Chapter 14 Girlfriend
Sawyer stalked toward them, his face thunderous.
‘Is this woman insane? Swinging off the stage? Does she have a death wish?’ His jaw clenched at the thought.
Olivia’s demeanor shifted instantly. She straightened, her lips curling into a sickly sweet smile.
“Sawyer!” she gushed, practically glowing. “Oh my God, who told you I was here today? I didn’t think you’d have time to see me, so I didn’t disturb you.”
Ellie’s body went rigid.
Goddammit!
She groaned internally, covering her face with her hand. She had been so sure he’d be too busy to notice her.
‘But of course, how could I have forgotten? No matter how swamped he is, how could he ever miss a chance to dote on his precious fiancée? This love-struck fool!’ She gritted her teeth, shifting further away in the hopes that he would just leave after his little romance act.
But then—a firm grip landed on her shoulder and spun her around. Before she could react, she found herself face-to-face with Sawyer.
“I asked you a question, Ellie,” he murmured, voice dangerously low. “Have you gone deaf?”
Ellie squeezed her eyes shut in despair. ‘There goes my life.’
Forcing a bright, strained smile, she looked up at him.
"Sawyer?!" She widened her eyes in feigned surprise. "What a coincidence! What are you doing here?"
Sawyer’s expression was unreadable, but his unimpressed gaze spoke volumes— Are you stupid?
Ellie averted her eyes quickly, unwilling to meet that stare for long.
"Sawyer!" Olivia rushed to his side, suddenly stepped between them, shoving Ellie aside. Ellie lost her balance, nearly face-planting onto the floor.
‘This bitch.’ Ellie gritted, shooting Olivia a glare.
Before Ellie could lash out, the senior choreographer, Kevin, rushed into the hall, breathless and anxious.
“Mr. Stark, you’re here so suddenly—was there something urgent?” The poor man looked like he was seconds away from a heart attack. Sawyer never paid attention to the choreography department unless something very serious needed attention. His unexpected presence alone was enough to put everyone on edge.
Then Kevin’s gaze darted around, landing on Olivia.
His nerves eased slightly.
‘Ah, looks like Mr. Stark just came to see his girlfriend. Makes sense.’ Relief flickered across his face. ‘Olivia is an important person to him. Now that I see it myself, I can finally believe it.’
Oblivious to the tension, Olivia clung to Sawyer's arm, her voice dripping with sweetness.
"I was just preparing for my show. Did you know Ellie is our choreographer? I had no idea she could dance!" She gasped in fake surprise—so fake that Ellie nearly gagged. But Olivia wasn’t done. "Hasn’t she been staying at home for years, doing nothing? How does your company allow just anyone to handle something this important? Or is it…" She cast a sideways glance between Ellie and Sawyer, her lips curling slightly. "Did you hire her just because she… lives in your house?"
The moment Olivia’s words landed, whispers spread like wildfire.
"Ellie lives in Mr. Stark’s house?"
"What’s their relationship?"
"Could it be something… improper?"
"No way. Olivia is his lover. Everyone knows they’re childhood sweethearts. Maybe Ellie’s just a maid’s daughter or something?"
"Or maybe she has a second job as a maid?"
Before the rumors could spiral further, Sawyer’s voice cut through the room.
"Ellie’s no longer Olivia’s choreographer. Let someone else take over." His gaze flicked to the senior staff member. "Send Ellie to someone else."
Kevin hesitated. "Mr. Stark, that event doesn’t require a choreographer. It’s just a small, insignificant—"
Sawyer turned to face him fully, his sharp gaze turning lethal.
The man swallowed and nodded quickly. "I-I’ll make the arrangements. Come, Ellie."
Ellie’s chest burned with a mix of humiliation and rage. She had known—always known—that Sawyer would favor Olivia, that she could never compare. But for him to interfere with her work so easily, just because his woman had whined a little? He tossed her aside without a second thought?
That hurt.
She clenched her fists and turned away, following Kevin in silence.
Behind her, Olivia smirked in triumph. She shrugged her shoulders smugly, watching Ellie walk away with a humiliated face. Then she turned back to Sawyer, beaming.
