Gambling Hearts with the CEO

CHAPTER 5: We Meet Again

For some reason, the night feels longer than I thought it would. The people at our table went all out and suddenly are like how they were back in our college days when they were drunk. It wasn’t just on our table actually, even the other tables were just in the same state.

The program actually started after an hour when Aisha and I arrived. Our fellow batchmates who planned this whole reunion led the program. It wasn’t such a big program actually. Just a bit of throwback to what college was like. And being in my dramatic mode, it does bring me back to those days.

My college days weren’t perfect at all. School work was hell, organizational activities were an added stress, and those f****d-up relationships I had are just so embarrassing now. But looking back, I do miss those days a lot. It’s because, during those days, there were only a few people watching me. I was free and just close to a normal teenager.

My mistakes back then were just normal and part of growing, which is the opposite of it now. My past relationships were just a process of finding the true one and embracing what college was like with a whole lot of privacy still existing, but now, my relationships are supposed to be publicized already.

After reminiscing about those days, I realized how I suddenly wanted to bring back time or create a time machine to bring me back to those moments. My life seems so hectic now, no matter how much I want to stay strong. But then, time machines don’t exist and all I can do now is live my life in the reality I was given. At least, I have a stable job. I should just focus on those.

As I look at my friends with my vision becoming a little more blurry, they look so happy and chaotic. It really felt like we were back to how we were back then. Kai and Dominic are the silly ones, while Esther and Aisha make fun of the two. They are all completely drunk already, surprisingly on the part of Kai and Dominic, leaving me and Cat the last ones standing.

“Alexandra Katerina Borres!” Aisha suddenly shouted, looking at me with such drunken eyes. Those pairs of eyes were slightly bloodshot and her skin is very red now. She is wasted indeed. “You! You should lose your guard!”

A small chuckle escapes my lips as I shake my head, watching her make ridiculous gestures to point at me. “What are you talking about, Ash?”

“Shaun,” With those one word, it is enough to give me an idea of what she wanted to say. “You really need to stop denying things and accept his motives. You are not just a f*****g friend to her, b***h! You know that!”

I shook my head and only responded with silence. Since then, Aisha has always been one of the people who supported the idea of me and Shaun. Despite the fact that she sometimes rubs my ignorance into Shaun’s face, she would always find ways to try and push me towards him. Since she knows him well and she has been there since the very moment I started my career internationally, she witnessed how Shaun is like towards me, which probably led her to the conclusion that he actually likes me.

“That poor hot man,” She says, reaching for a bottle of alcohol from the table. Like the usual wasted woman she is, she suddenly hugged it as if it is such an important object. “He ended up liking someone so dense and had to keep pretending that his actions were just jokes. What a poor man.”

“Yeah, what a poor man.” I mocked, letting out soft giggles that earned me a glare from her. “Stop wasting your time trying to match me with Shaun every time, okay? You will only make things awkward between us.”

“It’s because I am just telling the truth! That damn guy likes the heck out of you!” She argued more before pointing at me once again. “Do you remember when you got sick one time after that one event you attended?”

I nodded my head innocently. “What about that?”

“You thought I was the one who took you to the hospital, didn’t you?” My eyes squinted towards her, waiting for her to continue. “It was Shaun, you dumbshit! He was the one who spotted you backstage on the floor and took you to the hospital right away. Do you know that he almost lost a brand endorsement offer because of that?”

I think it was two years ago when a few models in our agency and Aisha, as a well-known businesswoman, attended an event for a clothing brand. Both Shaun and I were given special invitations for that event, which my manager says is probably because they are considering making a deal with us. But during that day, I wasn’t really in my best condition because I just got back from a hectic schedule from Paris. I can still remember how much I tried to keep standing still and smiling in front of the cameras on the red carpet just so I wouldn’t be called out.

