"Sweetie you're going to do great.", Miss June says in a calming tone.

I am as nervous as a pig at a slaughterhouse. And it's all because I have an interview to get to.

One of Val's contacts came through and I was contacted by a man called Caesar who is a well known historian in the museum scene. He apparently loved my 'audition' and sent me an email about a week after our engagement piece went on the shelves.

That on its own has been a lot to deal with. Ever since the magazine came out, I've had people congratulating me, I've had a surplus in social media followers and I have gotten offers to be an ambassador for multiple brands.

Things that were never even a thought to me are basically being handed to me on a silver platter. But I am not an influencer. I am just a girl who happened to fall in love with someone in the public eye.

With all the changes going on in my life, I would like to at least keep a little bit of normalcy. Having a normal job will give me that. It will give me a sense of control.

I hug June one more time and go into the car. Today I chose to drive a white Chevrolet Camaro. It's a beautiful car, and even though it's not yellow. I still feel like I'm driving BumbleBee from Transformers.

Caesar said we should meet at a restaurant. I had suggested one of the high end, eateries in town and he loved it.

What is it with me and having job interviews in restaurants?

I get to the restaurant and park the car. Once I step out, I run my hands over my outfit, making sure that I don't have any bad creases. I wore Black wide leg pants and a simple long sleeved V-neck Black tshirt. My leather jacket is draped over my shoulders and a pair of red bottoms on my feet.

I have come to accept that Alexander really likes a lady in red bottoms, which is why my closet is filled with Louboutins.

Caesar is not so hard to miss as I step into the restaurant. I had googled him the moment we spoke on the phone. He is a very relaxed guy, looks a lot like Stanley Tucci, with his baldness and round framed glasses.

"Rosa", his voice booms as he pulls me in for a hug. His French accent reminds me of Pierre.

French men and calling me Rosa has really become a thing. And I like it.

"Caesar", I say as I pull away.

"Sit darling" he says as a waiter helps me with my chair. This place is really fancy.

I order a glass of sparkling water with lemon, since Caesar already has a glass of red wine in front of him. It's not even noon yet.

He suddenly takes ahold of my left hand,admiring my ring. "This is beautiful. Congratulations".

Heat rises to my cheeks, "Thank you". I am still not used to people gawking at the ring.

We have some small talk and order our meals. A few minutes after the food arrives we dive into work talk.

"Rosa, I already know you're the right person for the job", my eyebrows shoot up.

He continues, "I loved your recording, you are very informed. You will make a great addition to my team".

He further explains that he has been looking for a younger version of himself and he is certain that I am it. He is starting to venture into more online work, and this is because he would like to make history easily understandable for the younger generation so he thinks that I would be perfect for the position.

"You will be gathering information. Then make it more fun and colorful",

Okay. This is going to require some simple journalistic basics.

He takes a sip of his second glass of wine, "Are you familiar with graphic design?".

Thankfully I am. Being a journalism major in college I took some graphic design classes and a module in photography.

I nod at him and his smile widens. He seems pleased with my answer.

"A toast, to new ventures", he lifts his glass and I clink mine against his. "To new ventures''.

He looks around the dining area, "Now...where is that cute waiter, I need me some desert".

I giggle at that. My gaydar was beeping non-stop and he just confirmed it. I am going to love working with him.

Ceasar and I go our separate ways two hours later. We had a good conversation and he demanded an invite to my wedding. Of course I'll have him there, he looks like he knows how to party.

I will be starting my new job in the new year. Three months from now, so I have enough time to prepare and refamiliarise myself with everything.

Since it's basically lunch time I drive to Lex's main building. The man has multiple buildings in town since he owns a lot of businesses. I got him some food from the restaurant, I just hope he hasn't eaten yet.

I step into the lobby of Cain Enterprises and I am in awe of how beautiful the place is. It's modern and filled with lots of people in suits, men and women moving around, getting work done.

The receptionist waves at me, "Hey, I'm here f-"

"-For Mr. Cain.", she slaps her hand over her mouth as if to stop the words from already falling out, "Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off".

