Chapter 25

*Sophie*

I texted to break it off.

Alexander was crazed at the idea of me and Zane. Nothing I could say could convince him that I didn’t even really *know* Zane… It was like he was possessed, and he wanted me away from him. So, I told him I’d stop seeing them… But I asked if he minded if I told Natalie in person, and he’d agreed…

I got a reservation at Skyline, a restaurant I have a membership at but Alexander doesn’t… it is a swanky restaurant on the top floor of a sixteen story building with an amazing view of the city skyscrapers and the water. There is a back room for members with wall dividers between the seating, and I thought I could have a private conversation with Natalie there. The restaurant has soft lighting with floor-to-ceiling windows on two walls, pretty potted trees lit up with white led lights, and beautiful swirling pink and cream marble floors. The booths are encircled with cream crescent-shaped cushiony seats.

The hostess approaches the table, and I see Natalie following behind. I stand and greet her with a small hug and a kiss beside the cheek, and we sit.

“This place is beautiful!” Natalie gushes.

“Isn’t it?” I say, looking around.

Natalie looks amazing. I told her the dress code here was casual/dressy, and she is in a pair of tight, high waisted ripped jeans, with a pair of over-the-knee royal blue suede boots, an off-the-shoulder royal blue cropped top with a long V in the center, extending below the top of her jeans, the sides of her waist exposed, and a bubble sleeve oatmeal cardigan that extends to her ankles.

She still has that adorable look she had when I first met her, but today… She glows. She is different. She seems more confident. She is beaming.

She slides in close to me, looking up and down my body… I am wearing an all-black outfit consisting of a black ribbed mock turtleneck, black calfskin pants, a fuzzy black beret, black suede high-heel booties.

“You look amazing…” she murmurs.

I feel a flutter in my stomach.

“I’m so glad you texted. I was getting worried about you…” she says, looking into my eyes seriously.

I nod. I know I had left them alone for a long time that night while Alexander dragged me from investor to investor, and finally back to his office… When I had returned to the party, they were gone…

“I’m sorry,” I shake my head, “I didn’t mean to ditch you at Alexander’s residence…” I begin.

“It’s ok…” Natalie says reassuringly. “We were just… ready to leave…” Natalie swipes her hand to the side.

The waitress appears and we order drinks and chat as we wait for our drinks. The conversation with Natalie is so natural, I feel like I have known her forever. Like she is a long lost friend who I have a lot to catch up with… After our drinks we order food, and finally, Natalie’s eyes lower.

“…I have a serious question for you… Are you *with* Alexander?” She asks softly, shifting her gaze up to me.

I am startled.

“I’m…” I begin, not sure where to begin with my complicated relationship with Alexander. “…not *with* Alexander…”

I pause, taking a deep sigh. I look into Natalie’s eyes. She looks so understanding and sympathetic. And, she’s not part of this world, so I feel like I can tell her…

“…but I’m *with Alexander…”* I say in almost a whisper, lowering my eyes. I quickly look back at her, “No one knows. As far as anyone else is concerned, I’m the face of Alexander Accardi. Alexander’s designer’s muse…”

“But… Why is it a secret?” I ask quietly.

“Alexander doesn’t want it to be…” I say, treading lightly, not sure of how much to reveal.

“…but you do?” I ask.

Sophie pauses.

“Alexander has proposed to me,” I say, point blank, “several times.”

“And…” She asks.

“I don’t feel the same way for him…” I muse. “I like him… But his lifestyle…”

Natalie nods.

“Not exactly your dream?” Natalie offers.

“Something like that,” I agree, smiling.

“So, why are you… involved with him?” Natalie asks.

“…I…” I shake my head. “At first, I was kind of… swept off my feet by him. I mean, you know. He’s *Alexander Accardi.* And he’s… charismatic. And back then, he *wanted* us to be a secret… He has a very *private* private life…”

“So, why don’t you just work with another designer?” Natalie asks.

“I can’t. Without Alexander, I have nothing. Am nothing,” I say.

“What do you mean?” Natalie asks, “You are the face of *Alexander Accardi,* surely you have *money…”*

I look at her.

“I have nothing. My apartment, my jewelry, my clothes, my *life…* Everything I do is paid for in advance, but I have to *pay it back…”* I begin.

Natalie slowly nods, the effect of what I am saying starting to come together.

I lower my voice and get closer to Natalie, “When you figure out what I owe versus what I bring in, I actually *owe Alexander…”*

I see Natalie’s eyes widen.

“I have *nothing…”* I say, letting the words hang in the air. The sounds of the restaurant in focus as we sit in stillness.

“Please…” Natalie says to me, “Come to my place, let’s talk about this with Zane… Maybe we can help you…” Natalie says. There is something so sweet about her offer. Something so sweet about the idea of someone helping me, caring about me, protecting me…

I slowly nod, and we begin to gather our things.

