Chapter Two
Jordana blinked in horror. This is not happening, she told herself.
There were about fifty of them camped at the gate of her house.
Paparazzi.
One of them noticed her.
Drat!
“There she is!” the paparazzo shouted to the others. In mere seconds, endless clicks were heard as her front yard got illuminated from the flash of their powerful cameras. She hastily pulled the blinds shut before running to her bedroom to fetch her phone.
Only one person came to mind at times like these. She had his number on speed dial.
Leandro.
Leandro would know what to do.
She generally avoided calling him in the morning since he was never a morning person but today was an emergency.
He picked up on the first ring.
“This better be good, Dana—” he grouched.
“L-Leandro?!” her voice sounded panicked even to her ears.
“Dana? What’s wrong?!” his voice was suddenly alert, his earlier sleepiness gone.
“I’m sorry to call but…they’re now at the doorstep of my house…I-I don’t even know how they found out I live here…they’re invading my privacy, Leandro—” she stammered.
“Wait…wait…wait! Who’s at your house? The press?” he asked, trying to calm her down.
“Worse. Paparazzi!”
“What?! Why? What did you do?” he inquired next.
She scoured her brain for a reason why she would warrant their attention. Then something registered. Something she did yesterday.
“It was so stupid! I was so stupid! I was just being candid when they asked me,” she cried after realizing her mistake. She was used to the spotlight and the scrutiny of the public, including the legitimate press but she was always careful with her public persona. She led an almost boring existence so as to not attract unwanted attention. The media had maintained a certain distance. Until now.
Now they swarmed like a pack of piranhas and she was their meal.
Stupid!
“Slow down. What exactly did you tell and to whom?”
“It was an interview for Entertainment Tonight. They were doing a story about my recent SI cover. I already answered all of their questions. I thought their cameras had stopped rolling when the reporter asked me something uhm…personal,” she relayed.
“And?”
“She asked me if there’s any truth that I have a sex video with James Knossos…you remember him?”
She heard him snort in disgust.
“Yeah, I remembered that asshole. I was tempted to run him over.”
Leandro openly despised her ex-boyfriend who was also a model. He warned her early on that male models only loved one thing—themselves. She refused to listen. She thought she was in love. In the end she got burned. Her male bestfriend was right all along. Three months into their relationship, she broke up with the Calvin Klein underwear model when she found him in bed with an actress.
“Her question came out of nowhere…and I opened my mouth without thinking. Told her I don’t believe in premarital sex and that I’ll pay anyone a cool million if they can provide me a copy of a sex video,” she continued.
“And?”
Must he drill her? This is so embarrassing!
This was Leandro. He was the nearest thing to a sibling that she had. Even so, she wanted to bury her head beneath the sand.
“She asked me if I’m still a virgin,” she blurted.
“Tell me you didn’t answer that!” Leandro sounded exasperated.
“Of course I didn’t! I pretended I didn’t hear. They may have aired the entire thing and edited the footage to make it sound like I’m dangling this…this…state! And the bloodhounds outside picked it up! I can’t think of any other reason why they would zero in on me! It’s stupid, I know. I’m sorry I got myself in this mess.”
“Calm down. Let me take care of it…but you have to leave your house for the meantime,” he suggested.
“Do I really have to? Can’t I just file something in the courts to bar them from my property?” she asked but she already knew the answer to that.
“Kid, you know that’s next to impossible. You’ll only whet their appetite. Think Britney and Lindsey. Let’s just wait this out. I’ll arrange for you to stay at The Plaza until this boils over. By then, they’ll have another target that they can lock their cross hairs on.”
She didn’t want to go anywhere but she was left without a choice.
She took a deep, frustrated breath.
She bought this house, located in the Tribeca district in Manhattan just a couple of months ago. She’d grown tired of sleeping in hotels or leasing flats while in New York, where she was generally based when she was not jetting all over the world for fashion shows and photo shoots.
This was the place she could finally call her own. And here she was now—being evicted by the meddling paparazzi.
It was entirely her fault. And her big mouth!
“I should’ve gotten a unit at the Trump Plaza. Ivanka offered me a fair price. Then, I wouldn’t be having this problem,” she said regretfully. Security around that New Jersey development was top notch.
“Give it a few weeks or about two months and they’ll forget you ever said anything.”
“You can say that again,” she glumly said.
