Transferring to this stupid school filled with stuck-up *ss holes was a huge mistake. What the heck was I thinking? That I’d fit in? That I’d make friends? That I’d live a drama-free life? I was so wrong… so wrong that I hate myself so much right now. I can barely afford lunch and my old tennis shoes were on their last legs while everyone here can afford a more-than-they-can-eat buffet and they have shoes for every week. I don’t fit in here.
“Gonzalez wait up”
why… why… why??
“Just f*cking leave me alone!” I yell, increasing my pace.
“Come on. Don’t leave”
“Why?! What does it matter to you? You are just like the rest of them”
“I don’t think that way about you” he turns me effortlessly by my backpack
“Sure”
“Damn it! I’m serious right now Sam. I think you are the most interesting person I’ve ever met”
“You can’t fool me. I won’t become one of your booty calls Stone” I roll my eyes and fold my arms as I stare up at him. his blazer was nowhere to be found, as usual, his uniform shirt had three buttons undone, and that playful look in his eyes.
“I don’t want you to be my booty call. You deserve better than that and I could never deserve you but I’d like to try to be half as worthy of you” he took a step closer. I stuttered.
“Wha-what do you mean?”
“I love the way you pull your hair up in a ponytail when you are about to study, I love the way you drum with your fingers when you are bored… it makes me want to do anything to entertain you. I adore the way you solve math equations on the air while the rest of us bozos are still struggling with our notes or the way you clap when you laugh. I am obsessed with the way your voice sounds when you speak Spanish, I could listen to you all day, every day till I die. What I am saying is, I like you Samantha Gonalez and I want to take you out on a date”
“You were supposed to be solving math equations too,” I said in between giggles as I stepped back. his words swirled in my head like a storm and I would be lying if i wasn't having an entire war right now. Asher Stone just confessed that he likes me… I’m in big trouble.
“C’mon Sam. Talk to me” he pleaded. he rubbed his neck nervously.
“I need a minute”
“I get it” I took a sharp breathe as Asher took some strands of my curls and twirled them around his finger
“I’ll be waiting, Gonzalez. I’ll be celibate until I get your response”
“And if I say no?” I chuckled replicating the playful look in his eyes
“I’ll remain celibate if you want me to”
“That is impossible” I stated.
“Is that a dare Gonzalez?” his hand moved from my locks to the side of my neck while his thumb stroked my cheek softly causing me to gasp slightly.
“Miss Norman, what do you think?” Anna’s voice said snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked around to find four sets of eyes staring back at me expectantly.
Sh*t
“Huh? Uhmm right,” I stuttered, looking to Anna for help as felt Asher’s eyes heavily on me.
“Sarah was suggesting we go with a sensual theme for the photo shoot,” she said quickly.
“Yeah sure, go for it” I nodded, flipping through the presentation sheets like I knew what the heck was going on.
“Really?”
“Of course. We should try something new for a change” I turned to Asher and asked.
“What do you think Mr. Stone?”
“If it’s cool with you then it’s cool with me. It’s your idea” he answered still staring at me intently as I packed up my things.
“Good. That should be all, right? I’ll leave you guys to it”
“But Miss Nor-” Anna tried to say but I cut her off trying to leave as soon as possible.
“Anna, you are in charge”
I wasn’t even ten steps out the door when I heard it slam again, knowing fully well who it was I sped up even though we’d been here before and there was no way I could outrun him… not in these heels but it couldn’t kill to try. His hand took hold of my arm and turned me around to face him.
“Let go” I groaned, if eyes could throw daggers, he’d be dead by now.
“No, not until you tell me what is going on”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I say looking around to see if anyone was around.
“Don’t bullsh*t me. Can you see yourself? You look like a deer caught in headlights. You have been tense all week. You refuse to talk to me or look at me”
“Maybe I just find you repulsive. Did you think about that?”
