Page 29 of Viral Affair

“Now tell me, how is work and Rupert? Do you see him often?” Laura asked.

“He comes in with Matthews, but we barely talk. He doesn’t want me to work as an escort. He also knows I’ll never find a job that pays so well. Content creation takes time, and I still have to build my profile on Instagram,” I explained, thinking about that evening in his house when he seemed a completely changed man. In the end, I thought it wasn’t even worth talking about it.

“So he hasn’t tried to ask you out or anything? Oh, Veronica, I know you like him. You said it yourself that he was the best sex you’ve ever had,” Laura reminded me.

My stomach clenched a little because I suddenly wanted to be back in Greece with him. I wished Clara and I had extended our trip, then I could have spent more time with him.

“True, and he did ask me out a few times, but he was also rude and cold, so I said I wasn’t interested. Rupert wants me for himself. He keeps saying he doesn’t like sharing, but we aren’t even dating and he should know he can’t just dictate how I should live my life,” I told her, mindlessly picking at some grapes Laura had brought with her, then popping one in my mouth. This man was so unpredictable, so I wasn’t sure what to think anymore.

“At least he’s not dry humping you against the wall. I think both of them need to see a therapist,” Laura quipped, then lay down next to me when both girls started playing with a Frisbee next to our blanket.

Dry humping against the wall—well, Laura wasn’t exactly right about that. “It’s better to stay away from powerful and affluent men. All they give us is trouble. We’re better off being single,” I said.

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Chapter Sixteen

Rupert

This week had been stressful. I ran into some issues with my project, and my latest lab work came backslightly abnormal. My usual doctor had called me for my six-monthly checkup. Normally, at this point, at my age, these kinds of visits were supposed to happen every few years, but I was very much a total control freak when it came to my health, and since I had all the money I needed, I made sure that my doctor ran labs on me every six months.

I was a little paranoid, but that didn’t mean I was going to stay healthy for the rest of my life. Sometimes I thought my cancer could come back at any time and I wanted to be prepared. During most of the week, I was in my office leading the team on all my current projects and in the evening, I normally swung to the club to make sure Rowan didn’t need any help. He’d told me countless times I didn’t need to do that, but I liked knowing everything was running smoothly.

Deep down though, it was just another excuse to see Veronica.

Things between us felt tense. I’d overreacted when she’d seen that photo of me, so I’d kept my distance. I’d seen her a few times, but we didn’t really have a chance to talk. She looked stunning, as usual, and my cock reacted whenever I saw her. For this reason, it was better to stay away from her. Also, she was probably still angry with me.

“Why are you so tense? Everything will go smoothly” I assured Rowan on Friday evening when we sat at the bar drinking a pricey whiskey.

One of the girls, Susan, was waiting for a client, seated in one of the booths. Most of our girls were booked up this weekend. There were a few important functions happening in the city this evening and we’d had a few late bookings because of that.

I was on edge because Veronica would be showing up soon. Rowan had arranged for her to escort an important client to the Middle East. I hadn’t even known about it until I’d reviewed her schedule earlier on.

“I don't know, man. Something feels off. I know we have been discussing it, but I want to go over the plan once again. Prince Abdullah might be one of our biggest and most affluent clients to date,” Rowan said, taking a sip of his drink. "This has go perfectly, Rupert."

I squeezed my glass tighter, knowing that he was right. This was a very important booking. Prince Abdullah’s personal assistant had called earlier this week to make sure that our club was able to cater to the client’s needs, and apparently the prince had a very specific taste.

This was fucking unbelievable. Veronica was going to fuck this guy, and there was nothing I could do about it. We both knew this would be a huge opportunity for the business, so we had to send our best and most suitable woman. Yet, I couldn’t stand the fact that my business partner wasn’t willing to pick someone other than Veronica.

“You're being paranoid. We have gone over this multiple times. Anyway, doesn’t he have like, three wives or something?” I asked, annoyed. Why was I even here? I had other things to do, people to see and places to be, and yet I was waiting for her to show up.

Rowan groaned, an unhappy sound, so I needed to calm myself down.

“Whatever, man. He can have forty wives for all I care. He wants to spend the weekend with one of our girls, and Veronica is the one he personally picked. She’s not yours, you said it yourself, so you need to stop fucking up her life,” Rowan ground out.

Veronica's entrance was commanding, her eyes hidden behind a pair of mysterious dark sunglasses. The room seemed to catch its breath as she glided in, her every step in that long, flowing red dress demanding attention. However, something about her appearance hinted that she might not be fully prepared for the much-anticipated weekend away with the prince.

She headed straight towards us, and my cock swelled in my trousers. This reaction I always had to her was becoming problematic.

“Where is your bag?” Rowan asked, turning to face her.

Veronica took off her sunglasses and I realised something was wrong. Her skin was pale and she had dark hollow circles under her eyes.

“I don’t think I can go anywhere, Matthews. I must have caught some kind of bug. I threw up right after I left the tube station,” she explained, then quickly brought her hand to her mouth and rushed straight to the loo.

I glanced at Rowan who appeared completely shocked and worried. This was bad, even though I was already thanking the universe for this unexpected plot twist.

“I’m going to check on her. You start calling Misha and Christina. We may have to switch around their schedules.” I smiled to myself. Maybe I was wrong, maybe the universe indeed had my back and wanted us to be together. Rowan knew that the prince had specifically asked for Veronica, but we couldn’t let her go if she was ill. Prince Abdullah was still expecting company for tonight, so we needed to act fast.

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