be okay, Dee. Whether you have this baby, or you don't, that's totally up to you. Alright, it's about what you want to doing, and I will be here supporting whatever decision you make, okay?" She said, using the back of her hand to wipe the tears that had eventu
EROS' POVBy the times I got up the next morning, the time was already forty minutes after nine. I would've probably slept for much longer if Sebastian hadn't come banging on my door. Princess was curled up in a ball next to me on my bed, clearly not interested in day time activities just yet. I stumbled out of bed, and made my way down the stairs to my front door."Good morning, Mr. West." A worried Sebastian greeted, startled by the force at which I'd swung the door open."Morning, Sebastian." I let him in, and walked to the kitchen. "Why have you banged on my front door this morning? Did someone die?" I said, sarcastically, as I turned on the coffee making machine that sat on the far end of the kitchen island."Uhm, no, sir." Sebastian stood by the door. "It's just, the time is almost ten 'o' clock, Mr. West. You clock in at work at eight-thirty." He stated. I gestured for him to leave the door, and sit down in the living room, before joining him. I took a deep breath."Well, Seba