“You have to convince yourself first that you mean that before you try to convince me, Carino”
“I’m fine, just let me go” I snatched my hand from his grip
“You know I’m here for you whenever you need me Sam” his gaze softened, if I didn't know better I would have thought he was genuine. for a minute I forgot who he was behind the cute smile and drowning eyes
“Really??” I scoffed
“Really”
“Right… like you were there for me six years ago? Stop acting like you care about me because I know you don’t. I can’t believe I almost fell for your lies again. Just focus on Melody and leave me alone, okay”
“Sam-”
I hurried away before he could see my tears, the last thing I needed was him hounding me for the reason why I was crying. I was lucky enough that he didn't come after me for an explanation for what I had just said but knowing him he would be back soon. as I touched up my makeup in my private restroom my phone pinged, it was a message from Asher’s Father
“I will be watching you, girl”
I felt my chest tighten in fear as I was reminded of our talk last week. a call had come in an hour after I had put Melody to bed, she was spent from her outing with Asher. the voice had been altered but I knew who it was from in an instant, there was only one person who made it their life’s mission to make my life as miserable as can be and that was Asher’s father, he had sent one of his henchmen to send me a message that be keeping an eye on me. he seemed to have found out that Asher was in New York but thankfully not that we were working together… yet but it would be any moment from now.
ever since that night I couldn't sleep, eat, or work. my thoughts and emotions had been all over the place… it was up to me to keep my mom and Melody safe and I had jeopardized that. there was no doubt he would come for them when he found out I had been working with Asher after his instructions. As much as I wanted to tell Asher I couldn't trust him, there were too many spaces and loopholes.
get a grip, Sam. It’s going to be okay
I strutted confidently across the halls, hoping my concealer helped in covering my puffy, sleep-deprived eyes. I nodded as the staff greeted me and nodded in my direction. I was to have a private meeting with the head of models in Asher’s company, I had overheard my models talking about how strict and perfectionist she can be so I figured I should get to the coffee shop we were to meet before her, just to create a good first impression.
I sipped on my matcha as I waited, the bell above the coffee shop door jingled alerting me that someone had walked in. I looked up and almost spat out my drink.
I’m so going to kill Asher for this!!!
“Long time no see,” she said stoically as she made herself comfortable on the seat opposite me
“Hello Stephanie”
Transferring to this stupid school filled with stuck-up *ss holes was a huge mistake. What the heck was I thinking? That I’d fit in? That I’d make friends? That I’d live a drama-free life? I was so wrong… so wrong that I hate myself so much right now. I can barely afford lunch and my old tennis shoes were on their last legs while everyone here can afford a more-than-they-can-eat buffet and they have shoes for every week. I don’t fit in here. “Gonzalez wait up” Why… why… why?? “Just f*cking leave me alone!” I yell, increasing my pace. “Come on. Don’t leave” “Why?! What does it matter to you? You are just like the rest of them” “I don’t think that way about you” he turns me effortlessly by my backpack “Sure” “Damn it! I’m serious right now Sam. I think you are the most interesting person I’ve ever met” “You can’t fool me. I won’t become one of your booty calls Stone” I roll my eyes and fold my arms as I stare up at him. his blazer was nowhere to be found, as usual, his uniform
It was safe to say Stephanie and I sat there staring at each other for ten minutes, she didn't look as surprised as I was so she obviously knew I was the one she was going to meet. Did Asher have to make this week even worse for me? I cleared my throat and was about to talk but Stephanie beat me to it.“When Asher had told me about everything I thought it was a lie” she scoffed, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder“Yeah, I can't do this right now”I grabbed my bag, stood up, and made my way to the exit.“I begged him to let me come. he tried to tell you about it but you had been avoiding him all week” she chased after me“Oh, so it's my fault now”“No, it’s no one's fault” She shook her head, coming closer. I take a step back.“Are you really here as the head of models or are you all just here to make my life worse”“Both but only if you insist on still running Sam. Despite what you think, the reverse is the case” I narrowed my eyes at her and took a step closer.“what do you m
I guess he was pretty pissed. In my defense, I didn't do anything. It's not like I flirted with Mike or anything, Asher and I are dating anyway. I haven't seen him in over a week. I couldn't care less… in fact, I haven't been happier. “Mummy? When is Mr. Asher going to come over again?” Melody stares at me from the mirror “I don't know bean. He's been swamped”. I flashed her a smile I hoped was somewhat comforting. She looked out the window. “He promised he was going to teach me some new swimming tricks.” “I know honey. We are trying to work things around okay. He'll come around soon," I replied. “Okay mummy” my heart was breaking at how sad her voice sounded. No doubt she had grown attached to Asher in such a short time. Where the heck is he? I take it back. I care, as much as I don't want to… I do. Anna joined me as I sashayed into the building. the clacks of our heels against the marble floors were all that could be heard for miles. “Good morning Miss Norman” “Good morning
