Chapter Two #2
She was far too beautiful for her own good. Which made her thriving career as a model make sense. I couldn’t fathom how someone could look so… perfect, and for as long as I had known her, she had always been perfect.
We met when she was a freshman in college.
She had moved from California, and her tanned skin, long blonde hair, and carefree nature made her the polar opposite of me.
I had literally been nicknamed the ‘Ice Queen’ by my peers.
Alexandra and I balanced each other. Where I was cold, she was warm.
With each of my eye rolls that I had never been the best at concealing, she had a dazzling smile to return.
“Aren’t you so glad you came with me?” She yelled over the thumping music.
I nodded enthusiastically and took her hands as we danced.
Nights out with her were always the best, excluding the mob of paparazzi and fans that followed her every movement, but she also had a whole team of security around her at all times.
Her boyfriend, Maverick, was always sure to have some of the best people keeping Alexandra safe. Well, the second-best people.
I had the best.
Did I mention that Maverick was my number one competitor?
His company, Beckett Industries, was widely behind Bly Enterprises in revenue, and thus was barely a competitor.
But out of every business in the market now, Beckett Industries was the only company that could even dream of meeting Bly Enterprises’ success.
Luckily for me, Maverick was a sweet guy and didn’t take the whole competition thing seriously. He truly respected me as his equal in business.
Alexandra flicked me on the forehead, “Stop thinking about work,” she scolded. “We’re having fun.”
I rubbed my temple, “That kind of hurt.”
She rolled her eyes and pulled me to our table, where our drinks were being watched by multiple tall, burly men.
“Thank you, boys,” Alexandra purred as she slid into the booth, her gold dress riding up ever so slightly, and took a sip of her abandoned cocktail.
I loved her security team. They were quiet, good at what they did, and didn’t have the same sparkle of mischief in their eyes that Rome did.
“Why isn’t Maverick here?” I asked as I sipped down my third, maybe fourth, drink of the night. Was it the fifth? When did I lose count?
Alexandra shrugged, “That boy never goes out with me. You know that.”
“Maybe you need a new boy,” I mused, playing with the red straw that matched my nails.
She and Maverick were sweet, but it was obvious it wasn’t true love.
I hadn’t believed in the concept of true love for most of my life. It wasn’t until Will met his wife that I realized it was possible, but just not in the cards for most.
It definitely wasn’t in the cards for me.
Alexandra chuckled, “He’s fine. We’re fine. Now, tell me about you? I haven’t seen you in months! It’s been the worst. Anything new happen? Any new boys for you?”
I eyed my friend, who knew better than to ask that. “Zero new boys, and life is the same. Why do you always ask me that? We both know I don’t have time to meet anyone new.”
“You should make time! Then maybe you wouldn’t always be wound so tight.”
That wasn’t likely. I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. It’s what I wanted, and a weight I fought to carry, but that didn’t take away the stress.
“That’s why I come out with you! It relaxes me. It’s also why we should do it more often.”
Alexandra laughed, her face lighting up, causing me to break out in laughter myself.
We spent the night drinking and dancing with each other. Enough men to build an army had tried to get to us, but Alexandra’s security team kept them far away…which was definitely preferable.
We swayed next to one another as the lights danced around us in dazzling colors. The music pounded through my bones, while the drinks warmed my body. I was rather blissfully buzzed. It had been far too long since I had felt so carefree.
“Hey, Bec?” Alexandra asked as she stared, confused, over my shoulder. “Any chance you know why Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome is glaring daggers at you? Or who he is?”
Shit.
I followed her gaze to see him.
Rome was here to ruin my night.
“Hide me?” I pleaded as Rome took some ginormous steps, and crossed the distance between us in a flash.
“What the hell, Bec?” Rome asked once he was in front of me, his tone taking on a dangerous edge.
“Rome, meet Alexandra.” I motioned to my best friend, who was now gawking at Rome. “Alexandra, meet Rome.”
Alexandra stuck out her hand, eagerly waiting to get her claws on him, “Alexandra Astor, and how do you know my beautiful Bec?”
Rome ignored Alexandra altogether, which was simultaneously rude and unexpected. No one could ignore Alexandra when she was in the room. “You told me you weren’t going out tonight?”
I shrugged, “I changed my mind. Sue me.”
“You lied, and put your safety at risk,” he exclaimed, obviously frustrated by my flippant response.
“God, Rome, you’re a bodyguard…not a babysitter,” I whined. I guess the drinks were getting to me because I was usually much more composed than this.
Though my lack of composure could have simply been him. In my life, I took pride in being able to handle any situation with controlled composure. It’s why I was deemed the Ice Queen. But there was something about Rome that got under my skin.
He grasped my upper arm and led me to the side of the room. His touch was gentle yet firm. He positioned himself in front of me as he looked me up and down, his dark gaze assessing. I squirmed under the attention.
“You’re drunk,” he stated after a moment.
“Probably.”
Rome rolled his eyes as he looked around the room. He must have found what he was looking for because his attention was back on me.
“Stay here,” he commanded, and I was far too tired to argue.
He was back in a flash—wrapping my coat that he must have retrieved around my shoulders, and escorting me towards the exit.
“Where are we going?” I asked as we made our way out into the cold night, but before Rome even had a chance to respond, we were essentially attacked by paparazzi as they swarmed us.
What felt like dozens of bodies were crowding me, and various people were shouting questions at me. The voices compounded and muddled one another, overwhelming my senses.
There had been only a few moments in my life where I felt truly terrified.
The first was when someone had tried to kidnap me for ransom when I was a young child.
The moment had lasted less than five minutes, but had imprinted on my young brain.
The second was when my brother first moved across the country, and I was left alone to deal with my parents' toxic marriage.
Then the third was recent, when I received the first… note.
I could feel the familiar panic closing in around me like a vise.
Before it could take over, Rome wrapped his body around my own as he pushed us through the crowd towards the awaiting car. He used his body to shield me from the cameras and the advancing crowd. I could feel the heat of his chest on my back, and for a moment, I began to feel safe.
I was rushed into the passenger seat, and the door closed tightly afterwards. I watched as Rome fought past more paparazzi and rounded the hood as he finally made it to the driver's seat. In a flash, we were speeding away, leaving the flashing lights of cameras behind us.
There was no denying that Rome excelled at his job.