When I managed to pass by the red carpet and survive talking to different guests at the event, I thought everything was going well already and I was holding back well. But I suddenly felt light headed when I went backstage after excusing myself for the restroom. The next thing I knew, my vision became black and I felt the cold floor. When I opened my eyes again, I was already in the hospital with Aisha at my side, so, since then, I thought it was her who took me there instead, since she never really clarified it.

But it turned out to be Shaun.

“Why are you telling me this now?” I questioned her with brows furrowed.

“For you to wake up and open your eyes wide towards Shaun, my dear best friend. You aren’t getting younger! Everyone here at this table has had two to three relationships already since we graduated from college, but you have stayed single since then. Live a life, dude!” Aisha pointed out, raising her voice at me while making me realize what I really had been missing.

“She's a workaholic! What do you expect?” Kai said in mockery, making me give him a look at which he only chuckled innocently. What a drunk man.

When I said that everyone was having their own relationships and I was the only one left, I actually meant it. Since I entered the industry, even though I met a lot of men and they showed their interest in me, I never really managed to end up dating anyone for some reason that I don’t know.

They were all just passing by because I was so busy thinking about how I could be better at my job. I was busy. Thinking about how I can actually get recognition from people because the industry I entered is not an easy one unless you finally get the recognition. During my early years, it was my only worry, so I didn’t really care about the men around me. But when I hit my prime, the worry left in me was how to impress them so they would remain adoring me. That was all I worried about relationships…. I never really paid attention.

“How about trying to lose some steam and flirting around without trying to worry about being captured? I mean, you also have your own life, right? Just because you are a public figure, it doesn’t mean you need to actually dedicate your whole life to the public.” Cat suggested, sincerely giving me advice.

“Look, it’s not that I don’t want to flirt around, okay? I just haven’t really found any interesting man to keep me busy and think about my love life. Besides, I’m not really in a hurry anyway.” I insisted, making them all groan.

For some people who are all drunk, they are indeed so concerned about my love life.

“b***h! You literally have someone so hot, kind, responsible, and willing to be with you around you but you keep shutting your eyes and avoiding it!” Aisha once again argued.

“I get that you are concerned about my relationship status, but unless Shaun told me about that himself, I wouldn’t believe anything, okay?” I firmly insisted.

“Right! I forgot that Alexa has massive trust issues when it comes to men.” Esther commented, nodding drunkenly.

“And who caused that?” With one swift turn behind Dominic and I, Aisha looked at Brandon with a piercing gaze. “Brandon f*****g Styles.”

I only smiled and shook my head after that. It is not entirely just because of him. He did play a bit part of it because of what he did to Tyra, but it is mostly because I didn’t want to believe anything without a solid basis despite forming conclusions in my head quite some times. Besides, in Shaun's case, we have been working together for so long and he usually jokes a lot about liking me and flirting around me, so I can never really rely on Aisha’s words alone.

After trying to convince me more, they finally switch their attention to Aisha, whom they bring Aaron’s name in to. They are aware that Aaron has been bothering our friend for quite a while now, so they really have something about her. As they talked about it, I just kept listening and gulping down the alcohol from my throat until my vision started to get more and more blurry.

The music around me was starting to become messy because everyone was talking at the same time and the music was just so loud. I decided to excuse myself from the restroom to at least try to calm myself down and help myself focus again because the sounds around me were starting to become annoying.

I walked my way to the restroom while stumbling a little, and ended up leaning against the wall so I wouldn’t end up breaking my ankle before the night ends. As I did my thing inside the cubicle, I stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself after washing my hands. I am completely wasted! My pale skin is all red now and my eyes look so timid. I’m glad though, because I wasn’t some kind of drinker who messed herself up, so my clothes and hair still remain the same.

“I think it's time to go home,” I told myself when I felt my head throbbing already. That was the sigh.

So, despite being all clumsy, I gave my bodyguard a call so he could pick me up already. In this kind of moment, I am more thankful that I have a bodyguard on call back in the unit I bought for them. After talking to him, I removed my heels then walked out of the restroom while holding on to the wall for support. But it was as if I was suddenly fully conscious when I saw that familiar figure.