It’s been two weeks since Asher went to Japan. Still nothing from him, not even a response to my voice message. Best believe it has been the most agonizing two weeks of my life, but it also gave me time to sort out my thoughts. Steph helped for the most part, which helped us fill in the gap we had missed as well.“I can’t imagine how scared you must have been doing this all on your babe”, Steph sighed, throwing her head back while I looked through some documents and pictures she had brought to me and placed them on the coffee table.“It got better with time. I got accustomed to my new life because my mom was there, which made things easier, especially when I was pregnant with Melody”. I shrugged, not wanting to let my anger overwhelm me for now.“Ugh, I can’t believe this. I’m so mad… I’ve been so mad with my father since that night, but before. I couldn’t help but hate myself for being quiet for so long”“It’s okay, you were drugged by your father and whisked to rehab just because it
Asher’s private plane had gone off the radar for the past four hours after the first seven hours of the flight and no one knew where the plane was. I and Steph had only been informed two hours ago. I was going crazy with fear and anxiety. I couldn’t help but imagine the worst. Images of different possibilities floated into my mind as I tried to remain calm on the outside but was going through an emotional turmoil inside me.What we were hearing from the staff in the control room correlated so much with the Bermuda Triangle cases. Gone… suddenly lost and never to be seen again. My head felt tender from pulling on my hair in frustration, all I could do was pace back and forth in the control room while Steph kept yelling at the control room guys.“What do you mean? F*cking find him! If he dies, you all die!” Steph screamed before she paced over to me.“He’s going to be fine, okay, don’t worry.”“The storm is so bad though,” she added, as she glanced outside.“You need to calm down Steph.
*Samantha Ceril Gonzalez* It has been a week since I and Asher talked about the past, even with that aside we barely had time to exchange mere formalities. We had become busier than ever. I had planned on telling Melody the truth about Asher but had put it on hold till the press conference announcing our official collaboration.Asher haIt had been a week since I and Asher talked about the past even with that aside we barely had time to exchange invitations since he had a better network and I handled food picking and tasting for the event while we got an event planner to handle the rest Steph was in charge of explaining the prototypes of our gym, lounge, and underwear and the short show of what the consumers and investors were to expect.I strutted into the conference room where Asher sat at one end of the table and I at the other while we waited for the board of directors of both our companies to fill the conference room. I could feel Asher’s gaze on me even when I tried to avoid the
Everything went thus…I provided Kira with the footage of Mr. Herman trying to force himself on me and a voice recording of very implicating conversations he had with many other female staff he had approached before suddenly firing them and ruining their lives in the process. I also got the footage of Mrs. Herman slapping and abusing me after believing the lies her cheating pig of a husband had fed her. Finally, I also provided a lot of pictures of Mr. Herman with his many girlfriends he had gone to visit whenever he had ‘gone on a business trip’. I had gotten all this evidence when I became successful. I learned early that you only mattered when you smelled like money.Kira took the pains of contacting many other news agencies and urged them to publish the stories which they obviously couldn’t turn down because of how juicy they were. Of course, they were paid to keep their mouths shut about who had leaked information to them. It only took an hour for the news to spread like wildfire
The next couple of weeks consisted of sleepovers… lots of sleepovers where we both tagged along, of course, because Melody didn’t want to be apart from either of us. She couldn’t quite comprehend why we wouldn’t just get married and get it over with and in all honesty, it was too complicated to explain, so we just left her wondering. Maybe Sophie would help her figure it out soon. I highly doubt that though.“Is she asleep?” He asked, and I nodded before taking my spot beside him on the sofa.“Yes. Finally”“She has way too much energy. It’s been a while since I gave that many horsey rides” he sighed, throwing his head back and looking at me. He looked so boyish again, with that smile on his face and his hair in his eyes, but he couldn’t be bothered to get a haircut.“Your cousins don’t come over anymore.”“Not since they came over one time, and I was too heartbroken to see them” he chuckled.“Oh-”“No hard feelings” he laughed, punching me softly. I slapped his hand away.“You…”“I’m