I smile , "It's okay. Could you please let him know that I'm here?".

She nods and quickly gets on the phone. Within seconds, she hangs up and directs me to the elevator. I ride up to his floor and get greeted by more modern design and architectural beauty as I walk out of the elevator.

Lex's personal assistant, Archie is at his desk, his fingers speedily typing away. I clear my throat and he looks up at me, "Oh...hello".

"Hey,", I simply say.

He is a handsome man. He looks to be about twenty six. Golden brown eyes, dark hair, styled neatly. He is in a black shirt and nice fitting beige pants.

"Sir, your fiance is here for you", He speaks into the phone. He nods and puts the phone back down.

"Come with me please",, he says and I follow him to Lex's office. Big mahogany doors come into view as we round a corner.

Achie opens the door for me and we both enter. Alexander is seated at his big desk, glasses on the bridge of his nose as he reads a document. His shirt sleeves are rolled up, revealing his veiny, muscled forearms.

"Would you like anything to drink?", Archie asks me as I stand, still looking at my soon to be husband.

I shake my head, "No, thank you. I've got it".

"Thank you Archibald", Lex says to him and I swear I see a tinge of pink stain on Archie's cheeks.

Is he gay? Because Caesar would eat him up.

As Archie leaves us, Lex stands up and walks towards me. He reaches me in seconds and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me towards him.

"I love you", he says before leaning down and kisses me senseless. I almost drop the bag of food and my purse along with it.

I am dazed and confused once he pulls away.

"So what do you have for me?", he asks as if he didn't just give me a toe curling kiss.

I shake myself out of the daze I am in, "I got you lunch. Creamy lemon chicken pasta".

"Thank you baby". He places a kiss on my lips once more.

We move towards his desk and I place the food and utensils on top of the surface. I carefully moved some of the papers away because I don't want them to be damaged.

He grabs a sanitary wipe and cleans his hands, as I continue taking out the drinks. I got us both blackberry virgin mojitos. Since I had already eaten I thought it was best if I just got myself a beverage instead.

"Lunch is served", I say as I bow my head like a servant.

He chuckles, "Thank you my love, I am starving". He sits on his chair and as I go around to sit on the other one, he pulls me by my wrist towards his lap. So we sit like that, with him eating while I sit on his lap, drinking my mojito and telling him about the interview.

"I'm so proud of you",

I am taken aback by his words. "Well you helped".

He shakes his head, "You did this. Your determination, hard work and perseverance brought you to this place in your life.".

He places a kiss on my cheek, "You're an amazing woman. I admire your strength and how much you kick life's ass". He says the last part with a grin on his lips.

I kick ass? I feel so hyped.

"I love you Mr. Cain", I say and pull him in for a kiss.

"And I love you Mrs. Cain", this makes me pull my head back.

Mrs. Cain sounds good. I like it. "Not officially, but soon", I say to him,

He tucks a stray curl behind my ear, "I am counting down the days".

The excitement in his voice is rubbing off on me. We haven't set a date yet but we both want it to be as soon as possible. Isadora and Val are in charge of planning the wedding. We had a group video call where I told them what I would like. I don't want a big thing, just a small intimate ceremony with close family and friends.

Lex said he was not going to get involved. All that he was going to do is show up and wait for me at the altar.

I stay at his office for the rest of the day and watch him work. Witnessing him in action is such a turn on. His authoritative voice when he makes a phone call had me staring at him like a hungry lioness in the wilderness. I may have drooled a little bit.

I eventually helped him out with sorting documents and highlighting grammatical errors. It felt like I was helping my mother with one of her manuscripts for work.

By the time six o'clock rolls out, he has his paperwork sorted and we're heading out of the office. Some of his staff looked at us in curiosity. I can't blame them for doing so, today was my first time ever coming here.

We get to the parking lot and I open the Camaro and slip my purse and jacket inside. "This car looks good with you". He says as he wraps his arms around my waist from behind.