“Cheer up, kid…this is temporary. I’ll send Penny and the limo over so she can stay behind and pack things up for you.”
She rubbed her temple, dismayed at the disruption in her life. She felt embarrassed at her behavior, calling him like a damsel in distress. She wasn’t one. Even with her current stature in the business, she was very independent.
She had managed without a PA since she started. As long as she had her smart phone with her, she can stay on top of things. She was totally self-sufficient. She’d go to casting calls or what models call “go-sees” alone; she handled her own schedule, got her own groceries and even did her own hair and makeup when the need arises. Unlike other models who were earning top dollar…she didn’t throw her weight around, put on a diva attitude or drive everyone crazy with meltdowns every five seconds.
Until that fateful interview. What a faux pas!
It was comforting that she had someone dependable like Leandro in situations like these. They may not be related by blood, but they shared a bond stronger than most siblings. He was always the older brother who looked after her, from the moment they met in an orphanage in Sao Paolo, where he saved her from bullies who picked on her and made her life hell.
“I’m glad you have my back,” she said with much gratitude.
“Hey, don’t go sentimental on me, kid.” She can almost hear the smile in his voice.
“I know,” she said before bidding him goodbye and ending the call. “Still…thank you.”
An hour later, the paparazzi went wild when she stepped out of her house carrying an overnight bag, eyes hidden behind a pair of Jackie O sunglasses.
“Jordana, is it true? Hot stuff like you still a virgin?”
“What will it take for you to give up the cherry, sweetheart?”
“Hey, Jordana….do you know that you’re the number one girl in Maxim and FHM? Will you pose for Playboy?”
“Are you a lesbian like Gia Carangi? ”
They were shouting numerous questions at her, trying to provoke her into reacting or answering back. But she had learned her lesson. She zoned them out of her head and continued to walk, grateful for the bodyguards sent by Leandro. She was immediately whisked by Penny to a waiting limo near the curb.
Once safely inside, she shut her eyes. Her head throbbed from stress. She silently prayed for normalcy to return soon. That they’d just follow the attention-seeking Kardashians and leave her in peace.
The limo headed for The Plaza on 5th Avenue, where she was to stay for an indefinite number of days. As they passed Times Square, she couldn’t help but take in the huge billboards and LED screens. Her face was plastered in many of the ads.
It unnerved her. Fame and fortune. She never wished for it. It found her accidentally.
Normalcy? Who was she kidding? She would never be anonymous again. Everywhere she went, she’d get recognized.
She gave a long-suffering sigh.
VITALE MANSION
BILLIONAIRE’S ROW,
KENSINGTON, LONDON
“You’re in the news,” Natalia Agnelli, his latest conquest, informed him as he entered the bedroom after taking a quick shower.
He refrained from commenting. He had expected that the media would closely follow his every move after his takeover of Gruppo Milanese three months ago. After all, GM was a company that was as old as the Rothschild fortune.
His gaze shifted to the bed where Natalia lay naked. Sensing his regard, she opened her thighs to give him a full view of her worldly goods.
He smiled. They had spent the past three days inside his London mansion doing practically nothing but fuck day in and day out. Like the rest of the women who came before her, she was nothing but a temporary diversion. And he was growing bored fast.
He saw through her duplicity. She wanted something from him. She was, after all, Lucca’s daughter. She wasn’t to be trusted outside the bedroom. Not even an inch.
He met her during the formal hand-over of GM, and was introduced by none other than Lucca himself. She took one look at him and decided to follow him all the way to London, where she practically invited herself into one of his homes. They had made the social rounds for more than two months now, fueling speculations.
He played it cool and indulged her whims, gave her the usual presents—furs, jewelry and dressed her in haute couture. He was just going through the motions, playing her despite already having figured out her game plan. She thought that she had him eating at the palm of her hand, particularly when the press began hinting that their relationship was becoming very serious. No doubt the info was fed to them by the same woman warming his bed.
A really ludicrous assumption.
Highborn or not, she was just an available pussy. Nothing more.
Lonzo sauntered toward the bed. She smiled at him invitingly as he remained standing, eyeing her.
Time for her to confess.
He dove toward her. Natalia quickly removed the towel that encircled his waist; her greedy hands immediately went for his hardening rod.
He stopped her hands and pinned them above her head. She was at his mercy as he pulled her legs further apart with his huge frame. She closed her eyes and moaned loudly as he positioned his cock at the mouth of her entrance. She was already hot and leaking for his possession, ready for more love play.
