Harlowe #3
The elevator stops and the doors open to a floor that appears vacant of employees and leads directly into a conference room that is lit and has a stack of papers on the table. Hayes extends his arm for me to exit the elevator ahead of him.
“Please, I’m begging you. I just need to speak to Zander.
Two minutes even. I can be brief. I don't need much time. I’ll leave as soon as I speak to him.
” I’m walking backward, resorting to pleading as I enter the conference room, Hayes following me, his face looking impassive, stoic, unimpressed.
He really was a good option to send, as intimidating as he is and as unwilling to be swayed as he seems to be.
“I’m sorry you had to experience the worst of my youngest brother’s qualities, Ms. Sorenson.
I really am. I make no excuses for why he is the way he is.
Zander is a compulsive womanizer. His actions are deplorable more often than not, and he makes no excuses for his own behavior, reveling in the fact that he only spends one night with a woman before he loses interest in them.
I know that can be hard when he sells you a story of how special you are to get you into bed.
” He pulls out the chair in front of the stack of papers for me to sit.
“Two. Weeks.” I sit on the edge of the chair and fume that I have to be here at all when I just want to talk to Zander.
“Excuse me?” he says, taking his own seat next to me.
“We were in the Maldives for two weeks. Yes, he said a lot of pretty things and made a lot of promises that now feel like chewing broken glass to think about, but that’s beside the point. I need to speak to him about another matter altogether.”
Hayes shows genuine interest for the first time, his green gaze sharpening and taking my measure again, as if I surprised him.
“Well, it seems you’ve already had more time with Zander than he’s allowed with anyone else, so consider yourself lucky.
Or unlucky, as it is. I think he’s an insufferable asshole, so I apologize that you had to spend that much time alone with him. I really don't envy you.”
Despite the situation, I bark out a laugh, and get what I imagine is a rare smile from Hayes, as well.
“He admitted to being an entirely different person on the trip, so I think I was shown someone other than who you’re used to,” I admit.
“Maybe he treated me better. I guess I’ll never know, now.
But I do need to talk to him. I have to tell him something incredibly important.
Then I swear I’m done with him for good.
You will never see or hear from me again if that’s what he wants. ”
He shakes his head almost sadly and lets out a deep breath.
“Listen, Ms. Sorenson, you seem smarter than most, so I’m going to level with you and just lay this out.
We're here to have you sign this non-disclosure agreement and come to an understanding where my brother is concerned. He wants nothing to do with you, as hard as that is to hear, and would prefer not to deal with the aftermath of his hookups. He won’t be speaking with you today or at any time in the future.
I get the lovely job of explaining that Zander is a complete moron, we can both agree he is an idiot who needs to learn how to treat women, and then I will escort you out once you understand that under no circumstances are you to contact him or come here again. ”
“You can’t be serious,” I say, taken aback by his bluntness. “I have to speak with him. It’s imperative,” I insist.
“We are prepared to offer you a million dollars to make it easier to stay away from Zander, as well as Olympus International. Part of the NDA here stipulates the length of time and—”
“I don't want your fucking money,” I blurt, cutting him off, outraged that he thinks I’m here looking for a handout, like I’m some whore that needs payment for services rendered.
“I’m not signing anything. I have no intention of saying anything to anyone.
All I came here to do was speak to Zander.
I have something incredibly important and time-sensitive I need to tell him.
I don't need money and I’m not looking for him to date me or anything otherwise.
You are unbelievable and this is so fucked. ”
“You will sign the NDA,” he says, looking bored with my outburst, but his eyes are sharp, cunning, and I know I should be scared. Instead, it pisses me off that he thinks he can order me around.
“No, actually, I won’t. That document would only be legally binding if both parties agreed to sign it retroactively.
I do not agree. So you and Zander and your whole family can fuck right off.
” I scatter the stack of papers across the table and floor as I stand and stalk out of the conference room.
I asked my manager casually about NDAs when I got back from my trip, wondering why Zander hadn’t made me sign one before we left.
It was quite illuminating and turned out to be helpful now.
I stab the button for the elevator and hope like hell the car will go down without needing a special pass.
I feel, rather than hear, Hayes come up behind me and turn to see him lean on the conference room doorframe, nearly blocking the entire opening with his impressively large frame.
He really does have a scary aura, or whatever it is that hangs around him, especially as he turns his cold green eyes on me.
“Ms. Sorenson, I don’t recommend fucking with my family, if that’s your intention in not signing the NDA.
If you so much as drag our name or our business into any of your bullshit, you'll feel the wrath we’re capable of.
We don’t tolerate those who wish to make enemies of us, so I don’t advise it for you. It won't end well.”
I keep my back straight and stare him down right back.
I don't care how big or intimidating he is, I won’t let him threaten me after what Zander did.
“I don’t recommend fucking with me, Mr. Olsen.
You can tell Zander that yourself. I don't want anything to do with any of you, or your fucking company, so don't worry about me or what I’ll be doing. Stay away from me and we won't have a problem.” The elevator dings and the doors open, providing an escape route away from Zander’s scary-ass big brother.
Thankfully, the doors close and the car descends as it should, and I ride down in a shaky silence, my lip wobbling with the effort it takes to hold on to my fierceness and pride. To keep my facade of warrior strength that I’ll be taking with me against any foe.
I’ll need this strength and power to raise a child on my own, to protect them from the world, and to shield them from men like Zander and a family as powerful as the Olsens.
Once I’m out of the building, I let myself fall apart, tears coming in an endless stream that has people on the street looking at me like I’m crazy.
I’ll have to do this completely on my own, without Zander so much as knowing that he’ll have a child in this world, raised in the very same city, even.
I will be moving home to live with my mom once my current contracts are complete. I can’t continue modeling after I have this baby, not without a family and help in place in LA, and not when it will put me in the public eye and potentially at risk of Zander and his family learning about his child.
I’m making a choice right this moment to make sure that Zander Olsen never gets wind of this baby, because if what Hayes said was true, they could see this as a retaliatory act on their family.
Any mention of Zander being the father of my child could be construed as dragging the Olsen name into my bullshit.
They could try to take the baby from me, and then I’ll have absolutely nothing left of my forever with Zander.
So I will guard my child from that possibility, and that means pulling away from the life and career I thought I wanted so badly.