Isabelle
"Wow." It's the only words that came to mind as the car pulled up to the entrance of the hotel where this event was being held.
Sterling went all out for this, including renting us a limo for the night. I know most of this was just for appearances and to test Elise, but Sterling made it clear that it was for us as well. That he's proud to show me off to the paparazzi, regardless of the Elise situation.
"Well." He glanced over at me. "Shall we get inside Sweetheart?"
I nodded. "Yes."
The driver of the car came over and opened the door for us. Sterling was the first one out, he proceeded to give me his hand to help me. Considering I was wearing a black mermaid style dress that went to the floor, it was much appreciated.
Once I was out Sterling wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close to him. He then began to walk towards the entrance that had paparazzi lined up to take our picture. They would attempt to call out his name and ask questions, his only response was to shoot them a charming smile and a wave.
Two staff members opened the doors to the hotel for us and we went inside. There were people scattered in the hall, except they weren't paparazzi. These were people who were also considered Elites.
I could feel myself grow a little nervous as we walked past them. Sterling seemed to notice as he tightened his grip on my hand and flashed me a reassuring smile.
"Relax." His voice was calm and soothing. "They won't bite, I promise."
"Okay." I nodded. "But I'll hold you to that."
Sterling led the way into the ballroom of the hotel. There's hundreds of people in here with tables set up all around. Whatever this event was for it's clearly a big deal.
"What's this whole thing about?" I questioned, it was better to know some information than to go in blindly.
"Two big companies here in Tennessee merged last week." Sterling informed me as he led the way to a table. "Fortunately it's nothing to do with Tipton Enterprises, we're just here out of support and in the place of my father and Kaydence."
It made sense, the Tipton's are highly important so poor Kaydence would probably be exhausted from something like this considering she is pregnant.
Sterling and I took a seat at a table designated for us. There were already a couple people here, including Killian who managed to snag a date for the event.
"You too look so cute." Killian teased as he looked upon Sterling and I.
"Thanks." Sterling responded. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Lexi." Killian smiled. "I hired her for the night, how it ends well… we'll have to wait and see."
It's not uncommon that escorts get hired for events in the business world. Some would only come for the event and leave, others would have an end goal of getting into the bed of whichever businessman hired them. With the eyes this girl was making at Killian, their night clearly wasn't going to be over after this.
Killian continued making conversation with Sterling and I. Nothing too important, just going over how his day was and asking about ours. A few people came over here and there to the table to try to talk to Sterling.
He made sure to be kind and courteous, but when he had enough he didn't hesitate to send them away. A few people had even asked who I was, which he then explained with no problem that I'm his girlfriend. Immediately after finding that out it seemed I had their immediate respect.
Some food was served shortly after, they started with salads for everyone and then ended serving the main course of salmon. Thankfully everyone was too busy eating so no one came and attempted to disturb Sterling.
"Are you having a good time?" Sterling asked as he grabbed his glass of water.
I swallowed the food in my mouth. "Yes."
"Good." A pleased smile made its way onto his lips. "Just a little longer, then we can be done here."
"Okay." I nodded.
I could tell he isn't exactly big on things like this. Sterling emits confidence and with him being a Tipton everyone seems to be automatically drawn to him. While they did give him respect I could tell people viewed him as the more approachable one, it was made obvious by how quickly the conversations went from small talk to business being brought up.
The meal had finished and two men approached the stage in the ballroom. They talked about the business coming together and thanked everyone for joining their celebration. When the speeches were over everyone got back up and began to mingle with each other.
Sterling continued being approached by people, I could see he was beginning to get annoyed but he didn't let it show to the ones he spoke to. If he had that could peg him as an asshole, which isn't necessarily bad but not great either.
Finally, he had enough. He grabbed my hand and led the way out of the ballroom and to the doors we had used to enter the building. The paparazzi immediately began taking pictures and shouting for his attention.
"Sterling! Who's with you tonight?" Multiple people asked as they continued taking their photos.
Sterling stopped and looked at one of them. A smirk appeared on his lips and the paparazzi calmed down, waiting for their answer.
"She's the love of my life." He responded before pulling me into his arms and crashing his lips down on mine.
He didn't care that our picture was being taken, his lips continued moving with mine. He held me against him and his arms tightened around me. I could feel him begin to get carried away, like he needed more.
He picked up on it as well and pulled away, with an even bigger smirk on his lips. "Hope you all have a wonderful night." He gave the paparazzi a small wave before leading the way back over to the car.
"I thought we just were supposed to appear together." I arched a brow as I spoke once we were in the back of the car. "Why the kiss?"
"Because." His eyes looked into mine. "I want the whole world to know you really are mine."