But he stopped.
She opened her eyes in frustration.
“Lonzo...Please...” she begged.
He grinned devilishly but did nothing.
“Don’t tease me, damn you!” she cried.
He tormented her further by pressing just the head of his cock inside her warmth. He made several quick thrusts, with just the head entering her. She tried to move and force him to embed himself balls-deep but one of his hands restrained her hips.
She was so close to losing it.
He knew just how to drive her mad with lust. He knew his way around women.
“Please…I can’t stand it…I need to come,” she was beseeching him, her voice hoarse with desperation.
“Tell me one thing first.”
“Anything!” Natalia wailed.
“What’s your agenda, hmmm?”
That made her pause.
Her reaction confirmed he was right. She was in collusion with her father.
“What are you talking about?” she denied, trying to cover up her slip.
His smile became glacial. His eyes hardened into chips of ice.
“No more games, Natalia. You know what I’m talking about.”
She didn’t answer. He let go of her and was about to get up from the bed when she held on to him with both arms.
“Stop! Don’t leave! Please. It was…it was Papa’s idea. He was still smarting from losing GM and he thinks that an alliance…” she admitted.
“Alliance? Oh…is that what you call marriage nowadays?” he said with thinly-veiled sarcasm. He expected that she had agreed to be the willing pawn to influence him to retain her brothers at GM. But never this. What a laughable idea. They really aimed for the moon.
“Yes. Think about it—an alliance between you and my family will gain you acceptance within the most exclusive social circles. Ours is an old name, one of the most respected families in Europe. In exchange, the family fortune will still be attached to an Agnelli descendant—me,” she recited this as if she was presenting a marketing plan for his approval.
She continued on with her spiel, as if the scheme was the best thing for him to take. He almost laughed out loud but he didn’t give anything away. He said nothing before he stood up to leave the socialite on the bed. He grabbed the dressing robe from the dresser and put it on, his back on her.
“Lonzo?” she asked, confused.
Was she really that confident or was she plain dense?
He partially turned to face her.
“You really honestly think this affair is going to lead into marriage?”
Her face paled.
“Affair? We have a relationship!” Natalia shrieked.
Lonzo turned to look at her. Her face was mottled red with anger as she scrambled to cover her nakedness, putting on the red robe she’d discarded last night.
She was moneyed, beautiful, and talented in bed. Most men would fall for her wiles. But he was not most men. She grew overly confident.
“Listen, Natalia. We’re having an affair. No frills. No strings. Don’t guilt me into thinking there’s more.”
Natalia rose from the bed. Her face briefly displayed disbelief before it switched into fury. She ran toward him and began beating his chest with her fists.
“You bastard! You played me! You made me fall for you! Made me believe that what we have is serious. Damn you! I hate you! I hate you!” she screamed tearfully.
Lonzo easily deflected her blows. He held the furious socialite away. She was behaving like a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum after being told no. He wasn’t buying the water display either.
“I never promised anything,” he said, his voice hard. “Stop fooling yourself.”
He then pushed her away in disgust.
The woman was pitiful.
“Papa was right! You’re a bastard!” Natalia snarled as she picked up her discarded clothes from the floor before marching off to the bath, shutting the door forcefully.
He wasn’t sorry. He felt…nothing.
After a few minutes, Natalia stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed, her make-up perfect. Her face didn’t betray any signs of the crocodile tears that freely fell minutes earlier.
He crossed his arms in front of his chest, his expression impassive.
As she passed by on her way out, her hand came out of nowhere to slap him. But he had great reflexes. He caught it before she can inflict any damage.
She was foaming in the mouth like a rabid bitch.
“You’ll pay for this, Lonzo! I’ll make you so sorry! Damn you!” she threatened.
“I won’t. I never invested. You did this to yourself.” he remarked dryly.
“You let me think we’re a couple! You let me fall for you!” she accused.
He laughed without humor.
“Don’t delude yourself. You don’t believe in flimsy emotional bullshit. Your affections are currency-driven,” he stated matter-of-factly.
Natalia theatrically widened her eyes.
“Bastardo!” she spat before she turned for the door.
“That, I am,” he supplied to her retreating back. “That’s why I don’t care shit for pedigrees.”
Natalia slammed the door.