"Thank you, Sawyer! You’re the sweetest," she cooed, rubbing his arm affectionately.
As she spoke, a pink perfume bottle slipped out of her pocket and hit the ground with a sharp clatter.
The room fell silent.
Sawyer’s gaze snapped to the bottle—the one with the black bow. The very same bottle he had shoved into Olivia’s hands in a fit of jealousy after seeing Ellie with someone else.
Olivia hurriedly picked it up, her fingers tightening around it. "Don’t worry, Sawyer. I keep it with me all the time. I just… don’t use it much because I don’t really like the scent, but—"
Before she could slide it back in her pocket, Sawyer snatched it from her hand.
She blinked. "Sawyer?"
"It’s just a perfume," he said indifferently, slipping it into his coat pocket. "I’ll get you another one."
Then, without another glance at her, he turned on his heel and walked away. Olivia tried to hold onto his arm, but he easily shrugged her off, leaving her standing there, stunned.
Outside the hall, Kevin turned to Ellie with a serious look. "It’s a shame you couldn’t stay on that show. Your skills are spectacular." He smiled hesitantly. "But who can argue with the boss?"
Ellie forced a reassuring smile. "Don’t worry. I get it."
Kevin nodded, scrolling through his phone for a moment. Then his eyes lit up, and he looked back at her. "I have something better for you! Come on!"
Ellie followed, a little surprised by his enthusiasm. This man had more confidence in her than she had in herself. He led her down a floor and straight into a room—more private and luxurious than the rehearsal hall. It was enclosed in glass—completely see-through from the outside.
At first, the room seemed empty. Then, a figure emerged from the washroom.
Ellie froze.
"Jeremy?" Her voice was full of shock.
"Ellie?" Jeremy looked just as surprised. "What are you doing here?"
Kevin grinned. "You two know each other? Great! That makes this even easier. Jeremy, Ellie’s going to be your dance coach for the Victoria’s Secret show. It’s just a two-minute number, so it should be a quick job for you both."
Ellie’s mouth fell open. Victoria’s Secret?
"Anyway, I have to run. Too much to do, not enough hands!" Kevin sighed, then disappeared as quickly as he had arrived.
Jeremy smirked, handing Ellie a bottle of water. "I came here for a job, and now I get you as my choreographer? Coincidence? Or did you bug and beg them until Kevin agreed to bring you to the great Jeremy Nox?"
Ellie choked on her water, laughing as she wiped her mouth. "I got kicked out of my last job because the boss didn’t like me working for his lover. Kevin decided I was ‘too good to be wasted’ and threw me here instead. So, congrats! You just got yourself the best of the best. Feeling happy yet?"
Jeremy stepped closer, his flirty smirk deepening. "Do you want me to feel happy?”
Ellie frowned, pushing his shoulder playfully. "Stop it." She laughed. "Get back to work. Tell me about the concept."
Jeremy leaned back against the mirror, eyes twinkling as he explained. He was the showstopper, making a dramatic entrance with a model for a sexy, high-energy number. The dance had to be bold, intimate—sexy.
Ellie bit her lip, her mind racing.
Not only had she recently used Jeremy as her pretend boyfriend, but he had also been hell-bent on getting a kiss out of her. And now this?
What the hell was happening?
Her pulse pounded as she glanced between him and the door, half-expecting another absurd twist to drop on her.
Was fate playing some kind of twisted game with her?
She tilted her head back, eyes narrowing at the ceiling as if she could glare straight through it. ‘Having fun up there, aren’t you?’
With a long sigh, she turned back to Jeremy, smoothing a hand over her hair like she was gathering the last shreds of her sanity. “Let’s get started.”
Meanwhile, up in the CEO’s office, Sawyer leaned back in his chair, his sharp eyes scanning every security camera feed in the building. He had turned them all on, searching for Ellie, but she was nowhere to be found.
His fingers tapped impatiently against the desk.
Frowning, he leaned back in his chair. "Where did she go?" he muttered under his breath. “She came to my company for the first time without telling me. And now she’s disappeared?”
