Chapter 16

Alina's smile died down when she saw the look in Brittney's eyes. To say she was confused about the whole thing going on with Alina and the strange man would be an understatement, she was perplexed.

Eric helped Alina up, chuckling when she made a face at him. Alina knew it waa time for the introductions. No doubt, Brittney would wonder who Eric was and now that she was to live in his home, Brittney deserved to know.

"Eric, this is my friend and roommate Brittney. Brittney please meet Eric Carter, my boyfriend." Alina said.

Eric gave her a polite smile, extending his hand for a shake. Brittney shook his hand recognition dawning on her face. She knew Eric and who he was. He was usually on the cover of various magazines and journals.

"The Eric Carter... like Eric Carter the billionaire?" Brittney gasped.
.
"Well i try to live a comfortable life." Eric chuckled.

"He doesn't like to be called that " Alina chuckled.

"Nice to meet you." Brittney smiled.

She glanced at Alina, wondering when and how her friend was able to snatch up a man like Eric. There were a lot of things Brittney didn't know and Alina knew she had to kerp it that way. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
"Dear, I'm moving to Eric's house. I'm afraid, you're going to be alone for now till another roomie comes along. I know this is all sudden but it has to be done." Alina said.
Brittney nodded, informing her that she understood when in reality, she was as confused as ever.

Alina grabbed the few things she had, deciding to leave with Eric now instead of in the evening. She wanted to get acclimatized to his environment. She had a lot of work to do, infact both of them had now that Augustus Frederick had raised his ugly head and the sooner they began, the better for them.

"I promise I'll call you later at night to tell you all about it." Alina said.

She hugged Brittney before stepping out of the room and towards Eric's SUV that was parked at the side of the road. Alina climbed in just as Eric drove off slowly, only then did she heave a sigh of relief.

"That was one of the hardest things I've ever done." Alina chuckled.

Eric's mind was away as he stared ahead. Alina knew he was mindlinking a member of his pack. From the way his brows furrowed, she knew the message was one of importance.

"Baby, we have a ball to attend this evening." Eric said as soon as he was done.

"Oh wow. okay, I'll be ready." Alina smiled.

"I'll give you the details when we get home." he chuckled.

"okay." Alina said.

"I'll introduce you to the rest of the pack by weekend, they're eager to see you." Eric chuckled.

Alina smiled, eager to meet them too. Finally, she felt like she belonged somewhere and in a place she was wanted.

***********************

"Do I look pretty enough Eric?" Alina asked, and giving her a warm smile he nodded genuinely.
Appraising her, and looking up and down at her pretty evening exquisite dress that he had personally selected for her, Eric couldn't deny the fact that his partner and date tonight for the event looked so gorgeous.
A blonde haired beauty, Alina had caught Eric's eyes the first time they had met at the battered club where she was prepared to fight Augustus Frederick and from there on their relationship had blossomed.
Her enchanting blue eyes had drawn him towards her.
No not him and all through the journey they had exchanged flirty winks, his sexual innuendo egging him on as he wanted to have those beautiful eyes of hers looking at him, while he hugged her.
At first, it had started with a fling, as Jason had used his effective playboy talks on her, wanting to woo her and have her spend the night with him, and luckily his antics had worked quickly.