"I like it. I'd like it more if it was black". I softly murmur as his lips nibble on my neck.

He turns me around and pushes my back against the car, "Then maybe I should get you a black one", his hands roam my body and my body temperature rises.

"Mmmmh..maybe you should'', he winks before kissing me.

My feet are lifted off the ground and I wrap them around his middle. The kiss is deep and feverish .My hands pull at his hair as his tongue explores my mouth.

He moves and suddenly my back is against the hood of the car as he continues to place kisses on my neck and then back to my lips.

The sound of heavy footsteps , interrupts us. I quickly sit up as Lex takes his time to stand up straight. A scrawny looking guy looks at us with wide eyes. Next to him are two other guys and they have smirks on their faces.

Gosh this must have been a live action softcore porno for them.

"Gentlemen", Lex says nonchalantly while I try to mask the embarrassment on my face.

"Sir. have a good night.", one of the guys says and then they walk away giggling like school girls.

Boys....sigh.

I gently push him away and fix myself. My clothes are in disarray because of his busy hands. While I take care of myself he fixes his shirt and his very visible erection. I try to avert my eyes away but I keep going back to stare at it.

It's pretty hard not to stare. The thing's huge.

He chuckles at my flustered state. "Let's go home".

He opens the door for me and I slide into the driver's seat, "Gosh, I can't believe we did that".

We've never made out in a public space. Even though we had an audience. Dare I say that it was hot and I would not mind doing it again.

He leans down and places a soft kiss on my lips. I almost whine when he pulls back. "Believe it. Drive safe my love I'll see in a few minutes.".

He closes the door and I watch him walk away as he heads towards the Range Rover he drove to work this morning. As he walks away I can't help but to admire his butt.

Thank the heavens for squats and leg presses cause this man has a delectable ass.

Starting the car, I pull out of the spot and drive home with the sudden urge to take a bite out of Lex's butt.

***

Do you ever get the feeling that you're being watched?

Like there's eyes on you but you cannot pinpoint exactly where they are?

I have been feeling like I am under some sort of surveillance. I could be crazy and paranoid because it could be nothing or my inkling could be right.

It has been days and it started when I went to do some grocery shopping. June and went out to get some food and stuff that was needed around the house, the whole time I was with her, I could feel someone's eyes on me.

And then Lex and I went out for dinner a few nights ago, I got that feeling again. I know for a fact that it was not the paparazzi. I have gotten used to them hounding us and being around.

This was different.

This is different.

As Gigi and I sit in this beautiful indie style restaurant, I find it hard to ignore the feeling gnawing away at my gut. It's annoying because the last time I felt such overwhelming anxiety was when my uncle and grandfather died. I felt like this hours before we found out about the accident.

Hours before it even happened. It's as if I knew what was to come and my body was gearing up for the bad news that was about to come.

"Are you okay?", Gigi asks as she notices how uneasy I am being.

My leg rapidly bounces up and down. I look at her mentally trying to pull myself together, "I don't know. I just have this bad feeling."

She places down her Pina Colada, "Bad feeling?" she asks as she sits up straight in the comfy, plush chair.

Distractedly , I nod at her while my gaze sweeps across the restaurant.

Ugh...where are they.

"Where's who?", she asks. It seems as if I thought out loud.

Leaning forward, I place my elbows on the wooden top of the table, I push aside the tumbler half filled with my Hazelnut iced coffee. I gnaw on the inside of my left cheek before sighing and speaking.

""Do you ever feel watched?".

Her face pulls into a confused expression as she pouts her lips, "Watched? Like having eyes on you?".

I nod at her and glance around the restaurant again. Nothing looks abnormal.

"You're in the public eye now. You're always being watched".

"No... Gigi this is different."

Her small gasp pulls my attention back to her, "Do you think it's a stalker?!" she asks a little too loudly for my liking. Some of the diners, look at us for a brief second.

"I don't know. I've just been feeling like someone or something is watching me".

"For how long have you sensed this?".

