What?!

Chapter Twenty-Three

Stephanie's POV 

Stephanie's could hear her phone ring in her sleep. She groggily turned to pick it up and saw it was from the designer at the event, Jacob. She also caught a glimpse of the time—it was already 12 p.m. She had no idea how she slept for so long.

"Hello," she yawned tiredly, as she picked up her call.

"Hey, this is Jake. I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" He asked 

"Yeah, I know who you are. I did just wake up, but I was supposed to have done so a while ago. How are you? Can I help you with something?" she asked, still a little bit sleepy.

"Well, I am releasing a collection, and I was hoping you would be available to model. Nothing too major, just a few models and a little photoshoot. This might seem a little too soon, but I've been wondering what the collection needs. Seeing you the other day just made everything make sense. What do you say?"

"Um, I'll think about it and get back to you. As you can tell from my lack of attention, I just woke up. I'll call you in about an hour so we can talk about it properly again. How about that?" she asked. 

"Yeah, that sounds great. Talk to you soon," she hung up, now groaned, burying her face into the pillow. She remembered the events of yesterday and couldn't help but smile. Alexander was the sweetest. Remembering their 'almost kiss' she couldn't help the blush creeping onto her face. She wondered what would have happened if his phone didn't ring. Nope, she was not going to think about that.

Stephanie: Thanks again; I had so much fun yesterday. 

Alexander: No need to thank me, darling; I had fun as well. I hope you had a good night's sleep as well.

Stephanie: Oh, most definitely, I had a sleep so good I'm only just waking up. The massage at the spa was the best thing that ever happened to me in a while. I'm just about to freshen up and find something to do with myself and the rest of my day.

Alexander: I'm really glad to hear that. Enjoy your day, darling.

Stephanie decided to reply to some comments since she was still on her phone. She has been having a steady increase in followers, and although she wasn't big on social media, she knew she could use this traffic to further her career. She needed to be involved in more work. Her mind went back to the call with Jake. She would call him after she got ready. Alexander also said he'd help; she didn't want to take advantage of the situation, but she guessed she'd talk to him about it later

Alexander's POV 

Alexander put his phone away after the text he sent to Stephanie and stepped into the dark lit room.

"Hello Chris" he sat across the tied up man. He told Matt he needed him unscathed. His real problem was Jason White. That was the bastards name. He was proving very difficult to find. Matt said finding him would take some time; it was like he knew they were looking for him. He didn't have time; he hated that he was on the loose after all he had done to Stephanie. He needed to find something to do about that fast; he took measures to protect her in the meantime, however.

"Who the fuck are_Alexander Corelli? Is Stephanie behind this? That fucking bit—" Alexander didn't let him finish his sentence before interrupting him with a punch on the face. He groaned and spit to the side. When he looked back up, his face told Alexander he planned on saying something stupid. 

"Is her pussy so sweet that it made you her lap dog?" Alexander grabbed Chris by the chin and crouched to make sure they were on eye level. He took a plier from the array of tools Matt had laid down. He brought it to Chris's mouth and forcefully pulled out a tooth.

"Now, I planned to make this painless and incredibly seamless, but you've proven to be incredibly difficult. Look at this in my hand; I have no aversion to using it. I'll pull out every single one of your teeth without a care in the world and move to your tongue next. I'll watch what I say about her in my presence if I were  you." Chris was finally realizing that it wasn't a joke, and he kept quiet and began to whimper like a little girl, much to Alexander's annoyance.

"Now that we're on the same page, I'll need you to not as much as breathe in Stephanie's direction." A quick trip to Chris's house showed that his showing up at the event was not a coincidence. He has been following her for a while and has tried to keep tabs on her. "Now, we have removed all pictures of Stephanie from your house, and I simply want to believe it was a mistake that won't happen anymore. Now, if anyone asks about Stephanie, she's the best model you've ever come across, understood?" Chris nodded fearfully. 

"Good. I hope, for your sake, you are being truthful. We wouldn't want the financial crime commission to get an anonymous tip about fraudulent activities now, would we?" Realization crossed his face, and he shook his head vigorously.

"Amazing, it looks like we're done here. Great talk," Alexander said, patting Chris on the cheek. He left the room and removed his gloves. Handing it over to Matt at the door.

"I need him bankrupt," Matt nodded in understanding.

Alexander got into his car and drove off.

Alexander: Can I come over, love? I have to tell you something.

Stephanie: Yeah, I'm home.

Stephanie's POV 

Stephanie's meeting with Jake went really well. He had a really good offer for her, not as good as the one she got for doing the show, but it was more than she ever got working for Chris. He explained everything to her, and it sounded really good. He said he'll send the contract over, and she should go over it with her lawyer—she didn't have one, but he didn't have to know that—she should probably talk to Alexander about getting one when he comes over. She wondered what he had to say.

Alexander came over about 20 minutes later, but he was surprisingly not alone. He came with a buff guy who was wearing a black suit, and the only acknowledgement he gave her was a nod. He also didn't come in with them.

"How was your day, love?" He asked, ignoring the curious look on her face. 

"Um, my day was fine. Oh, yeah, I met with Jake. The guy I told you about. The designer I met at the event. Yeah, he asked me to do a photo shoot for his new collection. The pay is really good. He said he'd send me the contract, and I should go over it with my lawyer. I need a lawyer, by the way," she replied to his question. 

"Oh, really. That's really good, love. It looks like you didn't even need my help with this whole modeling thing. They sense your talent from a mile away. For the lawyer bit, I'll work on that; don't worry about it," he said.

"Are you joking? You helped me so much. Thank you, thank you so much. She caught a glimpse of a guy outside from the window. "I tried to ignore him, but I couldn't. Who the fuck is that?" She asked, unable to keep the question in. Alexander looked at her guilty before answering.

"Remember when I said I had something to tell you? Well, that's Lance; he's your new bodyguard." 

"What?!"