Page 10 of Snapdragon

I try to have some fun with Rosie, but I need more alcohol to kick into my system right now.

I take my phone out of my purse to check it. So many emails have come through since I left my apartment earlier this evening.

Scrolling through the subjects, I stop when I see an email from Noma with the subject:

Photos for approval.

It’s an email to my team that I’m copied on. I click through immediately, eager to see the shots. I wasn’t joking when I said I liked Benedict’s work, and I was curious as to how I would look in the photos.

“The photos are here,” I nervously tell Rosie.

“Ooh, lemme see!” she goes to grab my phone.

“Wait, I haven’t looked at them yet. Here, look with me.”

We both lean over my phone as I click through. The first few images are only me, and wow, I actually look good in them. I’m not always great at looking at photos of myself, but these I could get on board with.

When I click to the next photo, it’s me and Sebastian. Rosie snatches the phone out of my hand. “You didn’t tell he was that hot!” she exclaims. “We need to talk about when I ask you what happened and you say nothing. Because, bitch, this man is fine! I mean, look at those scales, and he’s huge!”

“I know,” I admit. “And that’s not even our real height difference… they had me stand way in front of him to make the perspective better.”

Her jaw literally drops. Then she leans back over the phone to look again.

“Umm, can I actually see the photo, Ro? You know, I would actually like to see it.”

She flips the phone around so it’s facing me. “You both look so good together. Like, your chemistry is palpable.”

Rosie’s not wrong. Sebastian’s dark skin and hair contrast against my tan skin and honey blond. He’s looking at me so intensely. I hadn’t seen that side of him at all when we were taking the photos. He looks magnificent, and I find myself forgetting all about Cian.

Cian doesn’t want me to forget him that easily though. Arms wrap around me from behind, “Hey baby, why don’t we get out of—”

His words are quickly followed by a sound of pure and raw disgust. “Ugh! Why are you in a photo with that abomination?!”

He pulls away from me as I turn to look at him. I can see it in his eyes, the moment his personality switches, and a petulant little boy comes out.

“I can explain—” I start.

“Get out of our booth. Now.” He gestures to the dance floor.

I stand still, as does Rosie, we’re both in shock at his quick reaction.

“I said, get out of our booth.” His voice raises to a shout, “you filthy monster fucking slut!”

Luckily, Rosie’s brain is working better than mine, clearly sensing the danger here. She grabs our things and pulls us away before he can escalate things further. She drags me towards the exit, pausing in the hallway by the door to look behind us.

When we get outside, she wraps my jacket around my shoulders, pulling me out of the way and ordering us an Uber.

“It’s OK, honey.” She rubs my back. “Better you find out now that he’s clearly a psycho.”

It doesn’t take long for the Uber to arrive. She guides me in to my seat and buckles me in.

“You OK?” she asks, patting my cheek.

I take a second before answering.

“Yeah…” my mind drifts away for a moment, seeing the hate in Cian’s eyes again. “Yes. Sorry, I’m in shock.”

I smile at her, “I’m good. I was surprised, that’s all. Thanks for getting us out of there.”