Was she still angry about this morning? About how he had pulled her out of Olivia’s dance without an explanation?
At that moment, Henry walked in, holding a stack of files. "Mr. Stark, here are the documents that need your signature."
Sawyer shot to his feet, rounding the desk. "Did you see Ellie anywhere?"
Henry blinked. “No, Mr. Stark, I haven’t.”
Sawyer’s jaw tightened. "Find out where she is."
Henry gave him a knowing glance before sighing internally. ‘Mr. Stark keeps denying he likes Ellie, yet it’s always him looking for her—not the other way around. And still, he insists she’s the one who won’t stop following him.’ Henry thought, shaking his head.
But that thought quickly turned into panic when he checked the work assignment feed. His body went rigid. “Mr. Stark—” Henry straightened. “Ms. Ellie is teaching someone else how to dance on the twenty-seventh floor.”
"The private studio?" Sawyer’s frown deepened as he extended his hand for the tablet. "Who? Which event?"
‘Here we go…’ Henry thought, his heart pounding with dread. Taking a steadying breath, he answered, "For a Victoria’s Secret showstopper. The event is next week. Ms. Ellie is teaching the male model sexy dance moves."
A deadly silence filled the room.
Then, like a bomb detonating, Sawyer snatched the tablet from Henry’s hands. His horrified eyes scanned the event and the model’s details, his grip tightening on the device. And then—
He saw the model’s face.
His entire body went rigid.
It was that bastard from the bar.
A slow, lethal rage crawled up Sawyer’s spine.
"What the fuck?!" His roar shook the entire office.
Henry stumbled back several steps, his face draining of color at the terrifying look in Sawyer’s eyes. The darkness on his boss’s expression turned downright lethal.
Sawyer threw the tablet aside, marching toward the elevator with an air of pure menace.
"Where the hell did this asshole come from? Who the fuck hired him?!" he barked.
As they entered the elevator, Henry scrambled to explain, his voice shaky, "Mr. Stark, he’s Jeremy Nox. We hired him for a special show in collaboration with Victoria’s Secret next week. He’s part of their dance performance."
Sawyer’s fury ignited further. "Have you all gone mad? When the fuck did I approve picking up some random pretty boy off the goddamn street and using him in my business?" He shot Henry a furious glare, making the man shrink back.
"Sir, he’s a supermodel," Henry’s voice wavered. "One of the highest-paid in the industry. Moreover, Victoria’s Secret specifically requested him. It wasn’t our choice, but their arrangement."
“Motherfucker,” Sawyer snarled under his breath, striding out of the elevator as soon as it opened.
He stormed toward the glass-walled dance studio. "Which room?" His voice was deadly quiet.
Henry barely had time to point before Sawyer’s sharp gaze locked onto them—Ellie and that prick.
Through the glass walls, Sawyer could see Ellie and Jeremy on the other side, moving together in a dance.
Sawyer’s blood boiled.
He took a step forward, ready to barge in.
“Mr. Stark, Mr. Stark—wait!” Henry grabbed Sawyer’s arm right before he could enter the room.
Sawyer shot him a deadly glare. "You want me to break your hand?"
Henry instantly snatched his hand back. "No, Mr. Stark! I just… maybe you shouldn’t go in there right now."
Sawyer barely spared him a glance before turning his head toward the glass wall. His jaw clenched as he watched Ellie wrap her arms around Jeremy’s neck, pulling herself up on him with a seductive grace. Her hand slid down the side of Jeremy’s waist in a slow, teasing motion.
Sawyer’s head tilted to the side, his jaw tightening to the point of pain.
"The fuck I won’t," he growled and strode toward the door.
"Mr. Stark, Ms. Ellie might misunderstand and get angry!" Henry quickly blocked his way, grabbing the door handle with both hands. His voice was urgent, barely a whisper. "Sir, you just pulled Ms. Ellie out of the performance with Ms. Olivia, and now you’re about to storm in again. Isn’t that interfering with her work? She might start thinking badly of you."
