06
Part 6
I slammed my apartment door shut and threw my purse in one corner before marching over to my couch and flopping down with a huff. What I really wanted to do was punch Trent in the face and knock some humility in him. How could he force me sign a contract that I didn’t want to sign in the first place.
The arrogant bastard!
When Trent had finished blackmailing me, I had no choice but to sign the bloody contract. After that, I grabbed Jose’s arm and stormed out of the studio. Jose tried his best to calm me down, but I was too furious to listen to reason. In the end, Jose stated that I had to go to the club with him tonight because I promised, and he wouldn’t let me back out because of some douche bag. I honestly didn’t want to go, I hated clubs; the alcohol, the dry humping, the drunken one night stands, I hated them all; and a night in the club always ended with one of these. But I had to do this for Jose, he was there to prevent me from being thrown in jail, because if it wasn’t for him, I would’ve gouge Trent’s eyes out.
The ringing of my cell phone brought me out of my malicious thoughts. Without checking the caller ID, I answered the call.
“Hello?” I grumbled.
“Mandi hey, are you ready to go?” Jose asked.
“Give me an hour, then you can come pick me up,” I muttered.
“Sweet. All right, I’ll be right over.” He hung up and I let my phone drop next to me. Maybe going out with Jose might help me forget about Trent. Going to a club might distract me, so I wouldn’t fume over Trent and his arrogant remarks about me. I just wished he didn’t effect me so much. I didn’t know what it was about him, but he just brought out the monster in me. He was skilled at pushing my buttons, and I knew I shouldn’t give him so much power over me. I should be strong against Trent, after all, he was going to be my boss for the next five goddamn years.
My heart gave a sudden jolt at the sound of the door bell. With a groan, I forced myself to get up and dragged myself over to the front door. I opened the door to see Jose grinning at me. When Jose entered my apartment, I nearly choked at the strong smell of perfume.
“What did you do, shower in perfume?” I asked, shutting the door and following him to the living room.
“Girls are attracted to men who smell good,” he replied.
“So you’re planning to be a female magnet tonight?” It was a rhetorical question. I could tell just by looking at him. Jose was dressed to kill, with the white button down shirt and blue jeans that hugged his lean legs and made his butt looked delicious. Too bad he was only just a friend, I could use someone like Jose tonight. Just by looking at him, I actually wanted to go to the club, maybe I could find a hot guy for myself.
“Yes, I am. And I would love it if you were my counter part, and dressed to be the male magnet for tonight,” Jose stated, flopping on thr couch with a contented sigh.
“Yeah no. I am just going to sit in a corner while you dance with one hot girl after the other.” I told him.
“Just don’t drink too much. I smell really good right now and I don’t want to smell like puke,” he commented, making me smack him on the back of his head.
“Don’t worry, I’ll puke on you after we leave.” I gave him a mischevious smile.
“How about not puke on me at all,” he suggested, chuckling at the end.
“Where’s the fun in that?” I shot back, laughing when he glared at me.
“Are you going to get ready or what?”
I huffed. “Fine. Give me five minutes.” I slouched all the way to my room, a very unmodel like behavior.
Throwing my closet doors open, I placed my hands on my hips and scrutinized my closet. I had a lot of clothes, and I was cursing once again. No matter how many clothes I had, I just never seemed to find the right one for the right occasion.
“Can I help?” I jumped and glared at Jose.NôvelDrama.Org holds this content.
“Could you try and not give me a heart attack!” I admonished, before glaring at my closet.
“Where’s the fun in that?” He threw my words back at me.
“Haha, smart ass.” I rolled my eyes.
Jose stepped forward and plucked a few dresses from the rack. He gave each dress a once over before placing them on the bed. He repeated this about three times before he settled on one dress.
The dress was a black sleeveless which reached just a little above my knees. Black jewels were lined alternately throughout the dress, giving the dress a sexy look. I didn’t remember where I’d bought the dress from, but I was glad I bought it. I had so many clothes, I didn’t remember where half of them came from.