I think back a little bit as my brain traces back the timeline.

"About two and half weeks I think".

She now also leans forward, in her chair, "Did you speak to anyone else about this?'. She asks.

I unfortunately did not. A part of me is just thinking that maybe I am overreacting and this is just because I've had a lot more exposure to the public. That could be it. The eyes I'm feeling on me could simply be the massive amounts of people who now treat me like I'm some kind of celebrity.

Or it could be something else....

Gigi reads my worried expression and immediately gets the answer to her question.

Her hand holds mine over the table as her equally worried eyes stare at mine, "Babe, you need to speak to Alexander about this. It could be nothing or it could be something."

"Just please talk to him. At least he can get some people to look into this.", she concludes.

We sit and finish up our meal while talking about her and Bryce. She looks happy. I see a glow in her eyes as she talks about how much they're growing closer together.

"Gosh, I hate to say it...but he might be the one". The blush on her cheeks visible as her whole face gradually becomes stained in pink.

It's truly a sight to behold. Gigi has become lovestruck; it might be early in their relationship but I see potential and if they keep taking things slow and always focus more on the emotional side of things rather than the physicality of their relationship. This could definitely work out for them.

Wow....look at me talking maturely about relationships. I swear I sound older and not this twenty three year old being that I am. Being with Lex has changed me. His wisdom is rubbing off me and honestly I like it. This means that I am learning something from him.

We're two different people from different worlds but we teach each other about what each of our worlds are about and what they come with.

"I'm off to the ladies, can you get the check so long?", Gigi nods. I leave her and walk towards the bathrooms.

I really should stop drinking so much coffee. We've been here for almost two hours and I've had about four iced coffees. That is not okay and is not healthy too. I need to lay off the caffeine for a while.

The bathroom looks so cool with dark tones of brown and stainless steel. The sinks are made out of dark marble and are in a round shape; the taps are those ones with a motion sensor.

I get into an empty stall and do my business. Once I am done, I flush and get out to wash my hands. What I don't expect is to see when I step out of the stall is Belle casually leaning against one of the sinks with a scowl on her face.

What does she want?

I collect my wits and carry on walking to the sinks to wash my hands. As I lather soap, she shifts and looks directly at me through the mirror.

"Nice ring", she says. Her eyes still glare at me through the mirror.

Not knowing what to do I just smile and mutter a small 'thanks'. I grab a paper towel to dry my hands while her eyes follow me around.

She blocks my way when I try to get out of the bathroom. I shift to evade her and move past her but she once again stands in my way.

Now I'm getting annoyed.

"You know, that ring would look better on me. It should be my finger.", she says with a venomous tone.

Matteo's words become an echo at the back of my mind, "be wary of her".

"Belle step out of my way...please", I say the last part through gritted teeth. She's really getting on my nerves and my hand is slowly itching to slap her out of my way.

"Alexander is mine. MINE!" she huffs then takes a step towards me. I instinctively take one back. This goes on until my back hits the wall.

With her model height, she looks down at me as her face becomes red. I've been in here for a while. Gigi must be wondering what's taking me so long.

"Belle, move", I say to her again. My patience is running thin.

Instead of doing what I asked, she gets in my face, "I don't know what he sees in you. But he can have you as long as I get my Alex back".

Before I can even register what she just said I feel a stinging pain on my neck. My hand goes to inspect the source of pain and I find a small syringe poking out.

She stabbed me!

I pull it out and push her out of my way. Drowsiness comes in waves as I stumble around trying to balance myself on one the sinks.

"What did you do to me?". My words start to slur. How did I not notice her holding anything in her hands?

Gigi! I call out to her mentally. Hoping by some miracle that she can hear me.

My body eventually starts to feel limp and I have the overwhelming urge to give into the drowsiness.

Belle stands next to one of the stalls and pulls out a phone. She makes a phone call, "It's done". She says to the person on the other end.

As I lay limp on the floor, I move my arm to pull her leg, but she kicks it back with a disgusted look on her face.