Sawyer’s body stiffened, his muscles taut with rage.
Seeing a sliver of hesitation, Henry pushed on. "Sir, you are the one who took Ms. Ellie off her original job and told Kevin to find a new one for her. Kevin found this, and it turns out to be—"
"That damn bastard!" Sawyer seethed.
Henry quickly nodded, eager to calm the storm. "Yes! That damn bastard. But, sir… this is work. Ms. Ellie is just doing her job. It’s not real. Think of it as acting. She’s here to teach Jeremy how to dance—nothing more. If you interfere now, she might start resenting you for not supporting her. Sir, this is a feminist era! How can you—"
"Shut the fuck up, Henry!" Sawyer snapped. He tore his hand away from the door handle and took a step back.
Leaning against the railing, he shoved his hands into his pockets, fists clenched so tight they ached. His glare burned through the glass wall.
His gaze locked on the couple inside.
This was his fault. He had pulled Ellie out of Olivia’s performance because Olivia had deliberately made things difficult for her. And now, because he interfered, Ellie was here—dancing with this bastard.
"You deserve this, Sawyer Stark," he muttered under his breath, the bitter sting gnawing at him. "Try to be nice for once, and this is what you get for interfering in business."
His eyes darkened as the couple inside moved to the beat of the music. Ellie twisted her body against Jeremy’s, her face inches from his, so close it looked like they were on the verge of kissing.
Sawyer’s heart lurched, his chest tightening in a way that felt like it might collapse in on itself. He stiffened, ready to charge in—
But at the last second, Ellie snapped back, twirling out of Jeremy’s hold.
Sawyer exhaled sharply, pressing a hand to his chest. His heart pounded violently.
And it hurt like hell.
His fist flew to his mouth as he bit down on his knuckle, his glare growing sharper.
Then, the dance took a turn for the worse.
Ellie leaned in again. Jeremy’s lips trailed down her neck, up to her jaw, then back again.
That did it.
"Fuck this shit!" Sawyer growled. His entire body snapped into motion as he stormed toward the door.
At that exact moment, Ellie pulled away and clapped her hands. "There! All done! Just remember those moves, and you’ll be perfect to woo an angel on the floor!"
The door slammed open.
Sawyer strode inside, grabbed Ellie’s wrist, and yanked her into him.
"Enough teaching. You’ve done more than enough, and this bastard has learned more than he needs. We’re leaving," he barked.
Before he could pull Ellie away, a hand clamped around Ellie’s wrist from behind.
"What do you think you’re doing?" Jeremy’s voice was cold, dangerously calm.
Ellie’s head snapped toward him in shock. Jeremy was always playful, always joking. She had never seen him like this.
Sawyer’s jaw tightened. Instead of answering, he grabbed Jeremy’s hand—the hand holding Ellie’s—and pried it off with force.
"It’s none of your damn business what I do with my girlfriend."
Jeremy’s gaze sharpened. "She’s not your girlfriend."
Sawyer’s nostrils flared.
"As far as I remember," Jeremy continued coldly, "your girlfriend is the woman you gave your gift to—the one whose proposal you accepted. So why are you still bothering Ellie? How did you even get in here? Who allowed you?"
Before Sawyer could respond, Henry rushed between them, placing a firm but polite hand on Jeremy’s chest.
"Mr. Nox, this is Mr. Sawyer Stark. Owner of Stark Entertainment. I’d advise you to be more respectful."
Jeremy’s eyes flickered with shock.
Then, he looked at Ellie. "Ellie, he’s your boyfriend? Sawyer Stark?"
Ellie exhaled, clearly frustrated. "Jeremy, I’ll explain later. For now—"
"Yes, she is!" Sawyer cut in. He pulled Ellie against his side, his arm curling around her shoulder in a clear act of possession. "So back the fuck off. If you show up anywhere near her again, I’ll make sure you don’t get a damn job in this entire country."
Jeremy scoffed, undeterred. "Do you think I give a damn?" He reached out toward Ellie, his expression shifting into concern. "Come here. I’ll take care of everything."