Page 11 of Viral Affair

“So, you’re the new silent partner who recently invested in Emperor?” Veronica asked. Her voice sounded strained. Her expression spoke volumes. Shock evident in her widened eyes and dropped jaw. It was as if time stood still for a moment, her disbelief written all over her face ..

“Oh, my God. So that means Spencer Banks, your brother, is my roommate, Laura’s, new boss. That’s a freaky coincidence.”She looked as confused as I feel.

“Yeah, pretty much. Come on, we need to go somewhere to talk,” I tried hard not to freak out.

“And I’m going to deal with you later.” I pointed at Matthews, who was speechless. Then I grabbed Veronica’s elbow, steering her to come with me.

“What the hell do you think you are doing, Rupert? You can’t just grab me. Please take your hands off me or I will kick you in the balls,” she snapped at me, suddenly wriggling herself out of my grip and glaring at me with annoyance.

God, she was so beautiful when she was angry. For a moment, we just stood there, staring at each other, and the whole world ceased to exist around us.

“I do apologise for grabbing you, but we really need to talk somewhere private,” I growled, once again letting go of her elbow. Blood rushed to my groin, hardening my cock when I imagined Veronica on her knees, sucking on it. Every second with her felt like eternity as I was lost in those incredible eyes again. I liked when she was so wound up because the way she was staring at me, it was turning me on so fucking much.

“There are private rooms on the second floor that you can use,” Matthews suggested.

I suddenly remembered he was still there. So he’d witnessed our fiery exchange.

“All right then, ladies first.” I motioned for her to go ahead.

She hesitated for a split second before marching off, holding her head high. I shot Matthews a glare, letting him know I wanted a conversation with him later on, and then followed after her quickly in case she disappeared on me, again.

We managed to find a quiet room with a window that looked out into one of the private rooms with a pole where men hired dancers, probably for shows. This club was well equipped and catered for this kind of clientele. I would have preferred for us to have been able to talk somewhere that was less likely to heighten the sexual tension, not make it stronger. But, this was where we’d ended up.

Veronica folded her arms over her chest when I shut the door behind me and continued to stare at me intensely. God, I had no idea what to even say to her. Words couldn’t describe what I felt in that moment. The fact that we’d both lived in London this entire time without meeting felt absolutely bonkers.

“So obviously, you’re not an air hostess and your name is not Valerie.” I stood so close that I could smell her perfume. It was citrusy and alluring. There was only a small space between us. I wanted her to close the gap and fall into my arms. Fuck, I’d never felt like this about anyone else. I wanted to hold her close to my chest and never let go.How could I have even thought that calling Rosie to rekindle things was the right move?

“And you’re not the businessman I thought you might be,” she replied and then exhaled loudly, like she was trying to release the tension from her body. “Rupert, I really wasn’t planning to go viral. My friend, Clara, who travelled with me around Europe, sent me this video a few days ago. She said she didn’t even remember filming it, so I played with it a bit and then decided to post it on TikTok. Then I kind of ... forgot about it.”

The video, the fucking video, was the main focus of this conversation. I wanted to ignore it, tell her fuck it and kiss her hard, but I couldn’t. I have always been anal about my privacy and I didn’t do social media. My business connections, and also the fact that my whole family had been in the public eye, required it. So this video going viral was problematic.

“You need to take it down. I’m not on any social media channels, so that’s why no one could tag me. I found out from a few of my friends who saw it,” I explained.

“Yes, I was planning to deal with it tomorrow. I’ve been stuck at home all week because of my foot, and I was just looking forward to a fun night with friends,” she said and gave me a small smile.

I dragged my hand through my hair, physically forcing myself not to grab her hand or run my thumb over her lips. We still had a lot to discuss.

“Why did you sneak out of my room that morning? You didn’t leave me any contact information, and I only had your false first name, which wasn’t much to go on. I had no idea where you even lived.” I was a little resentful, still trying to get my head around the fact that Veronica was now working for me— as a fucking escort.

She glanced down at the floor, like she was embarrassed, all her bravado and confidence slowly slipping away.

“I had an early flight back to London that next morning; we met on my last night on the island. I truly wasn’t thinking that anything might come of what happened between us. That night was incredible, you made me feel so alive and so good about myself. I had two hours until my flight, so I ran out the door without thinking. I thought I would never see you again,” she said, finally looking at me with regret.

I sighed loudly and then, despite what I’d told myself countless times not to do, I brought her to my chest and wrapped my hands around her, inhaling her scent deeply. This was it. I felt great having her in my arms, knowing I’d finally found her. She was so small but fit into my body perfectly, and she smelled so fucking good.

“I was fucking devastated when I woke up in the morning and you were gone. You were right, that night was incredible for me, too.” I whispered in her ear, holding her close and forcing my cock to behave. All the memories from that night played out in my head. Our bodies were in sync, she’d loved when I talked dirty to her, and I bet she was wet for me right fucking now, too.

“I honestly thought that it was only meant to be one night. I didn’t want to lead you on, so I made it up that my name was Valerie and that I was an air hostess, because I was too embarrassed to tell you that I worked as a stripper when we first met,” she said.

I let go of her. Blood rushed to my groin area once again.

“A stripper, interesting.” I tried to process all of this. “But now you’re an escort, working for Matthews, and now me, too. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, judging by your previous profession.”

She narrowed her eyes at me and took a step forward.

“What’s that even supposed to mean? Don’t be so judgmental. I had my reasons, and I don’t need to explain myself to you,” she said, her voice cold and indifferent, her eyes cutting me deep.

“I get it, the reason is obvious. You needed the money,” I pointed out. I felt annoyed. I’d had huge plans for us. I really believed I had finally found the woman I would spend the rest of my life with, but not now. She was a hooker, she fucked other men for money. I don’t share my women with anyone.

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