Chapter 45
BLADE
Three Weeks Later
Amelia’s fingers tremble as she adjusts a pin on one of her dress pieces. I step up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She jumps ever so slightly but instantly relaxes once she realizes it’s me.
“It’s gonna be fine. Trust me, angel. The audience is going to love your designs. How could they not? I’m not into fashion at all and even I love them.”
She blows out a breath, not seeming to believe a word I said. “You love them because they’re mine. The audience at the show isn’t going to have the same bias.”
I turn her to face me fully, catching the doubt in her eyes—the nervous energy that’s been buzzing around her all day, threatening to overflow.
“Do you want to spend your very first career-defining moment worrying? When you look back on it, do you want your memory to just be how doubtful you were?”
“It’s kind of hard not to. I mean, everyone else’s designs are—”
I cup my hand over her mouth, interrupting her. “All the other designs are wonderful, just like yours are. Nod if you agree.” She nods, but I still see uncertainty swimming in her gaze. “No. I’m not moving my hand until you actually believe it in your pretty little head.”
Her shoulders slump, but she quickly regains her posture. This time when she nods, it’s more genuine so I remove my hand.
“Thank you,” she murmurs. “For always being my number one cheerleader.”
“Of course.” I lean down and give her a quick peck on her lips.
“Why do you always say that?” she asks.
“Say what?”
“You always say ‘your pretty little head’.”
“Because it is a pretty little head. The prettiest little head I’ve ever seen in my life.”
She laughs, the sound fills the air, and I watch as the tension visibly melts off her shoulders. Her whole demeanor softens, her eyes sparkling, which makes my own smile grow wide.
“This is a world-famous show.” I remind her. “They wouldn’t have your designs here if they weren’t out of this world. Trust me.” She nods, and I press a kiss to her forehead. “I gotta go change, I’ll be right back.”
I weave through the crowd of people running around like a chicken with their heads cut off and finally reach the hallway. This place is packed, I don’t see how they get everything done with so much disorganization. I hate disorganization. The show starts in thirty minutes and it doesn’t even look like the stage is fully set up yet.
I turn a corner, heading towards the dressing room where I kept my suit stashed. Amelia made her own dress that goes along with the theme of the show, Garden of Eden—she looks amazing in it by the way—and I spent a long time trying to find a suit that matches her dress.
I found this show because I signed up for newsletters from some of the fashion brands she talks about sometimes. When they sent out a campaign for their yearly fashion show and announced the theme, I knew her designs had to be in it. It’s perfect for her, a lot of her work is already centered around nature.
As I round the final corner, I nearly collide with a man in a sleek, tailored suit. I’m about to be annoyed about it, but his distinctive salt-and-pepper beard makes me recognize him. The executive who I made a deal with, the one meeting with Amelia after the show.
“Blade, right?” His voice is smooth but with an edge of something else—something unsettling. If he’s canceling our deal, I’ll kill him right here. Maybe not right here , but somewhere around here. There are plenty of open trails in this area.
“Yeah?”
He extends a hand, which I shake briefly. “Nice to see you again.”
“You too. I’ve got to get dressed, show in less than thirty minutes.” I try to move past him, but he blocks me.
“I overheard your conversation with your girlfriend,” he says, narrowing his eyes.
“Wife, actually.” I narrow mine right back. Does he think he’s supposed to be intimidating me or something?
He hums. “You didn’t tell her that she’s only getting the opportunities she is because you’re paying for them.”
I tense, my muscles coiling like a spring. “So?” A smirk makes its way across his face. My jaw tightens, and I feel a surge of anger. “What’s your point?” I don’t like the way he said that or what he’s insinuating.
“My point is…” He leans in closer, dropping his voice to a whisper. “An extra million dollars or I tell her everything. In fact, I won’t even go through with the deal.”
Executives are so fucking greedy, and for what? They already make millions a year, does he need to go to the extent of extortion to buy his third private jet?
I stare at him, fists clenched at my side. I want to fucking deck him in the face, but that’ll only ruin everything.
“I see you’re considering it,” he taunts with a smug smile. “You’ve got ‘til the end of the show to decide. That’s when the deal gets fully signed for.”
Amelia would never forgive me if some beefy executive came up to her telling her I lied. And she would be self-conscious about her designs for the rest of her life, thinking they’re not good enough to pass without being paid off.