“Brandon Riley Styles!” I called before he could even enter the men’s restroom. He stopped, then looked at me with those pair of cold eyes again. He puts his hands in his pockets like some cool guy. “You jerk!”

His expression remained the same but my attention focused on his eyes. I remember that kind of look. Despite its hints at such a cold stare, I could see the same one he put on back then when he suddenly pulled me into the dark alley of the club. Without any thinking, I decided to approach him and stopped in front of him before pointing fingers at him through his chest.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked, looking straight into his eyes, but he looked away. With my subconscious taking over, I ran my finger from his chest to his face, opening my hand to make him look back at me. “Planning to kiss me again like you did in the past then just forget it afterwards?”

The way his brows furrowed and eyes looking down at me suddenly looked… hot in my eyes right now. It’s weird.

“What are you talking about?” He coldly asked with his deep voice.

As a scoff escapes my lips in disbelief, I lower down my hand from his face to his broad shoulder while I place my other hand on the other side of his shoulder as well. Without giving him any warning, I pushed him into the wall so hard that he let out a groan. Despite the pain he probably has, he glares at me still with so much hatred.

“What do you think you are doing, Borres?” he asked firmly.

A smirk formed my lips as I looked up at him with squinted eyes. “Making you remember what you have forgotten,” I said in a low voice.

I raised my hands slowly, making sure they came in contact with his neck and sharp jaw before stopping on his cheeks. My eyes remained on him as he watched me act. I flattered my eyelashes but he still remained composed. The next thing I did was tiptoe, leaning closer to his lips as I focused on it.

I could feel his not so steady breathing already as he locked his eyes on me. But then… everything went black.

“Guys! Guys! I want to introduce you to someone.” All of our attention went to Tyra as she entered the room in a beautiful peach-colored dress. She has a bright smile and obvious sparkling eyes. Euphoria. “Are you guys ready?”

“What is this all about, Ty?” Cat questioned, curious about what was about to happen.

“I told you all that I like someone, right?” We all nodded without saying a single word. The next thing we knew, she suddenly pulled someone from the outside to show a guy who was way taller than her. “Guys, this is Brandon Riley Styles from BS Business Management. He is my boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?!” We all said in unison.

My eyes then fixed on Him and scanned my eyes from his head to toe. He has tan skin but a bit lighter than the usual tan skin. His eyes have those cold stares that make him intimidating, just exactly fit for Tyra’s ideal guy, and he has those lips that are just formed in a straight line. He is emotionless, but I can admit that he does look handsome, otherwise Ty wouldn’t have dated him. On top of that, he looks like a mysterious yet intelligent and responsible kind of guy for some reason.

As my eyes went back to his face, our eyes suddenly came in contact. It was at that moment when I noticed that his pair of eyes were actually hazel-colored. It looks mesmerizing that I could stare at it all day. Unconsciously, I found myself in a staring battle as if no one was around…

as if he isn’t Tyra’s boyfriend.

The sound of the alarm echoes in the whole room, making me cover my eyes because of how loud it sounds. I let out a groan when I realized it wouldn’t stop until I did something about it, so I had no choice but to reach for the nightstand and turn off the alarm. As I opened my eyes more, I was blinded by the bright sun outside my window. Then it hits me, I am in my room?

“What the hell?” I told myself before sitting up, only to regret it later when I felt the throbbing pain in my head. “f*****g hangover.”

Despite wanting to stay in my bed, I had no choice but to get up from it and leave my room so I could get something to cure my headache. I looked at myself in the mirror, realizing that I was still wearing the same clothes I had last night but my make-up was all gone and my hair was already tied neatly in a ponytail instead. Did I do that?