*****

*Natalie*

I drive her to our place in and park in the glass garage. Zane is waiting for us in the man cave, bar open.

Sophie and I step out of the car, and she walks around the front. I can’t help stare as she walks around the car in her black monochrome outfit. She looks sleek and amazing, her black quilted Chanel bag across her body. She slides her arm through mine, linking arms with me and smiling her dazzling model smile as we step in through the glass doors.

Zane smiles at us, checking us out as we walk in. I filled him in on some of the details before we came, and he has music playing, and the room completely cleaned up from the kid chaos that had already accumulated over the course of a day of being home. Tali and Damien are in bed, assumedly already asleep…

Zane walks over to us, and slides his arm around my waist, kissing my cheek.

Sophie looks around, taking in the space.

“Wow… I like your man cave…” Sophie comments to Zane.

“Thanks, want to have a seat?” Zane asks

Zane smiles and leads us around to the front of the large sectional black leather couch, and we follow.

“I… I really probably shouldn’t be here…” Sophie says softly, looking around as she sits.

“…I’m sorry… I just thought… maybe we could help…” I say, rubbing her arm lightly, sitting beside her.

She looks up at me, and then over at Zane.

“He really doesn’t want me around *you.* What’d *you* do to piss him off?” Sophie asks Zane.

Zane looks at Sophie, and then over to me.

“Well…” he says. “…let’s just say Alexander and I… have a history…” Zane finishes with a nod, his lips and jaw tense.

Sophie and I look at each other.

“How long is your contract with him?” Zane asks.

“five more years…” Sophie says.

Zane and I nod. We all are quiet.

“Are you sure you can’t get out of it?” He asks, looking up at her.

“Not without losing everything…” Sophie says, shaking her head.

“Are you sure? We could have Anne, our lawyer, look it over for you?” Zane offers.

Sophie shakes her head.

“There’s no way out without forfeiting everything…” She says sadly.

“You know…” I pipe up, an idea forming in my head, I squint my eyes, “I’ve been working on a PR assignment for Blush, and I wonder if I might be able to get you connected with the fashion editor for the magazine…” The Blush magazine is stocked at every cash register kiosk in every major city, and a feature would get her some major exposure.

Sophie cocks her head to the side.

“If they were to do a feature on your designs…” I muse, “Soph, you don’t *need* Alexander… you have *so much* going for you…” I say.

Sophie smiles a soft smile.

“Thanks…” she says. “But… I don’t feel like it. I feel like I am walking on a tightrope over a shark tank, and Alexander is the only one who *has me…”* she shakes her head. “And it’s not that I don’t like Alexander… I do. But… his life…” she looks up at us.

“Look, you may be tightrope walking above a shark tank, but Alexander is not the only one who *has you,”* Zane says, looking solemnly into her eyes. I look at him, surprised. “Alexander *is* the shark,” he says, his eyes driving deep into hers. I take a breath.

Sophie breaks their look, and looks over at me.

I look into her big beautiful brown eyes, and I can’t help but sympathize with her.

“Where are your parents? Do you have *family?”* I ask softly.

“They’re in Minnesota,” she says. “I don’t see them much anymore… I mean, they were really supportive of my modeling career, and my mom came here with me for the auditions when I was 16… but after I got signed, she had to go back… So, we got me an apartment here so I could keep doing this… But… I don’t think they ever expected me to be… sort of… *away* for so long…” she says, her eyes far away.

This woman, so on top of the world, and yet here before me as fragile and unsteady as a leaf in the wind…

I have the overwhelming urge to kiss her, but I don’t want to take advantage of her…

She looks into my eyes, and she reaches out and touches my cheek, smiling at me.

“You’re sweet…” she says, and leans into me, sending flutters from my heart out through my entire body; and she kisses me…

Our lips slide into each other’s, her pretty pink tongue slipping into my mouth… I slide my hands around her tiny waist, feeling the smooth fabric of her black tight ribbed turtleneck and smooth texture of her black leather pants under my fingers… My body surges with desire as I touch her…

*Is this okay?*

She slips her hands into my long cardigan, sliding her fingers along my bare waist under the sides of my top and above the top of my jeans as we kiss, tracing the line of my waist and hips, and sliding her fingers up my bare back under my shirt… the feeling of her fingers on my bare skin and her sweet lips kissing mine sends tingles through my entire body… I pull back and look over at Zane, and I can see his breathing has gotten heavy, his pupils are huge, ready to swallow us… His cock is hard, ready to burst out of his jeans as he stares at us… Sophie follows my eyes, looking over at Zane too… She gazes at him, looking at him with this *ready to fuck* look that makes me insanely jealous, *fuck… do I ever look at him like that?...* and then she turns back to me and smiles, gazing intensely into my eyes with that same smoldering hot look… and I am mesmerized by her glow, burning up in her fire…