“Wear this one. You’ll look good in this.” Jose handed me the dress before perching on the love seat in my room.
“Thanks for your help.” I hurried to the bathroom and quickly put the dress on. The dress felt soft and cool against my skin as it flowed down and stopped just above my knees. The dress was stunning, and I had the perfect pair of shoes to go with it.
“Come on Amanda, I don’t want to be late.” I heard Jose complain just as I emerged from the bathroom. “Finally. Now please put your shoes on and let’s go.” Jose stood up, pocketing his cell phone.
“I have to do my make up,” I stated.
“Why?! You said it yourself you’ll be sitting in the corner.”
“So? I still need to look presentable,” I shot back.
“Oh come on, you look presentable even in sweats,” he argued.
“Okay, you know that’s not true.” I grabbed my lip gloss and hastily applied it over my lips.
“Yeah okay, you look awful in sweats.” I shot him a look before grabbing my mascara and applying a coat over my eye lashes.
“Can you grab my shoes from the closet, they are in the black bag,” I requested, grabbing my hair brush and running it twice through my hair.
“Sure, I have nothing else to do anyways.” Jose grumbled, but got the black bag out of the closet.
“Thanks, you’re amazing.” I opened the bag and took out my black stilettos which had black jewels all over them. Once I had my shoes on, I grabbed my purse while smiling at my friend.
“All right, I’m ready. Let’s go.”
“Finally.” Jose all but ran out of my apartment, leaving me hurrying after him in my six inch heels.
~*~*~*~*
As soon as we entered the club, my vision faltered, and I had to grab onto Jose otherwise I would’ve fallen face down on the dirty floor. Neon lights flashed before my eyes, making it difficult for me to see properly. Sweaty body’s grinded against each other, not aware of anybody else. The stench of sweat and alcohol permeated the air, making me regret my decision of coming here.
“Where will you be?” Jose shouted over the deafening music.
I looked around until I spotted an empty bar stool in one corner. I pointed over to it and Jose nodded before letting go of my arm, allowing me to make my way over to my corner. Once I sat down on the bar stool, I sighed in relief. Finally, I was away from the sweaty crowd. Now I just had to sit here for the next few hours and when Jose would be ready to leave, I would be ready too.
A bartender appeared just as I fished me phone out of my purse. He was cute with dark eyes, that were hard to make out in the dim light of the club, with curly hair and plump lips. He looked to be about my age, but looks could be deceiving. Yet, there was something familiar about him that I couldn’t put my finger on. Maybe it was the eyes, where had I seen eyes so dark?
“What can I get you?” He asked, flashing me an adorable smile.
“A Rum and Coke please,” I stated. He nodded and went to make my drink.
Not intending to bore myself to death by not doing anything, I opened one of my ebooks and begun reading. I had just finished one paragraph when the bartender slid my drink over to me. I flashed him a grateful smile before taking a sip.
“Thank you,” I said, taking another sip.
“Jordan, a Vodka on the rocks.” Came a distinct male voice, that I would’ve recognized anywhere. However, I found it difficult to believe that he of all people would be here.
But my eyes weren’t deceiving me when Trent Alan Benson came and stood next to Jordan, the bartender who just served me my drink, cleaning a glass with a rag. I nearly spat my drink out at seeing the badass billionaire working as a bartender.
However, my reaction was nothing compared to Trent’s. When he saw me, his eyes widened and he dropped the glass he was cleaning, causing it smash loudly. He swore under his breath before stepping aside.
“What are you doing here, shady?” He demanded to know.
“What am I doing here? I think the better question would be what a badass billionaire like you is doing here? I never knew you were a bartender.” I leisurely sipped my drink as I eyed Trent in his black shirt and pants. He could totally pull off the bartender look, which was surprising to me.
“That’s because I am not,” Trent stated, forcing me to believe him.
