CHAPTER 5.
Sheila.
The drive to my house was excruciatingly quiet after that, and it took everything in me to remain still. I was almost shaking in anger: anger at being played like a pawn by my father, anger at Dylan for making me look like a fool in front of the press, anger at myself for deciding to come to the event in the first place.
By the time our chauffeur stopped in front of my apartment building, I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was sink in my bathtub with a book, or preferably a glass of wine.
I had no more energy in me, so I decided that dealing with my father was going to be tomorrow, after a long night of sleep. That is, if I'm able to sleep at all.
How desperate could my father be that he would forge my signature just to get the contract with Knight Empire?
Or was Dylan even telling me the truth when he said he had no idea? Am I just deciding to take a philandering man at his word? Isn't he designed to have a sweet tongue to convince women?
All these thoughts and more plagued me as I exited the limousine. Sighing in exhaustion, I pushed everything to the back of my mind. The time for thinking will come later.
Just when I thought I was successfully free from Dylan and his sweet tongue, he called my name.
"Sheila…" that was enough to make me pause in my steps. My heart rate increased dramatically and I waited for whatever he had to say, without turning to face him.
"I'm sorry for the way everything turned out. I really wanted to make you feel special, you know? I was going to try my best to make sure you didn't regret signing the contract. But that was before I knew you didn't sign it."
I said as Dylan droned on. What exactly was he getting at?
"I want to apologize. For everything. And if you would give me a chance to take you out to dinner tomorrow, it would be nice." I heard a slight tremor in his voice and almost smiled. Seems to me like the billionaire playboy is nervous.
But before I could get carried away by his words, tonight's series of disastrous events came rushing back.
"Dylan…" I called, finally turning to face him. He had gotten down from the limousine and was currently standing by the door, looking at me.
I took a step forward but he waited. "As much as I would like to accept your generous offer, I'd have to say no. This thing between us: relationship, contract or whatever you want to call it was built on lies and falsehood. And there are some things that I need to take care of first."
"I understand." Two words, one sentence but it was enough to ease the anxiety I was feeling deep down.
Smiling at him, I whispered a goodnight before turning back. I could feel Dylan's eyes on my back as I made my way in. When I finally got to my apartment, I rushed to the window and looked out but both Dylan and the limousine were nowhere to be found.
A feeling of loss washed over me at that instant but I quickly shrugged it off.
Time to take that bath I was craving. I'll deal with Michael Keith tomorrow.
***
I woke up with a feeling of loss. Sleep is supposed to rejuvenate a person, but I was waking feeling drained. Too tired to do anything, I debated spending the day in bed.
But then, the events of last night came rushing back and that was enough to prompt me to get up. I decided to do some chores first before meeting up with my father.
Shaking my thoughts off, I stood up and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower before dressing casually in a loose crop top and shorts.
Making my way to the kitchen, I stopped in my tracks when my phone rang. I picked it up and discovered that contrary to my greatest fear that it could be Dylan calling, it was my best friend Nora.
Even at that, a feeling of disappointment overtook me and I sighed as I accepted the call.
"Hey Nora," I greeted as I walked to my kitchen.
"Hey girl… did you wake up grumpy? Or did someone manage to spoil your mood so early in the morning?" She chirped on the phone, crunching what I could only assume was crunchy potato fries. They were Nora's addiction.
Sighing as I tuned my thoughts back to the matter at hand, I leaned my body against the door post of the kitchen.
"I went out with Dylan yesterday," I rushed out, deciding it was better to just tell her than for her to find out later from other sources.
"I know, girl. Why do you think I'm calling this early?"
My eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "What do you mean you know?"
She laughed and the sound of crunching followed after. "Baby girl, you're on the news. Everywhere. Haven't you checked your inbox yet? I'm sure you'll get a lot of spam messages."
"Oh my gosh," I groaned."Please let me call you back, Nora."
Without waiting for a reply, I hung up. Opening my inbox, there were lots of messages for sure.
I need coffee for this shit.
Moments later, I was successfully scrolling through news sites like a stalker hunting for information, a streaming cup of coffee in my left hand.
There were a lot of news and headlines about us, ranging from "Playboy Billionaire finally brings a date for the first time" to "Sheila Keith: New flavor for the month?"
By the time I was done scrolling and reading and digesting information, I was tired. If this is what it means to be with Dylan, all this twisting of words and manipulation of actions on the spotlight, was it worth it?
Well, I'm about to find out.