“I don’t need until then, I’ll do it.” I step closer, a cold glare on my face. “But if you ever try to extort money out of me again, I will kill—”
“Aiden?” Amelia’s voice fills the hallway.
“Oh, hey angel.” I spin around, my expression softening.
“I came looking for you. I thought you were going to get dressed.” Amelia looks between us, furrowing her brows. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, we were just talking business. I’m excited to meet with you after the show, Amelia.” The executive shakes her hand and I glare at their point of contact until he lets go and walks off. I fucking hate when other men say her name, then he has the nerve to touch her too.
“Aunt Sheila?” Amelia’s voice cuts through my thoughts of all the ways I could kill the prick as she spots a woman walking down the hall.
The woman looks up, and she closes the distance between them. “Amelia! It’s been so long!” They embrace each other for a brief moment before Amelia pulls back, still holding her aunt’s hands.
“What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in at least five years. I thought you lived in California.”
“I’m here with your mom. We recently reconnected, and she told me about everything that’s been going on.”
Amelia’s jaw drops. “My mom is here?”
God dammit, that was supposed to be a surprise. I suppress an annoyed groan, not wanting to ruin their moment. This is why I hate humans, they always mess shit up.
“You look great, Aunt Sheila,” Amelia says with genuine happiness in her voice. I can tell because of the infliction, not like when she’s pretending to be happy.
“Thank you, dear. I’ve been clean for two years now, and I’ve remarried. Now it’s time to focus on getting your mom better.”
“I agree. I’m glad that you’re going to be around to support her.”
They exchange a few more pleasantries before her aunt goes back to find her seat, and I lead Amelia to the dressing room. I start changing into my suit, and I can feel her gaze on me the entire time. I glance over, catching her biting her lip.
“Enjoying the view?” I tease, pulling on my jacket.
“Maybe. Has anyone ever told you that you have the perfect body? And a nice ass.”
I chuckle and finish adjusting my tie. “Even if they did, it wouldn’t have mattered as much as coming from you.”
We make our way to the show, and by the time we arrive, almost everybody has found their seats. Frankie, Asher, Amelia’s mom, and her aunt sit in the front row, leaving two empty seats for us.
Amelia gasps. “Frankie is here? Oh my God, front-row seats cost twenty thousand dollars! How does everyone have one?”
“You know with John’s passing I’m practically a billionaire now, right? From an inheritance. Well, not technically an inheritance because you have to pay taxes on those.”
She looks at me, a playful smile on her face. “Hm, I guess I picked the right man to fall in love with then, huh?”
I look back at her with a smile, feeling a warmth spread through me. When we first met, she wasn’t really the type to make jokes or play around and I’m glad that she’s grown more comfortable.
“I guess you did.” I kiss the top of her head.
···
The show went even better than expected. The audience went wild about her designs. It made Amelia’s face light up like the moonlit sky, she was practically glowing the entire time. Not a single moment passed where her smile—so big it could’ve used its own zip code—faded from her face.
The meeting with the executive went smoothly as well, even though I still have bad energy towards the bastard for extorting me. As planned, he offered her a deal to design a custom dress line for their fashion brand. Six unique dresses, all centered around one theme, that Amelia gets to collaborate on picking.
Like with Anne, when we left I got a confirmation text from the executive of the payment going through. And he had to rub the extra payment in my face by putting it on a separate line on the invoice. The bastard.
I can’t be mad though—they’re making her dreams come true and for that, what’s an extra million dollars? Seeing her face when he offered her the deal made it all worth it. And even more so when her laughter rang out, clear and bright, doing a little happy dance in her chair before turning to me with the most beautiful sparkle in her eyes.
It’s a good thing almost anything in this world can be brought when you wave enough money around. And a million dollars—well, two million now—is surely enough money for a simple dress line in their catalog.
But the point is, this opportunity is priceless. Having her designs on the website and in the shows of one of the most influential and famous fashion brands in the world gets you noticed. Her career can catapult just like that. Of course, it won’t be instant. It’ll probably take one or two years just to go through approvals and the creative processes to even get the line launched.
But afterwards, she’ll be able to have her dream career. And soon enough, smaller fashion brands will be busting down her door with deals. Deals that won’t have to be paid for anymore.
This will set her up for life, and she deserves it. I know she doesn’t see it sometimes, but she’s very talented. And smart. And beautiful. And caring. And ambitious.
Okay, maybe I’m getting carried away, but it’s hard not to when you have the perfect woman by your side.