I walked out of my room and decided to make some hangover soup, despite not being sure if I would be able to make it properly, only to stop just next to the island when I saw a small brown paper bag placed above it. When I opened it, there was a medicine placed inside that was meant to cure a hangover, making me stare at it for a moment.

“Did I still manage to buy myself medicine despite being completely wasted?” I asked myself.

I could barely remember a single thing from last night, but I have medicine on my kitchen island?! On top of that, my makeup is gone and my hair is all neat. What the heck?

Regardless of the weird things that happened, I set thinking aside for a while because it was making my head throb even more before taking the medicine with lots of water. Since I already had medicine and drank some water, I decided to lay down on the couch instead of cooking since I wasn’t really in the mood. But just when my eyes were already about to close, my phone suddenly rang, interrupting my supposed nap.

“Hello?” I tiredly asked without checking the caller ID.

“Why do you sound so tired? Did you drink last night?!” Juliet’s voice echoed into my ears, giving such pain to my head. I let out a groan which she returned with a scoff. “I know you received a three-month break, but it doesn’t mean you should be out drinking every night!”

“Stop shouting, please.” I pleaded in a low voice. “The reunion was last night. I lost track of how much I drank, so yeah.”

“Still! You should have control of yourself.” She scolded again.

Juliet has been my manager since I began my international career. And since then, I have been hearing her endless nags! It’s not that I am complaining so much that she nags me a lot because I know I am a little of a troublemaker as well, but she could tone it down a bit.

“Why did you call anyway? I am on break, remember?” I said.

“I know, but the thing is, there is actually one offer that I forgot to mention to you.” I let out a groan when she said that. But before I could even argue, she immediately continued her words. “The offer was already sent even before the agency decided to give you a break, so we don’t really have much choice.”

“You have a choice. Give them other models! I am not the only model in our agency anyway.” I sarcastically said.

“We already offered them that, but they insist on wanting you as the model for their brand. So the company wants you to check it out first and see for yourself if you want to disturb your break for a bit just to model for that brand. They want you to decide whether you will take it or not.” She explained, making me scoff.

“That’s surprising.” I only said, closing my eyes a bit.

After trying to convince me more, I ended up agreeing to check out the company with my bodyguard since Juliet is still abroad. Considering that I am on break, I don’t really need her around, but if I happen to accept the offer, she needs to fly here. She will be at a disadvantage if I agree with the offer. I don’t really get why she tries hard to actually convince me.

I asked her if they could reschedule the time to the afternoon instead of the morning so I could have some time to recover from the hangover which they somehow accepted my request. When I felt much better, I started getting ready to show up at that company. I didn't even bother wanting to know what the name was, because I wouldn’t take the offer anyway.

I dressed up in a sleeveless ruched bodycon dress that ended a few inches below my knees with a pair of stilettos to complete the look. I let my hair down and only ironed it because I felt lazy fixing it and only put on light makeup before leaving my unit with a chained square shoulder bag.

My bodyguard drove me to that company while I tried to take a short nap so I wouldn’t look so tired in front of those people. When I arrived at the company and walked inside with a few employees greeting me formally, my eyes immediately caught the sign behind the people at the front desk.

Styles Group

I couldn’t help but smirk, realizing who owns this company. But my smirk grew bigger as I saw that familiar face from last night, approaching me in his suit and neatly styled pushback hair. He put on a serious face as he stood in front of me as if I was a stranger to him, while I looked at him with my smirks still on, as if destiny was indeed with me.

“Hello, Ms. Borres. I am Brandon Styles, the CEO of Styles Group. Welcome to our company.” He said in a serious manner, letting out his hand for a handshake.

I stared down at his hand before looking up at him again. So, will he really act as if he doesn’t know me at all? I dropped the smirk and put on a smile instead before reaching for his hand for a handshake.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Brandon,” I caught his eyes squinted a bit, which made me want to laugh. “I mean, Mr. Styles.”

Looks like the bet wouldn’t be that hard to do after all.