Chapter 5 Not Again
After leaving Zane Nash's house, Alaia went straight to the hospital. She didn't overthink.
Her eyes remained dry. That bastard didn't deserve a single tear from her. What was done was done. She sold her virginity to that asshole because she had to. There was no going back.
She paid her mother's medical bills and proceeded to her uncle Tim's company.
Seeing Tim sitting in his office, she told him the news, lying about where she got the money. Alaia fabricated she borrowed it from a friend. Tim was beyond happy, never asking which friend.
"And look what I have!" She threw the steamy photos of Vivi Brown and David Green on the desk in front of her uncle.
"Wow! Great! We're publishing these right now!" Tim exclaimed, his happiness growing.
Alaia wanted to blur their faces, but Tim didn't want to hear about it. According to Tim, it wouldn't pay off. The magazine would publish the photos as they were. He believed that the actors should have thought about the consequences before hooking up. Alaia agreed.
It wasn't as if they were minors or something.
It was a working day, and she still had a job to do and wages to earn. Tim asked her to go to some event downtown in Manhattan. It was an art exhibition, with many celebrities attending.
Alaia took her camera and boarded a train. She worked for six hours without a break, taking photos of the guests.
Working felt good. It averted her thoughts from the events happening last night. Alaia did not doubt what last night meant for her. She lost her virginity, selling her body, but her dignity and pride stayed intact.
My mother still lives, she repeated to herself whenever the rough sex scenes with that asshole, Zane Nash, appeared in her mind.
Soon, it would become a distant memory.
She was not the first or the last doing it. Her reasons were strong, justifying the act.
Just as she was waiting for a train to head back home, her phone rang. It was an unknown number, but Alaia answered it nevertheless.
"Come to my house at 10 pm Wednesday!" She heard the male's voice commanding her. Then, he slammed the phone down. The asshole! Zane Nash! Alaia was beyond angry at the man. He didn't even allow her to reply with anything at all. Fuck! No way!
I won't go to that devil's house ever again! Alaia was upset and furious.
The next few days, it was only working and home for Alaia.
As expected, the news and the photos of Vivi Brown and David Green increased the exposure and profit of G & G magazine drastically in only a week.
Almost every night, Alaia would walk the streets alone. The nights were mildly chilly, but she needed the fresh air. And to get away from Mary's nagging. She saw a photo of the Eiffel Tower on a billboard, and it made her think of someone.
Someone very dear to her, called Quintus O'Brien. Her first and the last almost a boyfriend.
"We'll go to Paris together, and you'll become a designer." He used to say, supporting her dream. Ever since a little girl, Alaia had dreamt of becoming a fashion designer. Quintus was her friend, her childhood crush, and they had plans. It seemed that their friendship could turn to love soon.
The memory made Alaia smile. But it was a bitter smile.
Both her dream and her love had left her a while ago. It was Mary, not allowing her to study Fashion Design. She kept saying the tuition at the college was too high. Even Tim couldn't do anything as the fees were truly outrageously expensive.
And Quintus left.
Suddenly, the brakes squealed behind Alaia's back, and the car stopped. She turned around, seeing a black Benz limo. Zane Nash was sitting in the backseat, looking angry with his face yet, stone-cold.
The bastard! Alaia's ears rang with an alarm.
"Get in!" He authoritatively commanded, pushing the door open.
"Fuck, no!" Alaia became very upset, diverting her eyes from Zane to the street ahead of her. And she kept walking straight away from him and his car, ignoring him. It was a one-night stand, she thought. He has no right bossing me around!
Zane got off the car, slamming the door loudly. He hurried after Alaia. Not once did she turn around, only quickened her steps. But he knew she wouldn't escape him.
He would catch the little vixen and teach her a lesson. Alaia's methods of ignoring him irritated Zane to no end. And since she disobeyed him, not coming by his house on Wednesday as he ordered, he was already pretty mad from before.
Alaia's heart thundered in her chest, sensing Zane was approaching her. She feared what he might do to her. Zane Nash is capable of doing anything, Alaia realized.
Straight after that thought, her upper arm got gripped, and Zane spun her around, making her face him.
"I said, get in!" He gritted. His eyes narrowed.
"I said no!" Alaia raised her chin the highest she could, cursing him for being so tall. If he thought he would intimidate her, he was wrong!
They had sex, but it meant nothing to her. He had her body, and she got the money. He bought her and had his time with her, but only for that one night. She did it because she needed that money and photos, not out on a whim.
I'm free to do as I like, Alaia believed. Yet, she found herself dragged by Zane and thrown into the backseat of his car effortlessly.
"Let me out!" She screamed.
"Drive!" Zane ordered. His driver put up the privacy partition wall and drove away.
"Where do you think you're going? You don't have the right to do this! I don't want to be here! With you! Who the hell do you think you are? Let-me-out!" Alaia furiously shouted at Zane.
Her pride and retort irritated Zane more and more.
He was sure he had broken her. He was absolutely certain Alaia Jones had no dignity left after that humiliating night, the night he fucked her virgin pussy roughly as he did. He paid her to be his whore, dammit!
But she proved to him he was wrong. Alaia never looked more arrogant and proud to Zane.
Maybe I should teach her another lesson! The thought crossed his mind, and immediately he launched at her, seizing her lips with his. Zane was kissing her forcibly.
At first, Alaia struggled, but his kisses turned more passionate, deepening. Zane's hands held her snug, his fingers digging into her flesh and bones. She could feel her own tongue chasing after his.
Her lips, mouth, and entire body reacted as if they all liked it.
Alaia was slowly submitting, melting under his touches and kisses. She heard herself moaning. And then he stopped.
Zane stopped and moved away from her. He leaned comfortably against the back of his seat with a poker face expression. Alaia's chest heaved, her breathing shallow. She was sure she was outrageously blushing.
What the hell? She wondered, confused by her own reaction. And his.
"Get the fuck out!" His rude tone cleared her head. It rushed through her mind like the coolest, the iciest flurry of wind. Fuck! I almost fell for it! I almost gave in. Alaia couldn't believe herself.
Still, she managed to exit the car without any hesitation. It only aggravated Zane further.
"You'll come back and beg me to fuck you!" Zane tossed after her.
Alaia didn't take his words seriously, believing it was a bluff. He would soon forget her. A man like that could have, and probably, did have women throwing themselves at him.
Zane Nash didn't want or need her.
But two days after that, his threatening words echoed in her mind.
Alaia was in front of Zane's house. She hated herself for coming here. But she had to. Alee Pictures, the studio that Vivi Brown and David Green worked for, sued G & G.
And Nash International Company was the owner of Alee Pictures.
Unfortunately, Zane wasn't home.
Alaia came back the next day. And then, a day after it. She tried it a few times per day. But not once did she find that asshole in his house.
Then, she remembered the unknown number Zane used when calling her once. She called it and waited.
"Hello," he said.
"Good evening, Mr. Nash. It's me, Alaia Jones," Alaia said, crossing the edge of politeness. She hated it. The asshole didn't deserve to be treated politely like that.
"I don't know you," Zane answered coldly. Alaia cursed him inside, sure that he did know who she was.
Just as she contemplated what to say next, he spoke again in the same chilly voice.
"Be at Crush before 11!" And then he hung up the phone.
What a devil! There were only twenty-five minutes to 11. Alaia had no time to change or anything else. She called a cab, heading to Crush.
She had heard of the place. Only the richest and the most influential people could walk inside that bar. It was the most luxurious bar in the whole of New York.
What dirty trick is Zane Nash planning now? Alaia feared finding it out.