“Really? Because that rag in your hands and you standing behind this counter aren’t really supporting your statement,” I replied, thoroughly enjoying this. If Trent being a bartender was supposed to be a secret, then I may as well had stumbled upon a jackpot. I could use this fact to blackmail Trent.
“It’s not what you think,” he said.
“Seriously? That cliche statement.” I rolled my eyes. “Next you’re going to tell me that there is an explanation for all this. You know, you call me shady, but in reality, it’s you who is the shady one, maybe I should call you shady and you can finally call me by my name.” I took a big gulp of my drink.
Before Trent could respond, Jordan came back. “Hey, dad just called. He said he’ll be arriving shortly after midnight,” Jordan said.
This time, I did spit out my drink. Shocked was not close to how I was feeling right now. Did Jordan have the relationship with Trent that I thought he did? If so, that meant that Trent had a brother! This man was a total mystery, and I was actually enjoying finding out about him. First I got to know about his middle name which he went by when it came to his secondary businesses, and now-if I was not wrong-he had a brother. But if Jordan was Trent’s brother, how come I didn’t see him during Theodore’s and Hailey’s dinner?
Trent nodded at Jordan before turning his attention back to me. “You have a brother? Jordan is your brother right?”
“Keep quiet. And Jordan is my half-brother. But if you dare tell anyone that, trust me bumblebee, looking for a decent modelling job will be the least of your worries,” Trent threatened, fixing me with a hard look.
But his threats had no effect on me. “Are you embarrassed of him? Is that why you don’t want the world to know that you have a half-brother?”
“That is none of your business. But no, it’s Jordan who doesn’t want this to get out. He wants a normal life, and if the world found out he was related to me, let’s just say, a normal life is something he would yearn for. The press, the popularity will eat him alive, and I am not going to let that happen. So you better keep your mouth shut.” Trent told me.
“So you’re protecting him?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
Trent’s admission made me see him in a new light. Where I thought he was an arrogant snob, now I saw him as a protector, who was willing to do anything to keep his loved ones safe. Maybe that was why he appeared to be arrogant and rude. Maybe the weight of responsibilities took a toll on him.
“So, why work as a bartender?” I asked, trying to be as nice to him as possible.
“I work here to spend time with Jordan. Usually I don’t get time having to deal with multiple businesses. So once a week, I take the time out and bartend with Jordan,” he answered. I was surprised he was telling all this, I thought he would tell me keep my mouth shut and mind my own business.
“So you bond over this; selling drinks and stuff?” Now I was just making conversation.
“You can say that. I want Jordan to live as normally as possible, after his graduation, I’ll have him work alongside me in the business,” he answered.
“When is he graduating?” I enquired, almost at the end of my drink.
“In two weeks.”
Just then, Jose came stumbling over to me, and with the crazy grin on his face, I knew that he was drunk.
“Hey Mandi. I’m ready to go now,” Jose said.
“You’re drunk,” I stated.
“No. But give me a couple of more drinks and I’ll be there.” Jose glanced to the side and eyed Trent. “Hey Trent, my man! How’s it going. Are you having fun?”
“We should go.” I stood up from my bar stool and held Jose arm.
“Yes, we should. Thanks for coming with me, Mandi, I had a blast,” Jose said, a little too loudly.
“No problem. Let’s go.” I glanced at Trent. “Thanks for the drink, and don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.” I said to Trent.
“What secret? I want to know the secret, too,” Jose uttered.
“Sure, let’s get you home.” I started to lead Jose out of the club when Trent’s voice stopped me.
“Bumblebee.”
“Yes?” I wasn’t sure what he wanted to say to me.
“Do not be late tomorrow.” With that, Trent walked away, leaving me staring after him. So he was back to being my boss now.
Shaking my head, I smiled before leading Jose out of the club. Trent was a mystery, a very interesting mystery. And I couldn’t wait to find out more about him.