She was his first public girlfriend since Anita had died as a result of Augustus Frederick's attacks and widely known for his playboy ways the media had been more than surprised and some weeks even after their announcement Eric kept on making headlines.
Apparently, Alina had no idea the in fact, Eric was a popular figure in the city. The first time she had known about it, she was quite surprised because he hadn't told her before.
Now, they were not really stable, but she was rather possessive of him and she was the forte keeping their relationship afloat.
"Eric darling…" She drawled seductively, interrupting his thoughts, placing her well manicured hands on his shoulders, and he used his bare tattooed hands to retain her composure, placing them gently on her waist.
"Yes Alina..." He replied curtly looking up at her, and he could see her irises darkening.
"No, no…" He shook his head furiously knowing what she wanted.
"But we still have up to thirty minutes before we leave for the event." She pouted, her red lips in full display, and despite having an effect on him Eric controlled himself.
"You're already dressed up, and the make-up artist just finished doing justice to your gorgeous face. If I take a hold of you now, you and I know that you would be roughened up beyond repair, and you wouldn't want to go through the stress of dressing up again would you?" He asked, and gently disentangling her arms from his shoulders, standing up he added, "I'm not even dressed yet."
"I can dress myself up, and…"
She stopped, as someone knocked on the door of the hotel suite they were staying at.
"Come in."Eric said, and in walked Alvarez, right hand man and best friend too.
Alvarez was Eric's childhood friend, and while Eric had struggled in college, wanting to get a good business degree and understand the fundamentals of finance, Alvarez who was not really interested in education had worked menial jobs, and security positions for restaurants and clubs using the money gotten to take care of them.
His husky build, and his fierce look had helped in securing the jobs, and when Eric had established a reputation he had placed Alvarez as his head of security, placing so much trust on his best friend and brother he had ever had.
Despite how serious Alvarez looked, he was a man of so much love and an affection, and to think he was already married, and had a family he loved dearly was enough to make Eric happy for him.
He was happy that they were both doing well, just like they had planned when they were little.
"The limo is ready Eric and the guards are in place. We're good to go, but you aren't good to go." Alvarez added sarcastically and his eyes flickering to Alina he gave her a short wave, which she reciprocated with a small smile.
Sometimes Jason thought that Alvarez hated her, because she was not the person he wanted for him, but he had moved on from his past, and that Alvarez needed to know.
"I'll get dressed soon, and we'll be downstairs." Eric said, and bowing a hearty smile on his face, Alvarez left the bedroom.
"So nothing?" Alina pouted, but Eric was far of in the bathroom, choosing not to answer her at all.
He heard her grumbling, and pacing restlessly around the room, something she always did when she was angry, or frustrated but he was already engrossed in his duties.
There was nothing he could do again but at the end, he knew he would be the one to suffer it.
…….
Sophia looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, of the suite she was at.
The exquisite interior of the bathroom, rivalled any she'd ever seen, and if she had just been here on a normal visit Sophia knew she would have taken her time to study the gold plated and flowered marble designs, but no… she was here because she wanted to instill, some sort of confidence in herself.
She needed to focus on the job at hand, and that was that!
Augustus Frederick had promised her a large sum of money if she could carry out the simple assignment of poisoning Eric's drink.
She had arrived earlier at the hotel given to her, and following the instructions of the manager all the ushers, waitress and waiters of the day's event, had all jumbled together in a room, as they all dressed and prepared for the upcoming occasion.
They had already been addressed, and given instructions on what to do and how to do it, and the only thing remaining was for them all to file out, and begin to do their work.
The event was already underway, downstairs in the hotel's large banquet hall, and Sophia knew that soon her job would start.
This was not the first time, she was handling a waitress gig abroad, but she couldn't explain the feeling she was having now.
She was so nervous, palms sweaty, and her confidence was detoriating rapidly, due to reasons unbeknownst to her.
She had come into the bathroom, to have some form of privacy, away from the bustles of activities going on in the suite, and also wanting to regain her composure and confidence.
Rubbing her sweaty palms together, she breathed in and out heavily and said slowly, "It's just an event, serving pompous assholes and rich socialites. Sophia you can do this!"
She looked herself in the mirror, arranging her hair well, dusting of her uniform and slapping on a confident smile and look, she repeated her mantra again, this time adding some more words, "It's just an event, serving pompous assholes and rich socialites. Sophia you can do this! Soon, you'll be done and off to London. Back to your lowly and cool life."
Yes! She could do this, she thought to herself as the door to the toilet opened, and someone called her name from outside.
Yes, she could do this! The words echoing in her head as she walked outside, to receive the final briefing before embarking downstairs to the event.
Yes, she could definitely do this!